Much has been written about a supposed shift 'from government to governance' in many policy areas, including forest policy. However, the idea remains very much at the level of hypothesis as few empirical studies have confirmed the transition. Part of the problem is the multi-dimensional character of governance itself, which includes traditional 'government' as one of many possible governance modes.

Soil microorganisms are responsible for organic matter decomposition processes that regulate soil carbon storage and mineralisation to CO₂. Climate change is predicted to increase the frequency of drought events, with uncertain consequences for soil microbial communities. In this study we tested the hypothesis that agricultural management used to enhance soil carbon stocks would increase the stability of microbial community structure and activity in response to water-stress.

The future evolution of our agricultural landscapes and countryside is the subject of considerable debate and policy discussion, alongside which is an increasing emphasis on the inclusion of public consultation and participation within planning and decision making systems. However, communicating different proposed policy options in a manner that facilitates informed decisions from stakeholders can be far from straightforward. This is particularly true with more abstract and uncertain issues such as potential impacts of climate change.

Soil organic carbon (SOC) constitutes a large pool within the global carbon cycle. Land use change significantly drives SOC stock variation. In tropical central and eastern Africa, how changes in land use and land cover impact on soil C stocks remains unclear. Variability in the existing data is typically explained by soil and climate factors with little consideration given to land use and management history.

Half of the worlds' population lives in cities. As the urban developments may have negative effects on the nature, ecological approaches are being considered in urban development studies. Ecological planning in and around the cities has a character of Landscape Planning that aims to protect natural elements, to improve ecological conditions, to prevent or reduce the effects of factors deteriorating environmental quality and to find out the potential of nature in order to conserve it.

Changes in the spatial distribution of land cover and land use can have significant impacts on ecological processes at multiple scales; estimating these changes provides critical data for both monitoring and understanding land-use effects on these processes. One approach to mapping landcover changes, particularly useful over longer periods of time, is comparison of existing landcover maps, (post-classification change analysis).

This research explores local resident perspectives on ecosystem services (ES) in the hyper-arid Arava Valley/Wadi Araba, which spans across both Israel and Jordan. Identifying and characterizing ES, an increasingly popular precursor for crafting sustainable natural resource management and land use policy, is an inherently multi-disciplinary endeavor. Our goal is to apply social research tools, in particular in-depth interviews with local residents, to understand their perspectives concerning ES.