In the annual IAN Report Card, IAN staff reflect on accomplishments from 2020. The self-assessment is based on indicators in three categories: social impacts, ecological outcomes, and partner engagement. Overall, IAN received an overall grade of C (78%) which is a decrease from the 2019 score of B (84%).

In the annual IAN Report Card, IAN staff reflect back on accomplishments from 2019. The self-assessment is based on indicators in three categories: social impacts, ecological outcomes, and partner engagement. Overall, IAN received an overall grade of B (84%) which is a slight decrease from the 2018 score of B (86%).

Novel forms of drought are emerging globally, due to climate change, shifting teleconnection patterns, expanding human water use, and a history of human influence on the environment that increases the probability of transformational ecological impacts. These costly ecological impacts cascade to human communities, and understanding this changing drought landscape is one of today’s grand challenges.

The Evaluating Transdisciplinary Approaches Workshop was convened by the Belmont Forum at the National Science Foundation and facilitated by the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science in Alexandria, VA, USA on 26–28 June 2019. Participants of the workshop are part of a growing community of transdisciplinary research supporters and practitioners. Their efforts contribute to our fundamental and applied understanding of complex systems.

Controlling phosphorus is fundamental to limit the risk of eutrophication of continental aquatic ecosystems. Integrated modelling of its concentration in the aquatic continuum requires specific tools for water bodies. However, although simple static empirical models and complex biogeochemical models are numerous, there are few relatively simple and flexible models able to simulate seasonal variations in phosphorus concentrations in water bodies and particularly in reservoirs.

Human activities can elevate coastal levels of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN). As macroalgae readily absorb and accumulate DIN, the elemental (total N and C:N ratio) composition of their tissues is less affected by temporal fluctuations compared to more direct measures of DIN concentration. Additionally, their isotopic (δ15N) composition can reflect that of the source, which could potentially be used to identify between multiple effluent sources.

Accurate quantification of riverine water‐quality concentration and flux is challenging because monitoring programs typically collect concentration data at lower frequencies than discharge data. Statistical methods are often used to estimate concentration and flux on days without observations. One recently developed approach is the Weighted Regressions on Time, Discharge, and Season (WRTDS), which has been shown to provide among the most accurate estimates compared to other common methods.

Early ecosystem health report cards focused on assessing the health of natural ecosystems, producing a “snapshot” of ecosystem health at one point in time. Ecosystem health report cards are used to guide efforts that improve ecosystem health through natural resources manage- ment and stakeholder engagement. Common themes among Report Cards include water quality and quantity and habitat. These indicators are not strictly environmental concerns, though.

In the annual IAN Report Card, IAN staff reflect back on accomplishments from 2018. The self-assessment is based on indicators in three categories: social impacts, ecological outcomes, and partner engagement. Overall, IAN received an overall grade of B (86%) which is an improvement from the 2017 score of B- (81%).

The Belmont Forum Synthesis Workshop was held virtually, with four project teams from around the globe participating remotely. The process was convened by the Belmont Forum and facilitated by the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. It served as the-end term meeting for the Scenarios of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services I (CRA). Project teams from around the globe participated virtually via online software.