Scientists feel a growing need to advocate for knowledge-driven policies to address climate change and biodiversity loss, yet few feel empowered to do so. During the Neretva Science Week (NSW) 2023, an international group of scientists conducted research on the threatened Neretva River in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and had the opportunity to engage with activists and journalists. We used a questionnaire to investigate the perspectives of these scientists on public engagement, scientific advocacy, ecological grief, and perceived political empowerment. To assess how these views might be influenced by participation in the NSW, we administered the questionnaire at the beginning of the NSW, immediately after, and three months following the event. We found high levels of ecological grief and moderate levels of perceived political empowerment. Scientists working outside of academia reported higher levels of empowerment, and local scientists had a more positive attitude towards being involved in decision-making about ecosystem management. Attitudes towards scientific advocacy were already mostly positive before the NSW and did not improve during the week, but most participants reported being motivated to increase their public engagement after the NSW. Although unlikely to change deeply rooted beliefs about the role of science, events such as the NSW can play a critical role in bridging the gap between academia and advocacy.

Land use changes can pose threats to natural ecosystems already challenged by anthropogenic pressures and increase societal exposure to river-related risks such as floods. In the Tagliamento river basin, a reference ecosystem for the restoration of Alpine rivers, land use planning was identified by locals as a major flood risk management issue. Here, we present evidence of the evolution of land use in the basin and explore the synergies between river conservation efforts and ecosystem-based land use planning. We present two storylines, one about a village that moved across the river and a second about a village that became an island. The analysis of the two storylines suggests a narrative that highlights (i) the preservation of natural regulatory functions in the middle course and (ii) the reactivation of fluvial corridors and wetlands in the lower course. Past documents highlighted that land use plans should account for threats posed by multiple hazardous phenomena (e.g., floods and droughts) to natural and human assets. We provide suggestions for future land use plans in the river basin integrating local knowledge and historical evidence into context-dependent storylines to convey risk-related concepts to the public.

Rice paddy soils have high organic carbon (OC) storage potential, but predicting OC stocks in these soils is difficult due to the complex OC stabilization mechanisms under fluctuating redox conditions. Especially in temperate climates, these mechanisms remain understudied and comparisons to OC stocks under natural vegetation are scarce. Semi-natural forests could have similar or higher OC inputs than rice paddies, but in the latter mineralization under anoxic conditions and interactions between OC and redox-sensitive minerals (in particular Fe oxyhydroxides, hereafter referred to as Fe oxides) could promote OC stabilization. Moreover, management-induced soil redox cycling in rice paddies can interact with pre-existing pedogenetic differences of soils having different degrees of evolution. To disentangle these drivers of soil OC stocks, we focused on a soil age gradient in Northern Italy with a long (30 + years) history of rice cultivation and remnant semi-natural forests. Irrespective of soil age, soils under semi-natural forest and paddy land-use showed comparable OC stocks. While, in topsoil, stocks of crystalline Fe and short-ranged Fe and Al oxides did not differ between land-uses, under paddy management more OC was found in the mineral-associated fraction. This hints to a stronger redox-driven OC stabilization in the paddy topsoil compared to semi-natural forest soils that might compensate for the presumed lower OC inputs under rice cropping. Despite the higher clay contents over the whole profile and more crystalline pedogenetic Fe stocks in the topsoil in older soils, OC stocks were higher in the younger soils, in particular in the 50–70 cm layer, where short-range ordered pedogenetic oxides were also more abundant. These patterns might be explained by differences in hydrological flows responsible for the translocation of Fe and dissolved OC to the subsoil, preferentially in the younger, coarse-textured soils. Taken together, these results indicate the importance of the complex interplay between redox-cycling affected by paddy-management and soil-age related hydrological properties.

Drawing on collective experience from ten collaborative research projects focused on the Global South, we identify three major challenges that impede the translation of research on sustainability and resilience into better-informed choices by individuals and policy-makers that in turn can support transformation to a sustainable future. The three challenges comprise: (i) converting knowledge produced during research projects into successful knowledge application; (ii) scaling up knowledge in time when research projects are short-term and potential impacts are long-term; and (iii) scaling up knowledge across space, from local research sites to larger-scale or even global impact. Some potential pathways for funding agencies to overcome these challenges include providing targeted prolonged funding for dissemination and outreach, and facilitating collaboration and coordination across different sites, research teams, and partner organizations. By systematically documenting these challenges, we hope to pave the way for further innovations in the research cycle.

Crop yields are affected by hydroclimatic and edaphic conditions, but their interacting roles are often neglected when assessing crop yields at the regional scale. Moreover, often used hydroclimatic conditions such as precipitation and temperature are not as physiologically linked to primary production and yields as actual evapotranspiration. Using statistical models, we quantified the combined effects of edaphic and hydroclimatic conditions on county yields of irrigated rice and rainfed corn, soybean, and spring and winter wheat in the USA (2000–2019). Precipitation and temperature, or actual evapotranspiration, aggregated during the growing season or before and after flowering/silk emergence, in interaction with soil sand content or bulk density, explained up to 87 % of the yield variability. However, actual evapotranspiration explained yields better than precipitation and temperature and their interactions for most combinations of crops and growth periods. At high actual evapotranspiration, yield plateaued or, for spring wheat, decreased. Yields were generally most sensitive to changes in hydroclimatic conditions during part of rather than the entire growing season, and most often after flowering. Soil texture and bulk density modulated the impacts of hydroclimatic conditions: corn and soybean yields were higher in finer soils compared with sandy soils under high evapotranspiration, but lower at low evapotranspiration. Additionally, the yield-maximizing precipitation decreased with sand content and increased with bulk density for most crops. Increasingly available actual evapotranspiration estimates, combined with soil properties, offer an alternative, and more physiologically-based, yield predictor over large climatic gradients to the more widely used precipitation and temperature.

Whale watching is considered a form of green tourism, but can affect marine ecosystems, impacting cetaceans’ behavior and potentially increasing acoustic pollution. A more sustainable whale-watching practice should employ a comprehensive approach involving all stakeholders, but whale-watching operators are rarely involved. We propose a method to assess whale–watching operators’ perceptions regarding the possible effects of their activity on marine fauna and preferred mitigation solutions, by means of online questionnaires and website communication strategies. Results from Canadian whale-watching operators show that they observe regulations regarding distance to whales but only partially perceive general vessels’ impacts on fauna. Three recognized whale-watching experts identify the need for continuous training targeted at operators, which should include the impacts on marine ecosystems. A continuous training framework is proposed that targets whale-watching operators in addition to tourists, and involves scientists in several steps of the approach. This study serves as a starting point to involve operators’ in order to advance towards a sustainable whale-watching tourism.

In arable systems, large amounts of nutrients, particularly of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P), are not efficiently converted into harvestable products and are lost from agricultural systems, with negative consequences for agricultural productivity and the environment. These nutrient losses are mediated by hydroclimatic processes causing nutrient leaching and volatilization. We quantify over the period 1987-2012 how water availability through the evaporative ratio (actual evapotranspiration divided by precipitation) and irrigation, agricultural practices, and edaphic conditions jointly affect nutrient use efficiencies in 110 agricultural catchments in the United States. We consider N and P use efficiencies (nitrogen use efficiency [NUE] and phosphorous use efficiency [PUE]) defined as ratios of catchment-scale N and P in harvested products over their respective inputs, as well as the NUE/PUE ratio, as an indication of catchment-scale N and P imbalance. Both efficiencies increase through time because of changes in climate and agronomic practices. Setting all else at the median value of the data set, NUE and PUE increased with evaporative ratio by 0.5% and 0.2% when increasing the evaporative ratio by 20% and by 4.9% and 18.8% in the presence of irrigation. NUE was also higher in catchments where maize and soybean were dominant (increasing by 2.3% for a 20% increase in maize and soybean fractional area). Soil properties, represented by mineral soil texture and organic matter content, had only small effects on the efficiencies. Our results show that both climatic conditions and crop choice are important drivers of nutrient use efficiencies in agricultural catchments.

Irrigation water use and crop production may be severely limited by both water shortages and increased salinity levels. However, impacts of crop-specific salinity limitations on irrigation water scarcity are largely unknown. We develop a salinity-inclusive water scarcity framework for the irrigation sector, accounting for crop-specific irrigation water demands and salinity tolerance levels and apply it to 29 sub-basins within two food bowl regions; the Central Valley (CV) (California) and the Murray–Darling basin (MDB) (Australia). Our results show that severe water scarcity (levels >0.4) occurs in 23% and 66% of all instances (from >17 000 monthly crop-specific estimates) for the CV and MDB, respectively. The highest water scarcity levels for both regions occurred during their summer seasons. Including salinity and crop-specific salinity tolerance levels further increased water scarcity levels, compared to estimations based on water quantity only, particularly at local sub-basin scales. We further investigate the potential of alleviating water scarcity through diluting surface water with lower saline groundwater resources, at instances where crop salinity tolerance levels are exceeded (conjunctive water use). Results from the CV highlights that conjunctive water use can reduce severe water scarcity levels by up to 67% (from 946 monthly instances where surface water salinity tolerance levels were exceeded). However, groundwater dilution requirements frequently exceed renewable groundwater rates, posing additional risks for groundwater depletion in several sub-basins. By capturing the dynamics of both crops, salinity and conjunctive water use, our framework can support local-regional agricultural and water management impacts, on water scarcity levels.

Sustainable river management frameworks are based on the connection between citizens and nature. So far, though, the relationship between rivers and local populations has played a marginal role in river management. Here, we present a blueprint questionnaire to characterize the perception of cultural ecosystem services (CES) by locals, and how preferences change across the river landscape. We investigate how locals value the river and whether their preferences are affected by characteristics such as place of residence, age, frequency of visits and relation to the river. The questionnaire was filled in by more than 4000 respondents, demonstrating huge interest and willingness to contribute to the project. A striking 85% of respondents identify a spiritual value of the river, suggesting a strong emotional connection. River conservation is the main priority for most respondents across the different groups. The map of favorite places shows that most of the river is appreciated by locals, with a high preference for the landscape of the braided middle course. The most valued area of the river, located in the middle course, faces threats due to dam construction projects, which would modify the natural course of the river and likely impact the favorite places of the locals. Our study highlights discrepancies between management choices and citizens ' values and priorities, and shows the need for including river values and CES in river management and their potential role for tackling conflicts. More generally, this work points out that any river intervention should be pondered carefully accounting for its environmental impact also in terms of loss of river values.

Heat and water stress can drastically reduce crop yields, particularly when they co-occur, but their combined effects and the mitigating potential of irrigation have not been simultaneously assessed at the regional scale. We quantified the combined effects of temperature and precipitation on county-level maize and soybean yields from irrigated and rainfed cropping in the USA in 1970–2010, and estimated the yield changes due to expected future changes in temperature and precipitation. We hypothesized that yield reductions would be induced jointly by water and heat stress during the growing season, caused by low total precipitation (P_GS) and high mean temperatures (T_GS) over the whole growing season, or by many consecutive dry days (CDD_GS) and high mean temperature during such dry spells (T_CDD) within the season. Whole growing season (T_GS, P_GS) and intra-seasonal climatic indices (T_CDD, CDD_GS) had comparable explanatory power. Rainfed maize and soybean yielded least under warm and dry conditions over the season, and with longer dry spells and higher dry spell temperature. Yields were lost faster by warming under dry conditions, and by lengthening dry spells under warm conditions. For whole season climatic indices, maize yield loss per degree increase in temperature was larger in wet compared with dry conditions, and the benefit of increased precipitation greater under cooler conditions. The reverse was true for soybean. An increase of 2 °C in T_GS and no change in precipitation gave a predicted mean yield reduction across counties of 15.2% for maize and 27.6% for soybean. Irrigation alleviated both water and heat stresses, in maize even reverting the response to changes in temperature, but dependencies on temperature and precipitation remained. We provide carefully parameterized statistical models including interaction terms between temperature and precipitation to improve predictions of climate change effects on crop yield and context-dependent benefits of irrigation.