IAN is committed to producing practical, user-centered communications that foster a better understanding of science and enable readers to pursue new opportunities in research, education, and environmental problem-solving. Our publications synthesize scientific findings using effective science communication techniques.

Evaluating water-quality trends in agricultural watersheds prioritized for management-practice implementation (Page 1)

Evaluating water-quality trends in agricultural watersheds prioritized for management-practice implementation

Webber J, Chanat J, Clune J, Devereux O, Hall N, Sabo RD, Zhang Q ·
2024

Many agricultural watersheds rely on the voluntary use of management practices (MPs) to reduce nonpoint source nutrient and sediment loads; however, the water-quality effects of MPs are uncertain. We interpreted water-quality responses from as early as 1985 through 2020 in three agricultural Chesapeake Bay watersheds that were prioritized for MP implementation, namely, the Smith Creek (Virginia), Upper Chester River (Maryland), and Conewago Creek (Pennsylvania) watersheds.

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Legacy sediment as a potential source of orthophosphate: Preliminary conceptual and geochemical models for the Susquehanna River, Chesapeake Bay watershed, USA (Page 1)

Legacy sediment as a potential source of orthophosphate: Preliminary conceptual and geochemical models for the Susquehanna River, Chesapeake Bay watershed, USA

Cravotta III CA, Tasker TL, Smyntek PM, Blomquist JD, Clune JW, Zhang Q, Schmadel NM, Schmer NK ·
2024

Nutrient pollution from agriculture and urban areas plus acid mine drainage (AMD) from legacy coal mines are primary causes of water-quality impairment in the Susquehanna River, which is the predominant source of freshwater and nutrients entering the Chesapeake Bay.

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Effects of point and nonpoint source controls on total phosphorus load trends across the Chesapeake Bay watershed, USA (Page 1)

Effects of point and nonpoint source controls on total phosphorus load trends across the Chesapeake Bay watershed, USA

Zhang Q, Bostic JT, Sabo RD ·
2024

Reduction of total phosphorus (TP) loads has long been a management focus of Chesapeake Bay restoration, but riverine monitoring stations have shown mixed temporal trends. To better understand the regional patterns and drivers of TP trends across the Bay watershed, we compiled and analyzed TP load data from 90 Non-Tidal Network stations using clustering and random forest (RF) approaches.

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Herbivory limits success of vegetation restoration globally (Page 1)

Herbivory limits success of vegetation restoration globally

Changlin Xu, Brian R. Silliman, Jianshe Chen, Xincheng Li, Mads S. Thomsen, Qun Zhang, Juhyung Lee, Jonathan S. Lefcheck, Pedro Daleo, Brent B. Hughes, Holly P. Jones, Rong Wang, Shaopeng Wang, Carter S. Smith, Xinqiang Xi, Andrew H. Altieri, Johan van de Koppel, Todd M. Palmer, Lingli Liu, Jihua Wu, Bo Li, and Qiang He ·
2023

Restoring vegetation in degraded ecosystems is an increasingly common practice for promoting biodiversity and ecological function, but successful implementation is hampered by an incomplete understanding of the processes that limit restoration success. By synthesizing terrestrial and aquatic studies globally (2594 experimental tests from 610 articles), we reveal substantial herbivore control of vegetation under restoration.

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Sandifer et al. 2023. Observing and monitoring the ocean (Page 1)

Sandifer et al. 2023. Observing and monitoring the ocean

Sandifera PA, Brooksb BW, Canonicoc G, Chassignetd EP, Kirkpatricke B, Porterf DE, Schwackeg LH, Geoffrey SI, and Kelsey RH ·
2023

From time immemorial, humankind has looked to the ocean for food and other useful products, for warnings of impending danger (e.g., storms and invaders), for inspi- ration, wonder, and beauty, and as a broad avenue for exploration, adventure, and commerce (see Chapters 1 and 3). Today, we watch the ocean more closely and care- fully than ever before. Globally, the ocean and its coasts affect human health and well-being in many ways, some positive, others negative (Sandifer et al., 2021a).

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The Role of Understanding, Trust, and Access in Public Engagement with Environmental Activities and Decision Making: A Qualitative Study with Water Quality Practitioners (Page 1)

The Role of Understanding, Trust, and Access in Public Engagement with Environmental Activities and Decision Making: A Qualitative Study with Water Quality Practitioners

Altman K, Yelton B, Porter DE, Kelsey RH, Friedman DB ·
2023

Advancing environmental health literacy in support of environmental management requires inclusive science communication, especially with environmental justice communities. In order to understand experiences of environmental practitioners in the realm of science communication, the Center for Oceans and Human Health and Climate Change Interactions at the University of South Carolina conducted two studies on science communication and research translation with the center’s researchers and partners.

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Socio-ecological analysis of the eutrophication in Chesapeake Bay, USA (Page 1)

Socio-ecological analysis of the eutrophication in Chesapeake Bay, USA

Ollivier MEL, Newton A, Kelsey RH ·
2023

This study is a social-ecological analysis of eutrophication in the Chesapeake Bay, United States of America (USA). It uses an expanded DPSIR framework (Drivers/Pressures/State/ Impacts/Responses) methodology to analyze the issue. In addition, a typology of the social actors and stakeholders in the socio-economic part of the system is identified.

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