Ten facts about land systems for sustainability.

Land use is central to addressing sustainability issues, including biodiversity conservation, climate change, food security, poverty alleviation, and sustainable energy. In this paper, we synthesize knowledge accumulated in land system science, the integrated study of terrestrial social-ecological systems, into 10 hard truths that have strong, general, empirical support. These facts help to explain the challenges of achieving sustainability in land use and thus also point toward solutions. The 10 facts are as follows: 1) Meanings and values of land are socially constructed and contested; 2) land systems exhibit complex behaviors with abrupt, hard-to-predict changes; 3) irreversible changes and path dependence are common features of land systems; 4) some land uses have a small footprint but very large impacts; 5) drivers and impacts of land-use change are globally interconnected and spill over to distant locations; 6) humanity lives on a used planet where all land provides benefits to societies; 7) land-use change usually entails trade-offs between different benefits-"win-wins" are thus rare; 8) land tenure and land-use claims are often unclear, overlapping, and contested; 9) the benefits and burdens from land are unequally distributed; and 10) land users have multiple, sometimes conflicting, ideas of what social and environmental justice entails. The facts have implications for governance, but do not provide fixed answers. Instead they constitute a set of core principles which can guide scientists, policy makers, and practitioners toward meeting sustainability challenges in land use.

Tuning Selectivity to f-Elements through Bonding and Solvation Effects of a Sulfur Donor Ligand.

Bis(2,4,4-trimethylpentyl)dithiophosphinic acid, commonly referred to as HBTMPDTP or Cyanex301, is a sulfur-donating ligand that shows considerable promise in the challenging task of separating trivalent actinides (An3+) from lanthanides (Ln3+). Although its effectiveness has been established, the specific molecular details about the preference of HBTMPDTP for americium over europium have remained a mystery, puzzling researchers for over two decades. This study presents a comprehensive, dual-driven separation mechanism for this complex system combining experimental and theoretical approaches. A critical finding is the increased covalency in An-S bonds compared to Ln-S bonds, which plays a significant role in HBTMPDTP's intrinsic selectivity for An3+ over Ln3+. This leads to the formation of distinct An3+ and Ln3+ species, enhancing the ligand's actinide selectivity. Additionally, it provides crucial insights into the coordination chemistry of f-elements with sulfur-donating ligands, thereby deepening our understanding of this intricate field.

Actions to halt biodiversity loss generally benefit the climate.

The two most urgent and interlinked environmental challenges humanity faces are climate change and biodiversity loss. We are entering a pivotal decade for both the international biodiversity and climate change agendas with the sharpening of ambitious strategies and targets by the Convention on Biological Diversity and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Within their respective Conventions, the biodiversity and climate interlinked challenges have largely been addressed separately. There is evidence that conservation actions that halt, slow or reverse biodiversity loss can simultaneously slow anthropogenic mediated climate change significantly. This review highlights conservation actions which have the largest potential for mitigation of climate change. We note that conservation actions have mainly synergistic benefits and few antagonistic trade-offs with climate change mitigation. Specifically, we identify direct co-benefits in 14 out of the 21 action targets of the draft post-2020 global biodiversity framework of the Convention on Biological Diversity, notwithstanding the many indirect links that can also support both biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation. These relationships are context and scale-dependent; therefore, we showcase examples of local biodiversity conservation actions that can be incentivized, guided and prioritized by global objectives and targets. The close interlinkages between biodiversity, climate change mitigation, other nature's contributions to people and good quality of life are seldom as integrated as they should be in management and policy. This review aims to re-emphasize the vital relationships between biodiversity conservation actions and climate change mitigation in a timely manner, in support to major Conferences of Parties that are about to negotiate strategic frameworks and international goals for the decades to come.

Intramuscular injection of alfaxalone in combination with butorphanol for sedation in cats.

OBJECTIVE: To assess quality of sedation following intramuscular (IM) injection of two doses of alfaxalone in combination with butorphanol in cats. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective, randomized, 'blinded' clinical study. ANIMALS: A total of 38 cats undergoing diagnostic imaging or noninvasive procedures. METHODS: Cats were allocated randomly to be administered butorphanol 0.2 mg kg-1 combined with alfaxalone 2 mg kg-1 (group AB2) or 5 mg kg-1 (group AB5) IM. If sedation was inadequate, alfaxalone 2 mg kg-1 IM was administered and cats were excluded from further analysis. Temperament [1 (friendly) to 5 (aggressive)], response to injection, sedation score at 2, 6, 8, 15, 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60 minutes, overall sedation quality scored after data collection [1 (excellent) to 4 (inadequate)] and recovery quality were assessed. Heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (fR) and arterial haemoglobin saturation (SpO2) were recorded every 5 minutes. Groups were compared using t tests and Mann-Whitney U tests. Sedation was analysed using two-way anova, and additional alfaxalone using Fisher's exact test (p < 0.05). RESULTS: Groups were similar for sex, age, body mass and response to injection. Temperament score was lower in group AB2 [2 (1-3)] compared to AB5 [3 (1-5)] (p = 0.006). Group AB5 had better sedation at 6, 8, 20 and 30 minutes and overall sedation quality was better in AB5 [1 (1-3)], compared to AB2 [3 (1-4)] (p = 0.0001). Additional alfaxalone was required for 11 cats in AB2 and two in AB5 (p = 0.005). Recovery quality, HR, fR and SpO2 were similar. Seven cats required oxygen supplementation. Complete recovery times were shorter in AB2 (81.8 ± 24.3 versus 126.6 ± 33.3 minutes; p = 0.009). Twitching was the most common adverse event. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: In combination with butorphanol, IM alfaxalone at 5 mg kg-1 provided better quality sedation than 2 mg kg-1. Monitoring of SpO2 is recommended.

Climate Change, Pesticides and Health: Considering the Risks and Opportunities of Adaptation for Zimbabwean Smallholder Cotton Growers.

There is potential for increased pesticide-related adverse health outcomes in the agricultural sector linked to adaptive increases in pesticide use necessitated, in part, by climate change-related increases in pest populations. To understand the role of adaptation practices in pesticide use and health risks, this study assessed Zimbabwean smallholder cotton farmers' adaptive responses linked to their climate change perceptions. In depth interviews were conducted with 50 farmers who had been growing cotton for at least 30 years. The study identified farmers' adaptation practices that increased their pesticide use, as well as those that presented opportunities for reducing pesticide use through non-pesticide-dependent adaptation pathways. The findings show that due to perceived climate change impacts, such as a shorter growing season, farmers were adopting a range of adaptive practices. These included changes in pest management practices, such as increasing pesticide spraying frequencies due to keeping ratoon crops, which were increasing farmers' overall pesticide use. Such incremental adaptive practices are potentially maladaptive, as they may increase farmers' pesticide-related health risks. Other practices, however, such as reducing cotton acreage and diversifying crops, resulting in transformational adaptation, suggest the existence of opportunities for decreasing overall pesticide use or totally eliminating pesticides from the farming system.

Climate variability, perceptions and political ecology: Factors influencing changes in pesticide use over 30 years by Zimbabwean smallholder cotton producers.

Pesticides represent a potential public health hazard of note in farming communities. Accumulating evidence indicates that some pesticides used in agriculture act as hormone disrupters, with the potential to result in chronic health effects. Despite such a growing evidence base, pesticides remain the preferred method of pest control in agriculture worldwide. In many parts of Sub-Saharan Africa, usage is on the increase. This qualitative study assessed changes in the usage of pesticides by Zimbabwean smallholder cotton farmers in the past 30 years. Farmers reported an increase in the usage of pesticides, specifically insecticides, since the early 1980s. An increase in pest populations was also reported. The findings suggested a bi-directional causal relationship between the increase in pest population and the increase in pesticide use. Factors which emerged to have collectively impacted on the changes include climate variability, limited agency on the part of farmers, power dynamics involving the government and private cotton companies and farmers' perceptions and practices. An Integrated Pest Management Policy for Zimbabwe is recommended to facilitate integration of chemical controls with a broad range of other pest control tactics. Continuous farmer education and awareness raising is further recommended, since farmers' perceptions can influence their practices.