Abstract Rivers are increasingly fragmented and degraded, yet the European Union Nature Restoration Regulation calls for restoring at least 25,000 kilometres of free-flowing rivers by 2030. Translating this ambition into effective implementation remains challenging because restoration priorities differ across ecological, social, economic, and governance contexts. Here, we synthesize expert knowledge from 45 countries through a structured, multi-step prioritization process to identify research priorities for restoring free-flowing rivers in Europe. We identified 27 priorities and analysed how expert background and spatial context influenced their ranking. Restoration priorities differed systematically depending on whether experts emphasized ecological integrity, community engagement, economic considerations, or governance capacity, revealing clear patterns in how disciplinary and professional perspectives shape implementation pathways. This demonstrates that restoration strategies cannot be universal but must be adapted to local and regional political, institutional, and ecological conditions. Building on these findings, we propose a structured prioritisation framework that links barrier removal, connectivity restoration, governance mechanisms, and policy instruments to context-specific needs. Together, our results provide an empirically grounded and implementation-oriented roadmap to support European Union Member States in delivering ambitious river restoration targets in a context-sensitive and socially robust manner.

The Loess Plateau is a key region for national dual-carbon goals in China, yet it is aging, and climatic sensitivity increasingly constrains long-term carbon sink potential in its plantation forests. Here, we develop a spatially explicit framework integrating random forest classification, cluster analysis, LandTrendr-based age reconstruction, and a semi-empirical model to quantify plantation carbon dynamics. Plantations account for 59.74% of forest cover, with deciduous types dominating (71.46%) and an age structure heavily skewed toward maturity (91.6% >15 years). Ages of peak net ecosystem productivity decline systematically along precipitation gradients, occurring at 18 (deciduous) and 13 (evergreen) years under low rainfall (<300 millimeters), and exceeding 20 years in wetter zones (>400 millimeters). Forward projections show that, without adaptive management, plantation carbon sinks could decline by 4.83 teragrams of carbon by 2060. These findings underscore the urgency of climate-informed forest strategies to sustain and enhance carbon sequestration across aging plantations on the Loess Plateau. Under current age structure and site conditions, plantation carbon sinks on the Loess Plateau face decline, making adaptive afforestation and management critical to prevent a 4.83 teragrams of carbon reduction by 2060, according to a spatially explicit framework.

Information about past sea-level change is crucial for understanding coastal tectonic movements and seismic hazards. Locally, sediment isostatic adjustment (SIA) induced by erosional unloading and depositional loading could play an important role in sea-level change. However, such effects are commonly neglected, potentially leading to biased estimates of vertical tectonic deformation rate. Here we constructed a new sediment transfer history for Taiwan, where erosion and deposition are among the fastest on Earth, and used it to drive the numerical sea-level model to quantify SIA effects on the sea-level change and tectonic uplift estimates. Our simulations revealed that SIA could cause substantial spatial variation in sea-level change along Taiwan’s coasts, producing local relative sea-level change of >200 meters since 122 ka. We found that neglecting SIA effects can result in overestimation and underestimation of tectonic coastal uplift rates by up to 90% or more. Our results highlight the global importance of considering spatially varying SIA-driven sea-level changes when using paleo-sea-level indicators to characterize coastal tectonic movements. Along Taiwan’s coasts, rapid sediment redistribution can drive sea-level changes with large spatial variability, leading to substantial errors in tectonic uplift estimates, according to a numerical sea-level model simulation.

Photovoltaic energy is expected to lead renewable energy growth, but rising solar energy penetration increases vulnerability to climate-driven intermittency. Here, we examine how the El Niño-Southern Oscillation, the dominant source of seasonal-to-interannual climate variability, affects photovoltaic power output. Using four decades of reanalysis data, we show that El Niño events reduce surface solar irradiance, causing sustained solar energy deficits in regions with growing solar energy penetration, including California, the southern Atacama Desert, the Chaco Basin, the Middle East, and East China. These impacts are especially pronounced during rare Super El Niño events, of which only three have occurred since the early 1980s. Our analysis indicates that future Super El Niño events could significantly lower photovoltaic generation, increase reliance on fossil fuel backup, and temporarily raise carbon dioxide emissions by tens of millions of tons. El Niño events systematically reduce photovoltaic power potential across major solar regions, with Super El Niño episodes triggering multimonth solar energy deficits and temporary increases in carbon dioxide emissions, according to four decades of reanalysis data.

Mangrove forests offer nature-based solutions for climate change mitigation by storing atmospheric CO2, while also supporting biodiversity, livelihoods, and coastal protection. Yet, they face increasing threats from deforestation, salinity, and extreme weather events. Here, we assessed and explored the resilience of Sundarbans mangrove forests and associated drivers using satellite-derived vegetation indices, biodiversity, and environmental data, within a structural equation modeling framework. We found 1–8 major perturbations at 250-meter spatial resolution, with the lowest resilience to disturbance or stress in the central and southeastern zones of the Sundarbans. Approximately 610 to 990 km² (~10-15% of the total Sundarbans area) of mangrove forests exhibited declining resilience. The functional composition of maximum canopy height (MCH) was the strongest driver of mangrove forest resilience (β= 0.61), followed by specific leaf area (SLA; β= 0.56) and precipitation (β= 0.44). Structural diversity (β= 0.22), though weakly associated, mediated the positive association of species richness with resilience. Perturbation frequency had a significant negative direct (β= −0.29) and total (β= −0.33) association on resilience, whereas temperature exhibited only a total negative association (β= −0.20). Based on these findings, we hold that for enhancing mangrove forest resilience against disturbances and stressors, (re-)establishment and conservation efforts should focus on maintaining site-specific dominant species with tall canopy height and specific leaf area —supplemented by a few complementary species— to increase structural diversity and facilitate recovery rates. Mangrove forest resilience in Sundarbans is supported by tall canopy height and large specific leaf area during perturbations, 2000-2024, as indicated by vegetation indices, biodiversity, and environmental data analysis.

Tens of thousands of seabirds and coastal animals suffer from exposure to oily substances each year from oil product spills. Methods of bird assistance primarily include catching birds, removing contaminants from their feathers, and rehabilitation after laundering. Based on our practical experience in the treatment of birds contaminated with fuel oil, which was spilled into the Black Sea and the coast of the Krasnodar Territory as a result of an accident involving two tankers carrying 9200 tons of fuel oil, here we analyze the effectiveness of the traditional technology of cleaning birds with potato starch, followed by washing with detergents. Additionally, we collected dynamic data and applied Kaplan-Meier and Cox methods for stratification of non-survival risks in Black Sea bird species after washing and rehabilitation, respectively. Based on our experimental results and analysis, we consider the applicability of preventive measures to conserve bird populations, such as sound and kinetic deterrence. The conventional cleaning process of fuel-oil contaminated Black Sea birds is not always effective for some bird species, and the analysis of their survival rates using Kaplan-Meier and Cox methods reveals sound and kinetic deterrents as potential conservation measures.

Sustainable agri-food system transformation in Africa is critical for addressing the persistent challenges of hunger and malnutrition while promoting sustainability. Here, we investigate how green growth initiatives intersect with the agri-food system transformation in the African Continental Free Trade Area context. We combine World Development Indicators, International Financial Statistics, and OECD data, and we use the Prais-Winsten regression model to analyze the relationship between green growth initiatives and Sustainable Development Goal 2- Zero Hunger indicators across 46 African countries. We show that green growth initiatives positively impact agricultural productivity and cereal yield but negatively affect total fisheries production. Low-income countries, including Malawi, Uganda, Mozambique, and Sierra Leone experience mixed effects, while upper-middle-income countries such as South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, and Mauritius face more challenges. Economic growth, renewable energy, and financial development significantly influence agri-food system sustainability, but challenges like carbon dioxide emissions and deforestation hinder progress. Policymakers should prioritize pro-poor green technology investments, enhance finance accessibility, and implement environmental mitigation measures while fostering trade openness and regional cooperation. In Africa, green growth initiatives enhance the value added per worker in agriculture, forestry, and fisheries, as well as cereal yield, but they have a negative impact on total fisheries production, according to an analysis that combines agricultural and economic data with a statistical approach.

Abstract Asian countries face the dual challenge of fulfilling ambitious climate commitments under the Paris Agreement while simultaneously advancing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This study develops an integrated analytical framework that links decarbonization pathways with SDG indicators across energy, air quality, health, and the food-water-land nexus, as well as policy cost-effectiveness, explicitly incorporating national circumstances. Our findings indicate that current climate pledges primarily deliver gains in SDG indicators related to energy and air quality. Achieving broader progress across other SDG dimensions requires combining more ambitious climate targets with diverse, sustainability-oriented mitigation measures tailored to domestic contexts. Middle- and low-income countries face greater pressure in balancing transition costs and target feasibility; therefore, strengthened international support and robust domestic policies are needed to advance climate ambition alongside sustainable development, including climate finance, technology transfer, and measures that can ensure a just transition for vulnerable industries.

Ultradeep drilling beyond nine to ten kilometers has progressed from an engineering challenge to a powerful approach for investigating deep Earth processes and subsurface resources. Early continental drilling showed that the deep crust is not cold or impermeable, but contains fluids, active heat flow, and ongoing chemical reactions. This review presents an integrated synthesis of scientific results from drilling that exceeds ten kilometers, with emphasis on recent Chinese programs. These wells document methane-rich fluids, high pressures, and high temperatures in sedimentary and crystalline rocks, indicating that hydrocarbon systems, deep fluids, and permeability persist far deeper than traditionally assumed. Integrating observations from cores, formation fluids, stress measurements, and geochemical analyses, we show that revised geothermal gradients, fault-controlled fluid pathways, and fluid–rock reactions such as serpentinization, carbonation, and hydrocarbon cracking sustain permeability at extreme depths. Ultradeep drilling thus provides insights into Earth system dynamics, deep energy resources, carbon storage, and mineral systems. Hydrocarbons can persist and migrate far deeper than previously assumed and may coexist with natural hydrogen, geothermal fluids, and metal-rich brines, according to a synthesis of geochemical and petrophysical drilling data beyond 10 km from China’s recent programs.