Google Scholar (GS), a commonly used web-based academic search engine, catalogues between 2 and 100 million records of both academic and grey literature (articles not formally published by commercial academic publishers). Google Scholar collates results from across the internet and is free to use. As a result it has received considerable attention as a method for searching for literature, particularly in searches for grey literature, as required by systematic reviews. The reliance on GS as a standalone resource has been greatly debated, however, and its efficacy in grey literature searching has not yet been investigated. Using systematic review case studies from environmental science, we investigated the utility of GS in systematic reviews and in searches for grey literature. Our findings show that GS results contain moderate amounts of grey literature, with the majority found on average at page 80. We also found that, when searched for specifically, the majority of literature identified using Web of Science was also found using GS. However, our findings showed moderate/poor overlap in results when similar search strings were used in Web of Science and GS (10–67%), and that GS missed some important literature in five of six case studies. Furthermore, a general GS search failed to find any grey literature from a case study that involved manual searching of organisations’ websites. If used in systematic reviews for grey literature, we recommend that searches of article titles focus on the first 200 to 300 results. We conclude that whilst Google Scholar can find much grey literature and specific, known studies, it should not be used alone for systematic review searches. Rather, it forms a powerful addition to other traditional search methods. In addition, we advocate the use of tools to transparently document and catalogue GS search results to maintain high levels of transparency and the ability to be updated, critical to systematic reviews.

Fine-grained sediment is a natural and essential component of river systems and plays a major role in the hydrological, geomorphological and ecological functioning of rivers. In many areas of the world, the level of anthropogenic activity is such that fine-grained sediment fluxes have been, or are being, modified at a magnitude and rate that cause profound, and sometimes irreversible, changes in the way that river systems function. This paper examines how anthropogenic activity has caused significant changes in the quantity and quality of fine-grained sediment within river systems, using examples of: land use change in New Zealand; the effects of reservoir construction and management in different countries; the interaction between sediment dynamics and fish habitats in British Columbia, Canada; and the management of contaminated sediment in USA rivers. The paper also evaluates present programmes and initiatives for the management of fine sediment in river systems and suggests changes that are needed if management strategies are to be effective and sustainable.

Review articles can provide valuable summaries of the ever-increasing volume of primary research in conservation biology. Where findings may influence important resource-allocation decisions in policy or practice, there is a need for a high degree of reliability when reviewing evidence. However, traditional literature reviews are susceptible to a number of biases during the identification, selection, and synthesis of included studies (e.g., publication bias, selection bias, and vote counting). Systematic reviews, pioneered in medicine and translated into conservation in 2006, address these issues through a strict methodology that aims to maximize transparency, objectivity, and repeatability. Systematic reviews will always be the gold standard for reliable synthesis of evidence. However, traditional literature reviews remain popular and will continue to be valuable where systematic reviews are not feasible. Where traditional reviews are used, lessons can be taken from systematic reviews and applied to traditional reviews in order to increase their reliability. Certain key aspects of systematic review methods that can be used in a context-specific manner in traditional reviews include focusing on mitigating bias; increasing transparency, consistency, and objectivity, and critically appraising the evidence and avoiding vote counting. In situations where conducting a full systematic review is not feasible, the proposed approach to reviewing evidence in a more systematic way can substantially improve the reliability of review findings, providing a time- and resource-efficient means of maximizing the value of traditional reviews. These methods are aimed particularly at those conducting literature reviews where systematic review is not feasible, for example, for graduate students, single reviewers, or small organizations.

Background: Recruitment and retention of nursing staff is the biggest workforce challenge faced by healthcare institutions. Across the UK, there are currently around 50 000 nursing vacancies, and the number of people leaving the Nursing and Midwifery Council register is increasing. Objective: This review comprehensively compiled an update on factors affecting retention among hospital nursing staff. Methods: Five online databases; EMBASE, MEDLINE, SCOPUS, CINAHL and NICE Evidence were searched for relevant primary studies published until 31 December 2018 on retention among nurses in hospitals. Results: Forty-seven studies met the inclusion criteria. Nine domains influencing staff turnover were found: nursing leadership and management, education and career advancement, organisational (work) environment, staffing levels, professional issues, support at work, personal influences, demographic influences, and financial remuneration. Conclusion: Identified turnover factors are long-standing. To mitigate the impact of these factors, evaluation of current workforce strategies should be high priority.

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We present the results of our tenth annual horizon scan. We identified 15 emerging priority topics that may have major positive or negative effects on the future conservation of global biodiversity, but which at present, have low awareness within the conservation community. We thus hope to focus increased research and policy attention on these areas, improving the capacity of the community to mitigate impacts of issues likely to have negative effects, and maximise the benefits of issues that provide opportunities. The topics include advances in crop breeding, which may affect insects and land use; manipulations of natural water flows and weather systems on the Tibetan Plateau; release of carbon and mercury from melting polar ice and thawing permafrost; new funding schemes and regulations; and land-use changes across Indo-Malaysia.

Climate change and urbanization are increasing the urban flood risk, which can cause adverse on socio-economic and environmental impacts. Green Infrastructure (GI) can reduce stormwater runoff and offer multiple benefits that have been initiated in the United Kingdom (UK) and China, namely Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS) and Sponge Cities Program (SCP) respectively. Currently, the implementation of GI is restricted to small spatial (site specific) scale and facing several constraints such as financial investment and governance. that limited its fuller functions and potential. This study aims to identify the barriers and enablers for the adoption of GI by investigating SUDS and SCP in the UK and China, through twelve in-depth semi-structured interviews with stakeholders. Our results found that multiple benefits of the SUDS and SCP were identified, as the main enablers in both countries with reducing the stormwater runoff and alleviating peak discharge in the drainage system, also

There are a variety of buffering features within the landscape that can be used to trap sediment and associated contaminants such as phosphorus (P), thereby helping to reduce sediment and P delivery to watercourses. Astroturf mats (n = 136) were placed within contrasting buffer features at nine sites [mid-field hedges (two sites), edge-of-field grass strips (six sites) and channel wetlands (one site)] within the River Parrett basin in England. Sediment was recorded on the mats at seven of the sites during the 18-month sampling period. At the other two sites either there was insufficient erosion or sediment by-passed the mats. At the seven sites where mats collected sediment, there was a considerable range in sediment deposition over the 18-month sampling period with site-average values (based on all mats at a site) ranging from 0.02 ± 0.06 to 1.15 ± 1.88 g cm )2 ; the average for all 136 mats was 0.41 ± 1.08 g cm )2 , or approximately 0.27 g cm )2 year )1 . Most of the sediment collected on the mats (n = 60) was sand-sized (>63 lm) material. The site-average total-P content of the <63 lm fraction of the deposited sediment ranged between 616 and 1938 mg kg )1 (average 890 mg kg )1 ). About half of all the mats that collected sediment were from the front of the buffers. Comparison of the sediment in the buffer features with topsoil from the contributing upslope fields suggests that the buffers trap coarser sediment with lower P concentrations, than the contributing topsoil. This suggests that the finer fraction, enriched in total-P, may be passing through the buffers towards river channels. Comparison between sites indicates that sediment deposition within buffers is greater at sites with steeper slopes, erodible soils and certain types of land use, such as maize for silage, reflecting the greater soil erosion and sediment transfers in these fields. The location and careful design of buffer features is a key factor in their effectiveness.