Journal of Environmental Management

Accurate tree volume estimation is central to forest management and carbon accounting. Allometric equations are widely used but limited in transferability across species, regions, and environmental conditions. Mobile Laser Scanning (MLS) offers a promising alternative through direct measurement of tree geometry; however, the influence of tree shape on MLS accuracy remains poorly understood. This study evaluated MLS-derived estimates of stem diameters, total tree height, and merchantable stem volume against destructive reference measurements from 176 trees spanning eight species (four hardwood, four softwood) in Wallonia, Belgium. A Zeb Horizon RT scanner was used; tree architectural descriptors extracted from the point cloud were tested for associations with measurement error. Across 7,824 stem diameter measurements, MLS achieved a mean error of 0.46 cm, with precision declining above 15 m. MLS-derived height outperformed Vertex IV clinometer measurements for hardwood species (RMSE% = 6.88 vs. 8.78) but performed slightly less well for softwoods (RMSE% = 7.36 vs. 6.14). QSM-based volume estimates systematically underestimated reference values, while taper-based reconstruction produced nearly unbiased estimates with an RMSE of 15.72%. Correlation analyses and PCA showed that tree architectural variables explained only a small fraction of MLS error variability. Diameter and height errors were largely independent of structural attributes, while volume errors showed moderate associations with tree size and crown density. These findings indicate that tree architecture is not a primary source of MLS measurement uncertainty. Future MLS-based forest inventory efforts should prioritize acquisition and processing optimization, as scanning conditions and forest structure appear more influential than tree shape.

Microbial and biochemical properties of soil respond quickly with management practices, than chemical and physical properties. Moreover, impact of conservation agriculture (CA) on soil microbial properties is limited to microbial enumeration, but its effect on soil enzyme and microbial activity is little documented. To address these problems soil enzyme activities [dehydrogenase (DHA), {beta}-glucosidase (BGA), acid phosphatase (AcP) and alkaline phosphatase (AlP) and fluoresceine diacetate (FDA)], microbial activites ((Nitrogen fixation (NFBAct), Phosphate solubilization (PSBAct) & Cellulolytic activities (CDBAct)), microbial biomass ((Soil microbial biomass carbon (SMBC) & soil microbial biomass nitrogen (SMBN)) and available nutrient were studied to evaluate biological soil health in alluvial soil of lower Indo-Gangetic plain (IGP) under CA. Field experiment was conducted in split plot design (SPD), under 3 cropping systems (RMCp: rice-maize-cowpea; RWGg: rice-wheat- green gram; RCfBr; rice-cauliflower- bororice/summer rice). Tillage operations (CT: conventional; MT: minimum and ZT: zero tillage) was main plot and residue application as sub plot treatments [(R0 (no residue), R50 (50% residue) and R100 (100% residue)], treatments were replicated thrice. Biological soil health index (BSHI) indicated that among different degree of CA, ZT (0.464) and (MT=0.441) and R100 (0.464) treatment showed better response. Among different cropping system RMCp (0.359) & RWGg (0.343) outperformed RCfBr (0.609) cropping system with respect to (wrt) microbial and biochemical properties of the soil. Results indicated that for restoring microbial and biochemical properties of soil CA can be used as sustainable practice to restore agro-ecosystem. Keywords: Conservation agriculture, Cropping systems, Soil enzyme, Soil microbial properties, Residue application, Tillage operations.

Soil degradation is a widespread challenge that requires a broad response at the individual farm level. To ensure effectivity, the practices should be tailored to the farm context: land manager objectives and farm specific challenges. These have however been difficult to quantify. Here we demonstrate that a workable farm context can be created based on a value survey, open satellite and soil data, and published models for vegetation gross primary productivity and soil erosion. Based on the findings, despite individual differences, farmers value profitability and operational efficiency, but also biodiversity and soil health. At least the regenerative farmers surveyed also value working for the greater good more than maintaining tradition or power. In spite of wide differences in farm production orientation, we also found that each farm also had a broad variation in individual fields GPP. Most fields have a stable GPP level, which is either high or low, and that there is a 2-3-fold difference between the weakest and best producing fields indicating the potential for improving GPP by improving the growing conditions on currently weak fields. In addition, soil loss was found to be highly concentrated in critical source areas, where 10% of the field area contributed to 50% of the soil loss. Overall, open data can be linked to modelling workflows to rapidly produce a decision-making context for farmers. This facilitates benchmarking and co-learning as well as enables land managers and advisors to identify the farm context for planning effective responses to soil degradation.

Plant communities of sub-Arctic and Arctic regions are undergoing changes due to rapid climate change. Permafrost degradation is one of the key drivers of habitat change in these environments and it is considered to impact the biodiversity of northern peatlands. However, the empirical evidence linking permafrost thaw to biodiversity change remains limited. Here, we conducted a vegetation survey of the plant communities (including vascular plants, bryophytes, and lichens) of 14 palsa mires to quantify biodiversity change along different stages of permafrost degradation. We quantified changes in community composition, indicator species, alpha- and beta diversity as well as in two biodiversity indicators. Our results showed that permafrost degradation significantly affected both the plant community composition and the biodiversity of palsa mires. The most pronounced changes in biodiversity were associated with mires from which the permafrost had thawed completely. However, those mires that represented high stage of degradation but still retained remnant permafrost features, were still maintaining plant communities comparable to palsas with low stages of degradation. Thus, our results indicate that collapsing palsas are a clear tipping point for local biodiversity. Almost a complete loss of lichens was observed in completely thawed mires. Furthermore, the shifts in the vascular plant community were recognized to have potential to affect the biodiversity of palsa mires beyond vegetation. This study underscores the role of permafrost sustaining the compositional and taxonomic diversity of plants in palsa mires while also highlighting the varying responses of vascular plants, bryophytes, and lichens to permafrost degradation. Overall, our findings illustrate how the climate-induced changes in habitats and loss of environmental heterogeneity impact the biodiversity and the ecological resilience of the permafrost peatlands.

Aims Although ammonia-oxidising archaea (AOA) dominate nitrifier communities in many agricultural soils, the contribution of the less abundant ammonia-oxidising bacteria (AOB) to nitrogen oxide emissions, particularly nitric oxide, remains poorly understood. This study investigated the roles of AOA and AOB in regulating nitric oxide (NO) and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from a urea-fertilised grassland soil and evaluated the nitrification inhibitors dicyandiamide (DCD) and 3,4-dimethylpyrazole phosphate (DMPP). Methods A 28-day soil incubation experiment was conducted using a denitrification incubation system to continuously monitor NO and N2O emissions. In parallel, a destructive incubation experiment was performed to determine the dynamics of ammonium (NH-N) and total oxidised nitrogen (TOxN) and to assess changes in the abundance of AOA and AOB following urea application with or without DCD or DMPP. Results AOA accounted for approximately 66% of the total ammonia-oxidising community. Neither inhibitor significantly affected AOA abundance, whereas both suppressed AOB, with DMPP showing stronger and more persistent inhibition than DCD. DMPP reduced NO emissions by 16 to 75%, whereas N2O emissions decreased by only 0.2 to 27%. The greater reduction in NO, together with the preferential suppression of AOB, suggests that low-abundance AOB contributed disproportionately to NO production despite the numerical dominance of AOA. Conclusions These findings suggest that AOB can contribute disproportionately to NO emissions despite their lower abundance relative to AOA. The preferential suppression of AOB by DMPP was associated with a substantial reduction in NO emissions, highlighting AOB-associated processes as a potential target for mitigating reactive N losses from fertilised soils.

Subsurface tile drainage rapidly transports nutrients and biological contaminants to surface waters, yet multi-year evaluations of drainage water management (DWM) effects on nutrients, Escherichia coli, and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) remain limited. A paired-field design with high-frequency soil moisture monitoring was used to quantify water yield, dissolved nitrogen, phosphorus, and Escherichia coli (E. coli) over seven and eight water years, and ARGs (tetM, tetW, ermB, sul1) over two years in southern Michigan. Soil moisture at tile depth (~75 cm) was higher under controlled drainage, confirming that DWM increases field water-holding capacity. Compared to the free drainage field, DWM reduced cumulative tile discharge by 43% and annual nutrient yields by 46-83% for nitrate and 12-82% for soluble reactive phosphorus, but effects on ammonium were variable. Average daily nutrient yields declined by ~50% over the study period, driven primarily by managed periods. Nutrient concentrations did not differ between treatments, indicating that yield reductions resulted from decreased water loss. Mean daily E. coli yields declined by 71% over the study period, and concentrations were 46% lower under controlled drainage. Controlled drainage reduced tetM and sul1 ARG concentrations and yields during managed periods and throughout the study; however, sensitivity analyses showed that these effects were strongly influenced by a high-precipitation event. After excluding the event, differences in ARG concentrations were no longer detected, although ARG yields remained 43% lower during managed periods. These findings highlight the potential for DWM to mitigate nutrient, microbial, and antibiotic resistance transport from agricultural drainage systems.

Vaccine hesitancy remains a major public health challenge, highlighting the need for effective strategies to boost vaccine uptake. We conducted a county-randomized trial to evaluate whether a social media campaign grounded in alerts driven by community-level wastewater surveillance could increase COVID-19 and influenza vaccination. Forty New York State counties were selected for an 11-week campaign during fall 2024, with 20 counties assigned to the intervention and 20 serving as controls. The campaign reached more than 16.6 million impressions, with over 77K clicks on the call-to-action link, demonstrating substantial public engagement. During the campaign period, intervention counties administered significantly more COVID-19 vaccine doses ({beta} = 76.7, P = 0.01) but fewer influenza vaccine doses ({beta}= -140.9, P = 0.04) per 100,000 residents per week than control counties. However, season-level analysis showed no significant differences in COVID-19 or influenza vaccination uptake between groups. These findings highlight the potential of alerts from community-level wastewater surveillance to promote vaccination.

Benthic algae integrate catchment-and reach-scale pressures in streams. We assessed land-use effects on benthic algal assemblage structure, chlorophyll-a, ash-free dry mass (AFDM), and autotrophic index across 24 headwater streams in the Sondu-Miriu River basin, Kenya, and explored wet-dry patterns in two monitoring streams. We sampled across four land-use categories: natural forest (NF), tea and tree plantations (TTP), smallholder agriculture (SHA), and smallholder tea (SHT). Synoptic sampling occurred in August 2025, and one NF stream and one SHA stream were sampled five times between November 2024 and May 2025. Shannon and Simpson diversity were highest in NF streams and lowest in SHT streams. Chlorophyll-a and AFDM were highest in SHA streams; chlorophyll-a was lowest in SHT, while AFDM and autotrophic index were lowest in NF. Relative abundance patterns showed that SHA streams were dominated by Lyngbya and Stigeoclonium, whereas SHT streams were dominated mainly by Stigeoclonium; NF streams supported persistent diatom-rich assemblages. Non-metric multidimensional scaling showed land-use separation of benthic algal assemblages, while redundancy analysis indicated weak, non-significant evidence of environmental associations in the synoptic dataset. Composition and biomass metrics tracked land-use gradients and wet-dry patterns, supporting periphyton-based bioassessment for monitoring disturbance in Afrotropical headwater streams.

This paper presents a comparative analysis of the floristic composition and site characteristics of four peat bogs in Bucovina, Romania: Poiana Stampei, Romanesti, Saru Dornei, and Gaina-Lucina. The research was based on phytosociological releves on 25 msq plots and direct field phenological observations, on six field visits from May to August 2026. Vegetation was characterised using the Braun Blanquet method, and floristic similarity between sites was assessed with the Sorensen and Bray Curtis indices. All four plots shared a common core of taxa characteristic of peatland vegetation: Sphagnum spp., Carex rostrata, Drosera rotundifolia, Eriophorum vaginatum, and Vaccinium species. Species richness was 13 taxa at Poiana Stampei, Romanesti, and Saru Dornei, and 12 at Gaina-Lucina. Romanesti and Saru Dornei showed the highest floristic similarity (descriptive values, not statistically tested, given a single releve per site), while Gaina-Lucina differed most markedly, not through species richness, which was similar across sites, but through species identity and through the presence of Betula nana, a glacial relict absent from the other sites. The results provide a descriptive basis for future research on the floristic composition and conservation of these habitats.

Community-led urban greening may contribute to neighborhood safety, but its relationship with crime remains uncertain. We examined whether Keep Indianapolis Beautiful Project GreenSpaces in Indianapolis were associated with changes in violence and total crime. We used a matched-pair difference-in-differences design comparing funded sites with matched unfunded applicant sites. The primary analysis included 29 matched pairs with two years of pre- and post-grant follow-up. Monthly Part I violent offenses and total crime within 600-m buffers were modeled using Poisson pseudo-maximum likelihood. In the first post-grant year, the violent-crime estimate was lower but imprecise (IRR, 0.903; 95% CI, 0.805-1.014). In the second post-grant year, the relative rate was lower (IRR, 0.830; 95% CI, 0.718-0.961). Total crime estimates showed no clear post-grant change. Additional analyses indicated some sensitivity to spatial scale, but no sustained divergence in pre-grant crime patterns. Analyses of short-term crime dependence showed clear month-to-month persistence in violent crime within sites but limited evidence of stable spatial dependence across nearby sites. Therefore, within the two-year post-grant period examined, Project GreenSpaces was associated most consistently with lower relative violent-crime rates in the second year, while no corresponding decrease was observed for total recorded crime. Longer follow-up is needed to determine whether these patterns persist or change as projects mature.

Coastal forests are increasingly threatened by saturated soil and elevated salinity levels resulting from sea level rise, saltwater intrusion, and storm surges. In response to rising salinization and flooding, healthy coastal forests that rely on freshwater (both wetland forests and low-elevation upland forests) are transitioning into landscapes dominated by dead or dying trees, known as ghost forests. Situated among salt-tolerant shrubs and grasses, ghost forests eventually become marshes or open water. Here, our main objective was to quantify the dynamics and pathways of these forest landscape conversions, as well as the factors contributing to the changes, which is vital for understanding the progression of coastal ecosystem degradation and forecasting future changes. We focused first on identifying the best method to track forest landscape change by exploring the role of multiple remote sensing indices (i.e., multispectral, bi-seasonal, topographical, and phenological metrics) in enhancing the performance of deep learning models (convolutional neural networks, CNNs) for land cover classification in the coastal plain of North Carolina using surface reflectance of Landsat 8 and Sentinel-2 images. Then, we used the best available data (Landsat 8) to understand long-term change and identify patterns of land cover change from 1985 to 2021. Our study reveals that incorporating phenology and topographical indices enhances the separability of the ghost forests class from all other vegetation classes. In our assessment, the higher-resolution Sentinel-2 data (F1 Score = 96.3) outperformed Landsat images (F1 score = 93.4) for the 2021 co-available year. However, Landsat remains an important tool used due to its long-term data record. Therefore, we used Landsat to determine that 21% of forests were lost between 1985 and 2021, and that the rate of loss is increasing. Between 2010 and 2021, 23,876 ha of forest were converted to marsh, ghost forest, and shrub, which is 1.5 times higher than the 16,968 ha lost between 1985 and 2010. These conversions from forest to ghost forest and marshes were driven primarily by proximity to the channel, salinity, and the increasing rate of relative sea level rise (RSLR), which are the key environmental drivers of observed changes. By quantifying these changes, we highlight regions most vulnerable to environmental stressors, providing a basis for targeted conservation strategies.

Cropland abandonment is a widespread socio-ecological transition that can generate heterogeneous ecological outcomes, including opportunities for vegetation recovery as well as the accumulation of invasive alien plants (IAPs). Understanding broad-scale correlates of IAP richness in abandoned croplands is challenging because published studies differ in sampling design, spatial extent, and reporting detail. To provide an exploratory national-scale synthesis, we compiled literature-derived occurrence records of 57 IAP species reported from abandoned croplands across China and examined study-level recorded richness using generalized linear mixed models (GLMMs) with province as a random effect. Fourteen socio-economic and environmental predictors were screened for multicollinearity and standardized, and the number of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) was included as a proxy for potential sampling-effort variation. Asteraceae accounted for 43.9% of recorded species, and more than 70% of taxa were classified as high-risk invaders (Levels 1-2). Recorded richness exhibited a pronounced southeast-northwest gradient, with higher values in economically developed coastal provinces. In the exploratory GLMM, regional GDP (IRR = 1.67, p < 0.05) and mean annual temperature (IRR = 1.49, p < 0.05) were positively associated with recorded richness, whereas other environmental, accessibility, soil, and sampling-effort variables showed no detectable associations. Model diagnostics indicated no evidence of overdispersion, zero inflation, or residual spatial autocorrelation. Given the heterogeneous nature of literature-derived data and the small number of study units, these results should be interpreted as broad-scale correlational patterns rather than causal drivers. The findings highlight regional socio-economic context and climatic conditions as key correlates of recorded IAP richness in abandoned croplands and provide an initial baseline for understanding invasion patterns in post-agricultural landscapes undergoing rapid land-use transitions..

Flow regulation for hydropower production affects stream ecosystems through decreased connectivity and changed timing and magnitude of flows. Hydropeaking, a form of regulation in which infrequent large peak flows are replaced with frequent small peaks, increases riparian erosion and causes water and drought stress for riparian vegetation. Hydropeaking is likely to affect soil seed bank (SSB) formation and composition, while SSBs are important sources of self-restoration should a systems flow regulation be relaxed. We tested how hydropeaking intensity affects the size and composition of SSBs, including the functionally important group of large graminoids, and by calculating Ellenberg values for Moisture, Light and Soil disturbance. SSB samples were taken at 15 riparian zones across central and northern Sweden. Each site was regulated, but sites differed in their hydropeaking intensities. SSBs were subjected to a seedling emergence experiment, from which over 700 seedlings from 53 taxa emerged. We found that hydropeaking intensity affects the composition of soil seed banks on multiple levels. Seedling density was negatively correlated with hydropeaking intensity at the sites where samples were taken. SSB richness varied (two to eighteen species per site) and was not affected by hydropeaking intensity. The proportion of large graminoids in the seed bank showed a near-significant decrease with increasing hydropeaking intensity, and community-weighted means for Moisture, Light and Soil disturbance increased (non-significantly) with increasing intensity. Our results suggest that riparian SSBs, should flow regulation be relaxed or ceased, are not sufficient for self-restoration of functional riparian vegetation. Seeds of large graminoids and species that are tolerant to drought in the germination stage are less present in riparian SSBs of heavily-regulated streams. Supply of seeds of these groups, or even planting, may need to be considered when changes in flow management are implemented. HighlightsO_LIHydropeaking negatively affects riparian soil seed banks (SSBs) in Sweden C_LIO_LISSB size slightly decreases with hydropeaking intensity, but richness does not change C_LIO_LIThe proportion of large graminoid seeds in SSBs decreases with hydropeaking intensity C_LIO_LIRiparian SSBs from less-impacted sites have most potential for self-restoration C_LI

The potential of alternative agricultural systems, such as organic or conservation agriculture, for biodiversity restoration has been widely investigated. However, variability of practices within each of these two categories of agricultural system has rarely been accounted for. Furthermore, these systems have most often been studied separately, isolating either organic or conservation agriculture (itself often reduced to a soil tillage reduction), and rarely analyzing these systems side by side. This study attempts to disentangle these multiple interrelationships by sampling carabid beetles in a network of 48 commercial Belgian farms including organic agriculture (OA), conservation agriculture (CA), farms combining the two approaches (OCA) and farms applying conventional practices (CVA). In each farm, we sampled carabids using pitfall and emergence traps in one winter cereal field and collected a detailed description of crop management practices. We found that community composition was primarily structured by seasonality early in the season (March, April) followed by convergence (May, June) driven by the aggregation of the most dominant species. Based on agroecosystem classification, organic certification (i.e., the absence of synthetic pesticide use) exerted a twofold stronger effect than application of conservation agriculture principles (i.e., reduced or no soil tillage) on carabid beetle community composition. Notably, OCA supported carabid assemblages that were structurally distinct from those of CA and CVA. Furthermore, carabid communities associated with OA differed significantly in composition from those of CVA. Observed and estimated species richness were also significantly higher in OCA than in CA and CVA, while OA differed from CVA only for observed richness. Beyond differences among agricultural systems, community responses were associated with specific management practices, which explained nearly a quarter of the compositional variation with significant influence of the duration since organic conversion and the frequency of synthetic pesticide application. Carabid abundances were negatively affected by synthetic pesticides and moldboard ploughing, whereas richness was more strongly related to the time since conversion to OA, cover crops, and organic amendments. Overall, these results position synthetic inputs and time since conversion as the main filters over carabid communities. Our study highlights the importance of jointly considering system level analyses and detailed management practices to better understand the complex relationships between agricultural practices and carabid communities.

1. Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) are an anadromous fish with a broad distribution from eastern North America to western Europe, with ecological, economic, and cultural significance. Despite their expansive range, wild populations across the North Atlantic have experienced decline. Survival to reproductive age is a management concern, with a focus on identifying factors affecting the juvenile freshwater life stage. Specifically, research is needed to identify potential bottlenecks limiting freshwater productivity. 2. We addressed this research gap with a case study on the Exploits River, Newfoundland - a watershed that receives one of the largest anadromous Atlantic salmon returns in North America. We aimed to identify biotic, chemical, and physical predictors of food resources for juvenile salmon (i.e., invertebrates) and food resources for invertebrates (i.e., periphyton). To test our hypotheses, we collected data on a suite of biotic (e.g., invertebrates and periphyton), chemical (e.g., total dissolved N), and physical (e.g., wetted width) variables at 42 sites within and around this watershed. 3. We observed evidence for relationships between invertebrate biomass and biotic and temporal variables. Specifically, invertebrate biomass was higher at sites with high periphyton biomass that were sampled later in the season. In addition, we observed that periphyton biomass was related to biotic, chemical, and physical variables. Here, we present evidence for bottom-up control, with increased periphyton biomass supporting increased invertebrate biomass. 4. We expect knock-on effects where increased invertebrate biomass results in increased juvenile Atlantic salmon biomass. Our large sample size revealed some predictors of invertebrate biomass and periphyton biomass. However, we found no evidence of correlation between invertebrate biomass and chemical or physical variables. The low productivity of our maritime boreal forest system could be an outlier in expected biotic, chemical, and physical relationships in streams. 5. Our findings provide an important step forward in furthering boreal stream ecology, producing novel invertebrate and periphyton knowledge for watershed managers.

The tidal wetlands of Louisiana comprise about 25% of those found throughout the conterminous United States yet estimates of wetland loss rates in the region between 1932 and 2016 have exceeded 60 km2 yr-1. To mitigate further degradation and wetland loss in the region, a globally unprecedented $50B, 50-year plan for coastal Louisiana is driving restoration efforts, and demand exists from multiple stakeholders for regularly updated, regional-scale, accurate land cover information. We used machine learning (random forests; RF) and cloud computing to develop a new Landsat-based, marsh vegetation community geospatial dataset. The dataset depicts wetland vegetation community types defined in a previous study at annual (1985-2025) time steps at 30-m resolution. An RF algorithm was used to integrate training samples with feature variables derived from Landsat imagery, and the resulting geospatial data product achieved an overall correct classification rate of 78%. The approach for development of the land cover dataset presented here has potential for application in other coastal wetland habitats throughout the world.

Palm oil is the worlds leading vegetable oil, with production continuing to expand, particularly across Southeast Asia. Within established plantations, conserving and restoring riparian margins can reduce erosion, improve connectivity, and support biodiversity. Simultaneously, climate change is increasing thermal stress within tropical agricultural landscapes, raising the potential importance of riparian buffers as microclimatic refugia, although this has not previously been evaluated. The Riparian Ecosystem Restoration in Tropical Agriculture (RERTA) Project is a long-term Before-After Control-Impact experiment established within oil palm plantations in Riau, Indonesia, to evaluate alternative riparian restoration strategies following plantation replanting. Treatments included passive restoration (retaining mature oil palms and allowing natural regeneration), active restoration (enrichment planting with six native tree species), and a control (replanting immature oil palms to the river edge). Six years after restoration, we assessed vegetation structure using terrestrial laser scanning and thermal stability using temperature loggers and thermal imaging. We also evaluated the long-term temperature buffering capacity of each treatment under current and projected climates using CHELSA climate data and downscaled outputs from multiple General Circulation Models under Shared Socioeconomic Pathway scenarios for 2045 and 2085. Active restoration produced greater structural complexity, a more closed canopy, and cooler, more thermally stable conditions than passive restoration and control treatments. Restored margins also contained significantly more cool surface microhabitats, reducing thermal extremes under both current and future climate scenarios. Our findings demonstrate that active restoration of riparian margins can enhance thermal buffering and create microclimatic refugia for biodiversity within tropical oil palm landscapes. As agricultural intensification and climate change continue to reshape tropical ecosystems, restoring structurally complex riparian vegetation will be critical for sustaining biodiversity and the ecosystem services upon which agricultural production depends.

Climate change has resulted in an increase in drought conditions within the southeastern United States, impacting a variety of ecosystems and species, including the freshwater flooded forest swamps of the North American Coastal Plain (NACP). With the threat of drought leading to a decline in wetlands and shifts in seasonality patterns in the NACP, there is significant concern about the effects of a drying climate on the net primary productivity of bald cypress-tupelo swamps and the potential for ecosystem degradation or conversion. This study seeks to understand the relationship between the net primary productivity of wetlands dominated by bald cypress-tupelo swamps and drought conditions. We used Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) imagery from 2000 to 2024, taken from the 500 largest flooded forest swamps in the southeastern USA using Google Earth Engine, to track the changes in productivity of these swamps over time. The trends in MODIS Fraction of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (FPAR), Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), and Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) were compared against three common drought indices using seasonal decomposition and linear regression along with local bivariate spatial associations. We found that while there were small global correlations between drought and productivity metrics, the impact of droughts on these swamps is highly spatially variable, with specific geographical regions displaying differing impacts of drought and precipitation levels on the vegetation productivity. Coastal and southern regions, including the states of Texas, Florida, and Louisiana, are experiencing a decrease in precipitation but have mixed productivity trends. Meanwhile, more inland and coastal northern areas display an increase in precipitation and wetness. Overall, our results suggest that cypress-tupelo swamp productivity varies based on a variety of factors, including, but not limited to, precipitation and drought levels, but some areas may be at risk of further degradation due to drought under future climate change. Further research is encouraged to fully understand vegetation productivity in relation to environmental conditions in individual cypress-tupelo swamps.

ObjectivesTo estimate the prevalence of objective peripheral neuropathy, and to test whether self-reported use of personal protective equipment (PPE) is associated with lower neuropathy risk, among adults attending a community hospital in a Nigerian population exposed to both agrochemicals and mining. DesignClinic-based cross-sectional study (June-November 2025), reported per STROBE. SettingInfant Jesus Community Hospital, Ishiagu, Ebonyi State, a community combining smallholder farming with granite and lead-zinc mining. Participants285 adults ([&ge;]18 years) attending the outpatient screening department; people with known diabetes were excluded. Main outcome measuresPeripheral neuropathy on the Michigan Neuropathy Screening Instrument (MNSI) examination -- an instrument validated in diabetic populations -- defined a priori as an abnormal 10 g monofilament test or absent/reduced ankle reflexes; three alternative case definitions were pre-specified. PPE use was scored 0-12. Associations were estimated by multivariable logistic regression adjusted for age and sex. ResultsThe proportion screening positive was 47.0% (95% CI 41.2-52.8) under the primary definition and ranged from 29.8% to 56.8% across definitions. PPE use was near-absent (89.1% never used gloves; 43.2% used none) and showed no detectable protective association (adjusted OR 0.97 per point, 95% CI 0.88-1.06). Men used PPE more than twice as often as women (55.1% vs 24.5%, p<0.001), yet neuropathy did not differ by sex (41.6% vs 49.5%, p=0.27). Only age was associated with neuropathy (adjusted OR 1.02 per year, p=0.02). ConclusionsNearly half of the adults sampled screened positive for peripheral neuropathy, and protective equipment showed no detectable protective association. Because PPE use was near-absent, the study cannot separate ineffective protection from too little protection to measure, and the cross-sectional design precludes causal inference. The equal burden across sexes despite markedly unequal protective behaviour is consistent with community-wide environmental exposure; reducing the total toxic load is a plausible priority that direct exposure measurement should now test.

Introduction: Despite decades of investment, stream restoration often fails to recover diverse benthic macroinvertebrate communities, as restored reaches tend to remain dominated by pollution-tolerant taxa. This shortfall in recovery is commonly attributed to either poor habitat quality or dispersal limitation of aquatic macroinvertebrate taxa, yet these hypotheses are rarely tested directly. Objectives: We conducted a manipulative field experiment in the eastern Piedmont region (Maryland, USA) within the Chesapeake Bay Watershed to evaluate whether restored streams can support pollution-sensitive taxa when dispersal barriers are removed. Methods: We translocated whole macroinvertebrate communities from three nearby reference streams into three restored streams using standardized habitat substrates and quantified macroinvertebrate survival after 28 days. We also assessed how effective leaf vs rock substrates were for accumulating diverse and abundant macroinvertebrate communities for translocation. Results: Across all sites, 77% of translocated individuals and 16 of 22 taxa sensitive and moderately sensitive to pollution persisted under restored stream conditions, demonstrating that restored reaches can support short-term survival of pollution-sensitive taxa that typically fail to recover. Substrate comparisons revealed that leaf packs accumulated higher macroinvertebrate abundances, whereas both substrates accumulated macroinvertebrate communities with similar taxa richness, EPT richness, and Shannon Diversity. Conclusions: This work suggests that dispersal limitation, rather than unsuitable habitat, may be an underappreciated constraint limiting macroinvertebrate recovery in restored streams. These findings challenge the assumption that habitat restoration alone is sufficient for biological recovery and highlight the potential for whole-community translocations to accelerate recovery and ecological uplift as part of stream restoration practices. Implication for Practice: Our study highlights the need to consider habitat connectivity and dispersal pathways during stream restoration designs. Restoring streams to meet habitat requirements of pollution-sensitive macroinvertebrate taxa may not be sufficient for their populations to recover if these taxa are unable to reach the restored stream. In scenarios where restoring connectivity to source populations is infeasible, whole community translocations may offer a novel restoration tool to overcome dispersal barriers and accelerate biological recovery in restored streams.