Student responses to the climate crisis: managing distress and exploring support systems

International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education · 2025-10-07 · 4 citations

Purpose This study explored how undergraduate students familiar with the climate crisis navigate climate-specific challenges in their personal lives, an area where knowledge is extremely inadequate. Design/methodology/approach The authors examined a broad range of adaptive (i.e. helpful) and maladaptive (i.e. unhelpful) strategies that students employ to manage their emotions concerning climate change, as well as resources that could help them adjust to the climate crisis. Quantitative and qualitative survey data were collected. Findings Students used various adaptive strategies to manage their emotions, including recreation, self-care, eco-friendly behaviors (such as changing habits, advocacy and volunteerism), personal and professional social support and actively seeking knowledge and positivity to empower themselves while participating in climate action. Furthermore, students suggested that having more professionally trained social support and resources for engaging in sustainable action would better help them adapt to the challenges posed by climate change. Gaining insights into effective methods for regulating climate impact can facilitate preventative and treatment strategies to cope with significant climate distress in young people. Practical implications The authors hope that the current lessons can inform pedagogy and help develop evidence-based mental health resources that equip current and future generations to effectively adapt to and mitigate the climate crisis. Originality/value The current findings shed light on eclectic approaches that university students adopt to manage their emotional responses to climate distress. They highlight that most students feel a dearth of resources available to them to effectively manage their personal climate distress and contribute to sustainability.

Targeted grazing reduces a widespread wetland plant invader with minimal nutrient impacts, yet native community recovery is limited

Journal of Environmental Management · 2024-05-31 · 5 citations

Green Infrastructure Microbial Community Response to Simulated Pulse Precipitation Events in the Semi-Arid Western United States

Water · 2024-07-07 · 1 citations

Processes driving nutrient retention in stormwater green infrastructure (SGI) are not well quantified in water-limited biomes. We examined the role of plant diversity and physiochemistry as drivers of microbial community physiology and soil N dynamics post precipitation pulses in a semi-arid region experiencing drought. We conducted our study in bioswales receiving experimental water additions and a montane meadow intercepting natural rainfall. Pulses of water generally elevated soil moisture and pH, stimulated ecoenzyme activity (EEA), and increased the concentration of organic matter, proteins, and N pools in both bioswale and meadow soils. Microbial community growth was static, and N assimilation into biomass was limited across pulse events. Unvegetated plots had greater soil moisture than vegetated plots at the bioswale site, yet we detected no clear effect of plant diversity on microbial C:N ratios, EEAs, organic matter content, and N pools. Differences in soil N concentrations in bioswales and the meadow were most directly correlated to changes in organic matter content mediated by ecoenzyme expression and the balance of C, N, and P resources available to microbial communities. Our results add to growing evidence that SGI ecological function is largely comparable to neighboring natural vegetated systems, particularly when soil media and water availability are similar.

Human activities shape global patterns of decomposition rates in rivers

Science · 2024-05-30 · 31 citations

Rivers and streams contribute to global carbon cycling by decomposing immense quantities of terrestrial plant matter. However, decomposition rates are highly variable and large-scale patterns and drivers of this process remain poorly understood. Using a cellulose-based assay to reflect the primary constituent of plant detritus, we generated a predictive model (81% variance explained) for cellulose decomposition rates across 514 globally distributed streams. A large number of variables were important for predicting decomposition, highlighting the complexity of this process at the global scale. Predicted cellulose decomposition rates, when combined with genus-level litter quality attributes, explain published leaf litter decomposition rates with high accuracy (70% variance explained). Our global map provides estimates of rates across vast understudied areas of Earth and reveals rapid decomposition across continental-scale areas dominated by human activities.

Targeted Grazing Reduces a Widespread Wetland Invader with Minimal Nutrient Impacts, Yet Native Community Recovery is Limited

SSRN Electronic Journal · 2023-01-01

Global Patterns and Controls of Nutrient Immobilization on Decomposing Cellulose in Riverine Ecosystems

Global Biogeochemical Cycles · 2022 · 22 citations

• Environmental science
• Environmental chemistry
• Ecology

Abstract Microbes play a critical role in plant litter decomposition and influence the fate of carbon in rivers and riparian zones. When decomposing low‐nutrient plant litter, microbes acquire nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) from the environment (i.e., nutrient immobilization), and this process is potentially sensitive to nutrient loading and changing climate. Nonetheless, environmental controls on immobilization are poorly understood because rates are also influenced by plant litter chemistry, which is coupled to the same environmental factors. Here we used a standardized, low‐nutrient organic matter substrate (cotton strips) to quantify nutrient immobilization at 100 paired stream and riparian sites representing 11 biomes worldwide. Immobilization rates varied by three orders of magnitude, were greater in rivers than riparian zones, and were strongly correlated to decomposition rates. In rivers, P immobilization rates were controlled by surface water phosphate concentrations, but N immobilization rates were not related to inorganic N. The N:P of immobilized nutrients was tightly constrained to a molar ratio of 10:1 despite wide variation in surface water N:P. Immobilization rates were temperature‐dependent in riparian zones but not related to temperature in rivers. However, in rivers nutrient supply ultimately controlled whether microbes could achieve the maximum expected decomposition rate at a given temperature. Collectively, we demonstrated that exogenous nutrient supply and immobilization are critical control points for decomposition of organic matter.

Causes and Consequences of Changes in Riparian Vegetation for Plant Litter Decomposition Throughout River Networks

2021-01-01 · 5 citations

The Wasatch Environmental Observatory: A mountain to urban research network in the semi‐arid western<scp>US</scp>

Hydrological Processes · 2021 · 5 citations

• Environmental science
• Physical geography
• Geography

Abstract The 2085 km 2 Jordan River Basin, and its seven sub‐catchments draining the Central Wasatch Range immediately east of Salt Lake City, UT, are home to an array of hydrologic, atmospheric, climatic and chemical research infrastructure that collectively forms the Wasatch Environmental Observatory (WEO). WEO is geographically nested within a wildland to urban land‐use gradient and built upon a strong foundation of over a century of discharge and climate records. A 2200 m gradient in elevation results in variable precipitation, temperature and vegetation patterns. Soil and subsurface structure reflect systematic variation in geology from granitic, intrusive to mixed sedimentary clastic across headwater catchments, all draining to the alluvial or colluvial sediments of the former Lake Bonneville. Winter snowfall and spring snowmelt control annual hydroclimate, rapid population growth dominates geographic change in lower elevations and urban gas and particle emissions contribute to episodes of severe air pollution in this closed‐basin. Long‐term hydroclimate observations across this diverse landscape provide the foundation for an expanding network of infrastructure in both montane and urban landscapes. Current infrastructure supports both basic and applied research in atmospheric chemistry, biogeochemistry, climate, ecology, hydrology, meteorology, resource management and urban redesign that is augmented through strong partnerships with cooperating agencies. These features allow WEO to serve as a unique natural laboratory for addressing research questions facing seasonally snow‐covered, semi‐arid regions in a rapidly changing world and an excellent facility for providing student education and research training.

Individual and Interacting Effects of Elevated CO2, Warming, and Hydrologic Intensification on Leaf Litter Decomposition in Streams

2021-01-01 · 4 citations

Humics in the City: Dissolved organic matter (DOM) as a signal of altered biogeochemistry in urban waterways

AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts · 2020-12-01