Beyond livestock carrying capacity in the Sahelian and Sudanian zones of West Africa

We applied the process-based model, LandscapeDNDC, to estimate feed availability in the Sahelian and Sudanian agro-ecological zones of West Africa as a basis for calculating the regional Livestock Carrying Capacity (LCC). Comparison of the energy supply (S) from feed resources, including natural pasture, browse, and crop residues, with energy demand (D) of the livestock population for the period 1981–2020 allowed us to assess regional surpluses (S > D) or deficits (S < D) in feed availability. We show that in the last 40 years a large-scale shift from surplus to deficit has occurred. While during 1981–1990 only 27% of the area exceeded the LCC, it was 72% for the period 2011–2020. This was caused by a reduction in the total feed supply of ~ 8% and an increase in feed demand of ~ 37% per-decade, driven by climate change and increased livestock population, respectively. Overall, the S/D decreased from ~ 2.6 (surplus) in 1981 to ~ 0.5 (deficit) in 2019, with a north–south gradient of increasing S/D. As climate change continues and feed availability may likely further shrink, pastoralists either need to source external feed or significantly reduce livestock numbers to avoid overgrazing, land degradation, and any further conflicts for resources.

Not (just) a protest: the Youth Strike for Climate as cultural exchange and collaborative text

In this essay, Chloé Germaine Buckley and Benjamin Bowman discuss the School Strike for Climate movement. Rather than consider the strikes as a protest movement for a large-scale shift in climate policy, they suggest viewing them as a form of global cultural exchange. They highlight the role of three themes to make this case: 1. the role of young people’s positionalities in building relationships and global solidarities;2. young people’s repertoires beyond attempting to shift climate policy into wider civic activity such as intergenerational care or mental health support;3. the functioning of the strikes as a polyphonic ‘text’ that invites dialogue, incorporating a multitude of voices in a variety of forms. In their essay, Buckley and Bowman interpret the efforts of young people not only as a protest against the world as it is today, but as a process that envisions the world as it could be, with all the struggles that come with bringing this view into being. The authors draw on a range of materials produced by young people, from informal protest signs to songs.

Economic Behavior of Information Acquisition: Impact on Peer Grading in Massive Open Online Courses

A critical issue in operating massive open online courses (MOOCs) is the scalability of providing feedback. Because it is not feasible for instructors to grade a large number of students’ assignments, MOOCs use peer grading systems. Yoo and Zhan investigate the efficacy of that practice when student graders are considered rational economic agents. Using an economic model that characterizes the behavior of student graders, they analyse the accuracy of current peer grading scheme. Interestingly, they identify a systematic grading bias toward the mean, which discourages students from learning. To improve current practice, they propose a simple scale-shift grading scheme, which can simultaneously improve grading accuracy and adjust grading bias. They discuss how it can be readily implemented in practice with moderate involvement of the instructors and MOOCs.

Author Correction: Large-scale shift in the structure of a kelp forest ecosystem co-occurs with an epizootic and marine heatwave

A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-021-01993-7

Observed changes in the agroclimatic zones in the Czech Republic between 1961 and 2019

The paper shows a large-scale shift in agroclimatic zones in the territory of the Czech Republic (CR) between 1961 and 2019. The method used for agroclimatic zoning took advantage of high-resolution (0.5 km × 0.5 km) daily climate data collected from 268 climatological and 787 rain-gauge stations. The climate information was combined with soil and terrain data at the same resolution. The set of seven agroclimatic indicators allowed us to estimate rates of changes in agroclimatic conditions over the 1961–2019 period, including changes in the air temperature regime, global radiation, drought, frost risks and snow cover occurrence. These indicators are relevant for all main crops and agroclimatic zoning and account for local soil and slope conditions. The study clearly highlights major shifts in the type and extent of agroclimatic zones between 1961–2000 and 2000–2019, which led to the occurrence of entirely new combinations of agroclimatic indicators.

Fracking in the Yukon

Presenting the book’s second empirical case study, this chapter examines resistance to fracking in Canada’s Yukon territory, considering the transnational political economy dynamics of local energy negotiations. By tracing local responses to fracking, the chapter reveals the ways in which finance, ownership, and trade provoke and activate insider/outsider narratives and reignite long-standing political conflicts in the North, mobilizing communities across issue areas. This chapter documents the creative methods used by organizers to forward claims as they linked fracking to concerns over liquefied natural gas backup power generation, the contested Peel Watershed, and trust in government. It also examines how similar discourses are wielded by both project proponents and opponents, especially of local control and belonging. Through the mechanisms of identity activation, scale shift, and brokerage, the chapter reveals how both project support and opposition can be articulated and adapted, including through alliance-building that connects sites and communities across space and time.