Anthropocene Science最新文献

This article used bibliometric analysis and uncovered salient features of literature published in the twenty-first century focusing on river health assessment (RHA). We analysed 509 articles related to RHA obtained from the Web of Science (WoS) database from 2002 to 2024. The Bibliometrix package was used in RStudio software for the analysis of several publication characteristics viz. productivity, countries, country collaboration, journals, trending topics, and keyword co-occurrences. Results indicated a steep growth in total publications over the past 23 years. The Republic of China took the top rank out of 25 countries, followed by the USA and India. The largest collaborative research was done by scientists from China, the USA and Iran. The analysis highlighted a concentration of research outputs on river health in various journals, reflecting significant recognition of this area within the scientific community. The results revealed that the majority of RHA investigations have used physico-chemical parameters, but recent years have seen an increased emphasis on using biological factors to assess river health. However, geo-morphological, hydrological, and habitat-based parameters remain underutilized in RHAs. To achieve a comprehensive RHA, it is essential to include these parameters alongside indicators based on ecosystem services and people’s perception. This analysis would assist scientists, policymakers, and river managers by providing a holistic approach and facilitating the development of adequate policies and multifaceted management strategies for riverine ecosystems.

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As the world's population continues to surge, the earth's ecological limits are being stretched. Some of the major threats to habitability stem from the pursuit of perpetual economic growth, and power struggles among nations, leading to ecological and social destruction and ongoing crises. A shift toward wiser earth management could enhance habitability through collective strategies within a global political framework. Key components include adopting renewable energy, limiting ecological footprints, fostering clean prosperity, and promoting peaceful coexistence among nations. Our survival hinges on embracing cooperative security and transitioning toward a collective approach to governance, redirecting resources from militarization toward protection of the global commons. This necessitates international collaboration and democratic participation across temporal and spatial scales, facilitated by a UN-led framework. We believe science should play a crucial role in developing common strategies for a viable world, contingent upon decision-makers prioritizing global cooperation over narrow short-term self-interest. Scientists and policymakers can work together, creating more viable futures through international cooperation and a move away from violence. Moreover, citizens have an important role to play by changing their lifestyles and supporting measures mentioned in this paper.

The study aims to advance the understanding of different stakeholders  about the sustainable intensification in India by assessing current cropping systems, analyzing the effects of intensification, comparing traditional and intensified systems, suggesting alternative cropping systems, and providing evidence-based policy recommendations to promote environmentally responsible agricultural practices. Globally, agroecosystems face serious environmental issues, which poses a significant challenge to achieving human food security. The world population is increasing at the rate of 1.3% while per capita effective cultivated land decreases at the rate of 0.55% per annum. The task is much more daunting in South Asia, especially in India, where annual population growth is ~2%. Hence, there is minimal scope to expand cropland to accommodate the food requirement of ever-increasing population. So, there is a need to increase the cropping frequency on the given piece of land for a definite period in sustainable manner. Intensive cropping systems have substantially increased energy use, fertilizer, and other input consumption, which causes environmental degradation and reduces agricultural sustainability. Thus, sustainable intensification is crucial for enhancing farm production, food security, agrobiodiversity, and ecological sustainability in India. Currently, the cropping intensity of India is ~143% this indicates that there is considerable scope to increase the cropping intensity through sustainable intensification, which can potentially cater to the nutritious food requirement of an ever-increasing population without compromising the environmental sustainability. Sustainable intensification is a robust substitution of traditional cropping systems to produce more food with lesser ecological footprints. This review aims to update the information on the areas under dominant cropping systems of India and the impact of cropping system intensification on food production, soil health, environmental quality, and economic returns and suggest alternative cropping systems for enhancing food production and achieving sustainable development goals. The outcome of this article will also be useful for the academicians and policy developers to plan a robust road map for environmentally sound, soil-supportive, and productive agricultural production planning in India. This study will expand the current understanding of the researchers and policy planners, which will backstop the cropping system research and planning in the country to achieve India’s Bonn challenges and COP-26 commitments besides achieving environmental sustainability, zero hunger, and cleaner production targets.

Sustainability means perpetuating the living conditions on our planet. All living conditions, no one excluded, are produced by ecosystem services, including the environmental stability and the physiological equilibrium that protect our health. Nature perpetuates these ecosystem services by spontaneously regenerating the biosphere. A corollary of these enunciations is that there cannot be sustainability without regeneration or, in other words, that sustainability is just regeneration. It is, therefore, urgent to address and quantify the regenerative capacity of the planet, which is the difference between the net primary production and human extraction of resources. Natural capital depletion is also a cause of poverty and inequality, due to its impacts on food security and on the economy in general. A second corollary of our diagnosis is that, due to its multisystem complexity—economic, social and environmental—sustainability must be managed with a systemic approach; in other words, it cannot be managed from a reductionist angle. The paper is structured in sections that address the transition from Holocene to Anthropocene and its implications, i.e. the fact that a clear-cut distinction between nature and culture no longer holds, while humans need to support the regeneration of lost natural capital. Then a section follows that addresses the close links between the social crisis (increasing inequalities) and the environmental crisis, and explains why any attempt to regenerate lost ecosystem services requires also action to fight inequalities and improve well-being of all. An analysis of the deep drivers of the environmental and social crisis is followed by a conceptual discussion of regeneration and its relationships with sustainability. This leads to the formulation of some proposals for a regenerative commitment of society, including in particular entrepreneurs and scientists, in the form of a Manifesto with five policy recommendations.

The plant–soil microbiome, comprising diverse microbial communities, holds immense potential for transforming agricultural practices and addressing climate challenges. Understanding and harnessing these microbial interactions can enhance soil and plant health, improve resource-use efficiency, and boost crop productivity. In this article, I have discussed the critical role of microbiome bioprospecting in advancing sustainable agriculture and the circular bioeconomy. The multifaceted benefits of microbiome research, including its implications for human health, ecosystem functioning, and environmental remediation, were presented. I have highlighted various strategies for microbiome manipulation and their potential applications in sustainable agrobiome management and examined the connections between microbiome bioprospecting and circular bioeconomy, exploring areas such as soil ecosystem enrichment, biomass valorization, bioremediation, biorefinery processes, and the development of microbial inoculants and biopesticides. The direct benefits of microbiome-enriched soils for farming communities are outlined, emphasizing increased productivity, reduced input costs, and new market opportunities. Further, I have concluded by underscoring the transformative potential of microbiome research in driving sustainable agricultural practices and fostering a circular bioeconomy. It calls for interdisciplinary collaboration and continued research to fully leverage microbial communities for innovative applications in agriculture and beyond, paving the way for a more sustainable and resource-efficient future in food production and environmental stewardship.

The Anthropocene, marked by human-driven environmental changes, faces a critical challenge of plastic pollution. This global issue highlights the extensive impact humans have on the environment, exemplifying the era’s defining characteristics. In the contemporary world, the issue of plastic pollution has escalated into a formidable environmental crisis, posing severe threats to ecosystems, wildlife, and human health. The ubiquity and persistence of plastic in the environment have raised concerns globally, prompting urgent calls for sustainable solutions. This article discusses the environmental threats posed by plastic pollution, evaluates current mitigation efforts, and explores the path forward to a plastic-free planet.

This research assesses the dynamic affiliation among carbon emission, green finance, eco-innovation, international trade, digitalization, and cleaner energy and economic progress among the ten industrialized nations, namely Indonesia, Thailand, South Africa, Turkey, Philippines, Malaysia, India, Mexico, China, and Brazil, over the period 1990–2020. Utilizing a panel dataset, this research employs econometric approaches comprising of common correlated effects mean group (CCEG) and augmented mean group (AMG) to analyze the effects comprehensively. The results of this investigation reveal several noteworthy findings. Carbon emissions consistently adversely influence economic growth, underscoring the detrimental impact of environmental pollution on economic development. In contrast, eco-innovation, green finance, international trade, digitalization, and renewable energy have been discovered to impact economic growth significantly. This underscores the significance of investing in innovation that promotes environmental sustainability to drive economic development. This research offers pertinent knowledge regarding the interplay of environmental and economic indicators within the context of industrialized nations. By reducing carbon footprints and fostering sustainable economic practices, the research underscores the necessity for integrating green finance and renewable energy to achieve long-term ecological balance and economic resilience.

With the recently adopted Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), the significance of ecosystem health and the need for increasing the protected area/other effective area-based conservation measures (OECM) coverage has been reiterated. Ecosystem health assessment or Red Listing of Ecosystems is the headline indicator for target A of GBF. The indicators listed in the IUCN Red Listing of Ecosystems (RLE) have been adopted to monitor the important targets under the Global Biodiversity Framework. Globally, 4279 ecosystems have been assessed using IUCN RLE, and immense potential exists to study the indicators to monitor and classify the health of Indian ecosystems, especially high conservation-value ecosystems. The work presented here synthesises the analyses of the pertinent current global trends in this domain to plan a suitable decentralised approach for assessing ecosystems in India that will be required to be included in the upcoming National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAPs) as per GBF.

Storage of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions in the soil profile is a current global challenge. Despite greater attention to research investigating the buildup of soil organic carbon (SOC) in the surface soil layer (0‒0.2 m), information on C sequestration rates in sub-soil layers (0‒1.0 m) is scanty in tropical upland crop production systems. We investigated the relationship of inputs of biomass C and C sequestration rates with the sustainability yield index (SYI) of the upland rice-based system in Vertisols of Central India. A randomised block design (RBD) was followed with five treatments viz., T1 = control; T2 = 100% recommended dose of nitrogen (RDN) (fertiliser) (40 kg N each for rice and wheat); T3 = 100% RDN (compost @ 8 Mg ha⁻¹); T4 = 50% RDN (fertiliser) + 50% RDN (compost); T5 = 50% RDN (fertiliser) + 50% RDN (compost) + Azotobacter (2 kg ha⁻¹). Changes in soil C stock under each treatment were measured for five depths (0–0.2, 0.2–0.4, 0.4–0.6, 0.6–0.8 and 0.8–1.0 m). Results of long-term (1998–2011) experiments highlighted that the total system productivity could be improved by regular inputs of compost. Maximum crop yields of rice and wheat (1829 and 2066 kg ha⁻¹, respectively) were obtained when 100% N was supplied through compost. However, the sustainability of the rice–wheat cropping system was improved with integrated nutrient management (INM) (T4). Mean SOC concentration increased from 4.50 to 6.03 g kg⁻¹ over control, and 19.2 Mg C ha⁻¹ was sequestered out of the cumulative total C input of 46.80 Mg C ha⁻¹ in the organic treatment (T3). A strong correlation (R² ≥ 0.96, P < 0.05) was found between total C inputs and profile C content, stock, and sequestration rate. The soil C sequestration efficiency was 67.9% for the rice–wheat cropping system. A critical C input of 1.30 Mg C ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ was needed to maintain the SOC at the antecedent level for Vertisols. Thus, the combined application of organic amendments with fertilisers is paramount to sustain the productivity of the upland rice–wheat system and enhance SOC sequestration rates in sub-soil layers in Vertisols in sub-humid tropics.

Graphical Abstract

Increasing urbanisation acts as a contributor to deforestation. Afforestation schemes are one of the preferred approaches to the recovery of forest cover. However, the relationship between urbanisation and afforestation schemes has not yet been explored. Taking India as a case study, the study used secondary data from Indian State of Forest Report (ISFR), Census of India and state/UT forest department webpages. Data from these sources were used to investigate which factors are related to the number of afforestation schemes adopted in the Indian states and Union Territories (UTs). The study found 151 afforestation schemes in Indian states/UTs, with states such as Odisha (17) and Uttar Pradesh (15) having the largest number of schemes. A strong relationship was found between the number of afforestation schemes with the state’s urbanisation and Tree Outside Forests (TOF) signifying them as drivers of number of afforestation schemes in Indian states/UTs. Only 49 tree species (13 introduced) constituted the dominant urban tree species. States with the least number of dominating native species had more than five schemes and 50% urban coverage of just five trees. Urbanisation and urban coverage of trees were influential factors in States/UTs with 10 schemes. This study highlighted the need to consider state-specific afforestation factors such as land use changes and not generalising based on only urbanisation while formulating afforestation schemes to achieve the greening objectives.