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Neacă AM, Meis J, Knight T, Rakosy D. Intensive pasture management alters the composition and structure of plant-pollinator interactions in Sibiu, Romania. PeerJ 2024; 12:e16900. [PMID: 38435994 PMCID: PMC10909354 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.16900] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2023] [Accepted: 01/16/2024] [Indexed: 03/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Background Land management change towards intensive grazing has been shown to alter plant and pollinator communities and the structure of plant-pollinator interactions in different ways across the world. Land-use intensification in Eastern Europe is shifting highly diverse, traditionally managed hay meadows towards intensive pastures, but few studies have examined how this influences plant-pollinator networks. We hypothesized that the effects of intensive grazing on networks will depend on how plant communities and their floral traits change. Methods We investigated plant and pollinator diversity and composition and the structure of plant-pollinator interactions near Sibiu, Romania at sites that were traditionally managed as hay meadows or intensive pastures. We quantified the identity and abundance of flowering plants, and used transect walks to observe pollinator genera interacting with flowering plant species. We evaluated the effects of management on diversity, composition and several indices of network structure. Results Pollinator but not plant diversity declined in pastures and both plant and pollinator taxonomic composition shifted. Functional diversity and composition remained unchanged, with rather specialized flowers having been found to dominate in both hay meadows and pastures. Apis mellifera was found to be the most abundant pollinator. Its foraging preferences played a crucial role in shaping plant-pollinator network structure. Apis mellifera thus preferred the highly abundant Dorycnium herbaceum in hay meadows, leading to hay meadows networks with lower Shannon diversity and interaction evenness. In pastures, however, it preferred less abundant and more generalized flower resources. With pollinators being overall less abundant and more generalized in pastures, we found that niche overlap between plants was higher. Discussion With both hay meadows and pastures being dominated by plant species with similar floral traits, shifts in pollinator preferences seem to have driven the observed changes in plant-pollinator interaction networks. We thus conclude that the effects of grazing on pollinators and their interactions are likely to depend on the traits of plant species present in different management types as well as on the effects of grazing on plant community composition. We thereby highlight the need for better understanding how floral abundance shapes pollinator visitation rates and how floral traits may influence this relationship.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana-Maria Neacă
- Faculty of Biology and Geology, Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Julia Meis
- Institute of Biology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle, Germany
- Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research–UFZ, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Tiffany Knight
- Institute of Biology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle, Germany
- Department Species Interaction Ecology, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- Department Species Interaction Ecology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research–UFZ, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Demetra Rakosy
- Department Species Interaction Ecology, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- Department Species Interaction Ecology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research–UFZ, Leipzig, Germany
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2
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Benedek AM, Boeraș I, Lazăr A, Sandu A, Cocîrlea MD, Stănciugelu M, Cic NV, Postolache C. Effects of Season, Habitat, and Host Characteristics on Ectoparasites of Wild Rodents in a Mosaic Rural Landscape. Animals (Basel) 2024; 14:304. [PMID: 38254473 PMCID: PMC10812489 DOI: 10.3390/ani14020304] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2023] [Revised: 01/09/2024] [Accepted: 01/16/2024] [Indexed: 01/24/2024] Open
Abstract
Despite the large number of studies on rodent ectoparasites-most of them vectors of epidemiologically important pathogens-infestation patterns remain poorly understood in various ecological contexts, such as the highly patchy agricultural landscapes. We aimed to relate the infestation of rodents to temporal, habitat, and host variables. We assessed the difference in parasite prevalence and mean abundance depending on host sex, age, and body weight, season, and land use intensity. Furthermore, we analysed the effect of host species abundance and the differential responses of parasites in main and minor host species. The field survey was conducted in a rural landscape in southern Transylvania (Romania) between June and September 2010-2011. We live-trapped small mammals, collected the ticks and fleas, and recorded the presence of lice and mites. Overall, we found the same infestation patterns largely reported in the literature: higher prevalence and mean abundance in heavier adult males, significant seasonality and differences among host species, and evidence of the dilution effect. The uniqueness of our study system was the negative effect of the land use intensity on the prevalence and mean abundance of parasites, explained by the highly patchy mosaic landscape.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Maria Benedek
- Doctoral School in Ecology, Faculty of Biology, University of Bucharest, 050095 Bucharest, Romania; (A.S.); (C.P.)
- Faculty of Sciences, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, 550012 Sibiu, Romania;
| | - Ioana Boeraș
- Faculty of Sciences, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, 550012 Sibiu, Romania;
| | - Anamaria Lazăr
- Faculty of Food and Tourism, Transylvania University of Braşov, 500036 Brașov, Romania;
| | - Alexandra Sandu
- Doctoral School in Ecology, Faculty of Biology, University of Bucharest, 050095 Bucharest, Romania; (A.S.); (C.P.)
| | - Maria Denisa Cocîrlea
- Department of Agricultural Sciences and Food Engineering, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, 550012 Sibiu, Romania;
- Institute for Interdisciplinary Studies and Research, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, 550024 Sibiu, Romania
| | - Maria Stănciugelu
- Brukenthal National Museum, Natural History Museum, 550163 Sibiu, Romania;
| | | | - Carmen Postolache
- Doctoral School in Ecology, Faculty of Biology, University of Bucharest, 050095 Bucharest, Romania; (A.S.); (C.P.)
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Manu M, Băncilă RI, Onete M. Effect of Grazing Management on Predator Soil Mite Communities (Acari: Mesotigmata) in Some Subalpine Grasslands from the Făgăraş Mountains-Romania. INSECTS 2023; 14:626. [PMID: 37504632 PMCID: PMC10380866 DOI: 10.3390/insects14070626] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2023] [Revised: 07/06/2023] [Accepted: 07/10/2023] [Indexed: 07/29/2023]
Abstract
For the first time in Romania, a complex study was conducted on soil mite communities from two types of managed grasslands: ungrazed and intensively grazed. The study was accomplished in August 2018, in the Făgăraş Mountains. Within the soil mite communities (Mesostigmata), 30 species were identified, from 80 soil samples. The following population parameters were investigated: species richness, numerical abundance, dominance, Shannon index of diversity, evenness and equitability. Eight environmental variables were also measured: soil and air humidity; soil and air temperature; soil pH; resistance of soil to penetration; soil electrical conductivity; and vegetation coverage. The results revealed that species richness, Shannon index of diversity, evenness and equitability indices had higher values in ungrazed grasslands, whereas in intensively grazed areas, the numerical abundance and dominance index had significantly higher values. The species Alliphis halleri was dominant in the ungrazed grasslands. Each type of managed grassland was characterised by specific environmental conditions, which had an important influence, even at the species level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Minodora Manu
- Department of Taxonomy, Ecology and Nature Conservation, Institute of Biology Bucharest, Romanian Academy, Street Splaiul Independenţei, 060031 Bucharest, Romania
| | - Raluca Ioana Băncilă
- Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, University Ovidius Constanţa, 900470 Constanţa, Romania
- Department of Biospeleology and Soil Edaphobiology, "Emil Racoviţă" Institute of Speleology, Romanian Academy, 050711 Bucharest, Romania
| | - Marilena Onete
- Department of Taxonomy, Ecology and Nature Conservation, Institute of Biology Bucharest, Romanian Academy, Street Splaiul Independenţei, 060031 Bucharest, Romania
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Mastronardi L, Cavallo A, Romagnoli L. A new governance model for the conservation and enhancement of Italian ancient transhumance routes. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2023; 341:118086. [PMID: 37167700 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.118086] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2023] [Revised: 04/25/2023] [Accepted: 05/01/2023] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
Transhumance routes mark the natural path followed by herds during their seasonal movements. These routes are disappearing in many European countries. In Italy, a few fragments survive in Molise, in southern Italy, called Tratturi and run along grassy paths. The Tratturi are considered to be of archaeological, economic and landscape interest, sources of cultural and environmental attraction, protected by a national law. However, the landscapes connected to the Tratturi are disappearing both as a consequence of non-use and as a consequence of the advancement of wooded areas, and this poses a problem related to the governance system that involves many stakeholders, both at international, national and local level. The study, through the use of the combined approach of Stakeholder Basic Analysis and Social Network Analysis, identifies the role of the stakeholders involved, their power, their interest and their ability to support the decision-making system. Furthermore, the paper uses multivariate statistical analysis to detect the key stakeholders. A new model of governance, allowing to preserve the Tratturi and to enhance the services they can provide, is introduced, and it is named Authority for the Conservation and Enhancement of Tratturi (ACET). This study can help to identify appropriate management models for ancient routes based on all stakeholders involved, and more generally to implement shared and co-responsible planning choices in socio-ecological systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luigi Mastronardi
- University of Molise, Department of Biosciences and Territory, C.da Fonte Lappone, Pesche, Italy.
| | - Aurora Cavallo
- Universitas Mercatorum, Piazza E. Mattei, 10, Rome, Italy.
| | - Luca Romagnoli
- University of Molise, Department of Economics, Via F. De Sanctis, Campobasso, Italy.
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Sladonja B, Tlak Gajger I, Uzelac M, Poljuha D, Garau C, Landeka N, Barták M, Bacaro G. The Impact of Beehive Proximity, Human Activity and Agricultural Intensity on Diptera Diversity in a Mediterranean Mosaic of Agroecosystems, with a Focus on Pest Species. Animals (Basel) 2023; 13:ani13061024. [PMID: 36978565 PMCID: PMC10044344 DOI: 10.3390/ani13061024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2023] [Revised: 03/03/2023] [Accepted: 03/08/2023] [Indexed: 03/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Diptera, with their participation in pollination, significantly contribute to the maintenance of plant diversity, and they also have great potential for assessing habitat health and preserving it. A decline in their abundance and diversity has been recorded worldwide as a consequence of biotic, abiotic, and anthropic alterations. In addition to pollinators, these orders include agricultural and forestry pests, which are a threat to both cultivated and wild plants that are very important to the economy. Many pests have escaped from their native areas, and it is important to monitor their spread to implement sustainable means of control. Our study provides baseline information on Diptera and Vespidae diversity in the Mediterranean mosaic of agroecosystems, giving information on the importance of human influence on insect diversity. We carried out an insect inventory in Istria, Croatia, using a set of traps placed in the proximity of beehives. This study was also important in determining the presence of pests and newly introduced species. A total of 94 species from 24 families were recorded—7 important agricultural pests of Diptera and 17 new records for Croatia. The correlation between species diversity and environmental and anthropogenic factors leads to the conclusion that total insect species richness, pest species richness, and the first findings depend on human activities. The number of honeybee colonies negatively correlated with species richness, while anthropic influence positively affected total and pest species richness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barbara Sladonja
- Institute of Agriculture and Tourism, Karla Huguesa 8, 52440 Poreč, Croatia
| | - Ivana Tlak Gajger
- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb, Heinzelova 55, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +385-91-2390-041
| | - Mirela Uzelac
- Institute of Agriculture and Tourism, Karla Huguesa 8, 52440 Poreč, Croatia
| | - Danijela Poljuha
- Institute of Agriculture and Tourism, Karla Huguesa 8, 52440 Poreč, Croatia
| | - Clara Garau
- Department of Life and Environment Botanical Section, University of Cagliari, Viale S. Ignazio da Laconi 13, 09123 Cagliari, Italy
| | - Nediljko Landeka
- Public Health Institute of the Istrian Region, Nazorova 23, 52100 Pula, Croatia
| | - Miroslav Barták
- Department of Zoology and Fisheries, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, 165 00 Praha 6, Suchdol, Czech Republic
| | - Giovanni Bacaro
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, Via L. Giorgieri 10, 34127 Trieste, Italy
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Gavrilidis AA, Nita A, Rozylowicz L. Past local industrial disasters and involvement of NGOs stimulate public participation in transboundary Environmental Impact Assessment. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2022; 324:116271. [PMID: 36162314 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.116271] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2022] [Revised: 08/29/2022] [Accepted: 09/11/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) emerged as a regulatory procedure and is now implemented worldwide. EIA aims to increase the sustainability of economic activities by decreasing the impact on environmental components. Transparency of the evaluation process is a key feature of the procedure, and this is achieved predominantly by encouraging participation in public debates. Public participation is essential for EIA's effectiveness, particularly in transboundary projects. This study evaluates whether media coverage of certain projects with transboundary environmental impacts increases public participation during EIA. We analyzed how online media covered the stories about four major projects subject to the EIA procedure in Romania (i.e., reactors 3 and 4 of Cernavoda Nuclear Power Plant, Oltenita used oil recycling facility, Certej mining project, management of Moldova Noua tailing ponds). We focused on articles published between 2010 and 2020, covering stories about the four projects. We further extracted the stakeholders involved in the projects using social network analysis. We extracted the main topics of articles discussing the four projects using deep categorization tools. The polarities of titles and contents of the articles were assessed using sentiment analysis tools. Our findings indicate that EIA is a media subject only when NGOs become important actors in the process and the industry generated local industrial disasters in the past; otherwise, the media rarely debate the environmental impact of projects. Without NGO reactions, Romanian readers are fed with political and economic aspects driven by large projects rather than environmental issues. The outcome of the current study is significant for understanding what triggers NGOs and the media to take a stand against major projects. Projects involving activities that generated ecological disasters in Romania's recent history are strongly opposed by NGOs and the public. In such cases, environmental and EIA topics are more often included in media stories. However, projects with undeniable environmental impact but without a negative background in Romania do not reach the public agenda, and the media stories do not focus on environmental aspects either, leading to limited public participation within the EIA procedure.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Andreea Nita
- Centre for Environmental Research and Impact Studies, University of Bucharest, Romania.
| | - Laurentiu Rozylowicz
- Centre for Environmental Research and Impact Studies, University of Bucharest, Romania
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Rakosy D, Motivans E, Ştefan V, Nowak A, Świerszcz S, Feldmann R, Kühn E, Geppert C, Venkataraman N, Sobieraj-Betlińska A, Grossmann A, Rojek W, Pochrząst K, Cielniak M, Gathof AK, Baumann K, Knight TM. Intensive grazing alters the diversity, composition and structure of plant-pollinator interaction networks in Central European grasslands. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0263576. [PMID: 35275933 PMCID: PMC8916670 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0263576] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2021] [Accepted: 01/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Complex socio-economic, political and demographic factors have driven the increased conversion of Europe's semi-natural grasslands to intensive pastures. This trend is particularly strong in some of the most biodiverse regions of the continent, such as Central and Eastern Europe. Intensive grazing is known to decrease species diversity and alter the composition of plant and insect communities. Comparatively little is known, however, about how intensive grazing influences plant functional traits related to pollination and the structure of plant-pollinator interactions. In traditional hay meadows and intensive pastures in Central Europe, we contrasted the taxonomic and functional group diversity and composition, the structure of plant-pollinator interactions and the roles of individual species in networks. We found mostly lower taxonomic and functional diversity of plants and insects in intensive pastures, as well as strong compositional differences among the two grassland management types. Intensive pastures were dominated by a single plant with a specialized flower structure that is only accessible to a few pollinator groups. As a result, intensive pastures have lower diversity and specificity of interactions, higher amount of resource overlap, more uniform interaction strength and lower network modularity. These findings stand in contrast to studies in which plants with more generalized flower traits dominated pastures. Our results thus highlight the importance of the functional traits of dominant species in mediating the consequences of intensive pasture management on plant-pollinator networks. These findings could further contribute to strategies aimed at mitigating the impact of intensive grazing on plant and pollinator communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Demetra Rakosy
- Department for Community Ecology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research–UFZ, Leipzig, Germany
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Elena Motivans
- Department for Community Ecology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research–UFZ, Leipzig, Germany
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- Institute of Biology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Valentin Ştefan
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- Institute of Biology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Arkadiusz Nowak
- Center for Biological Diversity Conservation, Polish Academy of Sciences, Botanical Garden, Warsaw, Poland
- Institute of Biology, University of Opole, Opole, Poland
| | - Sebastian Świerszcz
- Center for Biological Diversity Conservation, Polish Academy of Sciences, Botanical Garden, Warsaw, Poland
- Polish Academy of Sciences, The Franciszek Górski Institute of Plant Physiology, Opole, Poland
| | - Reinart Feldmann
- Department for Community Ecology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research–UFZ, Leipzig, Germany
- Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research–UFZ, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Elisabeth Kühn
- Department for Community Ecology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research–UFZ, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Costanza Geppert
- Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals and Environment, University of Padova School of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, Padova, Italy
| | - Neeraja Venkataraman
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- Institute of Biology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Anna Sobieraj-Betlińska
- Department of Environmental Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Kazimierz Wielki University, Bydgoszcz, Poland
| | - Anita Grossmann
- Department of Ecology, Chair of Ecosystem Sciences/Plant Ecology, Technical University Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Wiktoria Rojek
- Institute of Environmental Sciences, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland
| | - Katarzyna Pochrząst
- Faculty of Natural Sciences and Technology, University of Opole, Opole, Poland
| | | | - Anika Kirstin Gathof
- Department of Ecology, Chair of Ecosystem Sciences/Plant Ecology, Technical University Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Kevin Baumann
- IFZ–Department for Animal Ecology, Justus Liebig University, Gießen, Germany
| | - Tiffany Marie Knight
- Department for Community Ecology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research–UFZ, Leipzig, Germany
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- Institute of Biology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany
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Limited reciprocal surrogacy of bird and habitat diversity and inconsistencies in their representation in Romanian protected areas. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0251950. [PMID: 35148309 PMCID: PMC8836316 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0251950] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2021] [Accepted: 01/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Because it is impossible to comprehensively characterize biodiversity at all levels of organization, conservation prioritization efforts need to rely on surrogates. As species distribution maps of relished groups as well as high-resolution remotely sensed data increasingly become available, both types of surrogates are commonly used. A good surrogate should represent as much of biodiversity as possible, but it often remains unclear to what extent this is the case. Here, we aimed to address this question by assessing how well bird species and habitat diversity represent one another. We conducted our study in Romania, a species-rich country with high landscape heterogeneity where bird species distribution data have only recently started to become available. First, we prioritized areas for conservation based on either 137 breeding bird species or 36 habitat classes, and then evaluated their reciprocal surrogacy performance. Second, we examined how well these features are represented in already existing protected areas. Finally, we identified target regions of high conservation value for the potential expansion of the current network of reserves (as planned under the new EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030). We found a limited reciprocal surrogacy performance, with bird species performing slightly better as a conservation surrogate for habitat diversity than vice versa. We could also show that areas with a high conservation value based on habitat diversity were represented better in already existing protected areas than areas based on bird species, which varied considerably between species. Our results highlight that taxonomic and environmental (i.e., habitat types) data may perform rather poorly as reciprocal surrogates, and multiple sources of data are required for a full evaluation of protected areas expansion.
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Zyoud SH, Zyoud AH. Mapping environmental impact assessment research landscapes in the Arab world using visualization and bibliometric techniques. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2021; 28:22179-22202. [PMID: 33813693 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-021-13696-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2020] [Accepted: 03/24/2021] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Interests and concerns on environmental issues have attracted much attention over the past few decades. This is in harmony with the growing understanding of environmental impacts associated with human activities and their role in degrading ecosystems. In line with these concerns, considerable advances in science and technology to assess, mitigate, or lessen these adverse impacts have emerged (i.e., environmental impact assessment (EIA) methodologies). The involvement of EIA in sustainable development has become a prevalent topic in research in either developed and developing countries. The present work investigated the research status, development trends, and hotspots of EIA in a region with massive environmental challenges; the Arab world. Bibliometric analysis and visualization mapping were utilized with an objective of revealing and evaluating the developments in knowledge on EIA from the Arab world. A sum of 595 documents was the productivity of the Arab world on EIA (2.1% of total global productivity). Most of the studies were performed by scholars in Egypt (143 documents; 24.0%), followed by Saudi Arabia (96 documents; 16.1%), and Tunisia (68 documents; 11.4%). France, the USA, and the UK were, respectively, the most collaborated countries with the Arab world on EIA. Most of the publications on EIA were in prestigious journals in relation to environmental sciences. King Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia and University of Kuwait were the most productive institutions (24 documents/institution). Topics in relation to assessing different environmental impacts on the quality and quantity of water will continue to be vital themes of research. While, the utilization of remote sensing, geographic information systems, risk assessment, life cycle assessment, bioaccumulation, and biomarkers techniques in assessing environmental impacts will continue to be dominant as efficient tools in conducting EIA related research. The outcomes displayed, in general, a rapidly and steadily rising interests on EIA. However, the development of regional experience, increasing of funds and advancing of competencies will further promote research activities on EIA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shaher H Zyoud
- Department of Building Engineering and Environment, Palestine Technical University (Kadoorie), Tulkarem, Palestine.
| | - Ahed H Zyoud
- Department of Chemistry, College of Sciences, An-Najah National University, Nablus, Palestine
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Grossmann CM, Patkó L, Ortseifen D, Kimmig E, Cattoen EM, Schraml U. Human-Large Carnivores Co-existence in Europe – A Comparative Stakeholder Network Analysis. Front Ecol Evol 2020. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2020.00266] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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