A comparative approach for life history and functional response demonstrates similar survival strategies for Trichogramma evanescens and T. pintoi.

BACKGROUND: Egg parasitoids are important biological control agents of lepidopteran pests of agricultural crops. Trichogramma evanescens Westwood and T. pintoi Voegele (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) are egg parasitoids with worldwide importance. The parasitoid selection necessitates comparative assessment of the life table traits and functional response analysis to provide insights into their effectiveness in pest control. In this study, we examined their life table traits including survivorship and reproductivity, and functional response and associated parameters i.e., attack coefficient and handling time. RESULTS: Life table parameters, using age-stage, two-sex theory, revealed similar survival and reproductive strategies for both species. For example, the female longevity, oviposition days and fecundity did not differ between both species. Exceptionally, the male longevity of T. evanescens was shorter than that of T. pintoi. The population growth parameters such as gross reproductive rate (GRR), net reproductive rate (R0), intrinsic rate of increase (r), finite rate of increase (λ), and mean generation time (T) did not differ between species. The polynomial logistic regression yielded a type III functional response and a non-linear least square analysis revealed different attack coefficient and similar handling time. However, their parasitism rate differed between the lowest (five eggs) and highest (80 eggs) initial host egg densities such that T. evanescens had a lower parasitism rate at the lowest density and higher parasitism rate at the highest density. CONCLUSION: The similarity in survival strategies and minor differences in host handling of both parasitoids are discussed in terms of relevance to applied biological control applications and evolutionary traits. © 2024 The Author(s). Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

Acclimation to warmer temperatures can protect host populations from both further heat stress and the potential invasion of pathogens.

Thermal acclimation can provide an essential buffer against heat stress for host populations, while acting simultaneously on various life-history traits that determine population growth. In turn, the ability of a pathogen to invade a host population is intimately linked to these changes via the supply of new susceptible hosts, as well as the impact of warming on its immediate infection dynamics. Acclimation therefore has consequences for hosts and pathogens that extend beyond simply coping with heat stress-governing both population growth trajectories and, as a result, an inherent propensity for a disease outbreak to occur. The impact of thermal acclimation on heat tolerances, however, is rarely considered simultaneously with metrics of both host and pathogen population growth, and ultimately fitness. Using the host Daphnia magna and its bacterial pathogen, we investigated how thermal acclimation impacts host and pathogen performance at both the individual and population scales. We first tested the effect of maternal and direct thermal acclimation on the life-history traits of infected and uninfected individuals, such as heat tolerance, fecundity, and lifespan, as well as pathogen infection success and spore production. We then predicted the effects of each acclimation treatment on rates of host and pathogen population increase by deriving a host's intrinsic growth rate (rm) and a pathogen's basic reproductive number (R0). We found that direct acclimation to warming enhanced a host's heat tolerance and rate of population growth, despite a decline in life-history traits such as lifetime fecundity and lifespan. In contrast, pathogen performance was consistently worse under warming, with within-host pathogen success, and ultimately the potential for disease spread, severely hampered at higher temperatures. Our results suggest that hosts could benefit more from warming than their pathogens, but only by linking multiple individual traits to population processes can the full impact of higher temperatures on host and pathogen population dynamics be realised.

Effects of Submerged Macrophytes on Demography and Filtration Rates of Daphnia and Simocephalus (Crustacea: Cladocera).

Macrophytes and cladocerans represent the main antagonistic groups that regulate phytoplankton biomass; however, the mechanism behind this interaction is unclear. In laboratory conditions, we separately evaluated the effects of three submerged macrophytes (Ceratophyllum demersum, Myriophyllum aquaticum, and Stuckenia pectinata), as well as their exudates, and plant-associated microbiota (POM < 25 µm) + exudates on the population growth of Daphnia cf. pulex and Simocephalus cf. mixtus. Living Ceratophyllum, exudates, and POM < 25 µm + exudates exhibited the most robust positive effects on Simocephalus density and the rate of population increase (r). Subsequently, we examined the effects of Ceratophyllum on the filtration and feeding rates of Simocephalus and Daphnia, revealing significant (p < 0.001) promotion of filtration and feeding in Simocephalus but not in Daphnia. To elucidate the specific effects of this macrophyte on Simocephalus demography, we assessed selected life table variables across the same treatments. The treatments involving exudates and living Ceratophyllum resulted in approximately 40% longer survivorship and significantly (p < 0.01) enhanced fecundity. Our findings indicate that exudates from submerged macrophytes positively influence Simocephalus demography by increasing filtration rates, survivorship, and fecundity. This synergy suggests a substantial impact on phytoplankton abundance.

A framework for understanding climate change impacts through non-compensatory intra- and interspecific climate change responses.

Understanding and predicting population responses to climate change is a crucial challenge. A key component of population responses to climate change are cases in which focal biological rates (e.g., population growth rates) change in response to climate change due to non-compensatory effects of changes in the underlying components (e.g., birth and death rates) determining the focal rates. We refer to these responses as non-compensatory climate change effects. As differential responses of biological rates to climate change have been documented in a variety of systems and arise at multiple levels of organization within and across species, non-compensatory effects may be nearly ubiquitous. Yet, how non-compensatory climate change responses combine and scale to influence the demographics of populations is often unclear and requires mapping them to the birth and death rates underlying population change. We provide a flexible framework for incorporating non-compensatory changes in upstream rates within and among species and mapping their consequences for additional downstream rates across scales to their eventual effects on population growth rates. Throughout, we provide specific examples and potential applications of the framework. We hope this framework helps to enhance our understanding of and unify research on population responses to climate change.

National Population Growth Rate, Its Components, and Subnational Contributions: A Research Note.

A population's current growth rate is determined jointly by changes in fertility, mortality, and migration. This overall growth rate is also the average of age-specific growth rates, which can be decomposed into the result of historical changes in fertility, mortality, and migration. However, doing so requires more than 100 years of historical data, meaning that such analyses are possible only in a select few populations. In this research note, we propose an adapted version of the variable-r model to measure contributions to the population growth rate for countries with shorter demographic series. In addition, we extend this model to explore the contribution of subnational changes to the national population growth rate. Our results demonstrate that the age-specific growth rates obtained from short historical series, say 25 years, closely match those of the longer series. These abbreviated age-specific growth rates closely resemble the growth rate at birth of their respective cohorts, which is the major determinant of population growth, except at older ages where mortality becomes the main explanatory element. Exploring subnational populations, we find considerable heterogeneity in the age profile of the components of growth and find that the most populous regions tend to have an outsized impact on national-level growth.

Study of biocapacity areas to reduce ecological footprint deficits: A case study of Turkey.

Our world has had difficulty meeting humans' needs in recent years. To ensure that the world can sustain its inhabitability and self-sufficiency in terms of natural resources, it is required to make the total amount of biocapacity areas equal to or higher than the ecological footprint. An analytical study has been carried out to remedy the biocapacity deficit by utilizing this information for Turkey and then these areas are optimized with heuristic optimization techniques. As a result, Artificial Bee Colony provides better objective function results (fewer errors) compared to Particle Swarm Optimization and Global Optimization Method Based on Clustering and Parabolic Approximation in terms of minimum, maximum, average value, and standard deviation. The rates of change according to the current situation of the biocapacity areas in 2016 are 277.97 %, 30.28 %, -29.28 %, 14.97 %, and -44.85 % for cropland, grazing land, forestland, fishing grounds, and built-up land, respectively. Depending on the population growth, these rates should additionally change by 83.24 %, -0.69 %, 3.97 %, 6.22 %, and -14.24 % respectively in 2050. The developed model can be used in industry or within the frame of government development policy and thus the balance between ecological footprint and biocapacity can be kept under control.

Navigating Nigeria's Health Landscape: Population Growth and Its Health Implications.

This comprehensive analysis examines the multifaceted impacts of population growth on public health in Nigeria. Drawing parallels with Omran's epidemiological transition model (that focuses on the intricate means that patterns of health and illness are changing, as well as the relationships that exist between these patterns and the sociological, demographic, and economic factors that influence them) and referencing experiences from Chile and Ceylon. The study highlights a substantial rise in Nigeria's population causing a double burden of infectious and non-communicable diseases, leading to higher morbidity, and mortality rates, increased healthcare costs, decreased productivity, and health inequalities, posing significant challenges to the country's healthcare system. Furthermore, the correlation between low education levels and health outcomes underscores the importance of addressing systemic deficiencies in Nigeria's educational sector. The article emphasizes the urgent need for strategic interventions to mitigate the adverse effects of population growth on health. Recommendations include revitalizing primary healthcare centers, fostering public-private partnerships to enhance healthcare accessibility, leveraging technological advancements like telemedicine, and promoting initiatives to improve nutrition and environmental sustainability. Moreover, prioritizing education on reproductive health and family planning emerges as a crucial strategy to manage population growth sustainably. In conclusion, the article underscores the imperative for collaborative efforts across sectors to navigate Nigeria's evolving health landscape amidst increasing population growth. By implementing targeted policies and interventions, Nigeria can strive toward achieving universal health coverage, enhancing health outcomes, and ultimately raising the standard of living for its populace.

Faster-growing parasites threaten host populations via patch-level population dynamics and higher virulence; a case study in Varroa mites (Mesostigmata: Varroidae) and honey bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae).

Honey bee parasites remain a critical challenge to management and conservation. Because managed honey bees are maintained in colonies kept in apiaries across landscapes, the study of honey bee parasites allows the investigation of spatial principles in parasite ecology and evolution. We used a controlled field experiment to study the relationship between population growth rate and virulence (colony survival) of the parasite Varroa destructor (Anderson and Trueman). We used a nested design of 10 patches (apiaries) of 14 colonies to examine the spatial scale at which Varroa population growth matters for colony survival. We tracked Varroa population size and colony survival across a full year and found that Varroa populations that grow faster in their host colonies during the spring and summer led to larger Varroa populations across the whole apiary (patch) and higher rates of neighboring colony loss. Crucially, this increased colony loss risk manifested at the patch scale, with mortality risk being related to spatial adjacency to colonies with fast-growing Varroa strains rather than with Varroa growth rate in the colony itself. Thus, within-colony population growth predicts whole-apiary virulence, demonstrating the need to consider multiple scales when investigating parasite growth-virulence relationships.

Assessing future intra-basin water availability in madagascar: Accounting for climate change, population growth, and land use change.

The Major River Basins in Madagascar (MRBM) play a crucial role in providing water to the Malagasy population as well as the ecosystem. Little is known about the impact of climate change on these basins, and it is not clear what factors have the most significant impact on them. There are two central objectives of this study: 1. To assess the future potential water available for daily life and agriculture use across the MRBM. 2. To compare the projected change within the MRBM with the historical trends analysis and identify the water-stressed basins. In this paper, a new method for assessing the future available Intra-basin water resources combined with the impacts of climate change, land use, and population is proposed. Three imbalance indicators are introduced to quantify the spatial availability (indicator N°1), distribution (indicator N°2), and variability (indicator N°3) of the Potential Water Resources (PWR) available and have been applied to the MRBM. Under the SSP2-4.5 scenario, results showed a decreasing trend of the PWR in most of the basins by 2050 with a rise in evapotranspiration and a decline in precipitation. The increasing trend and uneven distribution of the population and agricultural land upstream/downstream are found to cause the reduction of the PWR available per capita (by 37 %) and agriculture area (by 69 %) across the MRBM. This study predicts water scarcity for most of the basins by 2050, especially in the Mangoro and Onilahy Basins. Upstream populations are expected to grow in Mahajamba, Mahavavy, Betsiboka, Manambolo, Tsiribihina, Mangoro, Onilahy, Mananara, and Mandrare basins, along with an expansion of the downstream agricultural land in Sofia, Betsiboka, Manambolo, Mangoky, and Mandrare basins. These findings enhance the cause-effect relationship between climate change, land use change, population growth, and water scarcity in the MRBM. Urgent action is therefore needed for an efficient and sustainable management of these water-stressed basins.

"My Mother Persuaded Me to Have More Children", Understanding the Influence of Social Network on Fertility Behavior in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Introduction: Despite the adoption of an antenatal demographic transition model in sub-Saharan Africa, population growth continues to soar in the region. The reasons for population growth are nebulous and should be approached from different perspectives. Inadequate attention has been paid to how social pressures shape reproductive behavior. Thus, this study examines the association between social networks and fertility behavior in sub-Saharan Africa. Methods: This study used a cross-sectional design that employed a qualitative method to conduct 28 in-depth interviews among married women. Data was collected in 2023. Thematic analyses were utilized to interpret the results. Results: Parental pressure, the desire for more children, the desire for male children, values placed on children, norms, and pronatalist culture were associated with high fertility in sub-Saharan Africa. Conclusions: Thus, there is a need for more awareness of family planning and contraceptive use in order to reduce fertility in sub-Saharan Africa.

Warming and altered precipitation independently and interactively suppress alpine soil microbial growth in a decadal-long experiment.

Warming and precipitation anomalies affect terrestrial carbon balance partly through altering microbial eco-physiological processes (e.g., growth and death) in soil. However, little is known about how such processes responds to simultaneous regime shifts in temperature and precipitation. We used the 18O-water quantitative stable isotope probing approach to estimate bacterial growth in alpine meadow soils of the Tibetan Plateau after a decade of warming and altered precipitation manipulation. Our results showed that the growth of major taxa was suppressed by the single and combined effects of temperature and precipitation, eliciting 40-90% of growth reduction of whole community. The antagonistic interactions of warming and altered precipitation on population growth were common (~70% taxa), represented by the weak antagonistic interactions of warming and drought, and the neutralizing effects of warming and wet. The members in Solirubrobacter and Pseudonocardia genera had high growth rates under changed climate regimes. These results are important to understand and predict the soil microbial dynamics in alpine meadow ecosystems suffering from multiple climate change factors.

Global population: from Super-Malthus behavior to Doomsday criticality.

The report discusses global population changes from the Holocene beginning to 2023, via two Super Malthus (SM) scaling equations. SM-1 is the empowered exponential dependence: P t = P 0 e x p ± t / τ ß , and SM-2 is the Malthus-type relation with the time-dependent growth rate r ( t ) or relaxation time τ ( t ) = 1 / r ( t ) : P t = P 0 e x p r t × t = P 0 e x p τ t / t . Population data from a few sources were numerically filtered to obtain a 'smooth' dataset, allowing the distortions-sensitive and derivative-based analysis. The test recalling SM-1 equation revealed the essential transition near the year 1970 (population: ~ 3 billion): from the compressed exponential behavior ( ß > 1 ) to the stretched exponential one ( ß < 1 ). For SM-2 dependence, linear changes of τ T during the Industrial Revolutions period, since ~ 1700, led to the constrained critical behavior P t = P 0 e x p b ' t / T C - t , where T C ≈ 2216 is the extrapolated year of the infinite population. The link to the 'hyperbolic' von Foerster Doomsday equation is shown. Results are discussed in the context of complex systems physics, the Weibull distribution in extreme value theory, and significant historic and prehistoric issues revealed by the distortions-sensitive analysis.

Analysis of population distribution for anticipating radiological consequences of nuclear power plant program in West Kalimantan.

The potential establishment of a nuclear power plant (NPP) in the West Kalimantan is under consideration to address low electrification rates. This research assesses the demographic characteristics and population growth in the vicinity of the proposed NPP site in West Kalimantan. The investigation focuses on demographic aspects, population density, and anticipated growth during the operational phase of the reactor. The study area encompasses districts within a 25 km radius of the site. Employing a descriptive quantitative approach, this research integrates verified population data and utilizes spatial and temporal analysis. The exponential method is employed to forecast population growth throughout the operational lifespan of the reactor, to anticipate population increases in around NPP site. Reactor operation has potential radiological consequences. Results reveal that the suggested NPP site adheres to regulations concerning population density away from densely populated areas. Projected population growth is notable in specific regions, necessitating monitoring and policy attention. A gender-specific analysis highlights the higher female populations, with sensitivity to radiation exposure. These findings offer essential information for evaluating the radiological impact of the NPP on the population, so meeting NPP siting requirements. The study contributes valuable insights for decision-making regarding NPP development and safety considerations in West Kalimantan.

Unclear relationships between mean survival rate and its environmental variance in vertebrates.

Current environmental changes may increase temporal variability of life history traits of species thus affecting their long-term population growth rate and extinction risk. If there is a general relationship between environmental variances (EVs) and mean annual survival rates of species, that relationship could be used as a guideline for analyses of population growth and extinction risk for populations, where data on EVs are missing. For this purpose, we present a comprehensive compilation of 252 EV estimates from 89 species belonging to five vertebrate taxa (birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians and fish) covering mean annual survival rates from 0.01 to 0.98. Since variances of survival rates are constrained by their means, particularly for low and high mean survival rates, we assessed whether any observed relationship persisted after applying two types of commonly used variance stabilizing transformations: relativized EVs (observed/mathematical maximum) and logit-scaled EVs. With raw EVs at the arithmetic scale, mean-variance relationships of annual survival rates were hump-shaped with small EVs at low and high mean survival rates and higher (and widely variable) EVs at intermediate mean survival rates. When mean annual survival rates were related to relativized EVs the hump-shaped pattern was less distinct than for raw EVs. When transforming EVs to logit scale the relationship between mean annual survival rates and EVs largely disappeared. The within-species juvenile-adult slopes were mainly positive at low (<0.5) and negative at high (>0.5) mean survival rates for raw and relativized variances while these patterns disappeared when EVs were logit transformed. Uncertainties in how to interpret the results of relativized and logit-scaled EVs, and the observed high variation in EV's for similar mean annual survival rates illustrates that extrapolations of observed EVs and tests of life history drivers of survival-EV relationships need to also acknowledge the large variation in these parameters.

Retrospective analysis of the main feedstocks for animal feed in the world: How the green revolution has affected their environmental performance over the last 60 years, from 1961 to 2021.

At the end of the 1950s, studies began to create high-yield cultivars with the aim of increasing the supply of basic foods in the world, this action was called "green evolution". It was associated with the increase in the use of inputs to increase production levels, leading agriculture to a possible increase in environmental impacts and "harmful habits" of management. To characterize the historical damage of this action, it is necessary to use methods that generate universal results, capable of representing the world. Then, we use Life cycle assessment (LCA) to estimate the historical evolution of the environmental impacts of the two main feedstock for feed in the world, soybeans, and corn, from 1961 to 2021. To better understand the variation in their impacts, we consider the change in agricultural management when we use as a functional unit the amount of area needed to produce 1 kg of grain. Although emissions and impacts from agriculture, by area, have increased each decade, when considering productivity through the area/production ratio, we note that a number of emissions were avoided, along with impacts in all categories evaluated. Therefore, the development and use of technologies that modify the area/production ratio can contribute to avoiding environmental impacts.

The impact of boldness on demographic rates and life-history outcomes in the wandering albatross.

Differences among individuals within a population are ubiquitous. Those differences are known to affect the entire life cycle with important consequences for all demographic rates and outcomes. One source of among-individual phenotypic variation that has received little attention from a demographic perspective is animal personality, which is defined as consistent and heritable behavioural differences between individuals. While many studies have shown that individual variation in individual personality can generate individual differences in survival and reproductive rates, the impact of personality on all demographic rates and outcomes remains to be assessed empirically. Here, we used a unique, long-term, dataset coupling demography and personality of wandering albatross (Diomedea exulans) in the Crozet Archipelago and a comprehensive analysis based on a suite of approaches (capture-mark-recapture statistical models, Markov chains models and structured matrix population models). We assessed the effect of boldness on annual demographic rates (survival, breeding probability, breeding success), life-history outcomes (life expectancy, lifetime reproductive outcome, occupancy times), and an integrative demographic outcome (population growth rate). We found that boldness had little impact on female demographic rates, but was very likely associated with lower breeding probabilities in males. By integrating the effects of boldness over the entire life cycle, we found that bolder males had slightly lower lifetime reproductive success compared to shyer males. Indeed, bolder males spent a greater proportion of their lifetime as non-breeders, which suggests longer inter-breeding intervals due to higher reproductive allocation. Our results reveal that the link between boldness and demography is more complex than anticipated by the pace-of-life literature and highlight the importance of considering the entire life cycle with a comprehensive approach when assessing the role of personality on individual performance and demography.

Chronic Effects of an Insect Growth Regulator (teflubenzuron) on the Life Cycle and Population Growth Rate of Folsomia candida.

Current standard toxicity tests on nontarget soil invertebrates mainly focus on the endpoints survival and reproduction. Such results are likely insufficient to predict effects at higher organizational levels, for example, the population level. We assessed the effects of exposure to the pesticide teflubenzuron on the collembolan Folsomia candida, by performing a full life-cycle experiment exposing single individuals via contaminated food (uncontaminated control and 0.2, 0.32, 0.48, 0.72, 1.08, and 1.6 mg/kg dry yeast). Several life-history traits were considered by following the growth and development of newly hatched individuals over a period of 65 days. We assessed survival, body length, time to first oviposition, cumulative egg production, and hatchability of eggs. A two-stage model was applied to calculate the population growth rate (λ) combined with elasticity analysis to reveal the relative sensitivity of λ to the effects of teflubenzuron on each life-history parameter. Body length was the least sensitive life-history parameter (median effective concentration = 1.10 mg teflubenzuron/kg dry yeast) followed by time to first oviposition (0.96 mg/kg), survival (median lethal concentration = 0.87 mg/kg), cumulative egg production (0.32 mg/kg), and egg hatchability (0.27 mg/kg). Population growth decreased with increasing concentrations of teflubenzuron (λ = 1.162/day in control to 1.005/day in 0.72 mg/kg dry yeast, with populations going extinct at 1.08 and 1.6 mg/kg dry yeast). Elasticity analysis showed that changes in juvenile survival had a greater impact on the population growth rate compared with the other life-history traits. Our study provides a comprehensive overview of individual-level effects of long-term exposure to teflubenzuron and integrates these effects to assess the potential risk to collembolan populations. Environ Toxicol Chem 2024;43:1173-1183. © 2024 The Authors. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of SETAC.

Examining Innovative Technologies: Nano-Chelated Fertilizers for Management of Wheat Aphid (Schizaphis graminum Rondani).

The use of nanofertilizers has both advantages and concerns. One benefit is that nano-fertilizers can enhance plant resistance against insect pests, making them a valuable strategy in integrated pest management (IPM). This study focused on the effect of wheat leaves treated with nano-chelated fertilizers and nitrogen (N) fertilizer on the wheat aphid (Schizaphis graminum Rondani), a harmful pest of wheat plants that transmits dangerous viruses. The nano-Cu treatment showed the longest pre-adult longevity. Additionally, the nano-Cu treatment resulted in the lowest adult longevity, fecundity, nymphoposition day number, intrinsic rate of population growth (r), finite rate of population increase (λ), and net reproductive rate (R0) and gross reproductive rate (GRR). Also, nano-Cu treatment led to the highest amount of (T). The N treatment led to the highest levels of fecundity, nymphoposition days, r, λ, and R0. Nano-Fe and nano-Zn demonstrated fewer negative effects on S. graminum life table parameters than nano-Cu. Our results indicate that N treatment yielded numerous advantageous effects on the wheat aphid while simultaneously impeding the efficacy of the aphid control program. Conversely, nano-Cu treatment exhibited a detrimental influence on various parameters of the aphid's life table, resulting in a reduction in the pest's fitness. Consequently, the integration of nano-Cu should be seriously considered as a viable option in the IPM of the wheat aphid.

The effect of gradually lifting the two-child policy on demographic changes in China.

Low-fertility rate has been a common problem in many industrialized countries. To reverse the declining trend of new births, Chinese government gradually lifted its restrictions on the number of births per family, allowing for a household to have no more than two children. Little is known about the additional births or population increase contributed by the gradual relaxation of birth restrictions. To fill this gap, this quasi-experimental design study including data from 124 regions used the synthetic control method and controlled interrupted time series analysis to evaluate the differences in birth rates and rates of natural population increase between China and its synthetic control following implementation of the two-child policy from 2011 to 2020. A total of 123 regions were included in the control pool. Data collected during 1990-2010 were used to identify the synthetic China for each study outcome. The mean rate differences of birth rates and rates of natural increase between China and synthetic China after two-child policy implementation were 1.16 per 1000 population and 1.02 per 1000, respectively. These rate differences were distinguished from variation due to chance (one-sided pseudo-P-values: P for birth rates = 0.047, P for rates of natural increase = 0.020). However, there were statistically significant annual reductions in the pre-post trend of birth rates and rates of natural increase compared with those of controls of <0.340 per 1000 population per year [P = 0.007, 95% CI = (-0.584, -0.096)] and <0.274 per 1000 per year [P = 0.028, 95% CI = (-0.518, -0.031)]. The results suggested that lifting birth restrictions had a short-term effect on the increase in birth rates and rates of natural population increase. However, birth policy with lifting birth restrictions alone may not have sustained impact on population growth in the long run.

From desolation to preservation: Investigating longitudinal trends in forest coverage and implications for future environmental strategies.

Pakistan's forest cover is experiencing significant degradation in the ongoing efforts to combat climate change. The current state of the climate catastrophe is acknowledged. Nevertheless, there is a significant lack of readiness to tackle it effectively, especially regarding safeguarding the welfare of forthcoming generations. Pakistan bears significant relevance for future generations in this global crisis. The primary objective of this study is to examine the environmental difficulties faced by Pakistan and emphasize the critical need to safeguard its natural resources, considering the well-being of present and future generations. By using rigorous correlation and robust least squares regression methods, we investigate the complex interplay of financial aid, environmental legislation, precipitation, population growth, foreign direct investment, and afforestation within the time frame spanning from 1990 to 2022. The findings demonstrate that providing financial aid for afforestation initiatives significantly expands forested areas in Pakistan. Furthermore, the expansion of the population, the implementation of rigorous environmental restrictions, and the yearly amount of precipitation all play a role in the augmentation of forest coverage in Pakistan. Nevertheless, an alarming pattern of diminishing forest coverage over the years presents noteworthy obstacles. The importance of governance in promoting afforestation initiatives and sustainable development is highlighted by the emergence of adequate regulatory quality as a key factor. The average amount of precipitation has a discernible beneficial influence, underscoring the significance of climatic factors. The results above emphasize the need to implement cautious water resource management strategies and regulations responsive to climatic conditions. Based on these observations, the study proposes promoting sustainable agricultural and forest management, adopting a well-balanced strategy towards population expansion, implementing regulatory changes, and prudent use of water resources.