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Recent drought, wildfires and rising temperatures in the western US highlight the urgency of increasing resiliency in overstocked forests. However, limited valuation information hinders the broader participation of beneficiaries in forest management. We assessed how historical disturbances in California's Central Sierra Nevada affected live biomass, forest water use and carbon uptake and estimated marginal values of these changes. On average, low‐severity wildfire caused greater declines in forest evapotranspiration (ET), gross primary productivity (GPP) and live biomass than did commercial thinning. Low‐severity wildfires represent proxies for prescribed burns and both function as biomass removal to alleviate overstocked conditions. Increases in potential runoff over 15 years post‐disturbance were valued at $108,000/km²for commercial thinning versus $234,000/km²for low‐severity wildfire, based on historical water prices. Respective declines in GPP were valued at −$305,000 and −$1,317,000/km², based on an average social cost of carbon. Considering biomass levels created by commercial thinning and low‐severity fire as more‐sustainable management baselines for overstocked forests, carbon uptake over 15 years post‐disturbance can be viewed as a benefit rather than loss. Realizing this benefit upon management re‐entry may require sequestering thinned material. High‐severity wildfire and clearcutting resulted in greater declines in ET and thus greater potential water benefits but also substantial declines in GPP and live carbon. These lessons from historical disturbances indicate what benefit ranges from fuels treatments can be expected from more‐sustainable management of mixed‐conifer forests and the importance of setting an appropriate baseline. 

Abstract Rapid increases in meat trade generate complex global networks across countries. However, there has been little research quantifying the dynamics of meat trade networks and the underlying forces that structure them. Using longitudinal network data for 134 countries from 1995 to 2015, we combined network modeling and cluster analysis to simultaneously identify the structural changes in meat trade networks and the factors that influence the networks themselves. The integrated network approach uncovers a general consolidation of global meat trade networks over time, although some global events may have weakened this consolidation both regionally and globally. In consolidated networks, the presence of trade agreements and short geographic distances between pairs of countries are associated with increases in meat trade. Countries with rapid population and income growth greatly depend on meat imports. Furthermore, countries with high food availability import large quantities of meat products to satisfy their various meat preferences. The findings from this network approach provide key insights that can be used to better understand the social and environmental consequences of increasing global meat trade. 

Synergies and trade-offs among the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been hotly debated. Although the world is increasingly metacoupled (socioeconomic-environmental interactions within and across adjacent or distant systems), there is little understanding of the impacts of globally widespread and important flows on enhancing or compromising sustainability in different systems. Here, we used a new integrated framework to guide SDG synergy and trade-off analysis within and across systems, as influenced by cross-boundary tourism and wildlife translocations. The world’s terrestrial protected areas alone receive approximately 8 billion visits per year, generating a direct economic impact of US $600 billion. Globally, more than 5000 animal species and 29,000 plant species are traded across country borders, and the wildlife trade has arguably contributed to zoonotic disease worldwide, such as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. We synthesized 22 cases of tourism and wildlife translocations across six continents and found 33 synergies and 14 trade-offs among 10 SDGs within focal systems and across spillover systems. Our study provides an empirical demonstration of SDG interactions across spillover systems and insights for holistic sustainability governance, contributing to fostering synergies and reducing trade-offs to achieve global sustainable development in the metacoupled Anthropocene. 

A complex network of tourism has emerged in the globalized world, but there is little research on the dynamics of global tourism networks and the underlying forces that affect those dynamics. Using international tourism data for 124 countries between 2000 and 2013, we integrated cluster analyses and social network models to identify the structures of global tourism networks and uncover factors affecting changes in international tourist flows. Results indicate that global tourism networks have become highly consolidated over time and that reduced transaction costs (e.g., language, distance, and visa policies) are more important in attracting international tourists than natural and cultural attractions. Furthermore, cost of living differences between countries decreased in importance over time. Finally, international tourist flows are resilient to political instability and terrorism risks. Our approach and findings highlight the key strategic factors for decision-making to implement proactive tourism policies.