From lab to legislation: How research shapes health policies in Latin America

MAXIMUM ACADEMIC PRESS

 

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WORD CLOUD OF THE ANSWER TO THE QUESTION: WHY DO HEALTH POLICYMAKERS NOT INCORPORATE RESEARCH RESULTS INTO THEIR PLANS AND PROGRAMS?

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CREDIT: AIMS PUBLIC HEALTH

A study reveals significant insights into the influence of health education and literacy research on policy-making across Latin America and the Caribbean. Spearheaded by a multidisciplinary team, this research addresses the crucial gap between scientific evidence and its practical application in public health policies.

Health literacy and education are pivotal for shaping effective health policies, yet the integration of research findings into policy-making processes remains a challenge. Prior studies indicate a disconnect between academic research and its practical policy implications, underscoring the need for enhanced communication and collaboration between researchers and policy-makers.

A recent study (DOI: 10.3934/publichealth.2024017) published in AIMS Public Health on March 18, 2024, reveals that the integration of health education research findings into policy documents in Latin America and the Caribbean is significantly influenced by the strength of scientific evidence, the timeliness of dissemination, and social media activity.

The research meticulously combined quantitative data, including altmetric scores and policy document citations, with qualitative insights from interviews with health policymakers in Peru. Through this multifaceted approach, it was discovered that the timing of research dissemination plays a crucial role; studies that were promptly shared with the public and policymakers had a higher chance of influencing health policies. Moreover, the strength and reliability of the research evidence were found to significantly affect its policy impact, with robust findings being more likely to be utilized in policy formation. Interestingly, the study also highlighted the emerging role of social media as a powerful channel for researchers to amplify their findings' reach and engagement with policymakers. This blend of traditional and modern dissemination methods underscores a paradigm shift in how research influences health policy, pointing towards a more interconnected and responsive future in health policymaking.

Lead researcher Carlos Vílchez-Román emphasized, "Our study not only highlights the importance of timely, strong scientific evidence in informing health policies but also sheds light on the critical role of social media in disseminating research findings to policy-makers."

This research underscores the critical intersection between scientific research and health policy-making in Latin America and the Caribbean, highlighting the pivotal role of evidence strength, timely dissemination, and social media in bridging the gap. It provides actionable strategies for researchers and policymakers, aiming to improve health outcomes through more informed, effective policy decisions.

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References

DOI

10.3934/publichealth.2024017

Original Source URL

https://doi.org/10.3934/publichealth.2024017

Funding information

This study is part of the research project Literacy under Covid-19 in Viñani/Alfabetización en Salud en Viñani (ALSAVI) in Tacna-Peru (https://alsavi.org/ and https://www.mmu.ac.uk/news-and-events/news/story/?id=15815) (accessed 15 February 2024). This project is funded by the Universidad Nacional Jorge Basadre Grohmann, Tacna, Peru, via the Canon Minero aid research program. Funding institution: Universidad Nacional Jorge Basadre Grohmann (UNJBG).

About AIMS Public Health

AIMS Public Health is Open Access and an international quarterly publication devoted to publishing peer-reviewed, high quality, original papers in the field of public health. We publish the following article types: original research articles, reviews, editorials, letters, and conference reports. All published papers will be indexed in Web of Science (ESCI), Scopus and PMC.

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JOURNAL

AIMS Public Health

DOI

10.3934/publichealth.2024017 

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

The impact of research on health education/health literacy on policymaking in Latin America and the Caribbean Region

 U$A

Landmark advances in employment reframe the outlook for people with disabilities in post-pandemic era

Research and policy development needed to extend the upward trend in employment for people with disabilities

KESSLER FOUNDATION

 

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A WOMAN WITH LONG DARK HAIR WEARING AN ORANGE DRESS SITS IN A MOTORIZED WHEELCHAIR AND SMILES AT COLLEAGUES SEATED AROUND A CONFERENCE TABLE. 

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CREDIT: DISABILITY: IN/ JORDAN NICHOLSON

East Hanover, NJ – April 2, 2024 – A recent commentary published in The Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine highlights the unprecedented upward trend in employment for people with disabilities, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic's economic recovery phase.

In ”Employment and people with disabilities: Reframing the dialogue in the post-pandemic era,” (DOI: 10.1080/10790268.2024.2315927) published on February 22, 2024, the authors examine the confluence of factors contributing to the recent record-high employment levels among people with disabilities. This trend has been supported by a favorable labor market, evolving employer attitudes, and the adoption of inclusive workplace practices. A series of National Trends in Disability Employment (nTIDE) reports issued by Kessler Foundation and the University of New Hampshire Institute on Disability explored the contributions of diverse subgroups within the disability community to this positive shift.

A contributing factor was the rapid adaptation by employers to the acute labor shortages caused by the pandemic. Innovations in recruiting, hiring, training, and employee retention have expanded opportunities for people with disabilities. Notably, a 2022 Kessler Foundation survey revealed significant shifts in supervisors' perceptions towards more inclusive hiring practices and accommodations, signaling a sustainable change in workplace culture.

The authors also address the uncertainties about the longevity of these gains as the pandemic's direct impact wanes. The widespread adoption of remote work, recognized as beneficial for many employees including those with disabilities, faces a future of mixed prospects as workplaces readjust and offices reopen. Yet, evidence suggests remote and hybrid work arrangements as viable, ongoing options that will continue to support employment equity for people with disabilities.

The article underscores the importance of continued research and policy development to extend the upward trend for employment of people with disabilities. By recognizing the achievements and challenges highlighted during the post-pandemic recovery, stakeholders can work towards further narrowing the employment gap and fostering a more inclusive economy.

About the Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine

The Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine (JSCM) serves the international community of professionals dedicated to improving the lives of people with injuries/disorders of the spinal cord. JSCM is the peer-reviewed official journal of the Academy of Spinal Cord Injury Professionals (ASCIP), a U.S.-based multidisciplinary organization serving scientists, physicians, psychologists, nurses, therapists and social workers in the field of spinal cord injury care and research. JSCM, a member benefit of ASCIP, is published six times a year by Taylor & Francis Publishing. The editor-in-chief is Dr. Florian Thomas of Hackensack University Medical Center, Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine, Hackensack, NJ, USA.

About Kessler Foundation
Kessler Foundation, a major nonprofit organization in the field of disability, is a global leader in rehabilitation research. Our scientists seek to improve cognition, mobility, and long-term outcomes, including employment, for adults and children with neurological and developmental disabilities of the brain and spinal cord including traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, stroke, multiple sclerosis, and autism. Kessler Foundation also leads the nation in funding innovative programs that expand opportunities for employment for people with disabilities. We help people regain independence to lead full and productive lives. For more information, visit KesslerFoundation.org.

Press Contacts at Kessler Foundation:
Deborah Hauss, DHauss@kesslerfoundation.org
Carolann Murphy, CMurphy@KesslerFoundation.org

Stay Connected with Kessler Foundation
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JOURNAL

Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine

DOI

10.1080/10790268.2024.2315927 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Commentary/editorial

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Employment and people with disabilities: Reframing the dialogue in the post-pandemic era,”

 

Tourism planning as a social practice in times of change and uncertainty: views from a troubled Latin American country

ESCUELA SUPERIOR POLITECNICA DEL LITORAL

 

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TOURISM PLANNING APPROACHES VS. DESIRED OUTCOMES OF TOURISM DEVELOPMENT.

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CREDIT: RICAURTE C. ET AL., 2024

Given the limited capabilities within the public sector, tourism planning consultants play a crucial role in public policy efforts in Ecuador.

Based on social practice theory, this study examined the planning practices of 46 consultants hired by public institutions in the country between 2017 and 2021. Multiple correspondence analysis identified associations within four analytical categories: theoretical and empirical understandings, the rules and power relations in planning processes, as well as the values and purposes of planning.

Their findings revealed differentiated sets of tourism planning practices in Ecuador. These range from traditional approaches focused on spatial, technical and strategic planning and emerging approaches that prioritize innovation, co-creation and action towards social change. By applying social practices theory, a new perspective is provided to understand tourism planning as a process strongly shaped by the knowledge, experience, beliefs and context of tourism consultants in a developing country.

Given that disruptive events can disproportionately affect vulnerable actors and nature, leading to the emergence of new inequalities, it becomes essential to recognize the reciprocal relationship between individuals and the actions they undertake. Social practice theories present opportunities for practitioners and academia to critically reflect on ethical dilemmas, social values, as well as biases and political embeddedness in tourism planning practices. 

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JOURNAL

Current Issues in Tourism

DOI

10.1080/13683500.2023.2300983 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Data/statistical analysis

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Tourism planning as a social practice in times of change and uncertainty: views from a troubled Latin American country

 

Las Vegas mass shooting survivors continue to struggle with major depression, PTSD

New study emphasizes critical need of continued mental health support after mass violence incidents

BOSTON UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tuesday, April 2, 2024

Four years after a gunman killed 60 people and physically injured 867 more during the Oct. 1, 2017 Route 91 Harvest Music Festival in Las Vegas, witnesses and survivors of the tragic incident still struggled with their mental health, according to a new study led by Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) and the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC).

Published in JAMA Network Open, the study found that nearly half of the Las Vegas concertgoers surveyed in 2021 reported that they had experienced major depressive episodes within the past year. More than 63% said they had experienced post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) during the same time period.

Findings underscore the critical need for sustained mental health support for people who experience a mass-violence incident. As the gun violence crisis continues to affect every corner of America—with mass shootings still on the rise and total gun deaths nearly quadrupling since 2014—the number of people who need these services will continue to grow.

“Our findings reveal the long-lasting impact of gun violence on witnesses and survivors, with many still grappling with severe mental health issues years after the Las Vegas shooting,” said first author on the paper, Mohammed Abba-Aji, DrPH, research fellow in the Department of Epidemiology at BUSPH. “This underscores the unique and ongoing challenge America faces with mass violence and its aftermath. This crisis calls for a national response to not only address but to also prevent the enduring trauma inflicted on our communities.”

For the study, Abba-Aji and Dean Kilpatrick, Ph.D., Distinguished University Professor at the Medical University of South Carolina, worked with colleagues to gather survey data on mental health outcomes among witnesses and survivors of the Las Vegas shooting, selected from a list of people who were eligible to receive services from the Vegas Strong Resiliency Center, funded by the U.S. Department of Justice Office for Victims of Crime (OVC). Witnesses were defined as those who were present at the scene and/or sustained physical injuries, and survivors included family members or friends of people who were physically injured or killed.

Among the 177 witnesses and survivors who responded to the survey, 32.7% said they were physically injured during the shooting, and 49.7% of respondents said they had received little social support from family and friends during the six months prior to the survey. Those who were physically injured had a 30% higher risk of experiencing a major depressive episode or PTSD, compared with concertgoers who were not injured. Similarly, those who received inadequate social support had roughly a 50% higher risk of experiencing a major depressive episode or PTSD compared with those who received adequate social support.

“The fact that such a high percentage of these mass violence victims still had PTSD and depression four years later is disturbing and demonstrates a continuing need for effective, trauma-informed mental health services,” said Kilpatrick, principal investigator on the project. “There is also a need for larger studies with longer follow-up of these survivors to see if these problems persist.”

Other studies have documented these mental health conditions following mass violence incidents, but the prevalence of both major depression and PTSD prevalence appeared substantially higher among the Vegas shooting witnesses and survivors than among victims of other mass shootings.

“Our study adds to the evidence around the devastating societal impact of mass shootings and the need to advocate for policies to prevent them,” said study co-author Salma Abdalla, DrPH, assistant professor of global health at BUSPH. “Moreover, the findings underline the necessity for ongoing mental health care, especially among people who experience physical injuries and lack of social support. The results highlight the urgent need for our health systems to prioritize long-term care strategies for trauma survivors, ensuring they receive the necessary support to effectively navigate their recovery journeys.”

Study co-author Angie Moreland, Ph.D., is also the co-director of the National Mass Violence Center (NMVC) at MUSC, funded by the OVC. She said there are a variety of long-term support strategies that communities affected by mass violence events can implement to identify and treat mental health concerns as they arise. “The results of this study highlight the importance of work we are doing at NMVC to help communities prepare for mass violence incidents and make sure victims and survivors have access to first-rate information and services when mass violence happens.”

The NMVC offers a variety of resources for victims and survivors, community leaders and clinicians to guide mass violence incident preparedness, response and resilience efforts.

**

About Boston University School of Public Health

Founded in 1976, Boston University School of Public Health is one of the top ten ranked schools of public health in the world. It offers master's- and doctoral-level education in public health. The faculty in six departments conduct policy-changing public health research around the world, with the mission of improving the health of populations—especially the disadvantaged, underserved, and vulnerable—locally and globally.

About MUSC 

Founded in 1824 in Charleston, MUSC is the state’s only comprehensive academic health system, with a unique mission to preserve and optimize human life in South Carolina through education, research and patient care. Each year, MUSC educates more than 3,200 students in six colleges – Dental Medicine, Graduate Studies, Health Professions, Medicine, Nursing and Pharmacy – and trains more than 900 residents and fellows in its health system. MUSC brought in more than $298 million in research funds in fiscal year 2022, leading the state overall in research funding. MUSC also leads the state in federal and National Institutes of Health funding, with more than $220 million. For information on academic programs, visit musc.edu.

As the health care system of the Medical University of South Carolina, MUSC Health is dedicated to delivering the highest-quality and safest patient care while educating and training generations of outstanding health care providers and leaders to serve the people of South Carolina and beyond. Patient care is provided at 16 hospitals (includes owned and equity stake), with approximately 2,700 beds and four additional hospital locations in development; more than 350 telehealth sites and connectivity to patients’ homes; and nearly 750 care locations situated in all regions of South Carolina. In 2022, for the eighth consecutive year, U.S. News & World Report named MUSC Health University Medical Center in Charleston the No. 1 hospital in South Carolina. To learn more about clinical patient services, visit muschealth.org.

MUSC has a total enterprise annual operating budget of $5.9 billion. The nearly 26,000 MUSC family members include world-class faculty, physicians, specialty providers, scientists, students, affiliates and care team members who deliver groundbreaking education, research, and patient care.

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JOURNAL

JAMA Network Open

DOI

10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.2739 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Observational study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Prevalence and Risk Factors of Depression and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder After a Mass Shooting

COI STATEMENT

Dr Rancher reported receiving a grant from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development during the conduct of the study. Dr Galea reported serving on the board of Sharecare outside the submitted work. No other disclosures were reported.

 

Companies ignoring climate risks get punished by markets, new study reveals

UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA

A pioneering study from the University of Florida has quantified corporations’ exposure to climate change risks like hurricanes, wildfires, and climate-related regulations and the extent to which climate risks are priced into their market valuations. The research also exposes a costly divide – companies that proactively manage climate risks fare much better than those that ignore the threats.

Using textual analysis of earnings call transcripts from almost 5,000 U.S. public companies, researchers developed novel measures of firms’ physical climate risk exposure from weather extremes as well as the ‘transition risks’ that firms face from the global shift to a low-carbon economy, like shifting to renewable energy and reduced carbon emissions. They found companies facing high transition risks from things like emissions regulations tended to be valued at a discount by investors.

“In recent years, overall investor attention to climate change has increased,” explained Qing Li, Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Florida Warrington College of Business. “As our research shows, companies that have high exposure to transition risk seem to be punished by markets.”

However, the valuation discount didn’t apply to companies actively working to adapt their business models and reduce climate impacts through strategies like increasing sustainable investments and green technologies. These ‘proactive’ firms tend to ramp up sustainable innovations and avoid cuts to research spending as transition risks intensify.

In contrast, companies that discuss transition risks but take a passive stance tend to slash R&D budgets and jobs when facing higher climate exposure – a potential impediment to their long-term competitiveness.

“The divide in strategies and outcomes between proactive and nonproactive firms is quite stark,” noted researcher Yuehua Tang, Emerson-Merrill Lynch Associate Professor. “Companies being transparent about their climate vulnerabilities but also demonstrating tangible responses to mitigate those risks seem to be rewarded by markets.”

The findings come amid increasing pressure from investors, regulators and activists for companies to publicly disclose climate risks. In 2024, the SEC implemented new rules that require public corporations to report risks from climate change impacts and in some cases their greenhouse gas emissions.

While there are costs for businesses that adapt to both physical and transitional climate risks, the study by Li, Tang, China Europe International Business School’s Hongyu Shan (Ph.D. ’19) and Georgia State University’s Vincent Yao suggests proactive efforts could actually boost valuations and preparedness as investors increasingly consider climate threats when making informed investment decisions.

“Corporate Climate Risk: Measurements and Responses” is published in The Review of Financial Studies. The research team also shares their climate risk measures at www.corporateclimaterisk.com. 

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JOURNAL

Review of Financial Studies

DOI

10.1093/rfs/hhad094 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Data/statistical analysis

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Corporate Climate Risk: Measurements and Responses

 

Combining food taxes and subsidies can lead to healthier grocery purchases for low-income households

Households buy fewer sugary drinks and more fruits and vegetables under simulated policies — without losing money

UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHAPEL HILL

Chapel Hill, NC, April 2, 2024 — A new study that models the combined effects of a sugar-based tax on beverages and targeted subsidies for minimally processed foods and drinks found that under these policies, low-income consumers would purchase less sugar-sweetened beverages and more fruits, vegetables, and healthier drinks, particularly in households without children.  

Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill developed a model to simulate what would happen if national-level taxes on less-healthy, ultra-processed foods and beverages were used to fund subsidies for low-income households participating in food assistance programs to spend on minimally processed fruits, vegetables, healthy proteins, and unsweetened drinks. They found that this combined policy scenario would likely lead low-income households to improve the nutritional quality of their grocery purchases without increasing their overall costs or negatively impacting consumer satisfaction.

Targeted taxes are a proven, cost-effective means to reduce purchase and intake of sugary drinks, which could potentially save millions of years of life globally by reducing chronic diseases caused by excess sugar and calories. While over 60 countries and smaller jurisdictions worldwide have implemented health-focused sugary drink taxes, relatively few have earmarked the revenue raised to subsidize healthy food purchases.

In the United States, studies evaluating programs that provide additional cash benefits for food assistance participants to spend on fruits and vegetables consistently find that they increase consumers’ purchase and intake of targeted products. This new study’s findings support a novel policy approach, combining both policy types to expand low-income households’ access to additional healthier alternatives like minimally processed proteins such as beans, legumes, or unprocessed meats, and no- or low-sugar beverages.

“Our findings show that we can support healthier dietary patterns in the US by directing revenues from national taxes on ultra-processed products high in sugar, sodium and/or saturated fats towards additional benefits to help low-income households purchase more fruits, vegetables and other healthier alternatives,” said author Shu Wen Ng, PhD, Distinguished Scholar in Public Health Nutrition at the UNC-Chapel Hill.

“This is an equity-enhancing approach that sends a clear and consistent message to the public and the food industry on the overarching goal of improving dietary patterns and nutritional security,” added author Pourya Valizadeh, PhD, who completed this research during a post-doctoral fellowship at UNC-Chapel Hill. “The taxes should not be primarily about generating revenue, but rather shifting the relative prices of unhealthy vs healthy foods so that lower-income families in the US can more reliably attain foods and beverages that support health.”

This study’s findings could inform recent congressional bills including the “GusNIP Expansion Act” and the “Opt for Health with SNAP (OH SNAP) Close the Fruit and Vegetable Fap Act” that would levy taxes on unhealthy beverages and expand targeted subsidies beyond existing SNAP benefits for minimally processed foods and beverages to low-income households.

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JOURNAL

American Journal of Preventive Medicine

DOI

10.1016/j.amepre.2024.02.019 

ARTICLE TITLE

Promoting Healthier Purchases: Ultraprocessed Food Taxes and Minimally Processed Foods Subsidies for the Low Income

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

2-Apr-2024

 

A new estimate of U.S. soil organic carbon to improve Earth system models

A better benchmark to guide policymakers

EMORY UNIVERSITY

Soil contains about twice as much carbon as the atmosphere and plants combined. It is a major carbon sink, capable of absorbing more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than it releases. Management of soil carbon is key in efforts to mitigate climate change, in addition to being vital to soil health and agricultural productivity.

Measuring soil carbon, however, is a painstaking, expensive process. Samples must be dug from the ground and sent to a lab for analysis, making upscaling measurements on a large spatial scale challenging.

Now environmental scientists have combined field-level data with machine-learning techniques to estimate soil organic carbon at the U.S. continental scale. The Journal of Geophysical Research — Biogeosciences published the new soil organic carbon estimate, which improves the overall estimate for the United States and gives new insights into the effects of environmental variables on soil organic carbon.

“There is growing recognition that soil organic carbon is important and that we should invest in building it up through sustainable land management practices,” says Debjani Sihi, senior author of the study and assistant professor of environmental sciences at Emory University. “Our estimate is more accurate than existing estimates and provides a better benchmark to guide policymakers and land managers in adopting climate-smart practices.”

Land is far more efficient than the ocean at retaining carbon, Sihi notes, and offers one possible nature-based solution to help mitigate climate change.

“We could potentially create conditions,” she explains, “that are favorable for soil to capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and lock it there for a really long time — over millennia.”

Sihi is a biogeochemist who studies environmental and sustainability issues at the nexus of soil and climate.

First author of the current paper is Zhuonan Wang, a former postdoctoral fellow in Sihi’s lab who is now at Colorado State University.

Digging into soil data

Soil organic carbon is made up of plant and animal matter in various states of decomposition. While inorganic carbon is also found in the soil in the form of carbonate minerals, organic carbon is usually the largest proportion and the most important driver of soil biology and quality. 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture maintains the National Cooperative Soil Survey soil characterization database. This data was gathered over decades both by walking over the land and observing and by digging up core samples and sending them to laboratories for analysis. Measuring soil organic carbon, for example, requires digging a core to the root zone, about 30 centimeters deep to obtain a topsoil profile and until the core hits bedrock to obtain an entire soil profile.

Soil sampling is done in other parts of the world as well. The International Soil Organic Carbon Network encompasses more than 430,000 soil profiles, drawn from across the globe. Scientists use such data to create “soil maps,” or estimates of soil characteristics in various regions. One well-known soil map is the Harmonized World Soil Database, developed by the United Nations’ Food and Agricultural Organization and collaborators. Another is SoilGrids, supported by the International Soil Reference and Information Center in the Netherlands.

Significant inconsistencies exist in the estimates of soil organic carbon within both the Harmonized World Soil Database and SoilGrids. Sihi and her team set out to see if they could resolve these inconsistencies within the United States estimates by finding more effective ways to scale up the soil-sampling data.

The researchers divided the United States — including all 50 states and Puerto Rico — into 20 different regions and created machine-learning models for each region. They obtained nearly 50,000 soil samples, ranging from 30 centimeters to one meter deep, from across these regions. They built their algorithms using these data samples for soil organic carbon, matched to precise geographic information system locations. 

They also drew from additional open-source data to feed their models with 36 environmental variables, including details about the climate, topographical features of the land, biogeochemical properties of the soil and the amount of vegetation on the landscape.

A better benchmark for modeling Earth systems

The results showed that the new method provided more accurate estimates than both the Harmonized World Soil Database and SoilGrids for the top 30 centimeters of soil, where the most biologically active soil organic carbon tends to be concentrated.

The new method also revealed how the effects of environmental variables on soil organic carbon vary across regions. While climate was the most common predictor of soil organic carbon across most of the regions, the vegetation index tended to be more important in the arid areas of the southwest. Elevation was a key variable in regions that were mountainous or included a major river delta.

The researchers hope that others will apply their approach to other countries and continents where enough on-the-ground data is available.

“The beauty of our approach is that it gives us the power to identify regions with high uncertainty in our estimates and that helps us to guide future sampling efforts,” Sihi says. 

Considering environmental variables also increases the new model’s flexibility as global temperatures rise due to climate change, causing soils to warm and alter rainfall patterns. It remains unclear, Sihi notes, if soils will continue to serve as a carbon sink or transform into a carbon source.

“To understand how soil carbon will change under a changing climate, we first need accurate estimates of current soil organic carbon levels and the key factors that influence them,” Sihi says. “Our new estimate is a step toward getting more accurate baseline data to improve Earth system models for climate change.”

Co-authors of the new estimate include Jitendra Kumar (Oak Ridge National Laboratory), Samantha Weintraub-Leff (National Ecological Observatory Network), Katherine Todd-Brown (University of Florida) and Umakant Mishra (Sandia National Laboratories).

The work was supported by the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy.

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JOURNAL

Journal of Geophysical Research Biogeosciences

DOI

10.1029/2023JG007702 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Computational simulation/modeling

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Upscaling Soil Organic Carbon Measurements at the Continental Scale Using Multivariate Clustering Analysis and Machine Learning

 

Environment: More than half of Colorado River’s water used to irrigate crops

SCIENTIFIC REPORTS

Irrigation for agriculture uses more than half of the Colorado River’s total annual water flow, reports a paper published in Communications Earth & Environment. This finding is part of a new comprehensive assessment of how the Colorado River’s water is consumed — including both human usage and natural losses — and provides a more complete understanding of how the river’s water is used along its over 2,300 km (almost 1,500-mile) length.

The Colorado River flows through the southwestern United States (including the Grand Canyon) and northwestern Mexico whilst supplying water to more than 40 million people and more than 2 million hectares of cropland. The river is at historically low levels due to the ongoing megadrought in the region and continued overuse of its water supply. However, despite the ecological and economic importance of the Colorado River, a complete water budget (a detailed analysis of the movement and losses of a river’s water) has not yet been calculated.

Brian Richter and colleagues calculated the water budget of the Colorado River basin based on the average annual water use and water losses between 2000 and 2019. They included all direct human uses — including irrigation, domestic use, and industrial and commercial uses — and all indirect losses, including evaporation from reservoirs and wetland vegetation. The authors found that irrigation for agriculture was responsible for 74% of direct human usage and 52% of overall water consumption. They also found that nearly two-thirds of the water used for irrigation was used on cattle feed crops, accounting for 46% of direct human usage, or 32% of overall water consumption.

The results are the first complete water budget for the Colorado River, and include several previously unreported factors, including overall water consumption in Mexico (7% of the total), and overall water consumption in the basin of the Gila River in Arizona (9% of the total), one of the major tributaries to the Colorado River.

The authors caution that there will need to be a significant reduction in water use to avoid future shortages, and that more water will need to be left in the river to support the diverse ecosystems along its full length. They conclude that these findings may have relevance for policymakers as six legal agreements governing the use of the Colorado River’s water are set to expire in 2026.

***

Springer Nature is committed to boosting the visibility of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and relevant information and evidence published in our journals and books. The research described in this press release pertains to SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation). More information can be found here.

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JOURNAL

Communications Earth & Environment

DOI

10.1038/s43247-024-01291-0 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Data/statistical analysis

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

New water accounting reveals why the Colorado River no longer reaches the sea

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

28-Mar-2024