NatureVolve issue 11 by NaturSolv Magazine

Issue 11

Special theme: Conserving our lands

Scientific photography In Pictures: Land conservation challenges in Central & South America... Plus much more

Front cover image: “Luminescent Inflorescence Copper Sulphate”. © Karl Gaff. All rights reserved. Karl Gaff is our highlighted science communicator of the issue. Find out about Karl’s stunning scientific photography in theScicomm section.

Science

Conservation

Scicomm

Art

Written Word

NatureVolve.com

Editorial note

Communicating science Combining art

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Thank you to the following contributors to this issue (in page number order): Paulo Pereira Emilio Pagani-Núñez Hannah K. Levenson Keith Kirby Enya O’Reilly Hamed Gholizadeh Risa Sargent Eden Gerner Irene Holm Sørensen Thomas Skou Grindsted Anthony Snead Ek del Val Manuel-Angel Dueñas Subhajit Bandopadhyay Alistair Campbell Leonardo Galetto Vallejos Maria Donald Brown Lucia Tamburino Misagh Parhizkar Karl Gaff S. Paola López Ramírez Alex Mayer Byron Lamont Phillip Vannini April Vannini Karen Romano Young Aiswarya PS Amy Louise Lee Antonio Polidano Vella Star Holden Mark Noble Ying Kit Chan Ronan Quinn Edward B. Barbier Tina Claffey

Welcome to NatureVolve issue 11 At NatureVolve, we are an international community uniting to share our ideas in science and art with the world, through the common appreciation of nature. While sharing diverse topics within science, conservation and art, in this issue we emphasize the value of looking after the lands on which we live. In the section Science we cover land-based ecology research, and then move onto wildlife protection and best practices in Conservation, where we deep-dive into conservation issues in South America, with some illustrative snaps. The front cover of this issue is a small taster of what is to come in the Scicomm section, where we highlight science photography that captures stunning crystallization patterns. There is more science inspired creativity to see through to the Art section, where diverse creatives’ influences from nature are shown. Our digital magazine continually shares the ideas of both scientists and creatives with worldwide communities as we all unite to celebrate nature. Being open and inclusive, contributions in many forms are welcome. If interested to join us and contribute to an upcoming issue, please go to naturevolve.com/submission-form If you enjoy this issue please shout on social media, and so your friends can also enjoy free copies, share the free subscription link: naturevolve.com/subscribe

Thanks to NatureVolve’s writers of this issue: Heidi Schmelzer, Duc L, Glenn Molina.

Thank you for your support and enjoy the issue!

Clarissa Wright Editor-in-Chief

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conservation

Cork and Cultural Landscapes in the Montado Seeing the sustainable value of wetlands Microevolution can guide conservation efforts Conservation threats in South & Central America Socorro island vegetation Species at risk of extinction by invasive species. Deforestation by logging Bees at risk in the Amazon Native bee pollinators Subsistence living at Dry Chaco Terrestrial salamanders amid climate change Sustainability trade-off Recovering deforested hillslopes

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scicomm

Creating colorful imagery from crystallized chemicals Solving water scarcity with art and science Illustrating drought-tolerant plant’s unique features A scenic pose in Iceland I Was A Kid SciArt for bee research

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Minimalist elegance Antonio Polidano Vella Star Holden Mark Noble Ying Kit Chan

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River Liffey Economics For a Fragile Planet Portal: Otherworldly Wonders of Ireland’s Bogs, Wetlands & Eskers

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Written Word

SCIENCE

Struggles in sustaining land resources Long-tailed Shrike Bees buzzing in soybean fields Bluebells hiding history Making bird counts count Sericea - an invasive “alien” plant Flower-bee connections

Art

Contents

Science

SCIENCE

environment

Struggles in sustaining land resources Written by Heidi Schmelzer

umans make a lasting impact on the environment, often through land-use change: modifying the natural landscape, which can be temporary or permanent, occuring through human activity like agriculture, urbanization, and deforestation. While these all negatively impact the environment, there are positive impacts of land use change like reforestation. Negative land-use actions do not only affect the local environment, they have widerreaching effects, like contributing to raising greenhouse gases in the atmosphere or impacting natural flood control (a type of ‘ecosystem service’). One obstacle with managing land-use change is that much of it occurs on privately owned land. Many governments don’t have systems in place to regulate activities in non-public areas, and this presents a challenge in preserving important ecosystem services. It can be difficult to persuade private landowners to adopt sustainable practices if it does not financially help them. Often, implementing sustainable use strategies can cause them to lose money. It is imperative to tackle this problem, as the actions on private land have far reaching consequences for widespread habitats and the global environment. We speak with Paulo Pereira, professor at Mykolas Romeris University in Lithuania. Together with his team (Marius Kalinauskas; Miguel Inacio; Katarzyna Bogdziewicz, and Luis Pinto), he investigates humans impact on the environment and how to address sustainability during the climate crisis.

SCIENCE

environment

Q & A: Paulo Pereira Please introduce your background and why you entered into environmental management. I am a Geographer with a PhD from the University of Barcelona, working in different environmental fields such as soil science, fire impacts on ecosystems, land degradation, ecosystem services, nature-based solutions and spatial analysis. I always liked nature, but this love and search for understanding the interaction between humans and the environment appeared when I was finishing my bachelor’s degree. The curiosity and passion that I developed for science laid the foundation for pursuing a career as a scientist and contributing to the environmental management field.

How can land-use change impact ecosystems, and eventually negatively affect human society? Land-use changes affect ecosystems dramatically. Nowadays, coupled with climate change, land-use change like agriculture intensification and urban expansion are among the most important drivers of ecosystem change. The increasing demand for food and resources exponentially converts forested areas into farmlands (e.g., Amazon or Borneo forests).

What are some common conflicts between ecosystem services (ES) and property rights? There are indeed many conflicts between ecosystem services and property rights. From a management point of view, public property is always easier to manage than private. The supply of ecosystem services depends on the land use type and the practices conducted. On public land, this can be regulated. Establishing specific land uses representing a benefit (e.g., flood retention) for the community is easier than on private land. Some local plans regulate land use at the municipal level that impose some restrictions on land use. It is more challenging to do so on private land. Encouraging farmers to diversify their crops, apply fewer agrochemicals, and deep tillage practices because of the negative impacts on the environment (e.g., soil degradation, water pollution, biodiversity loss) is very challenging since their income depends on how much they can take from the land in a short period. These conventional agricultural practices are highly damaging to ecosystems and the benefits they

This represents a loss of habitats and biodiversity and different goods that can be supplied by these environments, such as carbon sequestration, water purification, nutrients regulation, pollination, air quality regulation, oxygen production, microclimate regulation, wild-food, medicinal plants or cultural heritage sites. Some forests are sacred to indigenous cultures. Also, urban expansion on fertile soils drastically increases soil degradation (e.g., sealing, erosion, pollution) and reduces the areas available for food production. Deforestation and urban growth negatively impact human society since they represent a loss of goods. Also, they can trigger the effects of extreme climate events such as floods and heatwaves that usually have tragic impacts on human health and life. Before cutting a tree or sealing soil, we need to understand the loss that this represents. Right: Evidence of soil erosion. © Paulo Pereira. All rights reserved. © NatureVolve digital magazine. All rights reserved.

SCIENCE

environment

provide to society. Of course, the owner has the right to use their land as they want according to the law. However, although the land-use practices respect the law, this does not mean that they are exempt from being harmful to the environment and the services that ecosystems provide to humanity.

Based on your team’s study published in Geography and Sustainability, how can we raise awareness about the benefits of a healthy ecosystem to land owners? This was great work. Personally, I liked the outcomes very much. Raising awareness about the benefits of living in a healthy ecosystem is essential, but this depends very much on how the landowners implement the necessary changes. If this implies an economic loss, it is challenging to convince them. To overcome this, it is essential to show the long-term benefits of establishing a particular practice or land use. We can list and communicate to landowners many benefits, such as agriculture management with reduced impacts on the environment (e.g., no-till, cover crops, organic farming). Nevertheless, they may imply an immediate economic loss compared to conventional practices, and some are not willing to take these losses. To raise awareness, it is vital to invest in education, transfer knowledge and show the advantages of having sustainable farming practices. Nevertheless, this is not possible in many cases, and some compensation (e.g., payment for ecosystem services) is needed for the owners to engage in sustainable practices.

Also, what should land-planning decision makers be considering, so we can meet our global sustainable development goals? Definitely, it is needed to reduce our footprint on the environment. Decision-makers can do this by having better territorial planning. It is important to reduce deforestation and the expansion of intensive farming practices that are among the most important causes of land degradation, biodiversity loss and climate change. It is also important to limit urban sprawl and the consumption of fertile soils. Making cities greener will also be an excellent measure to reduce the impacts of climate change and urban heat islands. From an environmental perspective, by doing this, decision-makers would contribute significantly to several sustainable development goals: • • • • • •

Good Health and Well-Being (Goal 3), Clean Water and Sanitation (Goal 6), Affordable and Clean Energy (Goal 7), Sustainable Cities and Communities (Goal 11), Climate Action (Goal 13), Life Bellow Water (Goal 14), Life on Land (Goal 15).

From a socioeconomic standpoint, decision-makers need to make urban areas more inclusive and invest in renewable energies. Doing this would contribute as well to other Sustainable Development Goals: • No Poverty (Goal 1), • Gender Equality (Goal 5), • Responsible Consumption (Goal 12).

SCIENCE

environment Below: Portrait image of Prof. Paulo Pereira.

“...Deforestation and urban growth negativvely impact human society since they represent a loss of goods... they also trigger the effects of extreme climate events that can have tragic impacts...”

Final thoughts

Passionate about the environment, Paulo explains how negative land-use changes can harm the environment and have a negative impact on humans. There are many valuable benefits nature gives us, described as ‘ecosystem services’, that are being disrupted by unsustainable practices like rapid urbanization and deforestation. This includes a loss of natural water purification and air quality control. Persuading private landowners to adopt more sustainable practices is challenging because it takes money from their livelihoods in the short term. Education can be an important tool for convincing them to adopt strategies for better conservation, but oftentimes, it is not enough. Another strategy governments can use is to pay landowners the difference in money earned through using sustainable practices compared to higher pay-out conventional practices that deplete the land’s resources. Paulo’s interview highlights the fact that intervening in unsustainable practices requires multiple approaches to better conserve the land, protect biodiversity and mitigate climate change.

Bio

Full professor at Mykolas Romeris University (Lithuania) and invited full professor at Beijing Normal University (China). He published more than 500 publications in books, peer-reviewed articles and conferences. Paulo received several international prizes (e.g., “European Geosciences Union Soil System Sciences Division Outstanding Young Scientist Award”). In 2020 was identified as one of the world’s most-cited researchers (Clarivate Analytics Highly Cited Researcher).

Links

SCIENCE

snapshot

Long-tailed Shrike Long-tailed Shrike (Lanius schach), a generalist Long-tailed Shrikes perfectly exemplify this predator, hunting around Dushu Lake Wetland process – they are strong and aggressive Park (Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, P.R. China). birds and even larger species do not dare to (below) © Emilio Pagani-Núñez. All rights reserved.

Across the natural-to-urban gradient some species persist, winners, and others are lost, losers. The Long-tailed Shrike clearly is one of the winners of this story, as they thrive in agricultural and urban landscapes all around Asia. I am particularly interested in understanding why some species persist to intense habitat transformation and what mechanisms they employ to cope with these changes. Recently, we have found that, whilst in natural areas birds depend on highly specialized morphologies such as long beaks to find food, other features such as size and aggressiveness determine resource use in transformed habitats.

challenge their supremacy.

About

Emilio Pagani-Núñez is a field ornithologist with broad interests in ecology, evolution, and behaviour. Currently an Assistant Professor at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, Emilio is particularly interested in studying the impact that human activities have on nature and investigating ways in which these impacts can be minimized.

Contact

Publication: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.baae.2022.01.002

scicomm

photography

Creating colorful imagery from crystallized chemicals written by Pamela Policarpio

We can view nature around us as a form of art, whether it be majestic

mountain ranges, the colorful diversity of flowers, and the blue shades of ocean water. When we see the picturesque varieties of nature around us, we cannot help but grab our camera to capture that moment. Karl Gaff must have felt the same when he saw the visually stunning formations that are only visible from the microscope. Karl is a scientific photographic artist and has a degree in Physical and Life Sciences. His passion for science and photography led him to discover the colorful spectacles that can be formed from crystallized chemicals. Inside Karl’s laboratory, through the lens of his microscope and camera, a fusion of art and science is beautifully interwoven to make art like no one has seen before.

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photography

Q & A: Karl Gaff Please tell us about your university degrees and how you became a scientific photographic artist. The first degree that I undertook was called the BSc Physics & Life Sciences. This degree cultivated a knowledge of the biological, chemical and physical sciences with emphasis on biological systems. Having grown up with a deep-rooted fascination of science, it greatly enhanced my appreciation of the mystery and awe of the tapestry of nature. I then took the degree called BSc Physics & Physics Technology which explored the fundamental operations of scientific instrumentation from the point of view of the electronics and the physics at work. To give an example, one module of the course explored the design of ground and space-based imaging platforms fitted with spectroscopic instruments, their basic electronic instrumentation, digital image sensors, advanced optics and electromagnetic theory of light.

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scicomm

photography

In combination with other modules such as thermodynamics, astronomy, etc you would see how all of the information is woven together to give a big picture of our world. This degree as you can imagine, further helped to flourish my curiosity for science and technology. Finally, I took an MSc Imaging & Microscopy through which I gained specialist experience in the operation of a wide range of microscopes. At the same time, I began funding my own imaging laboratory at home, building microscopes and macro imaging setups and this is where I do all of my photographic explorations that you see on my website and social media.

How has growing up in Dublin influenced you and your works? Living on the suburbs of Dublin, with one foot in the city and the other in the countryside, there are numerous botanical gardens and wild life ponds a short distance away where I enjoy collecting

samples in. Even the smallest of ponds contains a fascinating biodiversity of flora and fauna with which you can observe and document through the microscope. The Wicklow mountains is just a short drive away which hosts a nature reserve and is a botanical haven of wild flowers, fungi, and bryophytes. The bark of the trees are cloaked with mosses and lichens waiting to be photographed, not to mention the ferns, fungi and host of creatures that inhabit the forest floor and the river that meanders beneath the canopy. During the winter-time when I am limited for samples, I can work on researching new chemical recipes and creating beautiful artworks.

“I began funding my own imaging laboratory at home, building microscopes and macro imaging set ups...”

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scicomm

photography

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Tell us about how you do your chemical work, gently heated from beneath. Once the water has completely evaporated and a thin film has grown, and what this reveals about the process of the sample is mounted on the microscope stage. crystallization.

The microscope is configured for cross polarised All substances are made up of molecules. A molecule light. The addition of a wave plate in the optical path converts phase differences within the light is a constellation of atoms and they come In many different sizes and shapes. Atoms may have a positive field into different colours which depend on the thickness as well as the orientation of the crystal or charge, a negative charge or they may be neutral. When linked together into molecules, different regions its molecules at each point. In other words, nature chooses the colour palette depending on the of the molecules may possess differing amounts of charge. So, depending on the size, shape and charge physics and chemistry of the sample and setup. distribution, molecules can link together to create an There is no artificial colouring applied to any of infinite array of crystalline patterns. my imagery or digital manipulation. Most of the imagery I make are of mixtures of chemicals. By To make pictures of chemicals, the chemicals are altering the ratios of each compound, it is possible dissolved in a solvent, such as water or alcohol. for nature to come up with wildly different patterns. The solution is smeared onto a glass slide and

Final thoughts

Each month, I have printed and framed to a very high quality, my most favourite works which I sometimes use to carry out science-art exhibitions.

Karl’s interest in crystallography and photography led him to discover a whole new world under his microscope. We have seen how Karl’s idea of altering the ratios of each compound allowed him to create colorful photographs. Another fascinating discovery is how nature chooses a specific color palette through a particular crystallization process. It is exciting to think of the endless possibilities there are to discover even more natural patterns and forms that waiting to be seen and captured through Karl’s microscope and camera. Keep up with Karl’s scientific photography on his website and Instagram account to see how nature will continue to surprise and astound us.

Bio Karl Gaff is a technical officer in the School of Physics, Clinical & Optometric Sciences at TU Dublin. In his free time, he is a scientific photographic artist who works from his home laboratory creating visually stunning photography of flowers, microscopic lifeforms and photographic artworks of chemicals that he cooks up in his laboratory, chemicals that take on the appearance of botanical-like patterns.

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scicomm

environmental awareness

Solving water scarcity with art and science By Heidi Schmelzer Before the 1930’s, the area surrounding the Rio Grande river on the border of the United States and Mexico was filled with wetlands and riverside forests. Canals were built along the river to allow for the division of water between the United States and Mexico. While this system allowed for sharing of important water resources, it destroyed the surrounding habitat. In the face of climate change and further drought in the area, communities are looking into how to better utilize our resources and ensure water availability in the desert environment. The Center for Environmental Resource Management (CERM) at The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) aims to address environmental health and water resources. One project includes restoring a small section near the river back to the native wetlands environment it once had. Somos Agua/ We Are Water is another group that aims to address water scarcity in the Paso del Norte Region. It uses an interdisciplinary approach combining arts and sciences to understand connections to the environment, facilitate community engagement, and ensure all living beings, humans, animals, and plants, have equal access to water in the area. We speak with two collaborators on these projects about the interdisciplinary approach and the importance of their work. Sandra Paola López Ramírez is an artist, cultural organizer, and Dr. Alex Mayer, Professor of Civil Engineering and Director of CERM. Both are located at The University of Texas at El Paso and collaborate in Somos Agua/ We Are Water.

Above: Somos Agua/We Are Water collaborators S. Paola López Ramírez and Melissa Melpignano performing at the Río Bosque Wetlands Park in April 2022. Photo credit - Federico Villalba (Paola and Melissa dancing) . © Somos Agua/We Are Water © NatureVolve digital magazine. All rights reserved.

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Art

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Art

Artist interview

Minimalist elegance with Amy Louise Lee

Amy Louise Lee is an experimental

contemporary artist who is currently immersed in the metal medium. While she does many sketches, the media she uses is mixed, even using sculpting paste and fabrics, channelling a natural curiosity about science and nature. Having spent most of her life in New York City, she has lived all over the world but it is now in New Jersey in the Sourland Mountains, pursuing her artistic practise. She enjoys taken crude, unrefined materials and transforming them into minimalist elegance, embracing the design philosophy of wabi sabi: a world view in Japanese aesthetics based on the acceptance of transience and imperfection. Amy describes her creative process and her aeclectic influences with us here.

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Art

Artist interview

Q & A: Amy Louise Lee How did you become an artist?

What about nature inspires you?

I have always been a creative and curious person, always wanting to explore and understand things, figuring stuff out for myself. I believe this is the true foundation of any artist. As a child, having lived in various countries I realized at a young age the most common language is art, whether through a painting, music or dance, it is universally understood. This allowed me to connect to people without speaking their native language.

Science and nature is my inspiration, being completely fascinated by the smaller details all around us, while one might see a tree, I see the texture and detail of bark on that tree, wanting to learn and understand why the bark is the way it is. I indulge in my outdoor surroundings everyday by keeping my curiosity alive, constantly wanting to learn.

As with most young adults growing up, art is always presented as a poor option to make a living, so I decided to step into the world of Interior Design. I felt it was still a creative field and I could make a nice living designing. What I found was that my true self was always struggling against the limitations of design. I constantly had this nagging feeling that something didn’t connect in my soul.

In addition, taking nature classes or reading books on ‘math in nature’ keeps me intrigued and engaged. I often wish math was taught in schools in a visual way, through nature. For example, the Fibonacci sequence is absolutely fascinating and made no sense when studying it abstractly in school, but

After years and years of struggling to figure out what was wrong, I realized that my authentic self wanted to just make art without the input or limitations Interior Design can present. That’s when the light came on, I needed to follow my own path of creativity. Ever since I began creating and exploring art my entire life has been transformed. I am flooded with ideas and have fully immersed myself into everything art related. This is one hundred percent my path in life and I look forward to seeing where it takes me.

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Art

Artist interview

when I started to learn and see it in nature, it blew me away. This beautiful mathematical sequence shows up everywhere, in sunflowers, pinecones, ferns, nautilus shells. There is so much beauty and chaos in the tiny details, which I am forever trying to immerse myself into, not photographically or realistically, but in spirit, capturing the essence. Art is my way of expressing abstractly what I see, sense and learn through nature: simple with complex humility. I’m quite sure the humble simplicity of the British countryside is at the center of my being and translates itself into my work over and over again.

Tell us about your creative process with metal, texture and paint mediums I typically begin by sketching out ideas in a large sketchbook I keep in close proximity. This leads to thinking about canvas size, which materiality I want to proceed with to communicate the idea. Currently my favorite and most labor intensive material is metal. I take crude industrial metal ingots, melt them down over high heat to a molten state which takes approx 20min per bar. Then I literally throw it against various materials to achieve different tones and textures. Once the metal has cooled and hardened, I am able to start

creating delicate works of art on the canvas. If it’s a painting, then I like to build up the canvas with sculpting paste and fabric to achieve the maximum texture prior to painting the canvas.

“Overall, no matter which process I choose, my wish is to bring the same sense of calm to the observer as they would feel walking through the countryside.”

Somewhere within the painting I like to show a perfectly straight line to emphasize the contrast. Using tiny milk glass beads or burlap is another way I create texture, allowing the tactile nature of the product to be the subject. As a result, the texture placement feels familiar and hopeful. Overall, no matter which process I choose, my wish is to bring the same sense of calm to the observer as they would feel walking through the countryside.

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Art

Artist interview

Have you done any interesting collaborations, or do you have any special plans coming up this year? I’m working on a few different upcoming exhibitions, however I’m most excited about learning AR, Augmented Reality, a technological medium that can make my artwork come alive. Although it’s a different discipline, I love the idea of creating art on top of my existing art, showing more of my personality. For example, having the circles in ‘empowerment’ slowly start to rotate in different directions and speeds so it feels like the inner workings of a machine or something more silly like having my head randomly hover or appear within the work.

The idea of combining both disciplines is extremely exciting and allows for endless possibilities. In addition to learning how to work with a digital medium, I am also in the process of exploring different tactile materials like concrete and wax. I have been experimenting with both independently and look forward to creating and showing interesting shapes and textures. I love the idea of industrial, functional materials and developing a process that allows them to show as delicate abstract works of art.

Final thoughts Amy has always been naturally curious and creative, seeing art as a common language between all, coming from her worldly perspective. Pursuing interior design, she felt something lacking. To release the limitations felt in her career, she followed her own path of creativity, and has been experimenting with her minimalist art ever since. Being curious about science, she has always been learning along the way, such as with the occurrence of Fibonacci sequence, which can be spotted in all kinds of natural forms like pinecones. She is also exploring Augmented Reality (AR) and its potential to be infused with her artworks. Influenced by many aspects of the world, natural forms are Amy’s artistic muse.

Bio Amy was born in England, raised in Germany, yet have spent her adult life living and working in New York City, now resides in the countryside of the Sourland mountains, New Jersey. Creativity and Art is at the center of her life and is a reflection of her enthusiasm for warm, minimalist sophistication, embracing the design philosophy of wabi sabi. When she is not creating art, she is designing interior spaces.

Links Website: https://www.amylouiselee.com Instagram: @amylouiselee_art Email: amy@amylouiselee.com

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Art

art gallery

Antonio Polidano Vella Antonio Polidano Vella is a cancer research scientist currently undergoing a PhD at the University of Malta; his motherland. In his project he seeks to find a better therapy for a type of Leukaemia called CML. When out of the lab he pursues his main interest - the visual arts, relishing painting in oils, particularly by amalgamating scientific concepts into his art.

Artwork

Hope in Labcoats

(below)

Painted in oil paint on canvas. Inspired by the pandemic, this artwork portrays how imperative the works of scientists and health care workers are, not only for the advancement, but for the mere maintenance of the human race.

Links Website: antoniopolidanovella.com

The science of medicine will be the torch that will guide us out of dark times and with the right cooperation, will help defeat all things which hinder us from living.

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