research papers on natural environment

2019 Best Papers published in the Environmental Science journals of the Royal Society of Chemistry

In 2019, the Royal Society of Chemistry published 180, 196 and 293 papers in Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts , Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology , and Environmental Science: Nano , respectively. These papers covered a wide range of topics in environmental science, from biogeochemical cycling to water reuse to nanomaterial toxicity. And, yes, we also published papers on the topic of the environmental fate, behavior, and inactivation of viruses. 1–10 We are extremely grateful that so many authors have chosen our journals as outlets for publishing their research and are equally delighted at the high quality of the papers that we have had the privilege to publish.

Our Associate Editors, Editorial Boards, and Advisory Boards were enlisted to nominate and select the best papers from 2019. From this list, the three Editors-in-Chief selected an overall best paper from the entire Environmental Science portfolio. It is our pleasure to present the winners of the Best Papers in 2019 to you, our readers.

Overall Best Paper

In this paper, Johansson et al. examine sea spray aerosol as a potential transport vehicle for perfluoroalkyl carboxylic and sulfonic acids. The surfactant properties of these compounds are well known and, in fact, key to many of the technical applications for which they are used. The fact that these compounds are enriched at the air–water interface makes enrichment in sea spray aerosols seem reasonable. Johansson et al. systematically tested various perfluoroalkyl acids enrichment in aerosols under conditions relevant to sea spray formation, finding that longer chain lengths lead to higher aerosol enrichment factors. They augmented their experimental work with a global model, which further bolstered the conclusion that global transport of perfluoroalkyl acids by sea spray aerosol is and will continue to be an important process in determining the global distribution of these compounds.

Journal Best Papers

Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts

First Runner-up Best Paper: Yamakawa, Takami, Takeda, Kato, Kajii, Emerging investigator series: investigation of mercury emission sources using Hg isotopic compositions of atmospheric mercury at the Cape Hedo Atmosphere and Aerosol Monitoring Station (CHAAMS), Japan , Environ. Sci.: Processes Impacts , 2019, 21 , 809–818, DOI: 10.1039/C8EM00590G .

Second Runner-up Best Paper: Avery, Waring, DeCarlo, Seasonal variation in aerosol composition and concentration upon transport from the outdoor to indoor environment , Environ. Sci.: Processes Impacts , 2019, 21 , 528–547, DOI: 10.1039/C8EM00471D .

Best Review Article: Cousins, Ng, Wang, Scheringer, Why is high persistence alone a major cause of concern? Environ. Sci.: Processes Impacts , 2019, 21 , 781–792, DOI: 10.1039/C8EM00515J .

Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology

First Runner-up Best Paper: Yang, Lin, Tse, Dong, Yu, Hoffmann, Membrane-separated electrochemical latrine wastewater treatment , Environ. Sci.: Water Res. Technol. , 2019, 5 , 51–59, DOI: 10.1039/C8EW00698A .

Second Runner-up Best Paper: Genter, Marks, Clair-Caliot, Mugume, Johnston, Bain, Julian, Evaluation of the novel substrate RUG™ for the detection of Escherichia coli in water from temperate (Zurich, Switzerland) and tropical (Bushenyi, Uganda) field sites , Environ. Sci.: Water Res. Technol. , 2019, 5 , 1082–1091, DOI: 10.1039/C9EW00138G .

Best Review Article: Okoffo, O’Brien, O’Brien, Tscharke, Thomas, Wastewater treatment plants as a source of plastics in the environment: a review of occurrence, methods for identification, quantification and fate , Environ. Sci.: Water Res. Technol. , 2019, 5 , 1908–1931, DOI: 10.1039/C9EW00428A .

Environmental Science: Nano

First Runner-up Best Paper: Janković, Plata, Engineered nanomaterials in the context of global element cycles , Environ. Sci.: Nano , 2019, 6 , 2697–2711, DOI: 10.1039/C9EN00322C .

Second Runner-up Best Paper: González-Pleiter, Tamayo-Belda, Pulido-Reyes, Amariei, Leganés, Rosal, Fernández-Piñas, Secondary nanoplastics released from a biodegradable microplastic severely impact freshwater environments , Environ. Sci.: Nano , 2019, 6 , 1382–1392, DOI: 10.1039/C8EN01427B .

Best Review Article: Lv, Christie, Zhang, Uptake, translocation, and transformation of metal-based nanoparticles in plants: recent advances and methodological challenges , Environ. Sci.: Nano , 2019, 6 , 41–59, DOI: 10.1039/C8EN00645H .

Congratulations to the authors of these papers and a hearty thanks to all of our authors. As one can clearly see from the papers listed above, environmental science is a global effort and we are thrilled to have contributions from around the world. In these challenging times, we are proud to publish research that is not only great science, but also relevant to the health of the environment and the public. Finally, we also wish to extend our thanks to our community of editors, reviewers, and readers. We look forward to another outstanding year of Environmental Science , reading the work generated not just from our offices at home, but also from back in our laboratories and the field.

Kris McNeill, Editor-in-Chief

Paige Novak, Editor-in-Chief

Peter Vikesland, Editor-in-Chief

• A. B Boehm, Risk-based water quality thresholds for coliphages in surface waters: effect of temperature and contamination aging, Environ. Sci.: Processes Impacts , 2019, 21 , 2031–2041,   10.1039/C9EM00376B .
• L. Cai, C. Liu, G. Fan, C Liu and X. Sun, Preventing viral disease by ZnONPs through directly deactivating TMV and activating plant immunity in Nicotiana benthamiana , Environ. Sci.: Nano , 2019, 6 , 3653–3669,   10.1039/C9EN00850K .
• L. W. Gassie, J. D. Englehardt, N. E. Brinkman, J. Garland and M. K. Perera, Ozone-UV net-zero water wash station for remote emergency response healthcare units: design, operation, and results, Environ. Sci.: Water Res. Technol. , 2019, 5 , 1971–1984,   10.1039/C9EW00126C .
• L. M. Hornstra, T. Rodrigues da Silva, B. Blankert, L. Heijnen, E. Beerendonk, E. R. Cornelissen and G. Medema, Monitoring the integrity of reverse osmosis membranes using novel indigenous freshwater viruses and bacteriophages, Environ. Sci.: Water Res. Technol. , 2019, 5 , 1535–1544,   10.1039/C9EW00318E .
• A. H. Hassaballah, J. Nyitrai, C. H. Hart, N. Dai and L. M. Sassoubre, A pilot-scale study of peracetic acid and ultraviolet light for wastewater disinfection, Environ. Sci.: Water Res. Technol. , 2019, 5 , 1453–1463,   10.1039/C9EW00341J .
• W. Khan, J.-Y. Nam, H. Woo, H. Ryu, S. Kim, S. K. Maeng and H.-C. Kim, A proof of concept study for wastewater reuse using bioelectrochemical processes combined with complementary post-treatment technologies, Environ. Sci.: Water Res. Technol. , 2019, 5 , 1489–1498,   10.1039/C9EW00358D .
• J. Heffron, B. McDermid and B. K. Mayer, Bacteriophage inactivation as a function of ferrous iron oxidation, Environ. Sci.: Water Res. Technol. , 2019, 5 , 1309–1317,   10.1039/C9EW00190E .
• S. Torii, T. Hashimoto, A. T. Do, H. Furumai and H. Katayama, Impact of repeated pressurization on virus removal by reverse osmosis membranes for household water treatment, Environ. Sci.: Water Res. Technol. , 2019, 5 , 910–919,   10.1039/C8EW00944A .
• J. Miao, H.-J. Jiang, Z.-W. Yang, D.-y. Shi, D. Yang, Z.-Q. Shen, J. Yin, Z.-G. Qiu, H.-R. Wang, J.-W. Li and M. Jin, Assessment of an electropositive granule media filter for concentrating viruses from large volumes of coastal water, Environ. Sci.: Water Res. Technol. , 2019, 5 , 325–333,   10.1039/C8EW00699G .
• K. L. Nelson, A. B. Boehm, R. J. Davies-Colley, M. C. Dodd, T. Kohn, K. G. Linden, Y. Liu, P. A. Maraccini, K. McNeill, W. A. Mitch, T. H. Nguyen, K. M. Parker, R. A. Rodriguez, L. M. Sassoubre, A. I. Silverman, K. R. Wigginton and R. G. Zepp, Sunlight mediated inactivation of health relevant microorganisms in water: a review of mechanisms and modeling approaches, Environ. Sci.: Processes Impacts , 2018, 20 , 1089–1122,   10.1039/C8EM00047F .

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Open Access

Rewilding and restoring nature in a changing world

Contributed equally to this work with: Benis N. Egoh, Charity Nyelele

* E-mail: [email protected] , [email protected]

Affiliation Department of Earth System Science, University of California Irvine, Irvine, California, United States of America

¶ ‡ These authors also contributed equally to this work.

Affiliation Environmental Studies Department, University of California, Santa Cruz, California, United States of America

Affiliation UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom

Affiliation School of Geography, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom

Current address: Sussex Sustainability Research Programme, Brighton, United Kingdom

Affiliation School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom

• Benis N. Egoh, 
• Charity Nyelele, 
• Karen D. Holl, 
• James M. Bullock, 
• Steve Carver, 
• Christopher J. Sandom

Published: July 14, 2021

• https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0254249
• Reader Comments

Citation: Egoh BN, Nyelele C, Holl KD, Bullock JM, Carver S, Sandom CJ (2021) Rewilding and restoring nature in a changing world. PLoS ONE 16(7): e0254249. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0254249

Editor: RunGuo Zang, Chinese Academy of Forestry, CHINA

This is an open access article, free of all copyright, and may be freely reproduced, distributed, transmitted, modified, built upon, or otherwise used by anyone for any lawful purpose. The work is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication.

Data Availability: All relevant data are within the paper.

Funding: NA

Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Increased anthropogenic pressure, invasive alien species and climate change, among other factors, continue to negatively impact and degrade the planet’s ecosystems and natural environment. As nature declines at alarming rates, the loss of biodiversity is not only a huge concern, but it also undermines the many ecological, social, human health and wellbeing benefits nature provides us. Numerous reports, including those from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES, https://www.ipbes.net/ ), have documented this unprecedented decline in nature across space and time. For example, the 2019 IPBES global assessment report on biodiversity and ecosystem services shows that 75% of the global land surface has been significantly altered, 66% of the ocean area is experiencing increasing cumulative impacts, and over 85% of wetland area has been lost (Brondizio et al. [ 1 ]). All the recent IPBES reports from global to regional scales and the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment of 2005 (Reid et al. [ 2 ]), point to one thing: the urgency for us to act to save nature and humankind. Ecological restoration has emerged as a powerful approach to combat degradation in land and water, mitigate climate change, and restore lost biodiversity and key ecosystem functions and services. In June this year (2021), the United Nations (UN) is launching the Decade on Ecosystem Restoration ( https://www.decadeonrestoration.org/ ), an ambitious program to trigger a global movement for restoring the world’s ecosystems. In line with that, PLOS ONE commissioned this Collection on Rewilding and Restoration. This is consistent with the year’s Earth Day theme, "Restore Our Earth”, which calls on everyone to be a part of the change and to focus on natural processes, emerging green technologies and innovative thinking that can restore the world’s ecosystems.

When PLOS ONE launched this Rewilding and Restoration collection, we were asked to identify exciting advances and emerging trends observed recently in the areas of rewilding and restoration. We highlight: 1) increasing recognition of the value of restoration in ecosystems worldwide, particularly in a time of rapid global environmental change; 2) understanding and incorporating benefits and beneficiaries in supporting and financing restoration initiatives; 3) exploring the theoretical underpinning for the importance of ‘megabiota’–the largest plants and animals–for driving biosphere scale processes such as ecosystem total biomass, resource flows and fertility; and 4) showcasing success stories on how rewilding nature in the developing world is reversing the impact of invasive species ( https://everyone.plos.org/2020/08/28/taking-a-walk-on-the-wild-side/ ). The broad range of publications in this Collection cover all these areas and much more, making it one of the most exciting collections on rewilding and restoring nature in recent times. The two main themes that emerge from the collection are related to restoration success stories (>40%) and best practices in restoration around the globe (>30%). The selected studies in this Collection, which cover six continents and at least 13 countries, were carried out in diverse settings and contexts, such as marine, fresh water and terrestrial habitats including forests and grasslands, rivers and coastal areas, woodlands, wetlands, and mountains (e.g., Sansupa et al. [ 3 ], Broughton et al. [ 4 ], Schulz et al. [ 5 ], Ndangalasi et al. [ 6 ]). Features of interest included in this Collection span from bacteria through large vertebrates (e.g., wild dogs, elephants) to ecosystems and their functions. These articles also showcase a range of methodological approaches from a series of small-scale field experiments (Wasson et al. [ 7 ]), wildlife tracking and remote sensing (Mata et al. [ 8 ]), and large-scale models to predict restoration outcomes (D’Acunto et al. [ 9 ]).

This rich collection from PLOS ONE addresses a range of related and interesting issues: 1) Different restoration approaches, from passive rewilding to active target driven restoration, are needed to achieve different restoration goals in different circumstances. 2) Nature is complex and context dependent and so diverse approaches to restoration will help ensure different taxonomic groups and ecosystem functions and services are supported. 3) Developing and recording best practice for different restoration approaches will greatly aid the achievement of restoration aims. 4) Measuring restoration success needs comprehensive, multi-dimensional, and quantifiable metrics to account for potentially complex trade-offs. 5) Arguments for restoration based on ecocentric and nature’s contribution to people both have merit and appeal to different audiences, but it should not be assumed goals derived from these different ways of thinking will be aligned. This is a diverse collection of restoration and rewilding research, and that diversity neatly reflects the diverse approaches and goals needed for restoration to be successful.

The articles in this issue discuss case studies that span a continuum of restoration interventions from removing anthropogenic disturbance and allowing the ecosystem to regenerate naturally (i.e., passive restoration or rewilding) to intensive interventions with ongoing management. For example, Broughton et al. [ 4 ] found that secondary woodlands in England that were adjacent to ancient woodlands recovered naturally over a period of a few decades. Díaz-García et al. [ 10 ] compared recovery of amphibians, ants, and dung beetles in naturally regenerating and actively planted tropical forests in Mexico; they found that passive and active restoration approaches were similarly effective in restoring species richness of all guilds, but that forest specialists were enhanced through active planting. In contrast, other studies show that intensive anthropogenic interventions such as transplanting corals (Ferse et al. [ 11 ]), or controlling invasive species and reintroducing fauna (Roberts et al. [ 12 ]) are necessary to facilitate recovery. The diversity of responses reported highlights the need to tailor restoration strategies to the local ecosystem type, the species of interest, and the level of prior disturbance.

Similarly, studies in this collection demonstrate complex interactions between wild and domestic herbivory, controls on grazing intensity and spatial ecological variables, making generalizations difficult and stressing the need for context-specific studies and understanding to guide management of disturbance regimes. One study in African savanna (Young et al. [ 13 ]) explores the impact of grazing on biodiversity and shows that plots protected from herbivory by large wild herbivores for the past 25 years have developed a rich diversity of woody vegetation species which could disappear upon rewilding depending on level of predation and associated behavioral patterns. However, they also show that individuals of the dominant tree species in this system, Acacia drepanolobium , greatly reduce their defense in the absence of browsers; hence the sudden arrival of these herbivores resulted in far greater elephant damage than for conspecifics in adjacent plots that had been continually exposed to herbivory. Similarly, Peacock et al. [ 14 ] suggests that cattle negatively impact regeneration of gallery forests in Bolivia and alter both the structure and composition of the shrub and ground layers with potential consequences for the diversity and abundance of wildlife. Previous studies including Hanke et al. [ 15 ] have shown increases in species diversity and ecological functioning with grazing. These results suggest that the impact of grazing on ecosystems, species and ecosystem functioning depends on the system, the grazing species, and their numbers, and overall carrying capacity.

Several best practices are highlighted in the Collection. Larson et al. [ 16 ] created a model to determine an “optimal maximum distance” that would maximize availability of native prairie seed in the midwestern United States (US) from commercial sources while minimizing the risk of novel invasive weeds via contamination. Pedrini et al. [ 17 ] test seed pretreatment methods to enhance vegetation establishment from direct seeding and illustrate how a range of life stage transitions including germination, emergence and survival of native grass species used in restoration programs can be improved by seed coating with salicylic acid. Roon et al. [ 18 ] used a before-after-control-impact experiment across three stream networks in the northwestern to provide guidance on riparian thinning to provide optimal stream habitat. These best practices are key in our ability to replicate in different places and achieving restoration success.

Determining the success of ongoing restoration efforts is crucial to assessing management actions but requires comprehensive, multi-dimensional, and quantifiable metrics and approaches consistent with restoration goals. Despite the plethora of restoration projects around the world, it is only now that we are beginning to understand whether the restoration goals have been met and what trade-offs exist (Mugwedi et al. [ 19 ]). The importance of measuring restoration outcomes against clearly specified goals and objectives cannot be overemphasized, as shown in a recent restoration study in China that aimed to improve carbon storage through tree planting but has severely depleted water resources (Zhao et al. [ 20 ]). Similarly, Valach et al. [ 21 ] show that productive wetlands restored for carbon sequestration quickly become net carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) sinks although the trade-offs need to be further assessed. In their study exploring restoration success in South Africa, del Río et al. [ 22 ] improve our understanding on how techniques such as remote sensing can be used to measure restoration success.

As shown in this Collection and in other studies, trade-offs in restoration efforts are not uncommon and ultimately, restoration is successful when we can achieve restoration goals while minimizing trade-offs. The successful stories from the restoration interventions across different habitats and species showcased in the Collection (e.g., Sansupa et al. [ 3 ], Roon et al. [ 18 ], Valach et al. [ 21 ], Bouley et al. [ 23 ]) are a valuable addition to the science needed to advocate for restoration as a pathway to the recovery of previously degraded, damaged, or destroyed ecosystems. Reporting successful restoration outcomes can help increase buy-in for further restoration projects and increase funding availability for such projects. However, such buy-in can only occur if stakeholders are interested in the set restoration goals. For example, the need for climate mitigation has been used to justify several restoration programs around the world (Alexander et al. [ 24 ], Griscom et al. [ 25 ]). In this Collection, Matzek et al. [ 26 ] ask whether including ecosystem services as a restoration goal will engage a different set of values and attitudes than biodiversity protection alone. They found that support for habitat restoration is generally based on ecocentric values and attitudes, but that positive associations between pro-environmental behavior and egoistic values emerge when emphasis is placed on ecosystem service outcomes. They emphasize the notion that the ecosystem services concept garners non-traditional backers and broadens the appeal of ecological restoration as it is seen as a means of improving human well-being. Nevertheless, several studies (Bullock et al. [ 27 ], Egoh et al. [ 28 ], Newton et al. [ 29 ]) have shown that there can be trade-offs between biodiversity and services during restoration and among different services, so restoration aims need to be clear rather than assuming win-win outcomes. Indeed, previous studies including Berry et al. [ 30 ] have suggested that a broad spectrum of perspectives on biodiversity conservation exist and should be used as arguments for conservation actions, from intrinsic to utilitarian values. In their analysis, the main differences between types of arguments appeared to result from the espousal of ecocentric or anthropocentric viewpoints, rather than from differences between the various stakeholder groups. This suggests that to promote restoration goals, a broad range of restoration goals are needed, including those that are more anthropocentric such as economic development.

While the positive impacts of ecological restoration on biodiversity are well established, less evidence is available regarding its impacts on economic development and employment. Although restoration efforts centered around economic development in Africa, such as the Working for Water Project and eThekwini forest restoration project in South Africa have generated strong support from government, not many such initiatives exist in other parts of the world (Mugwedi et al. [ 19 ]). In this collection, Newton et al. [ 29 ] examine the impacts of restoration on economic development and employment. They conclude that landscape-scale restoration or rewilding of agricultural land can potentially increase the contribution of farmland to economic development and employment, by increasing flows of multiple ecosystem services to the many economic sectors that depend on them. Indeed, restoration has contributed to the economy in many parts of the world leading to the framing of the term “restoration economy” or “green economy” which is now commonly used in the restoration literature (Bek et al. [ 31 ], Formosa et al. [ 32 ]). A recent report by Dasgupta [ 33 ] states that “our economies are embedded within Nature, not external to it”. While we are all looking forward to the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration launching this year, the uptake of restoration projects will depend on financing. Generating funds to support and sustain restoration projects is one of the biggest challenges facing restoration activities worldwide (FAO and Global Mechanism of the UNCCD [ 34 ]). The inclusion of a broad range of goals that span from biodiversity to anthropocentric goals such as those related to benefits of nature’s contribution to people to those that are purely development such as job creation may be the way forward.

• 1. Brondizio ES, Settele J, Díaz S, Ngo HT. Global assessment report on biodiversity and ecosystem services of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. Bonn: IPBES Secretariat; 2019.
• 2. Reid WV, Mooney HA, Cropper A, Capistrano D, Carpenter SR, Chopra K, et al. Ecosystems and human well-being-Synthesis: A report of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. Washington, DC: Island Press; 2005.
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• 33. Dasgupta P. The economics of biodiversity: the Dasgupta review. London: HM Treasury; 2021.
• 34. FAO and Global Mechanism of the UNCCD. Sustainable Financing for Forest and Landscape Restoration-Opportunities, Challenges and the Way Forward. Liagre L, Lara Almuedo P, Besacier C, Conigliaro M, editors. Rome: Food and Agricultural Organization; 2015.

Environmental Systems Research

Guest Editors: Charles Onyutha, Brian Odhiambo Ayugi, Kenny T.C. Lim Kam Sian, Fatimatou Sall, Kishore Ragi Submission Status: Open   |   Submission Deadline: 31 July 2024

Guest Editors: Qaisar Mahmood, Sunil Kumar and Paromita Chakraborty Submission Status: Open   |   Submission Deadline:   30 June 2024

Environmental Systems Research is associated with  the global Network on Persistent, Emerging and Organic Pollution in the Environment (PEOPLE Network).

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Think Out Loud

How the smells of nature can affect human well-being.

Broadcast: Thursday, May 30

People gather under the massive trees in Columbia View Park in Gresham, Ore., July 6, 2022.

Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB

Whether it’s a walk in the park, hike in the forest or tending to a backyard garden, there’s ample subjective and scientific evidence that being in nature can have beneficial effects for us, from relieving stress to improving our mood. But less is known about how scents of nature that are below our conscious awareness, from the unmistakable odor of a pine tree to chemicals emitted by plants, influence human health and behavior.

In a recently published paper , a team of scientists in the U.S., Europe and Asia make the case for more research to be done on the link between the rich olfactory environments of nature and human health. As air pollution and habitat loss threaten biodiversity, they also threaten olfactory diversity in the natural world.

Greg Bratman is the lead author of the paper, an assistant professor of environmental and forest sciences and the director of the Environment and Well-being Lab at the University of Washington. He joins us to share more about this effort, and how the olfactory pathway may open up new possibilities to better understand the benefits of experiencing – and smelling – nature.

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• NATURE INDEX
• 11 October 2023

Where is the strongest research focus on the environment?

• Simon Baker &

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Senior editor, Nature Index

High-quality research from scientists in Australia, New Zealand and parts of Scandinavia tends to lean the most heavily towards tackling climate and conservation issues, according to an analysis of data in the Nature Index.

Of research published from 2015 to 2022 in 82 natural-science journals tracked by Nature Index, 4.7% of articles align with the four United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that are most closely related to climate change and conservation.

Some of the leading 25 countries and territories for publishing this research, however, are way ahead of this global average (see ‘Green focus’). The interactive chart shows the proportion (climate and conservation %) of a country or territory’s total Nature Index output (measured by the Nature Index metric Share ) that aligns with SDGs on Responsible Consumption and Production (SDG 12), Climate Action (SDG 13), Life Below Water (SDG 14) and Life On Land (SDG15).

Almost one-fifth of Nature Index research published by Norway, for instance, is related to these SDGs, and 14.5% of New Zealand’s output in the database align with the four goals. Finland and Denmark also have a high proportion of their research related to these topics.

Nature Index 2023 Climate and conservation

These countries do have a relatively low volume of research output for SDGs 12–15 (as shown by the size of the bubbles), but Australia (10.4%) is notable for having higher output that is also well above the global average.

The biggest publishers of high-quality climate and conservation research — the United States and China — are closer to the global average, but fall either side of this line. Japan, meanwhile, is an example of a country with relatively high volume, but well below the average as a proportion of its total Nature Index output.

Digging into the data shows how this research breaks down between the four SDGs for each country and territory.

The following interactive charts (see ‘Goal specific’) show the proportion of a location’s total climate and conservation output in the Nature Index that relates to each SDG (SDG as proportion of all climate and conservation output), with the size of the bubbles showing the volume (measured by the Nature Index metric Share).

SDG 13 (Climate Action) tends to represent the greatest proportion of research on the wider topic: globally, 62% of all Nature Index output aligned with SDGs 12 to 15 aligns with SDG 13. The United States and China are both ahead of the average, but many countries in Europe lag behind. India has the highest percentage of its climate and conservation research in SDG 13.

Countries with easy access to extensive coastlines are among those with a skew towards SDG 14 (Life Below Water), including Australia, France and the United Kingdom, whereas Brazil, with its research focus on the Amazon rainforest, is an outlier for SDG 15 (Life On Land).

SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) tends to represent the smallest proportion of climate and conservation research, but Singapore and Belgium are the furthest ahead of the global average.

Data on research articles and their SDG alignment come from Digital Sciences’ Dimensions platform, which uses machine learning to automatically tag research papers if they align to certain SDGs. Some articles are tagged to more than one SDG, so percentages may not add up to 100.

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-02869-y

This article is part of Nature Index 2023 Climate and conservation , an editorially independent supplement. Advertisers have no influence over the content.

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What really matters for successful research environments? A realist synthesis

Rola ajjawi.

1 Centre for Research in Assessment and Digital Learning (CRADLE), Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, Australia

Paul E S Crampton

2 Research Department of Medical Education, University College London, London, UK

3 Monash Centre for Scholarship in Health Education (MCSHE), Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia

Charlotte E Rees

Associated data.

Table S2. MeSH terms and a selection of key terms utilised in the database searches.

Table S3. Inclusion and exclusion criteria with respect to topic, recentness and type of article.

Table S4. Refined inclusion and exclusion criteria to include contextual parameters.

Table S5. Studies by type: qualitative, quantitative and mixed‐methods.

Research environments, or cultures, are thought to be the most influential predictors of research productivity. Although several narrative and systematic reviews have begun to identify the characteristics of research‐favourable environments, these reviews have ignored the contextual complexities and multiplicity of environmental characteristics.

The current synthesis adopts a realist approach to explore what interventions work for whom and under what circumstances.

We conducted a realist synthesis of the international literature in medical education, education and medicine from 1992 to 2016, following five stages: (i) clarifying the scope; (ii) searching for evidence; (iii) assessing quality; (iv) extracting data, and (v) synthesising data.

We identified numerous interventions relating to research strategy, people, income, infrastructure and facilities (IIF), and collaboration. These interventions resulted in positive or negative outcomes depending on the context and mechanisms fired. We identified diverse contexts at the individual and institutional levels, but found that disciplinary contexts were less influential. There were a multiplicity of positive and negative mechanisms, along with three cross‐cutting mechanisms that regularly intersected: time; identity, and relationships. Outcomes varied widely and included both positive and negative outcomes across subjective (e.g. researcher identity) and objective (e.g. research quantity and quality) domains.

Conclusions

The interplay among mechanisms and contexts is central to understanding the outcomes of specific interventions, bringing novel insights to the literature. Researchers, research leaders and research organisations should prioritise the protection of time for research, enculturate researcher identities, and develop collaborative relationships to better foster successful research environments. Future research should further explore the interplay among time, identity and relationships.

Short abstract

This realist review shows when and why interventions related to research strategy; people; income, infrastructure and facilities; and collaboration result in positive or negative research environments. Findings indicate that protected time, researcher identities and collaborative relationships are important for fostering successful research environments.

Introduction

Research environments matter. Environmental considerations such as robust cultures of research quality and support for researchers are thought to be the most influential predictors of research productivity. 1 , 2 Over 25 years ago, Bland and Ruffin 1 identified 12 characteristics of research‐favourable environments in the international academic medicine literature spanning the period from the mid‐1960s to 1990 (Box 1 ). Although these characteristics are aspirational in flavour, how they interplay to influence research productivity within increasingly complex institutional structures is not yet known. Indeed, although existing reviews have begun to help us better understand what makes for successful research environments, this research has typically ignored the contextual complexities and multiplicity of environmental characteristics 1 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 and has focused on narrow markers of productivity such as the quantity of research outputs (e.g. ref. 7 ) The current realist synthesis, therefore, aims to address this gap in the research literature by reviewing more recent literature ( 1992–2016 ) and exploring the features of successful research environments in terms of which interventions work, for whom, how and in what circumstances.

Characteristics of successful research environments 1

• Clear organisational research goals
• Research productivity as a priority and at least equal priority to other activities
• A robust research culture with shared research values
• A positive group climate
• Participative governance structures
• Non‐hierarchical and decentralised structures
• Good communication and professionally meaningful relationships between team members
• Decent resources such as people, funding, research facilities and time
• Larger group size, moderately established teams and diversity
• Rewards for research success
• Recruitment and selection of talented researchers
• Research‐oriented leaders with research expertise and skill

The contextual background for understanding successful research environments

Against a backdrop of the mass production of education, reduced government funding for research and ‘new managerialist’ cultures in higher education, 8 , 9 increased scrutiny of the quantity and quality of research, the research environments in which research is produced and the impacts of research has become inevitable. 10 Indeed, in higher education institutions (HEIs) globally, research productivity is being measured as part of individual researcher and research group key performance indicators. 7 In many countries, such as Australia, Hong Kong, New Zealand and the UK, 11 HEI research is measured on a national scale through government‐led research assessments. Such research measurement has contributed to the allocation of funding to universities and differentiation of universities in the competitive marketplace, with some solidifying their institutional identities as ‘research‐intensive’ and others emphasising their relative ‘newcomer‐to‐research’ status (e.g. previously ‘teaching‐intensive’ universities). 9 , 12 , 13 Such institutional differentiation also parallels that of individual academics within universities, who are increasingly encouraged to take either ‘research‐active’ or ‘education‐focused’ career pathways. 8 , 9 It is these broader national and institutional constraints that inevitably impact on research environments at the level of units, centres, departments and schools within universities (the level of ‘research environment’ that we focus on in this paper). Table S1 provides definitions of key terms.

Key features of research environments identified in previous reviews

Evans defines a research environment as including: ‘shared values, assumptions, beliefs, rituals and other forms of behaviour whose central focus is the acceptance and recognition of research practice and output as valued, worthwhile and pre‐eminent activity.’ 14 Previous reviews have tended to focus on interventions aimed at individual researchers, such as research capacity building, 4 , 5 , 7 and with individual‐level outcomes, such as increased numbers of grants or publications. 4 , 5 , 7 These reviews have typically concluded that research capacity‐building interventions lead to positive research outcomes. 4 , 5 , 7 Furthermore, the reviews have identified both individual and institutional enablers to research. Individual enablers included researchers’ intrinsic motivation to conduct research. 6 , 7 Institutional enablers included peer support, encouragement and review, 7 mentoring and collaboration, 4 , 5 research leadership, 5 , 6 institutional structures, processes and systems supporting research, such as clear strategy, 5 , 6 protected time and financial support. 5 Although these reviews have begun to shed light on the features of successful research environments, they have significant limitations: (i) they either include studies of low to moderate quality 4 , 5 or fail to check the quality of studies included, 7 and (ii) they do not explore what works for whom and under what circumstances, but instead focus on what works and ignore the influence of the context in which interventions are implemented and ‘how’ outcomes come about. Indeed, Mazmanian et al. 4 concluded in their review: ‘…little is known about what works best and in what situations.’

Conceptual framework: a realist approach

Given the gaps in the research literature and the importance of promoting successful research environments for individuals’ careers, institutional prestige and the knowledge base of the community, we thought a realist synthesis would be most likely to elucidate how multiple complex interventions can influence success. Realism assumes the existence of an external reality (a real world), but one that is filtered (i.e. perceived, interpreted and responded to) through human senses, volitions, language and culture. 15 A realist approach enables the development and testing of theory for why interventions may or may not work, for whom and under what circumstances. 16 It does this through recognising that interventions do not directly cause outcomes; instead, participants’ reactions and responses to the opportunities provided by the intervention trigger outcomes. This approach can allow researchers to identify causal links in complex situations, such as those between interventions and the contexts in which they work, how they work (mechanisms) and their outcomes. 17 Although the context–mechanism–outcome (CMO) approach is not necessarily linear, it can help to provide explanations that privilege contextual variability. 18

Aligned with the goals of realist research, this synthesis aims to address the following research question: What are the features of successful research environments, for whom, how and in what circumstances?

We followed five stages of realist synthesis: (i) clarifying scope; (ii) searching for evidence; (iii) assessing quality; (iv) extracting data, and (v) synthesising data. 19 Our methods also follow the RAMESES ( r ealist a nd m eta‐narrative e vidence s ynthesis: e volving s tandards) reporting guidelines. 20

Clarifying the scope

We first clarified the scope of our realist synthesis by identifying relevant interventions based on the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2014 environment assessment criteria. The REF is a national exercise assessing the quality of research produced by UK HEIs, its impact beyond academia, and the environment that supports research. The assessment criteria indicated in the REF2014 environment template included the unit's research strategy , its people (including staffing strategy, staff development and research students), its income, infrastructure and facilities (IIF), as well as features of collaboration . 21 These guided our search terms (see stage 2 below). We chose to use these quality markers as they informed the UK national assessment exercise, upon which other national exercises are often based. In addition, these criteria were explicit, considered and implementable, and were developed through consensus. Like other realist syntheses, 18 , 22 , 23 ours considered a multiplicity of different interventions rather than just one and some of the papers we reviewed combined multiple interventions.

Based on previous reviews, 1 , 4 , 5 , 7 our initial programme theory speculated that interventions aligned to having an explicit research strategy, staff development opportunities, funding and establishing research networks would be effective for creating successful research environments (Fig. ​ (Fig.1 1 gives further details of our initial programme theory).

Initial programme theory

Searching for empirical evidence

We devised search terms as a team and refined these iteratively with the help of a health librarian experienced in searching. We split the research question into three key concepts: (i) research environment; (ii) discipline, and (iii) research indicator (i.e. positive or negative). We then used variations of these terms to search the most relevant databases including MEDLINE, ProQuest, Scopus, CINAHL (Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature) and Web of Science. Table S2 illustrates the MeSH terms and provides a selection of key terms utilised in the database searches.

We were interested in comparing research cultures across the disciplines of medical education, education and medicine for two key reasons. Firstly, the discipline of medical education consists of a rich tapestry of epistemological approaches including biomedical sciences, social sciences and education, and medicine. 24 , 25 Secondly, there have been disciplinary arguments in the literature about whether medical education should be constructed as medicine or social science. 24 , 26

We agreed various inclusion and exclusion criteria with respect to topic, recentness and type of article (Table S3 ), as well as refined criteria to include contextual parameters (Table S4 ). We chose 1992 as the start date for our search period as 1992 saw the first published literature review about productive research environments in the academic medicine literature. 1

Study selection

The first top‐level search elicited 8527 journal articles across all databases. Once duplicate results had been removed, and ‘topic’ and ‘recentness’ study parameters reinforced, 420 articles remained. The searching and selection process is summarised in a PRISMA ( p referred r eporting i tems for s ystematic reviews and m eta‐ a nalyses) diagram (Fig. ​ (Fig.2). 2 ). Three research assistants and one of the authors (PESC) initially assessed relevance by reviewing abstracts using preliminary inclusion criteria. If any ambiguities were found by any of the reviewers, abstracts were checked by one of the other two researchers (RA and CER). Where divergent views existed, researchers discussed the reasons why and agreed on whether to include or exclude. A 10% sample of these 420 abstracts were double‐checked by an additional two researchers, including a number of articles previously excluded, for quality control purposes.

PRISMA flow diagram of the selection process

Assessment of quality

We assessed the journal articles for relevance and rigour. 20 We defined an article's relevance according to ‘whether it can contribute to theory building and/or testing’. 20 Following the relevance check and ‘type’ exclusions to original research papers, 100 articles remained, which were then assessed for rigour. Although we chose to narrow down to original research, we kept relevant articles such as systematic reviews and opinion pieces to inform the introduction and discussion sections of this paper.

We defined rigour as determining ‘whether the method used to generate the particular piece of data is credible and trustworthy’. 20 We used two pre‐validated tools to assess study quality: the Medical Education Research Study Quality Instrument (MERSQI) to assess the quality of quantitative research, 27 , 28 and the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) qualitative checklist for qualitative and mixed‐method studies. 29 Both tools are used to consider the rigour of study design, sampling, type of data, data analysis and outcomes/findings, and have been employed in previous reviews. 23 , 30

Following the quality assessment, 47 articles remained and were then subjected to data extraction and synthesis. Five papers were excluded as they did not contribute to our theory building or lacked CMO configurations (CMOCs). We kept notes of the reasons for excluding studies and resolved doubts through discussion (Fig. ​ (Fig.2 2 ).

Data extraction

Two data‐rich articles containing multiple CMOCs were inductively and deductively (based on the initial programme theory) coded by all of us to ensure consistency. We then discussed any similarities and differences in our coding. As is inherent in the challenges of realist approaches, we found differences in our identifications of CMOCs, which often related to how one particular component (e.g. time) could be an outcome at one moment and a mechanism the next. This alerted us to overlapping constructs, which we then explored as we coded remaining papers. To collect data across all remaining papers, we extracted information relating to: study design, methods and sample size; study setting; intervention focus; contexts of the intervention; mechanisms generated in the results, and outcomes. The key CMOCs in all 42 articles were identified primarily from the results sections of the papers. The process of data extraction and analysis was iterative with repeated discussion among the researchers of the demi‐regularities (i.e. patterns of CMOCs) in relation to the initial programme theory and negotiations of any differences of opinion.

Data synthesis

Finally, we interrogated our data extraction to look for patterns across our data/papers. We used an interpretative approach to consider how our data compared with our initial programme theory in order to develop our modified programme theory.

Characteristics of the studies

The 42 papers represented the following disciplines: medical education ( n = 4, 10%); 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 education ( n = 18, 43%), 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 and medicine ( n = 20, 48%). 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 , 65 , 66 , 67 , 68 , 69 , 70 , 71 , 72 There were 26 (62%) qualitative studies, 11 (26%) quantitative studies and five (12%) mixed‐methods studies (Table S5 ). The studies were from countries across the globe, including Australia ( n = 10, 24%), the USA ( n = 7, 17%), the UK ( n = 6, 14%), Canada ( n = 4, 10%), South Africa ( n = 4, 10%), Denmark ( n = 2, 5%), Turkey ( n = 2, 5%) and others ( n = 7, 17%) (e.g. Belgium, China, Germany, New Zealand and the Philippines). The research designs varied but common approaches included qualitative interviews, surveys, documentary/bibliographic analysis, case studies and mixed‐methods studies. Study participants included academics, teachers, health care professionals, senior directors, PhD students, early‐career researchers (ECRs) and senior researchers. Table S6 lists the individual contexts, interventions, mechanisms and outcomes identified from individual papers.

Extending our initial programme theory

A key finding from our realist synthesis was that the same interventions fired either positive or negative mechanisms leading to positive or negative outcomes, respectively, depending on context. Surprisingly, the CMOCs were mostly consistent across the three disciplines (i.e. medical education, education and medicine) with local contexts seemingly interplaying more strongly with outcomes. Therefore, we present these disciplinary contexts here as merged, but we highlight any differences by disciplinary context where relevant.

Having a research strategy promoted a successful research environment when it enabled appropriate resources (including time) and valuing of research; however, it had negative consequences when it too narrowly focused on outputs, incentives and rewards. In terms of people , individual researchers needed to be internally motivated and to have a sense of belonging, and protected time and access to capacity‐building activities in order to produce research. Lack of knowledge, researcher identity, networks and time, plus limited leadership support, acted as mechanisms leading to negative research outcomes. The presence of IIF was overwhelmingly indicated as necessary for successful research environments and their absence was typically detrimental. Interestingly, a few papers reported that external funding could have negative consequences because short‐term contracts, reduced job security and the use of temporary junior staff can lead to weak research environments. 40 , 67 , 71 Finally, collaboration was crucial for successful research mediated through trusting respectful relationships, supportive leadership and belongingness. Poor communication and competitive cultures, however, worked to undermine collaboration, leading to isolation and low self‐esteem, plus decreased research engagement and productivity. Table ​ Table1 1 highlights illustrative CMOCs for each intervention extending our initial programme theory.

Positive and negative context–mechanism–outcome configurations (CMOCs) for each intervention

CMOCs indicated in bold highlight the three cross‐cutting themes of time, identity and relationships.

ECRs = early‐career researchers.

Key cross‐cutting mechanisms: time, identity and relationships

As Table ​ Table1 1 shows, the same intervention can lead to positive or negative outcomes depending on the particular contexts and mechanisms triggered. This highlights greater complexity than is evident at first glance. Cross‐cutting these four interventions were three mechanisms that were regularly identified as critical to the success (or not) of a research environment: time; researcher identities, and relationships. We now present key findings for each of these cross‐cutting mechanisms and discuss how their inter‐relations lead to our modified programme theory (Fig. ​ (Fig.3). 3 ). Note that although we have tried to separate these three mechanisms for ease of reading, they were often messily entangled. Table ​ Table2 2 presents quotes illustrating the way in which each mechanism mediates outcomes within particular circumstances.

Modified programme theory. ECR = early‐career researcher

Time, identity and relationships as cross‐cutting mechanisms mediating successful research environments

Time was identified as an important mechanism for mobilising research outcomes across our three disciplines. Time was conceptualised severally including as: protected time; workload pressures influencing time available; efficient use of time; flexible use of time; making time, and time in career. The two most commonly considered aspects were protected time and workload implications. Protected time was largely talked about in the negative across a variety of contexts and disciplines, with lack of protected time leading to lack of researcher engagement or inactivity and reduced research productivity. 32 , 35 , 37 , 41 , 44 , 47 , 49 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 67 Also across a variety of contexts and disciplines, and acting as a positive mechanism, available protected time was found to lead to increased research productivity and active research engagement. 31 , 36 , 40 , 48 , 49 , 63 , 65 With regard to workload, limitations on the time available for research imposed by excessive other workloads led to reduced research activity, lower research productivity, poor‐quality research and reduced opportunity to attend research training. 40 , 41 , 47 , 49 , 60 , 67 Juggling of multiple responsibilities, such as clinical, teaching, administrative and leadership roles, also inhibited research productivity by diminishing the time available for research. 35 , 40 , 49 The alignment of research with other non‐research work was described as driving efficiencies in the use of time leading to greater research productivity (Table ​ (Table2, 2 , quote 1).

Identity was also an important mechanism for mobilising research outcomes across our three disciplines. Interpretations included personal identities (e.g. gender), professional identity (e.g. as a primary practitioner or a primary researcher), and social identity (e.g. sense of belongingness). Researcher identity was often referred to in relation to first‐career practitioners (and therefore second‐career researchers). Sharp et al. 48 defined these as participants recruited into higher education not directly from doctoral study but on the basis of their extensive ‘first‐order’ knowledge and pedagogical expertise. These were also practitioners conducting research in schools or hospitals. Identities were also referenced in relation to early, mid‐career or senior researchers. Academic staff working in academic institutions needed to develop a sense of researcher identity, belongingness, self‐efficacy for research and autonomy to increase their satisfaction, competence and research activity. 39 , 40 , 44 , 46 , 51 , 67 For first‐career practitioners (i.e. teachers, doctors), the research needed to be highly relevant and aligned to their primary identity work in order to motivate them. 53 , 59 , 62 , 65 This alignment was described as having a strong research–teaching nexus. 40 , 48 Linked to this concept was the need for first‐career practitioners to see the impact of research in relation to their primary work (e.g. patient‐ or student‐oriented) to facilitate motivation and to develop a researcher identity (Table ​ (Table2, 2 , quote 2). 36 , 37 , 41 , 49 , 53 , 54 , 67 Where research was seen as irrelevant to primary identity work (e.g. English language teaching, general practice), there was research disengagement. 37 , 48 , 52 , 59 , 67

Relationships

For all researchers and across our three disciplines, relationships were important in the mediating of successful research environments. 31 , 34 , 38 , 39 , 41 , 44 , 57 , 60 , 66 , 67 Positive research relationships were characterised by mutual trust and respect, 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 54 , 66 , 72 whereas others described them as friendships that take time to develop. 51 Mutually supportive relationships seemed to be particularly relevant to ECRs in terms of developing confidence, self‐esteem and research capacity and making identity transitions. 35 , 43 , 48 , 58 , 67 Relationships in the form of networks were considered to improve the quality of research through multicentre research and improved collaboration. 33 , 60 Supportive leadership as a particular form of relationship was an important mechanism in promoting a successful research environment. Supportive leaders needed to monitor workloads, set the vision, raise awareness of the value of research, and provide positive role‐modelling, thereby leading to increased productivity, promoting researcher identities and creating thriving research environments (Table ​ (Table2, 2 , quote 3). 31 , 34 , 37 , 38 , 40 , 41 , 43 , 44 , 46 , 48 , 49 , 53 , 55 , 62 Research leadership, however, could be influenced negatively by the context of compliance and counting in current university cultures damaging relationships, creating a loss of motivation, and raising feelings of devalue. Indeed, the failure of leaders to recognise researcher identities led to negative research productivity. 36 , 37 , 38 , 43 , 46 , 48 , 49

Intersections between time, identity and relationships within successful research environments

Time and identity.

Time and identity intersected in interesting ways. Firstly, time was a necessary enabler for the development of a researcher identity. 37 , 38 , 41 , 48 , 49 , 54 , 59 , 61 , 63 , 65 , 67 , 69 Secondly, those who identified as researchers (thus holding primary researcher identities) used their time efficiently to favour research activity outcomes despite a lack of protected time. 35 , 43 Conversely, for other professors who lacked personal determination and resilience for research, having protected time did not lead to better research activity. 43 This highlights the fact that time alone is insufficient to support a successful research environment, and that it is how time is utilised and prioritised by researchers that really matters (Table ​ (Table2, 2 , quote 4).

Identity and relationships

Interventions aimed at developing researcher identity consistently focused on relationship building across the three disciplines. The interventions that supported identity transitions into research included formal research training, 44 , 48 , 52 , 68 mentoring, 41 , 48 , 57 , 65 , 72 writing groups, 72 and collaboration with peers and other researchers, 39 , 41 , 43 operating through multiple mechanisms including relationships. The mechanisms included self‐esteem/confidence, increased networks, external recognition as a researcher, belongingness, and self‐efficacy. 35 , 41 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 52 , 57 Furthermore, our data suggest that leadership can be an enabler to the development of a researcher identity. In particular, leadership enabled research autonomy, recognition and empowerment, and fostered supportive mentoring environments, leading to researcher identity development and research productivity (Table ​ (Table2, 2 , quote 5). 34 , 38 , 46 , 48

Time and relationships

Relationships were developed and sustained over time (Table ​ (Table2, 2 , quote 6). Across the three disciplines, the role of leaders (managers, directors, deans) was to acknowledge and raise awareness of research, and then to prioritise time for research against competing demands, leading to effective research networks, cohesion and collaboration. 31 , 34 , 38 , 43 , 46 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 53 , 55 , 70 Second‐career PhD students who did not invest time in establishing relationships with researchers in their new disciplines (as they already had strong supportive networks in their original disciplines) found that they had limited research networks following graduation. 48

Summary of key findings

Our initial programme theory was based on previous literature reviews 1 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 and on the REF2014 criteria. 10 , 21 However, we were able to develop a modified programme theory on the basis of our realist synthesis, which highlights novel findings in terms of what really matters for successful research environments. Firstly, we found that key interventions led to both positive (subjective and objective) and negative (subjective and objective) outcomes in various contexts. Interestingly, we did not identify any outcomes relating to research impact despite impact nowadays being considered a prominent marker of research success, alongside quantitative metrics such as number of publications, grant income and h‐indices. 21 Secondly, we found that disciplinary contexts appeared to be less influential than individual, local and institutional contexts. Finally, our modified programme theory demonstrates a complex interplay among three cross‐cutting mechanisms (time, researcher identity and relationships) as mechanisms underpinning both successful and unsuccessful research environments.

Key findings and comparisons with the existing literature

Our research supports the findings of earlier reviews 1 , 5 , 6 , 7 regarding the importance of having a clear research strategy, an organisation that values research, research‐oriented leadership, access to resources (such as people, funding, research facilities and time), and meaningful relationships. However, our research extends these findings considerably by flagging up the indication that a clear linear relationship, whereby the presence of these interventions will necessarily result in a successful research environment, does not exist. For example, instituting a research strategy can have negative effects if the indicators are seen as overly narrow in focus or output‐oriented. 38 , 40 , 46 , 47 , 64 Similarly, project money can lead to the employment of more part‐time staff on fixed‐term contracts, which results in instability, turnover and lack of research team expertise. 40 , 67 , 71

Our findings indicate that the interplays among time, identity and relationships are important considerations when implementing interventions promoting research environments. Although time was identified as an important mechanism affecting research outcomes within the majority of papers, researcher identity positively affected research outcomes even in time‐poor situations. Indeed, we found that identity acted as a mechanism for research productivity that could overcome limited time through individuals efficiently finding time to prioritise research through their motivation and resilience. 35 , 43 Time was therefore more than just time spent doing research, but also included investment in developing a researcher identity and relationships with other researchers over time. 37 , 38 , 41 , 48 , 49 , 54 , 59 , 61 , 63 , 67 , 69 Relationship‐building interventions were also found to be effective in supporting difficult identity transitions into research faced by ECRs and those with first‐career practitioner backgrounds. Supportive leadership, as a particular form of relationship, could be seen as an enabler to the provision of protected time and a reasonable workload, allowing time for research and for researcher identity formation. 34 , 38 , 46 , 48 Indeed, our realist synthesis findings highlight the central importance of researcher identity and thus offer a novel explanation for why research environments may not flourish even in the presence of a research strategy, resources (e.g. time) and valuing of research.

Researcher identity is complex and intersects with other identities such as those of practitioner, teacher, leader and so on. Brew et al. 39 , 73 , 74 explored researcher identification and productivity by asking researchers if they considered themselves to be ‘research‐active’ and part of a research team. Those who identified as researchers prioritised their work differently: those who were highly productive prioritised research, whereas those in the low‐productivity group prioritised teaching. 73 Interestingly, highly productive researchers tended to view research as a social phenomenon with publications, presentations and grants being ‘traded’ in academic networks. Brew et al. 39 explain that: ‘…the trading view relates to a self‐generating researcher identity. Researcher identity develops in the act of publication, networks, collaborations and peer review. These activities support a person's identification as a researcher. They also, in turn, influence performance measures and metrics.’ Although the relationships among identity, identification and productivity are clearly complex, we explored a broader range of metrics in our realist synthesis than just productivity.

Methodological strengths and limitations

This is the first study to explore this important topic using realist synthesis to better understand the influence of context and how particular interventions lead to outcomes. We followed RAMESES 20 guidelines and adopted a rigorous team‐based approach to each analytic stage, conducting regular quality checks. The search was not exhaustive as we could have ‘exploded’ the interventions and performed a comprehensive review of each in its own right (e.g. mentoring). However, for pragmatic reasons and to answer our broad research questions, we chose not to do this, as suggested by Wong et al. 20 Although all members of the team had been involved in realist syntheses previously, the process remained messy as we dealt with complex phenomena. The messiness often lies in untangling CMOCs and identifying recurrent patterns in the large amounts of literature reviewed.

Implications for education and research

Our findings suggest that interventions related to research strategy, people, IIF and collaboration are supported under the ‘right’ conditions. We need to focus on time, identity and relationships (including leadership) in order to better mobilise the interventions to promote successful research environments.

Individuals need to reflect on how and why they identify as researchers, including their conceptions of research and their working towards the development of a researcher identity such that research is internally motivated rather than just externally driven. Those who are second‐career researchers or those with significant teaching or practitioner roles could seek to align research with their practice while they establish wider research networks.

We recommend that research leaders support individuals to develop their researcher identity, be seen to value research, recognise that research takes time, and provide access to opportunities promoting research capacity building, strong relationships and collaboration. Leaders, for example, may introduce interventions that promote researcher identities and build research relationships (e.g. collaborations, networking, mentoring, research groups etc.), paying attention to the ways in which competitive or collaborative cultures are fostered. Browne et al. 75 recently recommended discussions around four categories for promoting identity transition: reflection on self (values, experiences and expectations); consideration of the situation (circumstances, concerns); support (what is available and what is needed), and strategies (personal strategies to cope with change and thrive). With the professionalisation of medical education, 76 research units are increasingly likely to contain a mixture of first‐ and second‐career researchers, and our review suggests that discussions about conceptions of research and researcher identity would be valuable.

Finally, organisations need to value research and provide access to resources and research capacity‐building activities. Within the managerialist cultures of HEIs, compliance and counting have already become dominant discourses in terms of promotion and success. Policymakers should therefore consider ways in which HEIs recognise, incentivise and reward research in all its forms (including subjective and objective measures of quantity, quality and impact) to determine the full effects of their policies on research environments.

Future research would benefit from further exploration of the interplay among time, identities and relationships (including leadership) in different contexts using realist evaluation. 77 Specifically, as part of realist approaches, longitudinal audio‐diaries 78 could be employed to explore researcher identity transitions over time, particularly for first‐career practitioners transitioning into second‐career researchers.

Contributors

RA and CER were responsible for the conception of the synthesis. All authors contributed to the protocol development. RA and PESC carried out the database searches. All authors sifted for relevance and rigour, analysed the papers and contributed to the writing of the article. All authors approved the final manuscript for publication.

Conflicts of interest

Ethical approval.

not required.

Supporting information

Table S1. Definitions of key terms.

Table S6. Contexts, interventions, mechanisms and outcomes identified in individual studies.

Acknowledgements

we thank Andy Jackson, Learning and Teaching Librarian, University of Dundee, Dundee, UK, for his advice and help in developing our literature searches. We also thank Laura McDonald, Paul McLean and Eilidh Dear, who were medical students at the University of Dundee, for their help with database searches and with sifting papers for relevance and rigour. We would also like to thank Chau Khuong, Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, for her work in designing Figs ​ Figs1 1 and ​ and3 3 .

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Not all oil weighs equally on the scales of climate change.

New research from Stanford University finds that in 2015, nearly 9,000 oilfields in 90 countries produced greenhouse gases equivalent to 1.7 gigatons of carbon dioxide – roughly 5 percent of all emissions from fuel combustion that year. On average, oil production emitted of 10.3 grams of emissions for every megajoule of crude, but nations with the most carbon-intensive practices cranked out emissions at nearly twice that rate.

New research quantifies greenhouse gas emissions from crude oil production – from when companies first explore a site through transporting crude to refineries. (Image credit: Getty Images)

The research, published Aug. 30 in the journal Science , quantifies emissions from when companies first explore a site through transporting crude to refineries. Accounting for as much as 98 percent of global production, it is the most comprehensive assessment to date of carbon intensity and pollution by oil fields.

Yet according to lead author Mohammad Masnadi, a postdoctoral researcher at Stanford University’s School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences ( Stanford Earth ), total emissions from crude oil production may be higher than even these latest calculations suggest, because the current analysis does not fully capture emissions related to leakage and venting of methane, a powerful global warming gas. Masnadi worked with Adam Brandt , an assistant professor of energy resources engineering and senior author on the paper.

The work suggests nations with the highest carbon-intensity produce more than 15 grams of carbon dioxide equivalent, on average, for every megajoule of crude. That’s roughly triple the average carbon intensity of oilfields in countries at the low end of the scale.

Nothing drives up carbon intensity like the practice of routinely burning, or flaring, natural gas, the researchers found. “Everybody talks about heavy crude oil, oil sands and unconventional resources,” Masnadi said. But the research shows that a country like Algeria, which produces the lightest crude oil in the world, has the highest carbon intensity because oilfield operators routinely burn large amounts of gas. Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, has relatively low carbon intensity because it flares little gas and has vast resources with low water content, which means less energy goes into treating and separating the oil.

The revelation suggests that investment in infrastructure and policies to better manage natural gas could deliver greater climate benefits than previously thought. “Really, the challenge with flaring is there needs to be a policy or a regulatory apparatus to say, ‘Burning gas with no purpose isn’t allowed; put it back in the ground or find something useful to do with it,’” Brandt said.

To be sure, emissions related to a reservoir’s location and accessibility still play an important role. The paper finds Venezuela and Canada rank among the most carbon-intensive oil producers because of the high energy needs and emissions associated with extracting heavy oil from unconventional reserves like tar sands. And so-called enhanced recovery techniques that use steam to loosen oil from aging wells add to the relatively high carbon intensity of oil production in places like Indonesia, Oman and California.

In all, the study suggests that eliminating routine flaring and cutting methane leaks and venting to rates already achieved in Norway could cut as much as 700 megatons of emissions from the oil sector’s annual carbon footprint – a reduction of roughly 43 percent. And over the coming century, the world could avoid as much as 18 gigatons of emissions from the oil production expected to continue under even aggressive scenarios for shifting away from fossil fuels – mainly by halting extraction of the dirtiest resources and improving gas management.

Estimating emissions

The study builds on a project led by Brandt called the Oil Production Greenhouse Gas Emissions Estimator, or OPGEE, which California air regulators now use to estimate emissions from different crudes that California imports or produces as part of the state’s low-carbon fuel standard.

But until now, large gaps remained in even the best estimates of emissions from crude oil production on a global scale because they worked backward from economic data, calculating how many barrels oil companies were likely to have produced based on oil prices in a given period. According to Masnadi, “When you do this, you’re missing lots of underlying processes that lead to emissions.”

The new simulator, by contrast, calculates emissions from the bottom up. The researchers developed models of the physical processes involved at each stage from initial exploration through transport to refineries. Data-intensive calculations for a single field could require measures for up to 50 parameters, including oil density, production rates and the amount of natural gas that the operator burned or captured in pipelines – as well as whether a producer injects water or steam to coax crude from wells, or uses some other method.

Gathering that kind of detail for thousands of active oil fields around the world was daunting. “It’s the first time we’ve been able to do this at this very resolved oil field-by-oil field level,” Brandt said. But as few as 1,000 fields account for nearly two-thirds of global production, and the researchers realized they could focus on mining open-source data sets for those heavy hitters. For the remaining fields – mostly smaller scale producers – they could find information in private databases.

The group ultimately scoured public sources, including peer-reviewed research, news reports, technical reports, government databases and literature from the Society of Petroleum Engineering for one year, and then partnered with companies to gain access to two proprietary data sets. They then assigned quality scores to the different data sets, giving more weight to peer-reviewed sources and less to news reports and commercial sources that they agreed to keep private.

Societies remain heavily dependent on crude oil, which today goes into products ranging from asphalt and jet fuel to fertilizer and medicine. “Everybody lives based on these fossil fuel resources,” Masnadi said. “It’s not very feasible to get rid of this energy resource in one night or in one year.” The question is how to accelerate that transition. Part of the answer provided by this paper is understanding in fine detail where we stand today – and why. “Now we can move forward.”

Adam Brandt is also a center fellow, by courtesy, at the Precourt Institute for Energy . Additional co-authors are from Aramco Services Co., Ford Motor Co., University of Calgary, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Carnegie Mellon University, University of British Columbia, California Environmental Protection Agency, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, University of Michigan, International Energy Agency, Baker Hughes, Chalmers University of Technology, Cornell University and Argonne National Laboratory.

The work was funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Aramco Services Co., Ford Motor Co., the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the Hewlett Foundation, the ClimateWorks Foundation and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

Media Contacts

Josie Garthwaite, School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences: (650) 497-0947, [email protected]

Adam Brandt, School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences: (650) 724-8251, [email protected]

The State of Food and Agriculture 2023

Revealing the true cost of food to transform agrifood systems.

Year of publication 2023

Place of publication Rome, Italy ;

Pages 150 p.

Publisher FAO ;

Product type Book (series)

ISBN 978-92-5-138167-0

Series title The State of Food and Agriculture (SOFA)

Series number 2023

Synopsis (short abstract) Agrifood systems generate significant benefits to society, including the food that nourishes us and jobs and livelihoods for over a billion people. However, their negative impacts due to unsustainable business-as-usual activities and practices are contributing to climate change, natural resource degradation and the unaffordability of healthy diets. Addressing these negative impacts is challenging, because people, businesses, governments and other stakeholders lack a complete picture of how their activities affect economic, social and environmental sustainability when they make decisions on a day-to-day basis.The State of Food and Agriculture 2023 looks into the true cost of food for sustainable agrifood systems. The report introduces the concept of hidden environmental, health and social costs and benefits of agrifood systems and proposes an approach – true cost accounting (TCA) – to assess them. To operationalize the TCA approach, the report proposes a two-phase assessment process, first relying on national-level TCA assessments to raise awareness and then moving towards in-depth and targeted evaluations to prioritize solutions and guide transformative actions. It provides a first attempt at national-level assessments for 154 countries, suggesting that global hidden costs from agrifood systems amount to at least to 10 trillion 2020 PPP dollars. The estimates indicate that low-income countries bear the highest burden of the hidden costs of agrifood systems relative to national income. Despite the preliminary nature of these estimates, the analysis reveals the urgent need to factor hidden costs into decision-making for the transformation of agrifood systems. Innovations in research and data, alongside investments in data collection and capacity building, are needed to scale the application of TCA, especially in low- and middle-income countries, so that it can become a viable tool to inform decision- and policymaking in a transparent and consistent way.

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• Hidden costs of agrifood systems and recent trends from 2016 to 2023
• Accounting for the hidden costs of agrifood systems in data-scarce contexts
• The role of true cost accounting in guiding agrifood businesses and investments towards sustainability
• True cost accounting applications for agrifood systems policymakers

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Defining application areas of corn husk fibre by studying its characteristics

• Environmental Sustainability: Challenges and Solutions
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• Savan P. Chokshi 1 ,
• Sanjay B. Bambhaniya   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-3754-9043 1 &
• Aadhar A. Mandot 1  

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Natural fibres have attracted more attention compared with synthetic fibre because they exhibit several benefits over synthetic fibre, such as being cost-effective, readily available, and lightweight apart from offering better mechanical properties. Corn husk fibres being a natural crop fibre have attracted more attention due to their renewability and biodegradability. Corn husk is an outer protective layer of maize which is generally discarded as waste. However, this agro-waste can be utilized exclusively for various applications with a sustainable approach by extracting fibres out of them. This paper aims to revolutionize the usage of corn husk fibres in conventional as well as technical textile industries by enlisting various application areas. A comprehensive understanding of corn husk fibre extraction techniques and their effect on various fibre properties are also discussed. These properties are compared with properties of other natural fibres, to enable the possibility of converting corn husk fibres into different textile forms such as yarn, woven and nonwoven fabric, and composites. This will fulfill the increasing demand for natural fibre along with biodegradability and reduced petroleum dependency while contributing to the purpose-driven use of agro waste.

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All authors contributed to the study conception, data collection, and analysis. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Savan P. Chokshi and Sanjay B. Bambhaniya, and Aadhar A. Mandot commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Chokshi, S.P., Bambhaniya, S.B. & Mandot, A.A. Defining application areas of corn husk fibre by studying its characteristics. Environ Sci Pollut Res (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-024-33834-5

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Received : 28 April 2023

Accepted : 23 May 2024

Published : 25 May 2024

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-024-33834-5

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