TY - JOUR

T1 - Exploring human-nature relationships in academic literature on the nitrogen cycle

AU - West, Bede

AU - Bauer, Maximilian

AU - Chalkiadakis, Charis

AU - Dendoncker, Nicolas

AU - González-Martínez, Tanya M.

AU - Mascarenhas, André

AU - Leucci, Francesca

AU - Phillips, Benjamin B.

AU - Ploumi, Konstantina Tania

AU - Rodriguez, Carolina

AU - Vandewalle, Marie

AU - Washbourne, Carla-Leanne

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

PY - 2024/8/13

Y1 - 2024/8/13

N2 - 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.

AB - 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.

KW - dependence

KW - human-nature relationships

KW - literature review

KW - network

KW - Nitrogen cycle

KW - qualitative

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85201560332&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1080/26395916.2024.2380856

DO - 10.1080/26395916.2024.2380856

M3 - Article

VL - 20

JO - Ecosystems and People

JF - Ecosystems and People

SN - 2639-5908

IS - 1

M1 - 2380856

ER -