Soils are a double-edged climate sword. They are huge reservoirs of organic carbon and can act as a carbon sink. But they can also release CO2 into the atmosphere when used unsustainably. Forests are often called the lungs of the planet because of the way they "breathe" in carbon dioxide. The role…

The GEO regional assessments provide detailed analysis of regional environmental challenges as well as key findings and policy messages for each of the 6 UNEP regions. These are important for policy makers working in the regions to provide solid evidence and policy options which will help tackle…

To celebrate Chinese New Year of the Dog, Springer is featuring highly cited earth and environmental sciences papers by Chinese authors. These papers received enough citations to place them in the top 1% of their academic fields! Enjoy the 28 papers for free, join the celebrations, and spread the…

This special site features a collection of recently published Open Access books on Environmental Sciences. Browse all the books to find your favorites and download the titles or chapters to your personal devices!

Ecosystems are essential to human life, livelihoods and wellbeing. Many national policies and international agreements include goals to protect ecosystem services. A new guide – commissioned by the Ecosystem Services for Poverty Alleviation (ESPA) programme and written by Professor James Bullock of…

Sampling and analysis or visual examination of soil to assess its status and use potential is widely practiced from plot to national scales. However, the choice of relevant soil attributes and interpretation of measurements are not straightforward, because of the complexity and site-specificity of…

Have a look at some articles: You have full text access to this OnlineOpen article Experimental and statistical study of saturated hydraulic conductivity and relations with other soil properties of a desert soil (pages 256–264) Persistent carbon loss from the humus layer of tilled boreal forest soil…

To celebrate 30 years of activities the ESSC is organizing the SoWaSe-ESSC International Conference on ‘Soil and Water Security: Challenges for the next 30 years!’

The Intergovernmental Technical Panel on Soils has completed the first State of the World's Soil Resources Report. Globally soil erosion was identified as the gravest threat, leading to deteriorating water quality in developed regions and to lowering of crop yields in many developing regions. We…

Soil, a natural four‐dimensional body at the atmosphere–lithosphere interface, is organic‐carbon‐mediated realm in which solid, liquid, and gaseous phases interact at a range of scales and generate numerous ecosystem goods and services. Soil organic carbon (SOC) strongly impacts soil quality…

Special Issue Title: Salt Soil Improvement and Efficient Development

RESEARCH ARTICLES The sheep in wolf‘s clothing? Recognizing threats for land degradation in Iceland using state-and-transition models I.C. Barrio, D.S. Hik, J. Thórsson, K. Svavarsdóttir, B. Marteinsdóttir and I.S. Jónsdóttir Accepted manuscript online: 20 APR 2018 12:00AM EST | DOI: 10.1002/ldr…

In this report, the notion of soil as an integral part of ecosystems and natural capital is explored and thus focused on the stock of the soil resource and the flows of valuable goods and services that can be derived from this stock. The concept of natural capital recognises soil as an asset that is…

Climate-smart interventions in agriculture have varying costs and environmental and economic impacts. Their implementation requires appropriate investment decisions by policy makers that are relevant for current as well as future scenarios of agro-ecology, climate and economic development. Decision…

The European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (E-PRTR) ensures public access to information on pollutant releases to the environment from Europe’s largest facilities. Updated E-PRTR data have recently been published by the EEA, including information on pollutant releases to the environment…

Contamination of land by persistent organic pollutants has significant implications for human health and for future development potential. Bioremediation is an effective method for reducing the concentrations of such contaminants to below harmful levels, but the presence of co‐contaminants may…