Meta-analysis reveals that the effects of precipitation change on soil and litter fauna in forests depend on body size.

Anthropogenic climate change is altering precipitation regimes at a global scale. While precipitation changes have been linked to changes in the abundance and diversity of soil and litter invertebrate fauna in forests, general trends have remained elusive due to mixed results from primary studies. We used a meta-analysis based on 430 comparisons from 38 primary studies to address associated knowledge gaps, (i) quantifying impacts of precipitation change on forest soil and litter fauna abundance and diversity, (ii) exploring reasons for variation in impacts and (iii) examining biases affecting the realism and accuracy of experimental studies. Precipitation reductions led to a decrease of 39% in soil and litter fauna abundance, with a 35% increase in abundance under precipitation increases, while diversity impacts were smaller. A statistical model containing an interaction between body size and the magnitude of precipitation change showed that mesofauna (e.g. mites, collembola) responded most to changes in precipitation. Changes in taxonomic richness were related solely to the magnitude of precipitation change. Our results suggest that body size is related to the ability of a taxon to survive under drought conditions, or to benefit from high precipitation. We also found that most experiments manipulated precipitation in a way that aligns better with predicted extreme climatic events than with predicted average annual changes in precipitation and that the experimental plots used in experiments were likely too small to accurately capture changes for mobile taxa. The relationship between body size and response to precipitation found here has far-reaching implications for our ability to predict future responses of soil biodiversity to climate change and will help to produce more realistic mechanistic soil models which aim to simulate the responses of soils to global change.

Convergence and divergence in science and practice of urban and rural forest restoration.

Forest restoration has never been higher on policymakers' agendas. Complex and multi-dimensional arrangements across the urban-rural continuum challenge restorationists and require integrative approaches to strengthen environmental protection and increase restoration outcomes. It remains unclear if urban and rural forest restoration are moving towards or away from each other in practice and research, and whether comparing research outcomes can help stakeholders to gain a clearer understanding of the interconnectedness between the two fields. This study aims to identify the challenges and opportunities for enhancing forest restoration in both urban and rural systems by reviewing the scientific evidence, engaging with key stakeholders and using an urban-rural forest restoration framework. Using the Society for Ecological Restoration's International Principles as discussion topics, we highlight aspects of convergence and divergence between the two fields to broaden our understanding of forest restoration and promote integrative management approaches to address future forest conditions. Our findings reveal that urban and rural forest restoration have convergent and divergent aspects. We emphasise the importance of tailoring goals and objectives to specific contexts and the need to design different institutions and incentives based on the social and ecological needs and goals of stakeholders in different regions. Additionally, we discuss the challenges of achieving high levels of ecological restoration and the need to go beyond traditional ecology to plan, implement, monitor, and adaptively manage restored forests. We suggest that rivers and watersheds could serve as a common ground linking rural and urban landscapes and that forest restoration could interact with other environmental protection measures. We note the potential for expanding the creative vision associated with increasing tree-containing environments in cities to generate more diverse and resilient forest restoration outcomes in rural settings. This study underscores the value of integrative management approaches in addressing future forest conditions across the urban-rural continuum. Our framework provides valuable insights for policymakers, researchers, and decision-makers to advance the field of forest restoration and address the challenges of restoration across the urban-rural continuum. The rural-urban interface serves as a convergence point for forest restoration, and both urban and rural fields can benefit from each other's expertise.

Investigation of Temperature Cycling with Coupled Vessels for Efficient Deracemization of NMPA.

Chiral compounds can exist as pairs of nonsuperimposable stereoisomers (enantiomers) possessing the same physical properties but interacting differently with biological systems. This makes them interesting materials to be explored by the pharmaceutical and food industries. In this study, to obtain pure enantiomers from their conglomerates, a method that involves using a two-vessel system for deracemization of N-(2-methylbenzylidene) phenylglycine amide (NMPA) was developed. In this method, a suspension was transferred with a pulsating pumping profile between two inter-connected stirred vessels that were set at constant temperatures. As the suspension was exposed to more rapid changes in temperature, it resulted in the speeding up of the process and thus enhancing productivity in comparison to a single vessel system. The results confirmed successful deracemization of NMPA. A modified pumping profile and tubing design eliminated the issue of clogging of the transfer tubes and ensured effective suspension transfer for longer durations. Operating parameters, such as initial enantiomeric excess, vessel residence time, and suspension density were also investigated. In this method, optimization of residence time was necessary to enhance the efficiency of the process further. Results confirmed that this methodology has the potential to be more adaptable and scalable as it involved no mechanical attrition.

Assessment of Near-Infrared and Raman Spectroscopy as Analytical Tools to Predict Viscosity of Ice Cream Mixes.

Ice cream is a complex product containing four different phases that affect its microstructure. Viscosity is a critical ice cream quality parameter that is typically measured using off-line methodologies, such as rheometry. In-line viscosity measurements allow continuous and instant analysis compared to off-line methodologies, yet they still constitute a challenge. This work focused on the preliminary study of the potential application of near-infrared (NIR) and Raman spectroscopy as analytical tools to assess the viscosity of ice cream mixes. Historically, partial least squares regression (PLSR) is a standard algorithm used for analysis of spectral data and in the development of predictive models. This methodology was implemented over a range of viscosity values, obtained by varying the ice cream fat content and homogenization conditions. Individual PLSR models showed some predictive ability and better performance compared to the integrated model obtained by data fusion. Lower prediction errors and higher coefficients of determination were obtained for NIR, making this technique more suitable based on model performance. However, other considerations should be accounted during the selection of the best method, such as implementation limitations. This study offers a preliminary comparison of the spectroscopic methods for quantitative analysis of viscosity of aged ice cream mixes and a starting point for an in-situ application study.

Design, Development, and Analysis of an Automated Sampling Loop for Online Monitoring of Chiral Crystallization.

Enantiomeric purity is of prime importance for several industries, specifically in the production of pharmaceuticals. Crystallization processes can be used to obtain pure enantiomers in a suitable solid form. However, some process variants inherently rely on kinetic enhancement (preferential crystallization) of the desired enantiomer or on complex interactions of several phenomena (e.g., attrition-enhanced deracemization and Viedma ripening). Thus, a process analytical technology able to measure the enantiomeric composition of both the solid phase and the liquid phase would be valuable to track and eventually control such processes. This study presents the design and development of a novel automated analytical monitoring system that achieves this. The designed setup tracks the enantiomeric excess (ee) using a continuous closed-loop sampling loop that is coupled to a polarimeter and an attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy spectrometer. By heating the loop and alternately sampling either the liquid or the suspension, the combination of these measurements allows tracking of the ee of both the liquid and the solid. This work demonstrates a proof of concept of both the experimental and theoretical aspects of the new system.

What is the Price of Conservation? A Review of the Status Quo and Recommendations for Improving Cost Reporting.

Wildlife conservation is severely limited by funding. Therefore, to maximize biodiversity outcomes, assessing financial costs of interventions is as important as assessing effectiveness. We reviewed the reporting of costs in studies testing the effectiveness of conservation interventions: 13.3% of the studies provided numeric costs, and 8.8% reported total costs. Even fewer studies broke down these totals into constituent costs, making it difficult to assess the relevance of costs to different contexts. Cost reporting differed between continents and the taxa or habitats targeted by interventions, with higher cost reporting in parts of the Global South. A further analysis of data focused on mammals identified that interventions related to agriculture, invasive species, transport, and residential development reported costs more frequently. We identify opportunities for conservationists to improve future practice through encouraging systematic reporting and collation of intervention costs, using economic evaluation tools, and increasing understanding and skills in finance and economics.

The biodiversity and ecosystem service contributions and trade-offs of forest restoration approaches.

Forest restoration is being scaled up globally to deliver critical ecosystem services and biodiversity benefits; however, there is a lack of rigorous comparison of cobenefit delivery across different restoration approaches. Through global synthesis, we used 25,950 matched data pairs from 264 studies in 53 countries to assess how delivery of climate, soil, water, and wood production services, in addition to biodiversity, compares across a range of tree plantations and native forests. Benefits of aboveground carbon storage, water provisioning, and especially soil erosion control and biodiversity are better delivered by native forests, with compositionally simpler, younger plantations in drier regions performing particularly poorly. However, plantations exhibit an advantage in wood production. These results underscore important trade-offs among environmental and production goals that policy-makers must navigate in meeting forest restoration commitments.

Reducing publication delay to improve the efficiency and impact of conservation science.

Evidence-based decision-making is most effective with comprehensive access to scientific studies. If studies face significant publication delays or barriers, the useful information they contain may not reach decision-makers in a timely manner. This represents a potential problem for mission-oriented disciplines where access to the latest data is required to ensure effective actions are undertaken. We sought to analyse the severity of publication delay in conservation science-a field that requires urgent action to prevent the loss of biodiversity. We used the Conservation Evidence database to assess the length of publication delay (time from finishing data collection to publication) in the literature that tests the effectiveness of conservation interventions. From 7,447 peer-reviewed and non-peer-reviewed studies of conservation interventions published over eleven decades, we find that the raw mean publication delay was 3.2 years (±2SD = 0.1) and varied by conservation subject. A significantly shorter delay was observed for studies focused on Bee Conservation, Sustainable Aquaculture, Management of Captive Animals, Amphibian Conservation, and Control of Freshwater Invasive Species (Estimated Marginal Mean range from 1.4-1.9 years). Publication delay was significantly shorter for the non-peer-reviewed literature (Estimated Marginal Mean delay of 1.9 years ± 0.2) compared to the peer-reviewed literature (i.e., scientific journals; Estimated Marginal Mean delay of 3.0 years ± 0.1). We found publication delay has significantly increased over time (an increase of ~1.2 years from 1912 (1.4 years ± 0.2) to 2020 (2.6 years ± 0.1)), but this change was much weaker and non-significant post-2000s; we found no evidence for any decline. There was also no evidence that studies on more threatened species were subject to a shorter delay-indeed, the contrary was true for mammals, and to a lesser extent for birds. We suggest a range of possible ways in which scientists, funders, publishers, and practitioners can work together to reduce delays at each stage of the publication process.

Tapping into non-English-language science for the conservation of global biodiversity.

The widely held assumption that any important scientific information would be available in English underlies the underuse of non-English-language science across disciplines. However, non-English-language science is expected to bring unique and valuable scientific information, especially in disciplines where the evidence is patchy, and for emergent issues where synthesising available evidence is an urgent challenge. Yet such contribution of non-English-language science to scientific communities and the application of science is rarely quantified. Here, we show that non-English-language studies provide crucial evidence for informing global biodiversity conservation. By screening 419,679 peer-reviewed papers in 16 languages, we identified 1,234 non-English-language studies providing evidence on the effectiveness of biodiversity conservation interventions, compared to 4,412 English-language studies identified with the same criteria. Relevant non-English-language studies are being published at an increasing rate in 6 out of the 12 languages where there were a sufficient number of relevant studies. Incorporating non-English-language studies can expand the geographical coverage (i.e., the number of 2° × 2° grid cells with relevant studies) of English-language evidence by 12% to 25%, especially in biodiverse regions, and taxonomic coverage (i.e., the number of species covered by the relevant studies) by 5% to 32%, although they do tend to be based on less robust study designs. Our results show that synthesising non-English-language studies is key to overcoming the widespread lack of local, context-dependent evidence and facilitating evidence-based conservation globally. We urge wider disciplines to rigorously reassess the untapped potential of non-English-language science in informing decisions to address other global challenges. Please see the Supporting information files for Alternative Language Abstracts.

Dynamic meta-analysis: a method of using global evidence for local decision making.

BACKGROUND: Meta-analysis is often used to make generalisations across all available evidence at the global scale. But how can these global generalisations be used for evidence-based decision making at the local scale, if the global evidence is not perceived to be relevant to local decisions? We show how an interactive method of meta-analysis-dynamic meta-analysis-can be used to assess the local relevance of global evidence. RESULTS: We developed Metadataset ( www.metadataset.com ) as a proof-of-concept for dynamic meta-analysis. Using Metadataset, we show how evidence can be filtered and weighted, and results can be recalculated, using dynamic methods of subgroup analysis, meta-regression, and recalibration. With an example from agroecology, we show how dynamic meta-analysis could lead to different conclusions for different subsets of the global evidence. Dynamic meta-analysis could also lead to a rebalancing of power and responsibility in evidence synthesis, since evidence users would be able to make decisions that are typically made by systematic reviewers-decisions about which studies to include (e.g. critical appraisal) and how to handle missing or poorly reported data (e.g. sensitivity analysis). CONCLUSIONS: In this study, we show how dynamic meta-analysis can meet an important challenge in evidence-based decision making-the challenge of using global evidence for local decisions. We suggest that dynamic meta-analysis can be used for subject-wide evidence synthesis in several scientific disciplines, including agroecology and conservation biology. Future studies should develop standardised classification systems for the metadata that are used to filter and weight the evidence. Future studies should also develop standardised software packages, so that researchers can efficiently publish dynamic versions of their meta-analyses and keep them up-to-date as living systematic reviews. Metadataset is a proof-of-concept for this type of software, and it is open source. Future studies should improve the user experience, scale the software architecture, agree on standards for data and metadata storage and processing, and develop protocols for responsible evidence use.

Robotic arm material characterisation using LIBS and Raman in a nuclear hot cell decommissioning environment.

Material characterisation in nuclear environments is an essential part of decommissioning processes. This paper explores the feasibility of deploying commercial off the shelf (COTS) laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) and Raman spectroscopy, for use in a decommissioning hot cell environment, to inform waste operation decision making. To operate these techniques, adapters and probes were designed and constructed, for each instrument, to form tools that a robotic arm could pick up and operate remotely from an isolated control room. The developed instrumentation successfully returned live measurement data to a control room for saving and further analysis (e.g. material classification/identification). Successful testing of the solutions was performed for contact LIBS, contact Raman and stand-off Raman on a PaR M3000 robotic arm, in a simulated hot cell environment and the limitations identified. Data obtained by the techniques are analysed, classified and presented in a 3D virtual environment. The spectral data collected by a basic COTS LIBS showed potential for use in contamination identification (beryllium is used as example). Potential for COTS, LIBS and Raman in decommissioning is established and improvements to the hardware, the measurement processes and how the data is stored and used, are identified.

The challenge of biased evidence in conservation.

Efforts to tackle the current biodiversity crisis need to be as efficient and effective as possible given chronic underfunding. To inform decision-makers of the most effective conservation actions, it is important to identify biases and gaps in the conservation literature to prioritize future evidence generation. We used the Conservation Evidence database to assess the state of the global literature that tests conservation actions for amphibians and birds. For the studies in the database, we investigated their spatial and taxonomic extent and distribution across biomes, effectiveness metrics, and study designs. Studies were heavily concentrated in Western Europe and North America for birds and particularly for amphibians, and temperate forest and grassland biomes were highly represented relative to their percentage of land coverage. Studies that used the most reliable study designs-before-after control-impact and randomized controlled trials-were the most geographically restricted and scarce in the evidence base. There were negative spatial relationships between the numbers of studies and the numbers of threatened and data-deficient species worldwide. Taxonomic biases and gaps were apparent for amphibians and birds-some entire orders were absent from the evidence base-whereas others were poorly represented relative to the proportion of threatened species they contained. Metrics used to evaluate effectiveness of conservation actions were often inconsistent between studies, potentially making them less directly comparable and evidence synthesis more difficult. Testing conservation actions on threatened species outside Western Europe, North America, and Australasia should be prioritized. Standardizing metrics and improving the rigor of study designs used to test conservation actions would also improve the quality of the evidence base for synthesis and decision-making.

El Desafío de la Evidencia Sesgada en la Conservación Resumen Los esfuerzos para lidiar con la actual crisis de la biodiversidad necesitan ser tan eficientes y efectivos como sea posible dado el crónico subfinanciamiento. Para informar a los órganos de decisión sobre las acciones de conservación más efectivas, es importante identificar los sesgos y las brechas en la literatura de la conservación para priorizar generación de evidencias en el futuro. Usamos la base de datos Conservation Evidence para evaluar el estado de la literatura mundial que analiza las acciones para la conservación de anfibios y aves. Para los estudios dentro de la base de datos, investigamos su extensión espacial y taxonómica y su distribución a lo largo de biomas, medidas de efectividad y diseños de estudio. Los estudios se concentraron principalmente en Europa Occidental y en América del Norte en el caso de las aves y particularmente para los anfibios. Los biomas con mayor representación en relación con su porcentaje de cobertura de suelo fueron el bosque templado y los pastizales. Los estudios que utilizaron el diseño más confiable - impacto del control antes- después y ensayos controlados al azar - fueron los que presentaron mayor restricción geográfica y menor presencia dentro de la base de evidencias. También encontramos relaciones espaciales negativas entre el número de estudios y el número de especies amenazadas o con pocos datos a nivel mundial. Los sesgos y las brechas taxonómicas fueron evidentes para los anfibios y las aves - hubo órdenes enteros ausentes en la base de evidencias - mientras que otros taxones estuvieron representados pobremente en relación con la proporción de especies amenazadas que albergan. Las medidas utilizadas para evaluar la efectividad de las acciones de conservación con frecuencia fueron incompatibles entre los estudios, lo que las hace potencialmente menos comparables directamente y también dificulta la síntesis de las evidencias. Se debe priorizar el análisis de las acciones para la conservación de las especies que se encuentran fuera de Europa Occidental, América del Norte y Australasia. La estandarización de las medidas y el mejoramiento del rigor de los diseños de estudio que se usan para evaluar las acciones de conservación también mejoraría la calidad de la base de evidencias para la síntesis y la toma de decisiones.

Implications of scale dependence for cross-study syntheses of biodiversity differences.

Biodiversity studies are sensitive to well-recognised temporal and spatial scale dependencies. Cross-study syntheses may inflate these influences by collating studies that vary widely in the numbers and sizes of sampling plots. Here we evaluate sources of inaccuracy and imprecision in study-level and cross-study estimates of biodiversity differences, caused by within-study grain and sample sizes, biodiversity measure, and choice of effect-size metric. Samples from simulated communities of old-growth and secondary forests demonstrated influences of all these parameters on the accuracy and precision of cross-study effect sizes. In cross-study synthesis by formal meta-analysis, the metric of log response ratio applied to measures of species richness yielded better accuracy than the commonly used Hedges' g metric on species density, which dangerously combined higher precision with persistent bias. Full-data analyses of the raw plot-scale data using multilevel models were also susceptible to scale-dependent bias. We demonstrate the challenge of detecting scale dependence in cross-study synthesis, due to ubiquitous covariation between replication, variance and plot size. We propose solutions for diagnosing and minimising bias. We urge that empirical studies publish raw data to allow evaluation of covariation in cross-study syntheses, and we recommend against using Hedges' g in biodiversity meta-analyses.

Quantifying and addressing the prevalence and bias of study designs in the environmental and social sciences.

Building trust in science and evidence-based decision-making depends heavily on the credibility of studies and their findings. Researchers employ many different study designs that vary in their risk of bias to evaluate the true effect of interventions or impacts. Here, we empirically quantify, on a large scale, the prevalence of different study designs and the magnitude of bias in their estimates. Randomised designs and controlled observational designs with pre-intervention sampling were used by just 23% of intervention studies in biodiversity conservation, and 36% of intervention studies in social science. We demonstrate, through pairwise within-study comparisons across 49 environmental datasets, that these types of designs usually give less biased estimates than simpler observational designs. We propose a model-based approach to combine study estimates that may suffer from different levels of study design bias, discuss the implications for evidence synthesis, and how to facilitate the use of more credible study designs.

Chemical vapour deposition of graphene on copper-nickel alloys: the simulation of a thermodynamic and kinetic approach.

Chemical vapour deposition (CVD) of graphene on transition metals is generally believed to be the fabrication route best suited for the production of high-quality large-area graphene sheets. The mechanism of CVD graphene growth is governed by interactions in both the gas phase and at the surface. Here we present a simulation of the CVD graphene growth mechanism which includes thermodynamics, gas phase kinetics and the surface reaction in a sequential manner. The thermodynamic simulation shows that the deposition driving force is the greatest for high carbon to hydrogen ratios and reaches a maximum at around 850 °C. No graphene growth is observed below this temperature. The surface kinetic model also shows that below this temperature, the carbon surface concentration is less than the solubility limit, thus no film can grow. The effect of the reaction chamber geometry on the product concentrations was clear from the gas phase decomposition reactions. The gas residence times studied here (around 0.07 s) show that the optimum gas phase composition is far from that expected at thermodynamic equilibrium. The surface kinetics of CH4 reactions on Ni, Cu and Cu-Ni surfaces shows good agreement with the experimental results for different growth pressures (0.1 to 0.7 mbar), temperatures (600 to 1200 °C) and different Ni thicknesses (25-500 µm). Also, the model works well when substrates with various C solubilities are used. The thermodynamic and kinetic models described here can be used for the design of improved reactors to optimise the production of graphene with differing qualities, either single or multi-layer and sizes. More importantly, the transfer to a continuous process with a moving substrate should also be possible using the model if it is extended from 2D to 3D.

Worldwide insect declines: An important message, but interpret with caution.

A recent paper claiming evidence of global insect declines achieved huge media attention, including claims of "insectaggedon" and a "collapse of nature." Here, we argue that while many insects are declining in many places around the world, the study has important limitations that should be highlighted. We emphasise the robust evidence of large and rapid insect declines present in the literature, while also highlighting the limitations of the original study.

A new analysis workflow for discrimination of nuclear grade graphite using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy.

Stand-off, in-situ, laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) offers a rapid, safe, and cost-effective method for discrimination of radioactive waste materials arising during the operation of nuclear plants and from decommissioning activities. Characterisation of waste materials is a critical activity in understanding the nature of the waste, ensuring hazardous material is managed safely and that waste can be segregated for reuse, recycle or sentenced for appropriate disposal. Characterisation of materials, often in hostile environments, requires the ability to remotely differentiate between materials in terms of their chemical composition and radioactivity. This proposition was tested using a case study on nuclear grade graphite. Graphite has been used extensively as a moderator material in many nuclear reactors. Internationally, over 250,000 tons of various nuclear-grade graphite, and graphite-bearing, materials exist. These are a major issue for nuclear decommissioning and radioactive waste management, due to the long half-lives of the associated 14C and 36Cl isotopes. LIBS offers a method for discrimination of nuclear grade graphites and other carbon and non-carbon-bearing wastes. This paper describes the development of a workflow method, including LIBS measurement analysis, for the discrimination of pre-irradiated nuclear 'Pile Grade A' (PGA) graphite moderator rod and domestic lumpwood charcoal, which act as surrogates for nuclear grade graphite and other carbon-bearing wastes. A new analysis workflow comprising the examination of spectral characteristics, multivariate analysis and molecular isotopic spectroscopy is proposed to enable rapid segregation of graphite from a heterogeneous waste stream. Enhanced characterisation techniques have the potential to significantly reduce the cost of decommissioning large parts of legacy nuclear generation plants.

Ten-year assessment of the 100 priority questions for global biodiversity conservation.

In 2008, a group of conservation scientists compiled a list of 100 priority questions for the conservation of the world's biodiversity. However, now almost a decade later, no one has yet published a study gauging how much progress has been made in addressing these 100 high-priority questions in the peer-reviewed literature. We took a first step toward reexamining the 100 questions to identify key knowledge gaps that remain. Through a combination of a questionnaire and a literature review, we evaluated each question on the basis of 2 criteria: relevance and effort. We defined highly relevant questions as those that - if answered - would have the greatest impact on global biodiversity conservation and quantified effort based on the number of review publications addressing a particular question, which we used as a proxy for research effort. Using this approach, we identified a set of questions that, despite being perceived as highly relevant, have been the focus of relatively few review publications over the past 10 years. These questions covered a broad range of topics but predominantly tackled 3 major themes: conservation and management of freshwater ecosystems, role of societal structures in shaping interactions between people and the environment, and impacts of conservation interventions. We believe these questions represent important knowledge gaps that have received insufficient attention and may need to be prioritized in future research.