Urban areas are directly or indirectly responsible for the majority of anthropogenic CO2 emissions. In this study, we characterize observed atmospheric CO2 mixing ratios and estimated CO2 fluxes at three sites across an urban-to-rural gradient in Boston, MA, USA. CO2 is a well-mixed greenhouse gas, but we found significant differences across this gradient in how, where, and when it was exchanged. Total anthropogenic emissions were estimated from an emissions inventory and ranged from 1.5 to 37.3 mg·C·ha−1·yr−1 between rural Harvard Forest and urban Boston.

The Siwalik Hills is one of the most fragile and vulnerable ecosystems in the Nepalese Himalaya where soil erosion and land degradation issues are fundamental. There is very limited knowledge on soil erosion processes and rates in this region in comparison to other regions of the Himalaya. The aims of the present paper are to document, measure and interpret key soil erosion processes and provide an estimate of erosion rates in the Khajuri Stream catchment located in the eastern Siwalik Hills.

The agri food system across the globe is fast restructuring. While smallholder farmers remain to be a major stakeholder, situation changes from where “the farm producing what the household consumes and consumes what the farm produce” to “the farm sourcing inputs outside the farms and producing beyond the farm for other households/communities/cities as well”.

Dry forests play an important role in preventing land degradation and desertification, conserving biodiversity and providing ecosystem goods and services and mitigating and adapting to climate change and the impacts of drought. To make use of the promising potential of forests and agroforestry schemes in arid areas they need to be fully included in the REDD+ mechanism with a special focus on the co-benefits.

Les forêts sèches jouent un rôle important pour la prévention de la dégradation des terres et de la désertification, la conservation de la biodiversité, la production de biens et de services écosystémiques ainsi que l’atténuation des changements climatiques et des incidences des sécheresses et l’adaptation à ceux-ci. Il convient de les intégrer globalement dans le mécanisme REDD+ en s’attachant en particulier aux avantages associés afin d’exploiter le potentiel prometteur des forêts et des techniques agroforestières dans les zones arides

Los bosques secos desempeñan una importante labor en la prevención de la degradación de la tierra y la desertificación, la conservación de la biodiversidad y el abastecimiento de bienes y servicios al ecosistema, así como en la mitigación y adaptación al cambio climático y en los impactos de la sequía. Para aprovechar el prometedor potencial de los bosques y de los esquemas de agrosilvicultura en zonas áridas éstos deben estar totalmente integrados en el mecanismo REDD+, tomando especial atención a los co-beneficios.

We are continuously transforming a resource that is both essential and finite: our soils. We do so in a way that has serious social, economic and ecologic implications. There is an urgent need to shift these transformations to more sustainable pathways. Transgovernance can assume a pivotal role in this regard.

ELD is a joint initiative of Germany, the European Commission and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). ELD offers a strong platform for raising public awareness of land degradation and advocating sustainable land-use strategies.

Soils around the world are degrading rapidly, reducing ecosystem diversity and some important functions, threatening food and other human securities, and increasing vulnerability to climate change. This is a vicious cycle created by and leading to further unsustainable land-use practices. Integrated (‘nexus’) soil, land, water and ecosystem management can help to turn it into a virtuous cycle.

Conservation agriculture (CA) is an important form of sustainable land management, provided that the three basic principles - no tillage, permanent soil cover, diverse crop rotation or intercropping - are always observed.

Protecting land is vital to achieving food security and reducing poverty. This is the insight on which the global WOCAT network was built two decades ago. WOCAT’s early focus on soil and water conservation has expanded into a tried and tested facility for decision support in all aspects of sustainable land management for every kind of land manager. There is a special focus on providing sustainable benefits for the rural poor, both efficiently and cost-effectively.

Not only has soil degradation in Niger been halted thanks to an integrated approach combining water harvesting technologies, the application of organic residues and planting of fruit trees and vegetables. The strategy has also enabled increases in farmers’ income as well as an active involvement of the country’s largely marginalised women in food production through their gaining access to land.