Research articles

Wild plants anchor ecosystems and local economies. The iconic resin frankincense comes from Boswellia trees. This study documents the population collapse of B. papyrifera, the main frankincense source, throughout its range, suggesting conservation and restoration is vital.

To understand transitions to more sustainable diets, an analysis of over 240,000 online recipes, their user ratings and interviews finds an increase in vegan and vegetarian recipes, and in users switching to and keeping these diets.

Distinguishing types of farm workers, an analysis of Fairtrade certification in the cocoa sector of Cote d’Ivoire finds that the standard improves the livelihoods of cooperative workers but makes little difference for wage labourers working on small farms.

Road length has almost doubled in 2003–2018 within the Congo Basin forests. Deforestation within 1 km of roads has increased greatly. Almost half of the roads within logging concessions were subsequently abandoned, but most roads outside concessions endured.

Mountain water resources are increasingly threatened. This study finds that a 1,400-year-old system for diverting headwater streams onto Andean slopes enhances the later water yield in downslope springs and estimates that upscaling this for Lima, Peru, could increase dry-season flows by 7.5%.

Implementation of a groundwater conservation policy in northwest India governing rice irrigation is linked to an increase in fires to clear agricultural residue, which itself worsens air quality in urban areas.

Agricultural expansion removes habitat vital for biodiversity. This modelling study finds that 4.6–11.2% of global ice-free land can be devoted to crops and 7.9–15.7% to pasture to support commonly suggested levels of local biodiversity—less than suggested in previous studies.

A large multinational survey of perceived energy affordability shows that it concerns individuals regardless of the countries’ level of income, although some patterns also related to regional, economic and cultural factors.

While marine protected areas are key for supporting biodiversity and coastal communities, the outcomes can be, and can be perceived, as a mixed bag. Synthesizing research from 118 articles, this Analysis draws broad insights about both the effects of marine protected areas as well as which aspects remain understudied.

Thebaine, a naturally occurring opiate, is used to produce drugs that treat opiate addiction, but it must be processed using toxic reactants that produce harmful waste. In this study, the authors probed an opium-processing waste stream and identified a versatile enzyme that can be used instead.

Water consumption does not put a constant stress on available supplies, but is instead a function of flexibility in demands for food, water and energy. This analysis looks at 36 years of water consumption around the globe to identify basins under the most stress, and how they can lower their intensive uses.

Urgent action is needed to ensure food security and mitigate climate change. Through a multi-model comparison exercise, this study shows the potential negative trade-offs between food security and climate change mitigation if mitigation policies are carelessly designed.

The challenges of meeting food, water and energy needs are interconnected, requiring integrated assessments of land use, socioeconomic policies and climate change. This study assesses the required increases in water, trade and agricultural land needed to double food production by 2050.

Rural communities manage much of the world’s forests, but the effects on both landscapes and people are still unclear. This study estimates the impacts of such community-based forest management in Nepal from 2000–2012 and finds significant net reductions in both deforestation and poverty.

Groundwater influences biophysical processes behind key ecosystem services. This study finds that many ecosystem service indicators respond nonlinearly when the water table is within a critical depth, with the potential for large effects in areas with shallow groundwater.

Although climate warming after the 1950s is clear in many studies, records suggest an earlier onset to industrial impacts. This study combines observational data with simulations and finds a weakening of temperature seasonality, attributable to human influence, over the Northern Hemisphere since the late nineteenth century.

Millennium and sustainability goals may be well known, but the history of how those goals are formed remains hidden. This Analysis examines the political and academic factors that led to MDG 7C and how China and India have tried to achieve it.

Modelling the network of power plants that supply a given city, and the amount of energy drawn from each plant, shows a city’s energy mix and demonstrates which other cities it shares most energy suppliers with.

Protected areas are vital for conserving biodiversity, but limited funds must be allocated between acquiring new areas and managing existing ones. Using a landscape model, this study finds that management is often the better first investment and is always a necessary complement to acquisition.

While regional and planetary biodiversity is suffering from numerous crises, conservation movements have struggled with how to respond. At this inflection point for conservation, over 9,000 conservationists are surveyed to analyse their views and how these are predicted by their characteristics.