This series covers leading-edge research in a cross-section of fields focusing on the environment, including current research data on the depopulated rural landscapes in the north of Spain; the influence of environment on foliose lichen growth and its ecological significance; magnetic nanoparticles for environmental pollution management; helping agriculture through technology, energy efficiency and environmental protection; prioritizing competing needs in the management of the Waikato River; coexistence of conventional, organic and GM crops from a European Union governance approach; architecture and evolution of fault damage zones and their applications to fluid flow; land disturbances, vegetation invasions and implications for land degradation; palaoecology and palaeoenvironments; land-use changes and biodiversity conservation in agricultural landscapes; and road transport in sub-Saharan Africa.