ReviewPhilosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences2020
Understanding the value and limits of nature-based solutions to climate change and other global challenges.
Review in Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 122 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
122 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 1,738 citations in OpenAlex.
- A global meta-analysis on the effects of organic and inorganic fertilization on grasslands and croplands.Nature communications · 2024Pooled it
- Review of Nature-based Solutions in Dryland Ecosystems: the Aral Sea Case Study.Environmental management · 2023Pooled it
- The role of incentive mechanisms in promoting forest restoration.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2023Pooled it
- Transformative low-carbon urban innovations: Operationalizing transformative capacity for urban planning.Ambio · 2022Pooled it
- Enabling climate action: A nexus approach for delivering co-benefits across biodiversity, water, food, and health.iScience · 2026Article
- A systematic review of nature-based solutions for climate action in African cities.Environmental research letters : ERL [Web site] · 2026Review
- Article
- Review
- Towards nature-related risk disclosures in China.Bioscience · 2026Review
- Climate Change Projected to Increase Rates of Background Tree Mortality Across Eastern North America.Global change biology · 2026Article
- What evidence exists for the environmental outcomes of nature-based aquaculture systems? a systematic map protocol.Environmental evidence · 2026Article
- Where to Plant Trees? Designing Net-Zero Industrial Landscapes that Promote Public Health.Environmental science & technology · 2026Article
- Overlooked considerations in prescribing green and blue infrastructure solutions for urban environments.Innovation (Cambridge (Mass.)) · 2026Review
- Learning lessons from over-crediting to ensure additionality in forest carbon credits.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Research progress on the interaction between forest carbon sequestration and climate change.Carbon balance and management · 2026Review
- Review
- Resource management as a conservation tool to impact genetic diversity through mating patterns in wild populations.Ecological applications : a publication of the Ecological Society of America · 2026Article
- Global literature review and survey of implementation constraints on natural climate solutions.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Evaluating Microclimate Modification and Acute Cardiovascular Stress Responses to a Dense Urban Microforest: The Green Oasis (GRO) Protocol.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2026Article
- Isolation of aerobic denitrifying bacteria Stutzerimonas stutzeri and its application in coking wastewater treatment.Scientific reports · 2026Article
62 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
There is growing awareness that 'nature-based solutions' (NbS) can help to protect us from climate change impacts while slowing further warming, supporting biodiversity and securing ecosystem services. However, the potential of NbS to provide the intended benefits has not been rigorously assessed. There are concerns over their reliability and cost-effectiveness compared to engineered alternatives, and their resilience to climate change. Trade-offs can arise if climate mitigation policy encourages NbS with low biodiversity value, such as afforestation with non-native monocultures. This can result in maladaptation, especially in a rapidly changing world where biodiversity-based resilience and multi-functional landscapes are key. Here, we highlight the rise of NbS in climate policy-focusing on their potential for climate change adaptation as well as mitigation-and discuss barriers to their evidence-based implementation. We outline the major financial and governance challenges to implementing NbS at scale, highlighting avenues for further research. As climate policy turns increasingly towards greenhouse gas removal approaches such as afforestation, we stress the urgent need for natural and social scientists to engage with policy makers. They must ensure that NbS can achieve their potential to tackle both the climate and biodiversity crisis while also contributing to sustainable development. This will require systemic change in the way we conduct research and run our institutions. This article is part of the theme issue 'Climate change and ecosystems: threats, opportunities and solutions'.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.