David N. Thomas

Great to have been involved in this work led by @igorspp.bsky.social
New insight into the degradation of #plastics in marine systems

Layers

Tea for two: India’s commodity agroforests as coexistence landscapes for the endangered Asiatic wild dogs and people - Ambio Gauging the resilience of coexistence landscapes requires a thorough understanding of the modalities, benefits and vulnerabilities of human–wildlife interactions in shared spaces. We sought to investigate how the endangered Asiatic wild dogs (‘dholes’ Cuon alpinus) share space with people in the tea-dominated agroforests of India’s Western Ghats. We assess spatial ecology (population-level space-use patterns and pack-level microhabitat associations) and diet profiles to gauge the extent to which dholes’ ecological requirements are conducive for cohabitation with people. The Western Ghats’ tea agroforests support a thriving population of dholes, subsisting on the diverse and abundant wild prey species. Despite proximity to people and high livestock densities, we found no evidence for dhole attacks on humans, and very low reliance on domestic animals as prey. These benign––positive interactions offer opportunities for preserving near-intact food-webs in commodity agriculture lands to supplement biodiversity conservation beyond designated Protected Areas, particularly across South and Southeast Asia.

new publication;
Tea for two: India’s commodity agroforests as coexistence landscapes for the endangered Asiatic wild dogs and people

link: link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Reanimating the sacrifice zone: Mechanisms of harm and healing in Yellowknife - Ambio Communities living in areas of extraction often find ways to overcome or resist destructive legacies, but researchers lack a deep understanding of the mechanisms by which this is done. This article helps to address this gap by employing the theoretical framework of a sacrifice zone to a case study of Yellowknife, Canada and nearby mining projects. By analyzing a combination of interview and site visit data, we find that sacrificial logic diffuses across human systems, even as environmental harms are remediated, because land and people are inseparable. The three consequences of sacrifice we highlight in our case study are the failure to sign a land and governance treaty, insufficient funds for social causes, and uncertain economic futures. In response, local residents engage in land-based and collaborative activities, constructing a future pathway for community development that focuses attention on healing human-land relationships.

new publication:
Reanimating the sacrifice zone: Mechanisms of harm and healing in Yellowknife

Open access link: link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Just in case you find yourself in Helsinki and wanting a treat
Following up on ⬇️ below - Here's our current top #Helsinki places for coffee & .........
(N.B. not in order)
Café Briossi
Pitkäkosken ulkoilumaja (a little out of the way)
Ekberg Café
Konditoria Hopia
Café Viola
Café Compass
Café Mutteri

Just in case you find yourself in Helsinki and wanting a treat
Following up on ⬇️ below - Here's our current top #Helsinki places for coffee & .........
(N.B. not in order)
Café Briossi
Pitkäkosken ulkoilumaja (a little out of the way)
Ekberg Café
Konditoria Hopia
Café Viola
Café Compass
Café Mutteri

How has it taken >5 years of living in Helsinki to only now discover Konditoria Hopia?
- a remarkable (very) small cafe experience that is among the best that #Helsinki has to offer

No, not pink lady - I hope to get a name on Saturday when hopefully I pick up some more.....stupidly I didn't pay any attention last week, but then I wasn't expecting such a surprise.

A delight at this time of year is the huge variety of apples on sale in 🇫🇮……was not expecting an intense red flesh when cutting into this one

A delight at this time of year is the huge variety of apples on sale in 🇫🇮……was not expecting an intense red flesh when cutting into this one

Today is the last day of the "Kilometrikisa 2025" in Finland 🇫🇮
where since 1 May 39,692 cyclists have logged all of their daily kms on the 🚲

So far >27 million kms recorded in the 5 months

Equivalent to 1.9 million L of gasoline or 4.8 million kg CO2 + huge health benefits

#cycling works

Assessing the implications of organised illegal and informal mining activities on the environment in South Africa - Ambio Organised illegal and informal mining is growing globally, employing many unemployed youth, women, and children. In South Africa, rural communities see it as a means to reduce poverty and integrate into the economy. Despite numerous laws and regulations by the government and the Chamber of Mines to curb these practices due to their significant environmental implications and health risks the problems are escalating instead. Furthermore, while some levels of success have been achieved in addressing these menace, the efforts by the government through legislation have failed considerably in addressing the environmental challenges associated with these activities. This study uses qualitative methods comprising of interviews, field observations, and literature materials to explore the root causes of these activities and their threat to environmental sustainability. The findings reveal poverty and unemployment as primary drivers, while weak governance and law enforcement as underlying factors. The study calls for a shift from punitive policies to inclusive strategies that address social and economic needs, stressing on education, awareness, and public participation in environmental challenges associated with illegal mining.

New publication:
Assessing the implications of organised illegal and informal mining activities on the environment in South Africa

Open access link: link.springer.com/article/10.1...

The best laid plans: How do adopted city sustainability goals influence site-level action in urban forestry? - Ambio Cities increasingly hope to mobilize nature-based solutions in urban sustainability planning because of their wide-ranging ecosystem services. In this critical moment, where failure due to poor implementation could lead policymakers to turn away from nature-based solutions, we investigate the case of urban forestry and ask: how do strategic-level sustainability goals influences site-level decision-making? We conducted semi-structured interviews with 20 urban foresters leading advanced programs at municipalities with adopted sustainability goals, framed as ecosystem services, across the US and Canada. Day-to-day, site-level decision-making focused on advancing a “more, bigger trees” paradigm with the justification that this would deliver increased ecosystem services in a general sense and thus contribute to city goals. Our analysis and results suggest that urban foresters are more guided by a shared sense of the greater purpose of their work to serve urban communities than city plans, which yields actions usually aligning but sometimes conflicting with specific strategic-level goals. Graphical abstract

New publication:
The best laid plans: How do adopted city sustainability goals influence site-level action in urban forestry?

open access link: link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Designing gender-inclusive data systems in small-scale fisheries - Ambio Gender equality is a ubiquitous national goal, yet sectoral gender data gaps to support this goal persist. These gaps are both structural and sexist, concealing women’s contributions and impeding actions that would strengthen livelihoods and economic development, food security, and environmental sustainability. The small-scale fisheries sector offers a cogent example of this phenomenon. Building on lessons from the Illuminating Hidden Harvests initiative, we identify systemic changes and specific indicators needed to fill these gaps. This requires multiple data streams, many of which come from outside fisheries agencies, e.g., government statistical or census organizations, sourced from responsible agencies across multiple areas—economy and environment, governance and support services, and health and nutrition. Closing gender data gaps requires making the policy case and working across agencies to create an enabling institutional environment. Only then can data reflect and respond to the lives of the ~ 500 million people who depend on small-scale fisheries.

New publication:
Designing gender-inclusive data systems in small-scale fisheries

open access link:
link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Prescribed burning for boreal forest restoration: Evaluating challenges and conservation outcomes - Ambio Prescribed burning is applied as a restoration tool to promote biodiversity in boreal forests. Common objectives include promoting multilayered pine forests, increasing deadwood, and generating fire-scars. However, the extent to which these objectives are achieved and how they relate to weather conditions and stand characteristics remains poorly understood. We surveyed 32 prescribed burns in Sweden to evaluate the outcomes of key conservation objectives and their relationship to weather conditions and stand characteristics. In addition, we compared weather patterns and seasonal timing between prescribed burns and wildfires. We found that conservation objectives were met with large variations between sites but were generally better achieved under drier weather conditions and at sites with higher proportion of spruce. Wildfires occurred under significantly drier conditions and later in the summer than prescribed burns. We conclude that optimizing prescribed burning as a restoration tool requires better alignment between conservation objectives, stand characteristics, and weather conditions.

new publication:
Prescribed burning for boreal forest restoration: Evaluating challenges and conservation outcomes

open access link: link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Community-based approach to detect and predict conflicts with large carnivores in human-dominated landscape - Ambio Understanding context-specific drivers and mechanisms of human-wildlife interactions is crucial to designing effective conservation strategies. Community-based data provides valuable insights for adaptive management efforts aimed at fostering coexistence in shared landscapes. This study analyzed 611 reports of grey wolves and brown bears recorded by rural communities in the Carpathians (Poland). Bears and wolves were recorded in 6% and 12% of all built-up areas within the study region, respectively. These species exploited anthropogenic food resources (53% of all reports), interacting with pets, livestock, and wild animals found within human settlements. The probability of carnivore reports increased with the number of previous observations and was influenced by prior successful food acquisition. The observed pattern highlights the importance of habituation and food conditioning for effective management of carnivores in human-dominated landscapes. Engaging local communities in monitoring carnivore presence can facilitate early conflict detection, providing a foundation for effective coexistence strategies.

ne publication:
Community-based approach to detect and predict conflicts with large carnivores in human-dominated landscape

Open access link:
link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Policy and regulatory measures supporting the implementation of nature-based solutions in urban stormwater management of private properties: Insights from Finland - Ambio Despite widely existing consensus that nature-based solutions (NbS) provide competitive and sustainable alternatives for grey infrastructure in urban water management, the implementation of NbS is lagging behind current needs. This study explores if and how regulatory measures can promote NbS adoption on privately owned land. Policy document analysis of Finnish stormwater programmes gathers how NbS are considered at municipal-level, key informant interviews aim to identify bottlenecks in stormwater regulations, and building permit analysis evaluates whether policy instruments have increased NbS implementation on private land. Results reveal fragmented municipal regulations due to a lack of national consensus, leading to bottlenecks for implementation such as limited knowledge, commitment, and institutional coherence. While current regulations have increased solution diversity, widespread NbS implementation requires mandating and consistent regulations aligned with sustainability goals, improved understanding of NbS functionality, examples and education, national cooperation, and recognition of NbS as viable stormwater management options.

new publication:
Policy and regulatory measures supporting the implementation of nature-based solutions in urban stormwater management of private properties: Insights from Finland

open access link: link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Today is the last day of the "Kilometrikisa 2025" in Finland 🇫🇮
where since 1 May 39,692 cyclists have logged all of their daily kms on the 🚲

So far >27 million kms recorded in the 5 months

Equivalent to 1.9 million L of gasoline or 4.8 million kg CO2 + huge health benefits

#cycling works

🌟 Postdoc Opportunity in Marine Biogeochemistry at CNRS-CEREGE!

🚢 Are you a passionate researcher ready to tackle climate change? Dive into the ERC-funded Deep-C project in Aix-en-Provence, France!

⬇️

Probably the last long-Sunday bike ride of the year - great place to stop for a snack

Climate Viz of the Month August 2025 Well hello! Somehow another summer is already over across the Arctic. And once again, there were no new records for the annual minimum of total sea-ice area or sea-ice extent. Thickness…

I have a new 'climate viz of the month' blog out today, which reviews sea ice conditions across the #Arctic Ocean from this past summer: zacklabe.com/climate-viz-...

#DataViz #SciComm #OpenScience #OpenData #ClimateChange

Probably the last long-Sunday bike ride of the year - great place to stop for a snack

Image of the table of contents in "The future of sea ice" by Clare Eayrs and Zachary Labe, which was published in 2025. Abstract starts by saying: "Sea ice covers 15% of global oceans and regulates key exchanges between the ocean and atmosphere in polar regions. This review synthesizes advances in sea ice observations, modeling, and prediction. Arctic sea ice has declined in all seasons since satellite records began, with projections of ice-free summers before 2050 under high future greenhouse gas emissions"

We have a new book chapter out called "The future of sea ice" which I am excited to share: doi.org/10.1016/B978.... It reviews both the #Arctic and #Antarctic. If you are interested in it, don't hesitate to reach out 🙂

bsky.app/profile/dnth...

The equinox was only the other day but already the #HelsinkiBikeCommute is down to 0 oC 🥶….but still lovely
#WinterCycling is starting

Environmental considerations for post-war reconstruction of Gaza - Ambio The environment is often the silent victim of war, but environmental degradation resulting from war is poorly understood. Since the environmental legacy of war can last decades or centuries, environmental peacebuilding and reconstruction efforts must consider the impacts of war on the environment. In the case of the Israel-Palestine conflict, far-reaching and severe environmental damage has been documented. Three key environmental considerations for Gaza are discussed: (I) environmental pollution, (II) habitat degradation and (III) habitat fragmentation. Based on the environmental issues highlighted, recommendations regarding post-war reconstruction efforts are presented.

New paper:
Environmental considerations for post-war reconstruction of Gaza

Open access link: link.springer.com/article/10.1...