Philippa Kaur

EDITORIAL
21 December 2021

Sustainability at the crossroads

A look back at 2021 through the Sustainable Development Goals.

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A medical worker observes people with COVID-19 inside a makeshift care facility at the Commonwealth Games Village in New Delhi in May 2021.Credit: Getty

There were high hopes for 2021. The year promised progress on the push for sustainable development after months of pandemic-induced delays and uncertainty. We heard ambitious talk of a ‘green recovery’, and world leaders were due to gather for meetings of the United Nations conventions on biological diversity and on climate to set future agendas.How did the year’s sustainability debates evolve? We take a look through Nature’s science lens.2021: a year of multiple crisesAs 2021 draws to a close, the world is facing numerous crises. The COVID-19 pandemic is far from over. A year after the first vaccines began to clear regulatory hurdles, the emergence of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant is challenging the fragile and unequal gains in bringing the virus under control. Progress is slow on mitigating and adapting to climate change, protecting biodiversity and ending hunger — parts of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the United Nations’ flagship plan to end poverty and promote a healthier planet by 2030. The plan, already off track before the pandemic, has been all but derailed by COVID-19.
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Nature has argued1 that the setback requires a more rapid response by the researchers who are writing the latest UN Global Sustainable Development Report — the scientific input to the SDGs, which runs on a four-year cycle. But attempts to feed science into policy have come up against strong barriers. Democracy and multilateralism are in retreat, undermining the commitment needed to make progress on sustainability goals. Still, this should not be a reason to disengage. On the contrary, researchers generally need to redouble their efforts.Fighting the climate crisisEarly November was marked by a momentous climate summit, the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow, UK. For the first time, the final agreement included mention of a phase down of coal-fired power, although phase out was the original aim. It also called for the ending of some public subsidies for other fossil fuels — one of the biggest financial barriers to the shift to renewable energy. More than 100 countries pledged to cut methane emissions, flagged for their role in global warming in the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)2. Richer nations committed to doubling their funding by 2025 to help low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) deal with the damage already caused by climate change, and they agreed to set up an office to research a long-proposed fund to compensate LMICs for that damage.But even if the pledges announced are implemented, temperatures are still projected to rise to a catastrophic 2.4 °C by 2100. And below the surface lay disagreements on definitions and the detail of implementation. And this is where research must continue to offer essential input. ‘Net-zero’ is one example. There is no agreed definition or measure of it, and without this, it’s impossible to know whether pledges will actually stop global warming. There is also no agreed definition of climate finance for LIMCs. This means that richer countries can make up their quotas with loans or official development aid that links to climate change only indirectly. Arguments have persisted for years over the funding promised more than a decade ago — what has been disbursed and who owes what — and this has undermined trust and has cast a shadow over negotiations, including those in the lead-up to the Glasgow meeting.

Protesters hold a ‘Biodiversity Emergency’ banner during the demonstration outside the Bank of England in London in November 2021.Credit: Vuk Valcic/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty

Elusive biodiversity protectionJust days before COP26, at a separate COP hosted by China in Kunming in Yunnan province, governments debated measures to protect the diversity and richness of plant and animal species. In the first sessions of a two-part UN summit on biological diversity, due to conclude in May 2022, discussions centred on a widely supported target to protect 30% of the world’s land and sea areas by 2030 — up from the previous ‘Aichi target’ of 17%. Among other targets under debate was the provision of greater financial support to low-income countries to preserve biodiversity.
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Progress on biodiversity protection has proved elusive since the first ‘Earth Summit’ in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. The Kunming summit ended with a modest boost in funding for projects that help to preserve biodiversity — unlike climate change, funding for biodiversity comes mostly from the public sector. We argued that these contributions should be given as grants, rather than loans that saddle poor countries with debt3. This is now more important than ever, as the pandemic piles perilous debt on the developing world.Protecting biodiversity goes hand in hand with managing land and water resources sustainably, and in this way aligns with tackling climate change. And if nature continues to degrade, sooner or later economic output will suffer. This link is captured by debates over assigning monetary and other values to ecosystems, an idea no longer theoretical or controversial. In March, we welcomed a move by members of the UN Statistical Commission to finalize a set of principles that will help national statisticians record ecosystem health and work out payments for ecosystem services4.

Icebergs that calved from the Sermeq Kujalleq glacier in Greenland this year help mark one of Greenland’s biggest ice-melt years in recorded history.Credit: Mario Tama/Getty

Revamping food systemsLike biodiversity protection, the world’s food system needs fixing. One in ten people is undernourished and one in four is overweight. The number of people going hungry is rising fast, a trend fuelled by the pandemic. Nature’s coverage emphasizes the fact that science needs to guide the transformation of the food system. The task is challenging, because food spans many disciplines. We have yet to pin down what diets that are both healthy and sustainable should look like. And an IPCC-like system of scientific advice to inform policymaking has so far been missing from food and agriculture.
What humanity should eat to stay healthy and save the planet
That changed in September, when António Gutteres, the UN secretary-general, convened a controversial but historic Food Systems Summit. A group of scientists was tasked with ensuring that the science underpinning the summit was robust, broad and independent. Writing in Nature, this scientific group issued seven priorities for research, among them a greater focus on sustainable aquatic foods5. Soil-based agriculture tends to dominate discussions on food, with ‘blue foods’ — organisms such as fish, shellfish and seaweeds — rarely considered.Nature joined the scientific group’s call to argue that it’s time to change that (see go.nature.com/3e3ss6r). We published the Blue Food Assessment — the first systematic evaluation of how aquatic food contributes to food security — which explores how research can help transform the global food system. This work also shows some pitfalls of a greater reliance on blue foods without sustainable management, as a rapidly increasing demand for fish adds to risks for coastal ecosystems and the people of coastal communities.

Volunteers prepare meals for distribution in the Paraisopolis favela in São Paulo, Brazil, in March 2021Credit: Jonne Roriz/Bloomberg/Getty

Strong moves from the UN’s centreThe year 2021 also saw various arms of the UN consider how their own governance needs to respond and adapt to changing times. Guterres is set to appoint a new board of scientific advisers to his office, a decision that Nature welcomed6. The decision is part of the organization’s 25-year vision, laid out in the secretary-general’s report, Our Common Agenda (see go.nature.com/3egrudq), in September. Specialized agencies also needed to stocktake. Over the fifty years since its founding, the UN Environment Programme has pushed important initiatives that bring science into ‘green’ policy — co-founding the IPCC, for one — and we urged it to do more to bring together researchers from across environmental sciences to tackle interconnected challenges7. Nature also urged the International Monetary Fund’s shareholders to lend money to strengthen universities, so that science can better work towards global goals8.
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The right moves at the top echelons of global governance matter – but support for science and collaboration within and between countries matter just as much. In some ways, LMICs are leading the way. A 700-page report by the UN science and cultural organization UNESCO is a first attempt to understand the impact of the SDGs on research priorities9. It found that, unlike richer nations, lower-income countries’ share of research publications jumped in areas such as photovoltaics and climate-resilient crops. Individual countries need to do better to boost innovation, but collaboration will prove crucial. We need look no further than the pandemic for examples of how researchers working across borders, cultures and disciplines can benefit science and society.Collaboration and inclusionWe need — and can — do better on collaboration. Global problems need diverse teams to help navigate social and geopolitical challenges. Our COVID-19 coverage comes with a host of inspiring stories of scientists joining forces to tackle the crisis. It serves as a reminder of what can be done. But it’s not easy. Collaboration means spending less time achieving metrics of performance and more time nurturing relationships. Link-ups between science and industry suffer without rules around data ownership and intellectual property. And mounting geopolitical tensions, particularly between the United States and China, are limiting exchanges of people and knowledge10.
How the COVID pandemic is changing global science collaborations
The benefits of international research are worth the effort for both LIMCs and wealthy nations. But collaborations often come with concerns over equity and who benefits. Concerns over inclusion extend to policy forums too. At COP26, Nature found that researchers were frequently prevented by the organizers from accessing negotiations. Representatives from civil society and the global south also complained of exclusion. That experience must not be repeated. We’ve also argued that forums such as the G7 group of wealthy nations and the World Health Organization should regard emerging economies as equals. And UN bodies that solicit scientific input need to reach out beyond their usual expert networks to involve under-represented communities. The Food Systems Dialogues (see go.nature.com/3ykm2ye) could be a model: this initiative has engaged hundreds of participants across six continents since 2018, becoming an official mechanism to build international consensus at the UN food summit.An eye on the futureLooking ahead to 2022, we’re keeping our finger on the pulse. Nature will maintain a focus on climate, global health and sustainability. We expect more attention to the food crisis and climate-related migration, and more debate on solutions and trade-offs tied up with the energy transition.
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The fallout from the pandemic will be a key focus. It includes the burden of disability from long COVID, lost ground in the fight against polio, malaria, tuberculosis and HIV, the lifelong impact of the loss of education for millions of children, and rising violence against women and girls. As economies struggle to get back on their feet, the financing of sustainability goals is an urgent issue that needs resolving. Researchers should also work towards resolving some of the long-standing tensions between climate, biodiversity conservation and food provision.The SDGs remain a holistic framework for guiding priorities for sustainable development. In the shorter term, we look to next year’s conclusion of the biodiversity summit, and the climate summit in Cairo. And we stand ready to support science as it responds to global challenges by engaging with policy and the public.

Nature 600, 569-570 (2021)
doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-03781-z

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Plant height (cm)Plant height of black cumin as affected by moringa leaf extract applied at various growth stages is reported in Table 1. Both concentrations of moringa leaf extract significantly affected plant height of black cumin. All growth stages also showed statistically significant results. Mean comparison of control vs treatments and water spray vs rest were also found significant for plant height (cm) of black cumin. Whereas, interaction of moringa leaf extract concentrations and growth stages remained non-significant. With increase in interval of spraying moringa leaf extract, plant height enhanced and thus taller plants (68.15 cm) were recorded when moringa leaf extract was sprayed at stage-7 (40 + 80 + 120 days after sowing), followed by (65.15 cm) stage-4 (40 + 80 days after sowing), while lower plants height (47.45 cm) was recorded in stage-3 (120 days after sowing). The use of moringa leaf extract during critical vegetative development phases increased the black cumin crop’s plant height. Similar results were recorded by Abbas et al.14 that moringa leaf extract enhanced plant height and improved fresh and dried weight of wheat root when compared to control. Taller (62.2 cm) plants were recorded in 20% moringa leaf extract sprayed plots followed by (55.8 cm) 10% moringa leaf extract. Spraying moringa leaf extract on a variety of field crops can boost plants and increase vegetative development15.Table 1 Plant height (cm), number of branches plant−1 fixed oil content (% vw−1) and essential oil content (% vw−1) of black cumin as affected by moringa leaf extract applied at various growth stages.Full size tableBranches plant−1
Branches plant−1 of black cumin were significantly influenced by moringa leaf extract concentrations, stage of application as well as their interaction (Table 1). The planned mean comparison of control vs rest and water spray vs rest were also found significant for branches plant−1. The unsprayed against sprayed treatments of moringa leaf extract showed that in unsprayed plots number of branches plant−1 (39) were less than plants sprayed with moringa leaf extract (61.19). Highest number of branches plant−1 (62.19) were observed 20% moringa leaf extract treated plots. These results are in agreement with Mahmood16 who found that foliar application of MLE contains an adequate amount of stimulating substances that promote cell division and enlargement at a faster rate. Zeatin, a growth hormone found in moringa leaf extract, encourages the growth of lateral buds, which leads to an increase in the number of branches. After pounding 100 g of Moringa leaves in 8 L of water, foliar spray of moringa leaf extract enhanced branches plant−1 in okra17. More number of branches plant−1 (70.66) were attained in plots sprayed with moringa leaf extract at growth stage 7 (40 + 80 + 120 days after sowing), followed by growth stage 4 (40 + 80 days after sowing). The effect of the application of MLE at the rate of 20% at 40 days’ interval increased the number of branches and this may be because of the abundant supply of macro and micronutrients and growth hormones. The result of yield parameters revealed that the yield increased as the frequency of moringa leaf extract increased. This is because hormone enhances formation and development of flowers and ripening of fruits. Hormones also enhance growth and yield by altering photosynthetic distributive pattern within the plants. The findings were also in line with that of Manzoor et al.18 who found that an aqueous extract of moringa significantly influence yield and yield components such as number of branches, number of fruits per plant and fruit weight of tomato. The significant interaction of MLE and growth stages is presented in Fig. 1. Applying moringa leaf extract @ 20% at all growth stages enhanced branches plant−1. Maximum branches plant−1 was observed when moringa leaf extract was sprayed @ 20% at growth stage 7 (40 + 80 + 120 days after sowing) whereas, minimum branches plant−1 was recorded in plants sprayed with 10% moringa leaf extract at growth stage-3 (120 days after sowing). Moringa leaf extract (MLE) increased number of branches. Similar results were recorded by Jain et al.19), who reported MLE positively enhanced plant growth attributes of wheat. He also stated that with increasing MLE concentration and application intervals, the growth parameters such as branches plant−1 were increased in arithmetic order. Plant growth regulators are essential for controlling growth and development of plants20. These plant growth regulators increased yield by changing the dry matter distribution pattern or controlling the growth characteristics in crop plants, depending on the dosage and time of application21. In comparison to control, foliar application of moringa leaf extract resulted in a markedly higher branches plant−1. The increased number of branches plant−1 might be due to Zeatin present in moringa leaf extract, which is very effective in delaying the abscission response10.Figure 1Number of branches plant−1 of black cumin as affected by moringa leaf extract applied at various growth stages.Full size imageFixed oil content (% vw−1)Data concerning fixed oil content (% vw−1) in response to moringa leaf extract applied at various growth stages is given in Table 1 and Fig. 2. Statistical analysis of data indicated that foliar application of various concentrations of moringa leaf extract, their stage of application and interaction of concentrations and growth stages had significantly affected fixed oil content (% vw−1) of black cumin crop. The planned mean comparison of control vs rest and water spray vs rest had significant effect on fixed oil content (% vw−1). Highest fixed oil percentage (35.39%) was recorded when moringa leaf extract was sprayed @ 20%, followed by (34.06%) 10% moringa leaf extract, whereas, control (31.48%) showed lowest fixed oil %. Sakr et al.22 indicated that foliar applications of MLE significantly improved the oil percentage and yield plant−1 and feddan of geranium plants. Application of MLE at growth stage-7 (40 + 80 + 120 days after sowing) showed maximum fixed oil content percentage (37.08%) as compared to all other growth stages. Minimum fixed oil percentage was recorded in growth stage-1 (40 days after sowing). Concerning the interaction of moringa leaf extract vs application stage, highest fix oil (37.45%) was observed when moringa leaf extract @ 20% was applied as foliar spray at growth stage-7 (40 + 80 + 120 days after sowing), followed by (36.71%) moringa leaf extract @ 10% applied at growth stage-7. Lowest fixed oil percentage (31.83%) was observed in plants sprayed with 10% moringa leaf extract at stage 1 (40 days after sowing). According to Rady et al.23, biosynthesis of cytokinins promotes the movement of stem reserves to new shoots, resulting in stable plant development, the prevention of premature leaf senescence, and the preservation of more leaf area for photosynthetic action.Figure 2Fixed oil content (%) of black cumin as affected by moringa leaf extract applied at various growth stages.Full size imageEssential oil content (% vw−1)Essential oil content (% vw−1) is a vital oil component of black cumin. Moringa leaf extract concentrations and stage of their application had significant effect on essential oil content of black cumin while the interaction remained non-significant (Table 1). Application of MLE at 20% resulted in higher essential oil yield (0.38%) followed by 10% moringa leaf extract (0.37) sprayed plots. Control plots resulted in lower essential oil (0.33%) content of black cumin. Many research ventures around the world are currently focusing on increasing the biomass yield and volatile oil output of aromatic plants. Moringa leaf extract has been discovered to be an excellent bio-stimulant for enhancing not only crop growth but also yield24,25. According to Aslam et al.26, Plant treated with MLE had major impacts, including an average rise in oil concentrations. Interestingly, MLE treatment not only increased the coriander fruit yield but also improved the fruits volatile oil suggesting that MLE could be a promise plant growth promoter that improved the content of volatile oil in coriander. MLE application also positively affected the volatile oil constituents (Table 2). Increasing the volatile oil in coriander by MLE could be due to the MLE components including amino acids, nutrient elements and phytohoromes that motivate the accumulation of secondary metabolites27. The phytohormones affect the pathway of terpenoids through motivating the responsible physiological and biochemical processes28. Concerning the application stages of moringa leaf extract, higher essential oil content % of black cumin (0.42%) was observed in growth stage-7 (40 + 80 + 120 days after sowing), followed by (0.39%) growth stage-4 (40 + 80 days after sowing), whereas, lower essential oil content % (0.36%) of black cumin was observed in growth stage-1 (40 days after sowing). Plant growth regulators are essential for controlling the amount, type, and direction of plant growth, development, and yield20. These plant growth regulators increased yield by changing the dry matter distribution pattern or controlling the growth characteristics in crop plants, depending on the dosage and time of application21. Exogenous application of MLE resulted in higher yield and quality29.Table 2 Peroxidase value (meq kg−1) and Iodine value (g of I2/100 g) of black cumin as affected by moringa leaf extract applied at various growth stages.Full size tablePeroxidase value (meq kg−1)The response of MLE and stage of MLE application recorded for peroxidase value is stated in Table 2. The data depicted that moringa leaf extract concentrations, stage of application and their interaction had significant (P ≤ 0.05) variation in peroxidase value of black cumin. Similarly, when means were compared, that of control vs treatments and water spray check vs treatments were found significant for peroxidase value (%). Mean value of data indicated that highest peroxidase value (6.32%) was recorded in 20% moringa leaf extract treated plots, followed by (6.03%) 10% moringa leaf extract. While in case of application stages, highest peroxidase value (6.42%) was recorded when moringa leaf extract was applied at stage-7 (40 + 80 + 120 days after sowing), followed by (6.39%) stage-6 (80 + 120 days after sowing). Whereas lowest peroxidase value (5.73%) was recorded in plots treated with moringa leaf extract at stage-3 (120 days after sowing). Interaction of moringa leaf extract concentrations and stage of application in Fig. 3 showed that increasing moringa leaf extract concentration from 10 to 20% applied at growth stage-7 increased peroxidase value of black cumin crop. However, application of moringa leaf extract @ 10% applied at growth stage-3 (120 days after sowing) showed lowest peroxidase value. The phytohormones affect the pathway of terpenoids through motivating the responsible physiological and biochemical processes28. Our results are in agreement with the reports of Ali et al.27 in geranium and Abdel-Rahman and Abdel-Kader30 in fennel who observed that MLE application improves both the volatile oil yield and its components. The fact that MLE application improved black cumin growth and quality characters suorts the study’s hypothesis that MLE is an important plant growth enhancer. In agreement with our results, Rady and Mohamed28 concluded that MLE is considered one of the important plant bio stimulants because it contains antioxidants, phenols, basic nutrients, ascorbates, and phytohormones. Furthermore, foliar application of moringa leaf extract may have a positive effect on endogenous phytohormone concentrations, resulting in improved plant growth and quality10,37.Figure 3Peroxidase value (meq kg−1) of black cumin as affected by moringa leaf extract applied at various growth stages.Full size imageIodine value (g of I2/100 g)Data concerning iodine value of black cumin oil in response to various concentrations of MLE applied at various growth stages is given in Table 2 and Fig. 4. Statistical analysis of data indicated that both the concentrations of moringa leaf extract, stage of application as well as their interaction had significant effect on iodine value of black cumin oil. The planned mean comparison of control vs rest and water spray vs rest treatments had significant effect on iodine value. Highest iodine value (85.3) was recorded with application of moringa leaf extract @ 20% whereas, lowest (78.28) was observed in control. Regarding the stage of application, highest iodine value (87.35) was observed in plots sprayed with moringa leaf extract at stage-7 (40 + 80 + 120 days after sowing), followed by (85.61) plots sprayed with moringa leaf extract at growth stage-6 (80 + 120 days after sowing). Concerning the interaction of MLE concentrations and stage of application of MLE, highest iodine value (6.49) was observed with 20% moringa leaf extract sprayed at stage-7 (40 + 80 + 120 days after sowing) whereas, lowest iodine value was observed in plants sprayed with moringa leaf extract @ 20% applied at stage-3 (120 days after sowing). The use of plant growth regulators is very specific and depends to achieve specific results like for example; enhanced plant growth, betterment in yield and yield related attributes, and to modify the fruit and plant bio-constituents. Several previous studies reveled that MLE are enriched with many phtyo-hormones especially zeatin31. In addition to that MLEs are embedded with many essential amino acids, vitamins (A, B1, B2, B3, C and E), minerals as well as several antioxidants like phenolic32,33. This unique biochemical composition of MLE showed that they can be utilized as bio stimulant which have the potential to promote crop growth, productivity as well as quality which in return depends on its application time34.Figure 4Iodine value (meq kg−1) of black cumin as affected by moringa leaf extract applied at various growth stages.Full size imageTotal free amino acidsThe data presented in Table 2 revealed that moringa leaf extract concentrations and application stages had significantly affected total free amino acid content of black cumin crop during rabi 2019-20 under agro-climatic conditions of Haripur whereas, their interaction remained non-significant. The planned mean comparison of control vs rest and water spray vs rest had significant effect on total free amino acids of black cumin. Highest amino acids (336.3) were observed with the application of moringa leaf extract @ 20%, followed by application of moringa leaf extract @ 10%. Regarding application stages, highest total free amino acids (364.2) were observed with the application of moringa leaf extract at 40 + 80 + 120 days after sowing, followed by (355.9) application of MLE at 40 + 80 days after sowing. Lowest total free amino acids (290.3) were recorded with moringa leaf extract sprayed at 40 days after sowing. Several investigations have demonstrated that MLE can alter both primary and secondary metabolism, resulting in an increase in antioxidant molecule concentrations35,36. The content of phenolic antioxidants, total soluble proteins, and total free amino acids increased in spinach plants treated with synthetic growth regulators and MLE26. MLE can also increase fruit quality metrics in ‘Kinnow’ mandarins, such as soluble solid contents, vitamin C, sugars, total antioxidant, phenolic contents, and superoxide dismutase and catalase enzyme activities, when treated at various growth stages37.Total phenolicPhenolic have acquired much importance because of their properties of disease preventing and health promoting. The effect of moringa leaf extract concentrations, stage of application and their interaction is presented in Table 2. Analysis of variance revealed that moringa leaf extract concentrations and stage of application of moringa leaf extract had significant effect on total phenolic content of black cumin while their interaction remained non-significant. Our results depict that all MLE levels enhanced the total phenolic content of black cumin leaves relative to the control. Highest phenolic content (71.59 mg g−1) was observed with application of moringa leaf extract at the rate of 20%, followed by (68.72 mg g−1) moringa leaf extract application at the rate of 10%. Regarding application stages, highest phenolic content (81.23 mg g−1) was observed with the application of moringa leaf extract at growth stage-7 (40 + 80 + 120 days after sowing), followed by (76.66 mg g−1) stage-6 (80 + 120 days after sowing), whereas, lowest phenolic content (55.25 mg g−1) was observed in crop sprayed with moringa leaf extract at stage-3 (120 days after sowing). In the medicinal, biological, and agricultural areas, phenolic and their derivatives gained scientists attention. Recent studies had focused on their potential as antioxidant-rich natural chemicals38. The increased content of phenolics, flavonoids, and phytohormones in moringa leaves, which may have contributed to the enhanced total phenolic content in black cumin leaves, can be linked to the higher content of phenolics, flavonoids, and phytohormones in MLE treated plants26. Furthermore, the proper concentrations of minerals, vitamins, and -carotene found in moringa leaves may have influenced metabolic processes in a way that increased the internal phenolic content in black cumin leaves, either directly or indirectly39. Therefore, these aspects assist MLE to serve as growth enhancer and natural antioxidant40. Our results supported by the previous report of Nasir et al.37 who revealed that the total phenolic content was enhanced as a result of MLE application at critical stages of plant growth. More

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Driven by the land-to-river and upstream-to-downstream WBIF, biodiversity information across terrestrial and aquatic biomes could be detected in riverine water eDNA6,16, and the monitoring effectiveness of riverine water eDNA relies on the transportation effectiveness of corresponding WBIF6,17,18,19,20. The transportation effectiveness of WBIF mainly relies on the transport capacity, degradation rate, and environmental filtration of WBIF15,21,22,23, which can vary with different seasons and weather conditions26. We hypothesized that the monitoring effectiveness would vary with the seasons and weather conditions. In the present case, the bacterial community richness in riparian soil did not vary with season, whereas the bacterial community composition in riverine water was richest in the autumn, followed by the summer (Figs. 2, 3). The transportation effectiveness of riparian-to-river and upstream-to-downstream WBIF in spring frozen days was significantly lower than in summer rainy days and autumn cloudy days (Tables 1, 2, Supplementary Tables S3, S4). Considering the insufficient read depth on the riverine water samples of summer and autumn groups (Supplementary Fig. S1), the riverine water bacterial community richness and the riparian-to-river transportation effectiveness on summer and autumn were already underestimated. It indicates that the monitoring effectiveness varied with different seasons and weather conditions, and summer and autumn were the optimal seasons, along with rainy days being the optimal weather condition, for using riverine water eDNA to simultaneously monitor the holistic biodiversity information in riverine sites and riparian sites.The biodiversity information detected by water eDNA could originate from living and dead organisms23,26. The detection of biodiversity information that originates from a living organism mainly depends on the dispersal of this living organism11,20. The detection of biodiversity information that originates from a dead organism mainly depends on its transport capacity and degradation rate12,22,29. In summer and autumn, as driven by active organisms, more eDNA was input into the river system. In particular, the surface runoff caused by rain can input more eDNA from terrestrial soil into the river system and can preserve them in soil aggregates30. In the present study, the highest proportion of bacteria in riparian soil was detected in riverine water in summer and autumn, and the rain promoted this phenomenon (Fig. 3 and Table 1, Supplementary Table S3). The proportion of effective upstream-to-downstream WBIF was significantly higher in summer and autumn than in spring, as well as being higher on rainy days than on cloudy days (Table 2). eDNA (originated from dead organisms) degrades over time in a logistic manner (a half-life time)12,22,27,31, which was described in this study as degrading by half-life distance in a lotic system, which integrates the transport capacity and the degradation rate. In the present work, as driven by runoff discharge and flow velocity (Supplementary Table S1), the half-life distance of noneffective WBIF was significantly farther in the summer than in autumn and in spring (Table 2).The biodiversity information monitoring effectiveness of riverine water eDNA, as approximated by the transportation effectiveness of WBIF, was impacted by the eDNA degradation rate in WBIF, and there were taxonomy-specific eDNA degradation rates27, species-specific eDNA degradation rates17, and form-specific eDNA degradation rates28. We hypothesized that the monitoring effectiveness of riverine water eDNA would vary with taxonomic communities. In the present case, the results revealed the detection of a significantly higher monitoring effectiveness of riverine water eDNA (both riparian-to-river and downstream-to-upstream) for bacterial communities than for eukaryotic communities (Tables 3, 4). Considering the insufficient read depth on the bacterial community (16S rRNA gene, Supplementary Fig. S2), the detection capacity on bacterial group was already underestimated. A significantly higher monitoring effectiveness of riverine water eDNA was found for micro-eukaryotic communities (fungi) than for overall eukaryotic communities (including micro- and macro-organisms) (Tables 3, 4). This indicates that the monitoring effectiveness varied with different taxonomic communities, and the effectiveness of monitoring eukaryotic communities was significantly lower than for monitoring bacterial communities; in addition, the effectiveness of monitoring macrobe communities was significantly lower than for monitoring microbe communities.eDNA surveys that are based on metabarcoding can actually acquire information across the taxonomic tree of life5,6,11,32,33. However, eDNA that originates from different taxonomic groups has a different probability of being left in the environment and input into water6,8,9,34. van Bochove et al. inferred that the eDNA contained inside of cells and mitochondria is especially resilient against degradation (i.e., intracellular vs. extracellular effects)28. In the present case, more bacteria than eukaryotes and more microorganisms than macroorganisms (both OTU and species levels) in riparian soil could be detected in riverine water (Table 3). The half-life distance of noneffective WBIF for bacteria (detected by the 16 s RNA gene) was much farther than that for unicellular eukaryotes (detected by the ITS gene, which is mainly unicellular), than that for multicellular eukaryotes (as detected by the CO1 gene, which is mainly multicellular) (Table 4). We inferred that the eDNA contained inside of bacterial cells was more resilient against degradation than that contained inside of unicellular eukaryotic cells (i.e., prokaryotic cells vs. eukaryotic cells), as well as compared to the eDNA contained inside of multicellular eukaryotic cells or extracellular mitochondria (i.e., unicellular eukaryotic cells vs. multicellular eukaryotic cells or extracellular mitochondria).In previous studies, the effectiveness of using water eDNA to monitor terrestrial organisms was indicated by the detection probability8,9,34, and the effectiveness of using downstream water eDNA to monitor upstream organisms was indicated by the detectable distance7,12,17,19,20,35. In this study, we approximated the biodiversity information monitoring effectiveness by the WBIF transportation effectiveness and proposed its assessment framework, in which we described the riparian-to-river monitoring effectiveness with the proportion of biodiversity information in riparian soil that was detected by using riverine water eDNA samples. Additionally, we described the downstream-to-upstream monitoring effectiveness with the proportion of biodiversity information in upstream site water eDNA samples that was detected by 1-km downstream site water eDNA samples, and the runoff distance of that 50% of dead bioinformation (i.e., the bioinformation labeling the biological material that lacked life activity and fertility) could be monitored. These indicators provided new usable assessment tools for designing monitoring projects and for evaluating monitoring results.In the optimal monitoring season and weather condition (a summer rainy day) in the Shaliu river basin on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau, by using riverine water eDNA, we were able to monitor as much as 87.95% of bacterial species, 76.18% of fungal species, and 53.52% of eukaryotic species from riparian soil, along with as much as 98.69% of bacterial species, 95.71% of fungal species, and 92.41% of eukaryotic species from 1 km upstream (Table 4). The half-life distance of the noneffective WBIF was respectively 17.82 km, 5.96 km, and 5.02 km for bacteria, fungi, and metazoans at the species level (Table 4). When considering the fact that the monitoring effectiveness of eDNA can not only vary with season, weather, and taxonomic communities, but can also vary with rivers and watersheds with different environmental conditions12,17,19,23, more studies on the monitoring effectiveness for each taxonomic community in other watersheds with different environmental conditions are needed.eDNA metabarcoding surveys are relatively cheaper, more efficient, and more accurate than traditional surveys in aquatic systems10,13, although this is certainly not true in all circumstances36. Sales et al. show that the detection probability of using riverine water eDNA to monitor the semi-aquatic and terrestrial mammals in natural lotic ecosystems in the UK was 40–67%, which provided comparable results to conventional survey methods per unit of survey effort for three species (water vole, field vole and red deer); in other words, the results from 3 to 6 water replicates would be equivalent to the results from 3 to 5 latrine surveys and 5–30 weeks of single camera deployment9. In the current case, the riverine water eDNA samples detected 53.52% of eukaryotic species from riparian soil samples. As the bioinformation in WBIF includes the biodiversity information of all taxonomic communities, the information of all taxonomic communities could be monitored by using riverine water eDNA, although variability in monitoring effectiveness exists among different taxonomic communities. We anticipate that, in future biodiversity research, conservation, and management, we will be able to efficiently monitor and assess the aquatic and terrestrial biodiversity by simply using riverine water eDNA samples.In summary, to test the idea of using riverine water eDNA to simultaneously monitor aquatic and terrestrial biodiversity, we proposed a monitoring effectiveness assessment framework, in which the land-to-river monitoring effectiveness was indicated by detection probability, and the upstream-to-downstream monitoring effectiveness was described by the detection probability per kilometer runoff distance and by the half-life distance of dead bioinformation. In our case study, in the Shaliu River watershed on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and on summer rainy days, 43–76% of species information in riparian sites could be detected in adjacent riverine water eDNA samples, 92–99% of species information from upstream sites could be detected in a 1-km downstream eDNA sample, and the half-life distances of dead bioinformation for bacteria was approximately 13–19 km and was approximately 4–6 km for eukaryotes. The indicators in the assessment framework that describe the monitoring effectiveness provide usable assessment tools for designing monitoring projects and for evaluating monitoring results. In future ecological research, biodiversity conservation, and ecosystem management, riverine water eDNA may be a general diagnostic procedure for routine watershed biodiversity monitoring and assessment. More

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