In evaluating a circular economy (CE), one needs to address the complexity arising from indicators with multiple objectives, multiple means of implementation with combinations of CE strategies, and the uncertainty inherent in resource cycle systems. Regional sensitivity analysis (RSA) is a version of global sensitivity analysis that can be used to determine whether the output variables of a mathematical model lie within a cert...

Microplastic pollution is occurring in most ecosystem, yet their presence in high altitude clouds and their influence on cloud formation and climate change are poorly known. Here we analyzed microplastics in cloud water sampled at the summits of Japan mountains at 1300–3776 m altitude by attenuated total reflection imaging and micro-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. We observed nine microplastics including polyethylene,...

Aims Climate change can substantially alter ecological communities. However, we hypothesized that, even if novel communities emerge, those communities may not be novel in terms of functional composition. To infer the processes associated with rising temperatures, we evaluated elevational taxonomic/functional turnover of plant and invertebrate communities. Because climate change interacts synergistically with other environmenta...