The biochemical effects of trees may significantly influence local pedogenesis as well as pedocomplexity, biodiversity and forest dynamics on both stand and landscape scales. One such effect is the decay of tree trunks, which is driven by organisms, and especially by the microbiome. Decomposition modifies soil formation, which due to the existence of many feedbacks affects the composition of the decomposer community.
Soil organic matter (OM) stratification and macro and micro fauna are both good indicators for the evaluation of soil ecological functioning, which is interrelated with nutrient cycles. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, responses of the degree of OM stratification with soil depth expressed as a ratio, and belowground biota to forest degradation and land cover changes have received little attention, particularly in northern Iran.
Background: Fruits and vegetables are an excellent source of nutrients, with numerous health benefits. Most consumers are not meeting the daily recommended intake of fruits and vegetables. Yet, a significant amount of fruits and vegetables that is produced is wasted. There are opportunities to recover the wasted fruits and vegetables for manufacturing value-added products to improve the sustainability of healthy diets and reduce the environmental footprint.
Evaluations of food, energy and water (FEW) linkages are rapidly emerging in contemporary nexus studies. This paper demonstrates, from a food consumption perspective, the potential of life cycle thinking in understanding the complex and often “hidden” linkages between FEW systems. Our study evaluates the upstream virtual water and embodied energy in food consumption in the Tamar catchment, South West England, distinguishing between domestic production and imports origin.
Sustainable use and management of nutrients is an important issue for food, energy and water systems. The close connections between the three systems, reflected by the “nexus” concept, warrant an integrated approach to nutrients management across the nexus. In this paper, dynamic modelling of nutrient flows in a local food-energy-water system is presented and applied to a simplified case study.
Nutrient recycling has been practiced for thousands of years in China to maintain food production without environmental pollution. In the past three decades, however, the traditional nutrient recycling systems have been replaced with waste treatment systems, which have resulted in rapid and severe environmental pollution.
This study sought to assess the relationship between regulatory and educational approaches to nutrient management and homeowner behaviors, perceptions, and knowledge of best management practices (BMPs). Fertilizers, and pesticides applied in excess by homeowners and landscapers can impair stormwater ponds and cause nuisance algae blooms, eutrophication and fish kills. They can also affect water quality in downstream creeks, and bays.
Among the tools used to measure sustainability in aquaculture, sets of indicators allow a holistic view of a system in its social, environmental, and economic dimensions. Approaches that align indicators with models such as the Drivers-Pressure-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) framework can improve understanding of this sustainability. This study evaluated the sustainability of cage production systems for Nile tilapia in the Santa Cruz Reservoir, to determine whether a set of indicators used with the DPSIR conceptual model was effective to study the sustainability of the system.
