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Exploring human-nature relationships in academic literature on the nitrogen cycle

West, Bede ; Bauer, Maximilian ; Chalkiadakis, Charis ; Dendoncker, Nicolas ; González-Martínez, Tanya M ; Mascarenhas, André ; Leucci, Francesca ; Phillips, Benjamin B ; Ploumi, Konstantina Tania and Rodriguez, Carolina LU orcid , et al. (2024) In Ecosystems and People 20(1).
Abstract
The nitrogen (N) cycle is a familiar concept. As is the much simplified, often diagrammatic, representation commonly used to illustrate the scale, importance and interconnectedness of this global cycle that links air, water, rocks and living beings. However, in this representation, humans are often presented as a seemingly minor entity or not explicitly shown at all. This can obscure the idea that humanity is both a direct beneficiary of the nitrogen cycle (through food and resources) and an increasingly significant influence on its function. This study sought to understand how diverse Human-Nature relationships (HNR) are expressed in recent academic literature on the nitrogen cycle. A sample of peer-reviewed literature, containing... (More)
The nitrogen (N) cycle is a familiar concept. As is the much simplified, often diagrammatic, representation commonly used to illustrate the scale, importance and interconnectedness of this global cycle that links air, water, rocks and living beings. However, in this representation, humans are often presented as a seemingly minor entity or not explicitly shown at all. This can obscure the idea that humanity is both a direct beneficiary of the nitrogen cycle (through food and resources) and an increasingly significant influence on its function. This study sought to understand how diverse Human-Nature relationships (HNR) are expressed in recent academic literature on the nitrogen cycle. A sample of peer-reviewed literature, containing explicit and inferred examples of HNR and the nitrogen cycle, was analysed using two approaches: 1) network analysis, identifying and illustrating all quantifiable links made between components of the nitrogen cycle, and 2) content analysis to understand how different kinds of terminology were being used to describe relationships between components in the cycle. The network analysis revealed diverse links between ‘human’ and ‘non-human nature’. The content analysis found some explicit use of relational terms, most commonly ‘depend*’. Both approaches highlighted strongly reciprocal links within the ‘human’ realm and the explicit centrality in which this is held across the corpus. We demonstrate the utility of combining quantitative and qualitative analysis to understand nuanced relationships in the nitrogen cycle and explore the utility this has to increase the acknowledgement and appreciation of HNR in science communication and science-policy interface work. (Less)
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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Ecosystems and People
volume
20
issue
1
pages
19 pages
publisher
Taylor & Francis
ISSN
2639-5916
DOI
10.1080/26395916.2024.2380856
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
0e1cb15c-3e2a-4333-bc66-22c23d4d6667
date added to LUP
2024-08-16 16:30:21
date last changed
2024-08-23 14:45:17
@article{0e1cb15c-3e2a-4333-bc66-22c23d4d6667,
  abstract     = {{The nitrogen (N) cycle is a familiar concept. As is the much simplified, often diagrammatic, representation commonly used to illustrate the scale, importance and interconnectedness of this global cycle that links air, water, rocks and living beings. However, in this representation, humans are often presented as a seemingly minor entity or not explicitly shown at all. This can obscure the idea that humanity is both a direct beneficiary of the nitrogen cycle (through food and resources) and an increasingly significant influence on its function. This study sought to understand how diverse Human-Nature relationships (HNR) are expressed in recent academic literature on the nitrogen cycle. A sample of peer-reviewed literature, containing explicit and inferred examples of HNR and the nitrogen cycle, was analysed using two approaches: 1) network analysis, identifying and illustrating all quantifiable links made between components of the nitrogen cycle, and 2) content analysis to understand how different kinds of terminology were being used to describe relationships between components in the cycle. The network analysis revealed diverse links between ‘human’ and ‘non-human nature’. The content analysis found some explicit use of relational terms, most commonly ‘depend*’. Both approaches highlighted strongly reciprocal links within the ‘human’ realm and the explicit centrality in which this is held across the corpus. We demonstrate the utility of combining quantitative and qualitative analysis to understand nuanced relationships in the nitrogen cycle and explore the utility this has to increase the acknowledgement and appreciation of HNR in science communication and science-policy interface work.}},
  author       = {{West, Bede and Bauer, Maximilian and Chalkiadakis, Charis and Dendoncker, Nicolas and González-Martínez, Tanya M and Mascarenhas, André and Leucci, Francesca and Phillips, Benjamin B and Ploumi, Konstantina Tania and Rodriguez, Carolina and Vandewalle, Marie and Washbourne, Carla-Leanne}},
  issn         = {{2639-5916}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{08}},
  number       = {{1}},
  publisher    = {{Taylor & Francis}},
  series       = {{Ecosystems and People}},
  title        = {{Exploring human-nature relationships in academic literature on the nitrogen cycle}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/26395916.2024.2380856}},
  doi          = {{10.1080/26395916.2024.2380856}},
  volume       = {{20}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}