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Browse the failure-mode index

186 real negative results, null findings, and replication failures in Environmental Science. Search the index →

WASTE indexes published research — it does not host or republish full papers. Each entry is a metadata record compiled from open scholarly databases; the abstract is shown in full only where the paper is openly licensed, otherwise a short excerpt under fair use. Classifications are automated and approximate.

Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessEnvironmental Science

Does fox control improve red–legged partridge (Alectoris rufa) survival? An experimental study in Northern Spain

IREC, CSIC–UCLM–JCCM, Ciudad Real, Spain, Ainhoa Mateo-Moriones, Rafael Villafuerte et al. · 2012 · Animal Biodiversity and Conservation

This work evaluates the effectiveness of fox control as a method to improve the survival of red–legged partridge (Alectoris rufa). We radio–tracked 89 adult partridges and their chicks (62 few days old chicks and 46 over one–month–old chicks) and monitored their nests (N = 45) on two hunting estates in northern Spain over two years. Generalist predators (red fox, Vulpes vulpes, and magpie, Pica pica) were selectively controlled on one half of each estate during the first year, and on the other half in the second year. We estimated the effect of predator control on survival rates. Predator cont

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessEnvironmental Science

The Origins and Control of Forest Fires in the Tropics

Clare Balboni, Robin Burgess, Benjamin Olken · 2025 · The Review of Economic Studies

Abstract Environmental externalities—uncompensated damages imposed on others—lie at the root of climate change, pollution, deforestation and biodiversity loss. Empirical evidence is limited, however, as to how externalities drive private decision making. We study one such behaviour, illegal tropical forest fires, using 15 years of daily satellite data covering over 107,000 fires across Indonesia. Weather-induced variation in fire spread risk and variation in who owns surrounding land allow us to identify how far externalities influence the decision to use fire. Relative to when all spread risk

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Negative / Null Result ReportEnvironmental Science

Stream Mesocosm Experiments Show Significant Differences in Sensitivity of Larval and Emerging Adults to Metals

Christopher J. Kotalik, William H. Clements · 2019 · Environmental Science & Technology

Evaluations of aquatic insect responses to contaminants typically use larval life stages to characterize taxa sensitivity, but the effects of contaminants to emerging terrestrial adults have received less attention. We present the results…

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessEnvironmental Science

Skilful global seasonal predictions from a machine learning weather model trained on reanalysis data

Chris Kent, Adam A. Scaife, Nick Dunstone et al. · 2025 · npj Climate and Atmospheric Science

Abstract Machine learning weather models trained on observed atmospheric conditions can outperform conventional physics-based models at short- to medium-range (1–14 day) forecast timescales. Here we take the machine learning model ACE2, trained to predict 6-hourly steps in atmospheric evolution and which can remain stable over long forecast periods, and assess it from a seasonal forecasting perspective (1–3 month lead time). Applying persisted sea surface temperature (SST) and sea-ice anomalies centred on 1 st November each year, we initialise a lagged ensemble of seasonal predictions covering

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessEnvironmental Science

Volumetric urban sprawl: Horizontal and vertical growth in two metropolitans

Alì Soltani, Parviz Azizi, Aliasghar Rahimioun et al. · 2025 · Journal of Urban Management

The escalating complexities of rapid urbanization necessitate a paradigm shift in urban form evaluation, moving beyond traditional horizontal analyses to incorporate the crucial dimension of vertical growth. This study pioneers a volumetric approach, integrating 3D and 2D spatial analyses, to dissect compactness, sprawl, and their underlying drivers across two contrasting metropolitan regions: the Tehran Metropolitan Region (TMR) and the Greater Sydney Region (GSR) over a 40-year period (1980s–2020s). Our findings reveal a striking dichotomy: TMR exhibits pronounced ‘vertical sprawl,’ characte

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Negative / Null Result ReportEnvironmental Science

Effects of competition with Bromus tectorum on early establishment of Poa secunda accessions: can seed source impact restoration success?

Mollie E. Herget, Kristina M. Hufford, Daniel L. Mummey et al. · 2015 · Restoration Ecology

When landscapes are heavily impacted by biological invasion, local populations of native plant species may no longer be adapted to altered environmental conditions. In these cases, it is useful to investigate alternative sources of…

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessEnvironmental Science

Sub-lethal effects of energy development on a migratory mammal—The enigma of North American pronghorn

Jon P. Beckmann, Sarah H. Olson, Renee G. Seidler et al. · 2016 · Global Ecology and Conservation

To meet societal demands for energy, ∼50,000 gas sites are developed annually in North America, among which many are in western less-developed and wildlife rich areas. To evaluate effects of increasing energy infrastructure requires…

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessEnvironmental Science

Resolving a heated debate: The utility of prescribed burning as a management tool for biodiversity on lowland heath

Barbara Smith, Dan Carpenter, J. M. Holland et al. · 2023 · Journal of Applied Ecology

Abstract Lowland heath is a priority habitat for conservation, nowadays largely managed for biodiversity. Historically, prescribed burning has been the principal management tool, but there are increasing calls to substitute burning with cutting to improve biodiversity outcomes. However, poor understanding of potential impacts compromises decision making. Our study was carried out in the New Forest National Park, the largest area of lowland heath in Europe. Using a multi‐trophic approach, we compared the ecological impact of prescribed burning with two types of vegetation cutting (swiping and b

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessEnvironmental Science

Determining sources of groundwater salinity in the multi-layered aquifer system of the bengal delta, Bangladesh

Anwar Zahid, Md. Aminur Rahman, M. Rashidul Hassan et al. · 2026 · BRAC University Journal

The study area lies on the coastal belt of the Bengal Delta, southern Bangladesh. This study bas been condocted to deteonine salinity sources in the multi-layered aquifers of the Bengal Delta. Dissolved major ions including chloride (Cr) and brontide (Br) were measured in groundwater of the coastal areas of Bangladesh to assess the source(s) of salinity. Ionic concentrations of 48 groundwater samples were analyzed for this study; samples were collected from observation wells installed at different depths down to 336 m. The major ion trends of the upper (<200 m deep) Sodium (Na')-Chloride (C

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessEnvironmental Science

Metagenomic comparison of effects of mesophilic and thermophilic manure anaerobic digestion on antimicrobial resistance genes and mobile genetic elements

Daniel Flores-Orozco, David B. Levin, Ayush Kumar et al. · 2023 · Environmental Advances

This study evaluated the long-term effects of mesophilic (MAD) and thermophilic (TAD) anaerobic digestion on the fate and evolution of antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) and mobile genetic elements (MGEs) in cattle manure following a…

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessEnvironmental Science

Regional models do not outperform continental models for invasive species

Catherine S. Jarnevich, Helen R. Sofaer, Pairsa Belamaric et al. · 2022 · NeoBiota

Aim : Species distribution models can guide invasive species prevention and management by characterizing invasion risk across space. However, extrapolation and transferability issues pose challenges for developing useful models for invasive species. Previous work has emphasized the importance of including all available occurrences in model estimation, but managers attuned to local processes may be skeptical of models based on a broad spatial extent if they suspect the captured responses reflect those of other regions where data are more numerous. We asked whether species distribution models fo

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessEnvironmental Science

Predicting microbial community structure and temporal dynamics by using graph neural network models

Kasper Skytte Andersen, Kai Zhao, Alexander de Linde Agerskov et al. · 2025 · Nature Communications

Understanding species-level abundance dynamics in complex microbial communities is key to managing microbial ecosystems, yet it remains a major challenge. In wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), the presence and abundance of…

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessEnvironmental Science

Low molecular weight organic acids mobilize soil organic phosphorus for enzymatic hydrolysis in a temperate montane peatland

Yuchen Suo, Tong Li, Christian von Sperber et al. · 2025 · Biogeochemistry

Abstract The stability of carbon (C) stocks in peatlands is intricately linked to phosphorus (P) bioavailability. Given that organic P compounds (P o ) can make up to 89% of total soil P in these ecosystems, it is vital to understand their role in regulating plant productivity and organic matter decomposition. Despite this significance, the mechanisms controlling P bioavailability remain poorly understood. Plants and soil microorganisms primarily regulate the release of soil P via low-molecular-weight organic acids (LMWOAs) and modulate the hydrolysis of P o through phosphatase enzymes, partic

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessEnvironmental Science

Ecosystem integration of marine conservation and coastal development in Taiwan

Y C Shih · 2026 · Frontiers in Environmental Science

To assess the systematic integration of Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) and Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measures (OECMs) into Taiwan’s coastal and marine governance frameworks to balance marine conservation and coastal development. The study adopts a comparative mixed-methods design that combines quantitative statistical analysis of spatial and ecological-economic data with qualitative policy analysis of the two selected governance frameworks. The comparative aspect of the research design explores the performance of multiple hub cases across temporal, spatial and multimodal aspects,

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Negative / Null Result ReportEnvironmental Science

Temporal variation in survival and recovery rates of lesser scaup: A response

Todd W. Arnold, Alan D. Afton, Michael J. Anteau et al. · 2017 · Journal of Wildlife Management

ABSTRACT We recently analyzed long‐term (1951–2011) continental band‐recovery data from lesser scaup ( Aythya affinis ) and demonstrated that harvest rates declined through time, but annual survival rates exhibited no such trends;…

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessEnvironmental Science

How well do process-based and data-driven hydrological models learn from limited discharge data?

Maria Staudinger, Anna Herzog, Ralf Loritz et al. · 2025 · Hydrology and earth system sciences

Abstract. It is widely assumed that data-driven models achieve good results only with sufficiently large training data, whereas process-based models are usually expected to be superior in data-poor situations. To investigate this, we calibrated several process-based and data-driven hydrological models using training datasets of observed discharge that differed in terms of both the number of data points and the type of data selection, allowing us to make a systematic comparison of the learning behaviour of the different model types. Four data-driven models (conditional probability distributions

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessEnvironmental Science

Multi‐Taxa Responses to Climate Change in the Amazon Forest

Carlos Alberto de Sousa Rodrigues-Filho, Flávia R. C. Costa, Juliana Schietti et al. · 2024 · Global Change Biology

Tropical biodiversity is undergoing unprecedented changes due to the hydrological cycle intensification, characterized by more intense droughts and wet seasons. This raises concerns about the resilience of animal and plant communities to…

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessEnvironmental Science

Both species richness and growth forms affect nutrient removal in constructed wetlands: A mesocosm experiment

Yumei Luo, Quan Chen, Fan Liu et al. · 2023 · Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution

Introduction Plant richness is thought to improve the function of constructed wetlands (CWs), but most CWs are planted with monocultures, with only a few employed polycultures, which have drawn contradictory conclusions. We suppose functional diversity is the key to better performance of plant communities and hypothesize that CWs planted with diverse growth forms are superior in plant growth and nutrient removal. Methods In this study, six emergent plant species categorized into slender type ( Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani, Typha orientalis ), fan type ( Iris sibirica, Acorus calamus ) and la

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessEnvironmental Science

Dynamic electronic modulation of single-atom Fe sites with p-block metal coordination enables highly selective generation of FeIV = O in Fenton-like reactions

Zhendong Zhao, Huiwang Dai, Tiantian Nie et al. · 2025 · Nature Communications

High-valent iron-oxo species (FeIV=O) have garnered increasing attention for water purification, while the selective generation of FeIV = O in Fenton-like reactions still lacks an effective control protocol at the atomic level. Here, we…

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessEnvironmental Science

Dynamic oxygen vacancy engineering on CuO via refreshable catalytic surface for high-efficient water decontamination

Xinyi Zhang, Liangjie Wang, Jian Wei et al. · 2026 · Nature Communications

Oxygen vacancies (Ov) on metal oxide surfaces exhibit high catalytic activity for activating peroxymonosulfate (PMS) in wastewater decontamination, yet their in-situ regeneration remains a significant challenge. This study successfully…

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessEnvironmental Science

Microalgal-Bacterial Granular Sludge under Emerging Stressors: Effects of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles and Degradable Microplastics Derived from Polylactic Acid and Polycaprolactone

Alfonz Kedves, Máté Balogh, Zoltán Kónya · 2026 · ACS ES&T Water

High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide The increasing discharge of emerging contaminants (ECs) such as zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) and degradable microplastics (DMPs) into aquatic environments poses a growing challenge for next-generation wastewater treatment technologies. This study investigates the individual and combined effects of ZnO NPs, polylactic acid (PLA), and polycaprolactone (PCL) microplastics on microalgal-bacterial granular sludge (MBGS), a promising low-energy biotechnological system. Using photosequencing batch reactors, changes in extracellular polymeric su

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessEnvironmental Science

Association Between Living Environmental Factors and Stroke in Middle‐Aged and Older Chinese Adults: A Nationwide Prospective Cohort Study

Xinyue Huang, Bowen Yang, Nating Liu et al. · 2026 · Journal of the American Heart Association

BACKGROUND: The synergistic effects of multiple environmental factors on stroke remain unknown. The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between multiple living environment factors and stroke in middle-aged and older Chinese…

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessEnvironmental Science

Granulation and stability of microalgal–bacterial granular sludge under single and combined exposure to polycaprolactone microplastics and sulfamethoxazole

Alfonz Kedves, Máté Balogh, Jamsheed Abbas Dar et al. · 2026 · Bioresource Technology

The increasing occurrence of microplastics and antibiotics in wastewater poses emerging challenges for biological treatment processes. Microalgal-bacterial granular sludge (MBGS) has emerged as an efficient algae-based biotechnology for wastewater treatment; however, its response to simultaneous exposure to these contaminants remains largely unexplored. Here, the effects of degradable polycaprolactone microplastics (PCL MPs) and sulfamethoxazole (SMX) were evaluated at 1 mg/L during granulation and long-term operation. PCL alone caused only minor changes, whereas SMX impaired granule stability

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessEnvironmental Science

Kriging prior regression: A case for kriging-based spatial features with TabPFN in soil mapping

Jonas Schmidinger, Viacheslav Barkov, Sebastian Vogel et al. · 2025 · Computers and Electronics in Agriculture

Machine learning and geostatistics are two fundamentally different frameworks for the prediction and spatial mapping of soil properties. Geostatistics leverages the spatial structure of soil properties, whereas machine learning models capture the relationship between available environmental features and soil properties. We propose a hybrid framework that augments machine learning with spatial context through the engineering of ‘spatial lag’ features derived from ordinary kriging. We call this approach ‘kriging prior regression’ (KpR), as it reverses the logic of regression kriging by incorpera

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessEnvironmental Science

Advancing mechanical recycling of polypropylene: lessons from sorting, washing, and life cycle assessment

Moritz Mager, Lukas Zeilerbauer, Alexander Felgel-Farnholz et al. · 2026 · Waste Management

European legislation, particularly the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), is rapidly increasing the demand for high-quality recycled polypropylene (PP) in packaging applications. Achieving such qualities through mechanical recycling remains challenging due to the heterogeneity of post-consumer waste, while the role of intensified washing in the overall decontamination remains debated. This study evaluates the influence of additional sorting and washing intensity on material properties, product performance, and environmental impacts in mechanical recycling of Dutch post-consumer r

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessEnvironmental Science

Year-long, multiple-timepoint field studies show the importance of spatiotemporal dynamics and microbial functions in agricultural soil microbiomes

Lisa Joos, Sarah Ommeslag, Steve Baeyen et al. · 2025 · mSystems

Despite the recognition of the complexity of soil ecosystem dynamics, most soil microbiome studies sample one field, take one sample per field, or use limited samples throughout the year. This limits our understanding of the spatiotemporal role of the soil microbiome in relation to management practices. To address these limitations, we conducted a year-long investigation of the soil microbiome in two agricultural fields, sampling multiple plots at different soil depths every 5 weeks. We examined spatial and temporal variabilities in response to the application of organic amendments (one-time b

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessEnvironmental Science

Obesity and climate change: co-crises with common solutions

Paul Behrens, Catherine M. Champagne, Jason C. G. Halford et al. · 2025 · Frontiers in Science

The global obesity crisis involves an unprecedented and rapid change to the human phenotype. Conferring vast levels of avoidable morbidity and mortality at enormous cost, it has proved refractory to previous policy-led action. This article reviews recent developments in our understanding of obesity and its links to the climate co-crisis, aiming to inform evidence-based, societal-level actions to address both. Recent therapeutic developments now offer transformative interventions for millions of people living with obesity. However, treating all affected adults and children with major bariatric

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessEnvironmental Science

Early COVID-19 Interventions Failed to Replicate 1918 St. Louis vs. Philadelphia Outcomes in the United States

Aliea M. Jalali, Brent M. Peterson, Thushara Galbadage · 2020 · Frontiers in Public Health

The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has elicited an abrupt pause in the United States in multiple sectors of commerce and social activity. As the US faces this health crisis, the magnitude and rigor of their initial public health response was unprecedented. As a response, the entire nation shutdown at the state-level for the duration of a ~1-3 months. These public health interventions, however, were not arbitrarily decided, but rather, implemented as a result of evidence-based practices. These practices were a result of lessons learned during the 1918 influenza pandemic and the ci

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