Research:
Publications
2025
Quantifying plasticity of children's visions of nature Link
| Authors: | Milena Holmgren, Jane Da Mosto, Matthijs G. C. Schouten, Eleonora Sovrani, Ingrid van de Leemput, Juul Limpens |
| First Published: | 16.11.25 |
| Abstract: | Visions of nature underlie how people behave toward the environment. It is often assumed that environmental education can nudge positive visions of nature and thus contribute to transformative change in individuals and ultimately societies. However, little is known about the effectiveness of educational activities. Here, we present an approach that quantifies these effects and how they depend on factors such as previously held visions. We demonstrate the approach assessing the normative, expressive, and cognitive dimensions of the visions of nature held by school children (11–12 years old, n = 120 children) before and after a full day of outdoor educational activities, including environmental measurements and games, in the Venice Lagoon, Italy. To quantify children's visions of nature, we … |
2022
Innovative Nourishment Elevation Change (NEC) stations for monitoring and optimizing marshland restoration projects: prototype application in the Lagoon of Venice (Italy) Link
| Authors: | Claudia Zoccarato, Pietro Teatini, Philip Minderhoud, Massimo Fabris, Andrea Menin, Michele Monego, Camilla Bertolini, and Jane Da Mosto |
| First Published: | 23.05.22 |
| Abstract: | Tidal marshes are fundamental ecosystems to be preserved and restored to maintain their vital services to the environment and human life. For this reason, many restoration projects have been implemented in the Lagoon of Venice (Italy) to reestablish former tidal marshlands. One fundamental point of the marsh restoration design is the determination of its long-term elevation. This is crucial for the ecological functioning of the system as well as the ability of the landform to keep pace with a rising sea level. Past marsh reconstruction projects have not always been successful. Significant areas become permanently submerged by the sea only few years after their construction and/or vegetation cover remains more patchy and less biodiverse than on natural marshes. Two design parameters which h… |
2022
Restoring for the Climate: A Review of Coastal Wetland Restoration Research in the Last Thirty Years Link
| Authors: | Camilla Bertolini, Jane da Mosto |
| First Published: | 09.11.22 |
| Abstract: | Wetlands provide significant ecosystem services yet are ranked among some of the most imperiled habitats. To maximize prioritization of these habitats a better understanding of the full range of ecosystem functions is needed, starting with an examination of how coastal wetlands have been portrayed in restoration literature to date. This study consists of a literature review and the use of automated topic analyses aimed at (1) summarizing the current research related to coastal wetland restoration, (2) identifying the key fields of research, and (3) identifying research efforts connecting restoration and climate adaptation strategies (e.g. blue carbon). Of the 702 papers sourced for this analysis, most studies were conducted in North America and Europe. An increase in articles considering w… |
2021
Rethinking Venice from an Ecosystem Services Perspective Link
| Authors: | Camilla Bertolini, Jane da Mosto, Anil Markandya, Paulo Nunes, Tom Spencer, Arnas Palaima, Laura Onofri |
| First Published: | 10.11.22 |
| Abstract: | Safeguarding the future of Venice is a globally recognised challenge of urban sustainability. We propose a sustainable management model, alternative to the current strategy, that primarily focuses on the built heritage and which interprets the city together with its encircling lagoon as a matrix of interlinked natural, cultural and social capital. In particular, Venetian natural capital can be valued as a stock of wealth that produces a flow of income, its ecosystem services. Such values can be measured in economic, including monetary, terms. Using the examples of salt marsh and seagrass carbon sequestration, together with sediment retention, water purification and artisanal fishery and aquaculture, we show that it is economically viable to develop and reorientate the near-future trajector… |