Petroleum pollution has become a substantial challenge in soil ecology. The soil bacterial consortia play a major role in the biodegradation of petroleum hydrocarbons. The main objective of this study was to assess changes in bacterial composition and diversity in oil-contaminated dryland soils. The Illumina MiSeq high-throughput sequencing technique was used to study the bacterial diversity and structural change in hyper-arid oil-contaminated soil in the Arava Valley of Israel. The diversity and abundance of soil bacteria declined significantly following oil pollution. The dominant phyla in the petroleum-contaminated soils were Proteobacteria (~33% higher vs. control soil) and Patescibacteria (~2.5% higher vs. control soil), which are oil-associated and hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria. An opposite trend was found for the Actinobacteria (~8%), Chloroflexi (12%), Gemmatimonadetes (3%), and Planctomycetes (2%) phyla, with the lower abundances in contaminated soil vs. control soil. Investigation of long-term contaminated sites revealed significant genus-level taxonomic restructuring in soil bacterial communities. The most evident changes were observed in Mycobacterium, Alkanindiges, and uncultured bacterium-145, which showed marked abundance shifts between spill and control soils across decades. Particularly, hydrocarbon-degrading genera such as Pseudoxanthomonas demonstrated persistent dominance in contaminated sites. While some genera (e.g., Frigoribacterium, Leifsonia) declined over time, others—particularly Nocardioides and Streptomyces—exhibited substantial increases by 2014, suggesting potential ecological succession or adaptive selection. Minor but consistent changes were also detected in stress-tolerant genera like Blastococcus and Quadrisphaera. The effect of oil contamination on species diversity was greater at the 1975 site compared to the 2014 site. These patterns highlight the dynamic response of bacterial communities to chronic contamination, with implications for bioremediation and ecosystem recovery. The study results provide new insights into oil contamination-induced changes in soil bacterial community and may assist in designing appropriate biodegradation strategies to alleviate the impacts of oil contamination in drylands.

The Negev Highlands, located in Israel's arid zone, have been home to Bedouin tribes for centuries. Families and clans attributed the meaning of their place to this vast area. Within this region, they maintained a semi-nomadic lifestyle, moving seasonally in search of pasture and water, relocating and adapting to changing weather conditions. In the early 1980s, these families were forced to settle in parallel with the peace agreements with Egypt and the declaration of most of the Negev Highlands as military training zones or nature reserves. They established villages on the edges of their grazing lands, which were not recognized by the state and, therefore, were not entitled to essential services. Many traditional practices were irrelevant in their new location and quickly disappeared. Our research follows a group of residents from one of those unrecognized Bedouin villages who attempted to imagine a different and better future for their community while staying within their village but transforming it into a Bedouin Heritage Center. Eight in-depth interviews with the Bedouin group's leaders revealed several shifts in their sense of place, which later gave rise to a new spatial identity and spatial socio-political organization. The article follows first how the interviews revealed a local changing sense of place. It then adds a relational geography perspective, articulating the Bedouin changing sense of place with changes in Israel’s development policies and economy in the Negev during the early 2000s and with changing global environmental discourses and free market ideas, we claim these articulations gave rise to new regionalism, new regional spatial and political formations within the Negev highland Bedouin villages.

Duarte's 1999 review, “Seagrass ecology at the turn of the millennium” established a benchmark for seagrass research. Twenty-five years later, an analysis of 11,245 publications (published between 2000–2023) reveals substantial growth but persistent biases. While the volume of annual publications on seagrasses has increased over this period almost 4 folds, seagrass research remains significantly less extensive than studies on mangroves and coral reefs. Authors from only two countries (Australia and the USA) were still responsible for a huge proportion (35 %) of the world's seagrass publications. The seagrass community has remained disproportionately focused on only 4 key species which together account for 59 % of all seagrass publications. While scientific attention continues and even becomes stronger in the last 12 years for Zostera marina and Cymadocoae nodosa, there are some signs of change with recent growing attention to the tropical species Thalassia hemprichii and Halophila stipulacea. While previously dominated by basic descriptive ecology, seagrass research topics have become more quantitative and focused on responses to stressors, genetics and genomics, ecosystem services, and restoration and resilience building.

These findings demonstrate that the seagrass research community needs to shift towards a more holistic and inclusive approach. We must prioritize under-represented species and geographical regions, adopt integrated methodologies and foster strong interdisciplinary collaborations to secure the long-term health and sustainability of these vital coastal ecosystems. Only through such concerted efforts can we effectively address the multifaceted challenges facing seagrasses globally.

For desert species, human development may buffer against resource scarcity by providing reliable resources in an otherwise stark environment. We used high-throughput tracking technology to explore the movement patterns of a social desert passerine bird (the Arabian babbler—Argya quadriceps, Leiothrichidae) in a mosaic of human-modified and semi-natural habitats. From late summer to early winter, as natural food and water resources increase, we tracked 21 individuals representing 10 groups. Toward winter, groups spent less time within villages, had smaller home ranges, and were less territorial. In general, birds showed a preference for spending time in the vegetated semi-natural habitat. We further found that even a small section of uncultivated agricultural land (~2 km stretch of mostly bare dirt) can act as a movement barrier for babblers. Altogether, we highlight how the complex interaction between resource availability and anthropogenic changes to habitats, can shape animals’ responses to our changing planet.

The crucial role of plant–microbe interactions in seagrass growth and overall fitness is widely recognized and known to influence plant response to stress. Human-induced changes in coastal ecosystems necessitate efficient descriptors for seagrass monitoring. Recently, for Posidonia oceanica meadows, an integrative approach combining ecophysiological descriptors with bacterial communities has been successfully applied. Conversely, the mycobiota remains largely unexplored and fungal communities cannot be included yet as a putative descriptor. This study aims to evaluate the ecological status of two P. oceanica meadows in the Akrotiri Bay (Cyprus), located under different geomorphological features (depth and seabed type) and degrees of human pressure (port proximity vs. Marine Protected Area). A set of descriptors including morphometry, biochemical markers and bacterial communities collected in 2023 are compared with those collected, at the same sites, in 2017. Furthermore, the investigation of the leaf-associated microbial community included the underrepresented fungal communities, in addition to the bacterial ones, to evaluate their usefulness in evaluating the plant conservation status. Results indicated a good P. oceanica conservation status at both sites, showing an amelioration in the Limassol port meadow from 2017. In 2023, the biometrical/biochemical descriptors were found comparable across sites as the bacterial communities, differing from 2017 results. Noteworthy, fungal communities exhibited significant differences between sites, with a clear reduction, in the Limassol port meadow, of the dominant Posidoniomyces atricolor which is known as a specific colonizer of P. oceanica roots. These results confirm the strong relationship between P. atricolor and P. oceanica host, and suggest its sensitivity to environmental changes, able to keep track of ecological shifts.

Despite a century of research, turbulent flows mobilizing bedload remain elusive, while seismic waves generated by surface processes can unravel river dynamics. We studied the seismic signals emitted near rivers in two tributaries characterized by large boulders. Data show an unusually high dominant seismic frequency, reaching >2 times the frequency observed in nearby smoother channels. Consistent high-frequency content during periods without bedload transport prompts the hypothesis that turbulence is a key contributor to generating higher frequencies. Assuming that dominant turbulent eddies decrease in size due to boulder-constrained flow, we formulate a frequency scaling relationship that aligns well with field data. A positive relationship of the frequency with water depth breaks at bedload onset, indicating that dissipation of flow energy partitions between turbulence and bedload transport. Our study shows that seismic frequency captures contrasting bed morphologies in mountain streams, offering insights into flow-roughness interactions.

Energy storage technologies (ESTs) play an important role in integrated, decentralized renewable energy systems. However, the lack of public acceptance and awareness of ESTs can significantly delay or block the implementation of renewable energy projects. This study aims to identify the societal and legislative barriers to implementing ESTs using the southern Arava region in Israel as a case study. This research involves semistructured interviews with decision-makers, such as government officials, stakeholders, and business owners. Additionally, an online survey is conducted to understand the knowledge and awareness of residents of this region about energy transition and the various types of ESTs. The findings indicate that while 83% of respondents supported EST installations outside their residential areas or workplaces, 27% opposed having them within their residential areas. Approximately 11% of respondents stated that ESTs negatively impact the landscape, and approximately 6% expressed concern about the health-related hazards caused by local energy storage facilities. Our findings not only highlight that decision-makers consider the economic benefits to the local community as the main driving factor for public acceptance of such installations but also show that ESTs are a critical step toward achieving energy independence and increasing urban resilience to cope with unexpected crises.

Biomass is among the most important state variables used to characterize ecosystems. Estimation of tree biomass involves the development of species-specific “allometric equations” that describe the relationship between tree biomass and tree diameter and/or height. While many allometric equations were developed for northern hemisphere and tropical species, rarely have they been developed for trees in arid ecosystems, limiting, amongst other things, our ability to estimate carbon stocks in arid regions. Acacia raddiana and A. tortilis are major components of savannas and arid regions in the Middle East and Africa, where they are considered keystone species. Using the opportunity that trees were being uprooted for land development, we measured height (H), north-south (C1) and east-west (C2) canopy diameters, stem diameter at 1.3 meters of the largest stem (D1.3 or DBH), and aboveground fresh and dry weight (FW and DW, respectively) of nine trees (n = 9) from each species. For A. tortilis only, we recorded the number of trunks, and measured the diameter of the largest trunk at ground level (D0). While the average crown (canopy) size (C1 + C2) was very similar among the two species, Acacia raddiana trees were found to be significantly taller than their Acacia tortilis counterparts. Results show that in the arid Arava (southern Israel), an average adult acacia tree has ~200 kg of aboveground dry biomass and that a typical healthy acacia ecosystem in this region, may include ~41 tons of tree biomass per km2. The coefficients of DBH (tree diameter at breast height) to biomass and wood volume, could be used by researchers studying acacia trees throughout the Middle East and Africa, enabling them to estimate biomass of acacia trees and to evaluate their importance for carbon stocks in their arid regions. Highlights: 1) Estimations of tree biomass in arid regions are rare. 2) Biomass allometric equations were developed for A. raddiana and A. tortilis trees. 3) Equations contribute to the estimation of carbon stocks in arid regions.

Plant chemical composition is a trait gaining increasing importance in plant ecology. However, there is limited research on the patterns and drivers of its variation among different plant functional groups and bioclimatic regions. We conducted an analysis of ionomes utilising X-ray fluorescence on 83 plant species from four distinct functional groups (grasses, legumes, forbs and woody species); we marked plots across 15 sites located in both the desert and Mediterranean bioclimatic regions. The primary factors influencing variations in ionomes are predominantly attributed to bioclimatic factors rather than soil composition. Across all functional groups, plants from the Mediterranean region are characterised by greater association with calcium, whereas desert plants exhibit a higher affinity for strontium (Sr), suggesting its potential role in drought tolerance. Among functional groups, grasses uniquely exhibit distinct ionomic features, primarily due to their higher silicon (Si) concentrations. Plant species' affinities for certain elements and their interactions are likely driven by physiological constraints, whereas variations within a functional group are mostly driven by environmental conditions. We conclude that interactions among elements form physiological phenotypes shaped by natural selection under large-scale environmental variability, making plant ionome composition an important plant functional trait.

Students in peripheral areas often score lower in the sciences than those in urban areas. This study explores the feasibility of distance learning in making quality science education accessible everywhere. In 2016, the Israeli government established technological infrastructure in southern peripheral schools, but these resources remained largely unused. From 2018 to 2019, we interviewed school principals and education department directors, and surveyed teachers and students about distance learning. The findings showed hesitance among educators to implement distance learning for expanding science subjects, despite their confidence in using it when necessary. After the mandatory shift to distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, attitudes towards technology in remote schools improved. Barriers to implementing distance learning were found to be mainly due to internal factors like preconceived notions, which limited the development of necessary skills among teachers and students. We recommend addressing internal resistance to distance learning in teacher training programs.