A Systematic Review of Studies Addressing the Implementation of the Evidence-Based Whole-School Reform “Success for All”

Purpose: The effectiveness of the 14-component evidence-based whole-school reform Success for All (SfA) has been well established, but research on its implementation is limited although fidelity of implementation is vital for the effectiveness of such a program. This review sheds light on this issue. Design/Approach/Methods: A systematic literature review was conducted to acquire an overview of qualitative and quantitative aspects of SfA’s implementation in primary schools as well as to identify stimulating and hindering factors when implementing SfA. Sixteen studies, conducted in the United States and the United Kingdom, were included in this review. Findings: Results indicate that 48% of schools implemented SfA at the minimal level, 45% at a more advanced level, and 7% at an insufficient level. Information on the implementation for each of the 14 components was rare. Most of the factors that affected implementation were hindering factors rather than stimulating ones. For successful implementation of this evidence-based program, the crucial factors appear to be leadership, fulfilling organizational conditions, staff development, and relentlessly implementing all 14 components together. Originality/Value: This review shows that for an evidence-based program to be effective, implementation fidelity is a very serious concern, which needs to be addressed systematically.</p

Narratives Across Scales on Barriers and Strategies for Upscaling Forest Restoration: A Brazilian Case Study

Several countries worldwide have committed to forest and landscape restoration (FLR) through ambitious pledges in numbers of hectares to be restored. As the implementation of these commitments happens within countries, different actors from global to local scales must negotiate the “what, where and how” of specific forest restoration projects. We interviewed actors at national, state and local scales to gather their narratives regarding barriers and strategies for upscaling forest restoration and compared the narratives among them and with those that prevail in the global literature on FLR. We based the local scale in four Atlantic Forest landscapes. We classified the narratives gathered according to three discourses commonly used in environmental policy arenas: (1) ecological modernization, advocating market solutions; (2) green governmentality, with its emphasis on technocratic solutions; and (3) civic environmentalism promoting governance. Brazilian legislation with its mandate of forest restoration in private lands appeared as the main restoration driver in the interviews. However, when political will for enforcement weakens, other strategies are needed. An ecological modernization narrative, around increasing funding, incentives, market and investments, prevailed in the narratives on barriers and strategies for all actors from the global to the local scales. Similarities nevertheless diminished from the global to the local scale. The narratives of national actors resembled those found in the global literature, which emphasize strategies based on increased capacity building, within a green governmentality narrative, and governance arrangements, a civic environmentalist narrative. These narratives appeared less at state scales, and were almost absent at local scales where forest restoration was perceived mostly as a costly legal mandate. Similar narratives across all actors and scales indicate that a focus on improving the economics of restoration can aid in upscaling forest restoration in Brazilian Atlantic Forest landscapes. However, discrepant narratives also show that inclusive governance spaces where the negotiation of FLR interventions can take place is key to increase trust and aid implementatio

An innovation perspective to climate change adaptation in coffee systems

Climate change is expected to have strong implications for smallholder coffee farmers and implementing adaptation measures would lessen their vulnerabilities. Adaptation measures have been identified in literature, but how these can be implemented remains unclear. Current certification programmes have the potential to provide guidance on how sustainability criteria can be addressed and taken up by farmers. We identify climate change adaptation options, their scale of application, and the necessary implementation steps. We show that implementation complexity strongly increases with the degree of climate change. With modest climatic changes, incremental adaptations might suffice, but more substantial climatic change will require radical social-institutional changes for adaptation uptake and interventions. For the majority of smallholders the implementation of any measure is largely constrained by a lack of access to knowledge networks and training material, organisational support, and (mainly financial) resources. A landscape approach that encompasses collective action and coordinated cross-sector planning can overcome some of these barriers. Certification approaches can facilitate a move in this direction. Yet, the implementation of transformative adaptations requires visioning, realignment of policies and incentives, and new market formations. This entails a repositioning and revision of certification schemes to allow for more effective adaptation uptake for the benefit of smallholders and the environment

Stimulating seedling growth in early stages of secondary forest succession: a modeling approach to guide tree liberation

Excessive growth of non-woody plants and shrubs on degraded lands can strongly hamper tree growth and thus secondary forest succession. A common method to accelerate succession, called liberation, involves opening up the vegetation canopy around young target trees. This can increase growth of target trees by reducing competition for light with neighboring plants. However, liberation has not always had the desired effect, likely due to differences in light requirement between tree species. Here we present a 3D-model, which calculates photosynthetic rate of individual trees in a vegetation stand. It enables us to examine how stature, crown structure, and physiological traits of target trees and characteristics of the surrounding vegetation together determine effects of light on tree growth. The model was applied to a liberation experiment conducted with three pioneer species in a young secondary forest in Vietnam. Species responded differently to the treatment depending on their height, crown structure and their shade-tolerance level. Model simulations revealed practical thresholds over which the tree growth response is heavily influenced by the height and density of surrounding vegetation and gap radius. There were strong correlations between calculated photosynthetic rates and observed growth: the model was well able to predict growth of trees in young forests and the effects of liberation there upon. Thus, our model serves as a useful tool to analyze light competition between young trees and surrounding vegetation and may help assess the potential effect of tree liberation

Local abundances of terrestrial mammal and bird species around indigenous villages in Suriname

Hunting is an important threat to tropical wildlife, yet many people are dependent on forest fauna for protein provisioning. We analyzed abundances of terrestrial mammal and bird species around four indigenous villages in the south of Suriname, using camera trap data and the Royle–Nichols abundance model. We hypothesized that hunting pressure increases with decreasing distance to a village and with increasing village size (expressed as cropland area). We detected 24 animal species in all villages combined, including several rare species. For 11 of the 24 species, we were able to examine if and how distance to a village and village size related to local abundances and found a positive effect of distance to village on local abundances in five species, and a negative effect of village size in one species. Because villages, and thus hunting, affect local abundances of terrestrial bird and mammal species in our study, we recommend monitoring forest fauna in areas where people are highly dependent on animals for food provisioning

Mild hyperlipidemia in mice aggravates platelet responsiveness in thrombus formation and exploration of platelet proteome and lipidome.

Hyperlipidemia is a well-established risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. Millions of people worldwide display mildly elevated levels of plasma lipids and cholesterol linked to diet and life-style. While the prothrombotic risk of severe hyperlipidemia has been established, the effects of moderate hyperlipidemia are less clear. Here, we studied platelet activation and arterial thrombus formation in Apoe-/- and Ldlr-/- mice fed a normal chow diet, resulting in mildly increased plasma cholesterol. In blood from both knockout mice, collagen-dependent thrombus and fibrin formation under flow were enhanced. These effects did not increase in severe hyperlipidemic blood from aged mice and upon feeding a high-fat diet (Apoe-/- mice). Bone marrow from wild-type or Ldlr-/- mice was transplanted into irradiated Ldlr-/- recipients. Markedly, thrombus formation was enhanced in blood from chimeric mice, suggesting that the hyperlipidemic environment altered the wild-type platelets, rather than the genetic modification. The platelet proteome revealed high similarity between the three genotypes, without clear indication for a common protein-based gain-of-function. The platelet lipidome revealed an altered lipid profile in mildly hyperlipidemic mice. In conclusion, in Apoe-/- and Ldlr-/- mice, modest elevation in plasma and platelet cholesterol increased platelet responsiveness in thrombus formation and ensuing fibrin formation, resulting in a prothrombotic phenotype

Logging intensity drives variability in carbon stocks in lowland forests in Vietnam

Forest degradation in the tropics is generating large carbon (C) emissions. In tropical Asia, logging is the main driver of forest degradation. For effective implementation of REDD+ projects in logged forests in Southeast Asia, the impacts of logging on forest C stocks need to be assessed. Here, we assess C stocks in logged lowland forests in central Vietnam and explore correlations between logging intensity, soil, topography and living aboveground carbon (AGC) stocks. We present an approach to estimate historical logging intensities for the prevalent situation when complete records on logging history are unavailable. Landsat analysis and participatory mapping were used to quantify the density of historical disturbances, used as a proxy of logging intensities in the area. Carbon in AGC, dead wood, belowground carbon (BGC) and soil (SOC) was measured in twenty-four 0.25 ha plots that vary in logging intensity, and data on recent logging, soil properties, elevation and slope were also collected. Heavily logged forests stored only half the amount of AGC of stems ≥10 cm dbh as lightly logged forests, mainly due to a reduction in the number of large (≥60 cm dbh) trees. Carbon in AGC of small trees (5–10 cm dbh), dead wood and BGC comprised only small fractions of total C stocks, while SOC in the topsoil of 0–30 cm depth stored ~50% of total C stocks. Combining logging intensities with soil and topographic data showed that logging intensity was the main factor explaining the variability in AGC. Our research shows large reductions in AGC in medium and heavily logged forests. It highlights the critical importance of conserving big trees to maintain high forest C stocks and accounting for SOC in total C stock estimates

FSC-certified forest management benefits large mammals compared to non-FSC

More than a quarter of the world’s tropical forests are exploited for timber1. Logging impacts biodiversity in these ecosystems, primarily through the creation of forest roads that facilitate hunting for wildlife over extensive areas. Forest management certification schemes such as the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) are expected to mitigate impacts on biodiversity, but so far very little is known about the effectiveness of FSC certification because of research design challenges, predominantly limited sample sizes2,3. Here we provide this evidence by using 1.3 million camera-trap photos of 55 mammal species in 14 logging concessions in western equatorial Africa. We observed higher mammal encounter rates in FSC-certified than in non-FSC logging concessions. The effect was most pronounced for species weighing more than 10 kg and for species of high conservation priority such as the critically endangered forest elephant and western lowland gorilla. Across the whole mammal community, non-FSC concessions contained proportionally more rodents and other small species than did FSC-certified concessions. The first priority for species protection should be to maintain unlogged forests with effective law enforcement, but for logged forests our findings provide convincing data that FSC-certified forest management is less damaging to the mammal community than is non-FSC forest management. This study provides strong evidence that FSC-certified forest management or equivalently stringent requirements and controlling mechanisms should become the norm for timber extraction to avoid half-empty forests dominated by rodents and other small species

Defaunation changes leaf trait composition of recruit communities in tropical forests in French Guiana

Hunting impacts tropical vertebrate populations, causing declines of species that function as seed dispersers and predators, or that browse seedlings and saplings. Whether and how the resulting reductions in seed dispersal, seed predation, and browsing translate to changes in the tree composition is poorly understood. Here, we assess the effect of defaunation on the functional composition of communities of tree recruits in tropical rainforests in French Guiana. We selected eight sites along a gradient of defaunation, caused by differences in hunting pressure, in otherwise intact old-growth forests in French Guiana. We measured shifts in functional composition by comparing leaf and fruit traits and wood density between tree recruits (up to 5 cm diameter at breast height) and adults, and tested whether and how these compositional shifts related to defaunation. We found a positive relationship with defaunation for shifts in specific leaf area, a negative relationship for shifts of leaf toughness and wood density, and a weak relationship for shifts in fruit traits. Our results suggest that the loss of vertebrates affects ecological processes such as seed dispersal and browsing, of which browsing remains understudied. Even though these changes sometimes seem minor, together they result in major shifts in forest composition. These changes have long-term ramifications that may alter forest dynamics for generations