Biodiversity Hotspot Research Articles

Cork oak woodlands and decline: a social-ecological review and future transdisciplinary approaches

AbstractCork oak woodlands are socio-ecosystems recognized as biodiversity hotspots, a fundamental economic source for companies and local communities as well as an identitarian landscape for residents and visitors. Cork oak woodlands, however, are facing tree mortality and lack of regeneration. Considering the oak decline scenario, we present Iberian cork oak montado/dehesa as a socio-ecosystem facing climate change, management transformations, local knowledge crisis and social uncertainty. We review montados/dehesas research through time and by different scholar perspectives. We defend that from an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary perspective, including the experience and evidence observed in terrain, debate should be stimulated, and novel conceptual approaches may contribute to finding solutions. We argue that the confluence of ecology, genetics, anthropology and local knowledge can be explored to unveil the complexities and the challenges of these socio-ecosystems and contribute to prevent and mitigate threats to it. We propose a methodological approach built together with scientists, managers and workers, that can explore oak translocations, socio-ecological interactions models, knowledge transfer and other ways to overcome Iberian cork oak woodlands socio-environmental crisis.

Updating and validating seagrass ecosystem knowledge in the gulf of California: a comprehensive review

Seagrasses are globally acknowledged as crucial habitats as they provide a variety of ecosystem services. Mexico’s legislation protects most of these marine plants; however, the protection often fails in application. The Gulf of California, despite being a biodiversity hotspot, has scant data on seagrasses. Here, human activity and climate change increasingly threaten these coastal ecosystems, with conservation and research efforts lacking coordination at a regional level. Our manuscript aimed to review and standardize existing data on Gulf of California seagrass species, ensuring open access for data updates; pinpointing conservation deficiencies; and guiding future research. We have added new records to the official public data, but we were able to recapture only 25% of the seagrass locations meaning a potential reduction in their historical distribution of 45.8%. Even though Mexico’s legislation protects some species of seagrasses, it protection often fails in the application. We identified that only 6.1% of the seagrass locations are within protected areas that recognize their presence in their management plans (e.g., the Balandra Flora and Fauna Protected Area and the Upper Gulf of California and Colorado River Delta Biosphere Reserve). At least 55.9% of seagrass records are associated with potentially damaging activities like pollution, coastal modification or biological resources use, while 23% are exposed to higher frequency of marine heatwaves. Given the importance of seagrass meadows under Mexican law and their internationally recognized ecological value, sharing current information and guiding research is essential. Our study seeks to galvanize renewed research initiatives and raise more awareness on the conservation of the Gulf of California’s seagrasses.

Fish Diversity and Hydrological Parameters of Indrasagar Reservoir (Khandwa District)

The state of Madhya Pradesh is the central state of India & one of the important aquatic biodiversity hotspots of the country, having bestowed with a large number of water bodies both lotic and lentic, the state boasts of rich fish biodiversity. The aim of this study is collection and identification of finfish that found in Indira sagar reservoir and the water quality parameter of the reservoir in which the fishes thriving. Total 54 species of 9 order were found in the reservoir in Khandwa district including labeo rohita,Catla catla, Cirrhinus mrigala, Ctenopharyngodon idella Labeo calbasu, Puntius sophore, Pethia ticto,Puntius chola, Cyprinus carpio, Pangasianodon hypophthalmus, Oreochromis mossambicus, Glossogobius giuris, Channa marulius, Channa gachua , Channa striata and Clarias magur etc. The 03 species of transplanted Indian major carps Catla catla, Cirrhinus mrigala and Labeo rohita are dominating the fishermen catches The authors are of firm opinion that the exotic species are posing competition for food and space to the native species.. To certain extend even hybrid of catla and rohu are available in the fish catches The water quality parameters were significantly found suitable for freshwater cultivable species including the temperature, dissolved oxygen, Total hardness , dissolved oxygen and temperature are higher in summer season and lower in winter season. This may be due to higher photosynthetic rate in summer season. Whereas the pH value is higher in winter season and lower in summer season. It indicates reduction in photosynthetic activities in winter which reduces assimilation of carbon dioxide and bicarbonates.

Establishing a protected area network in Xinlong with other effective area-based conservation measures.

Protected areas (PAs) are pivotal to biodiversity conservation, yet their efficacy is compromised by insufficient funding and management. So-called other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs) present a paradigm shift and address PA limitations. Such measures can expand conservation areas, enhance connectivity, and improve the existing system. To assess the conservation status of biodiversity in Tibetan cultural areas in China, we investigated the spatial distribution of wildlife vulnerable to human disturbance (large- and medium-sized mammals and terrestrial birds) in Xinlong, a traditional Tibetan cultural area. In particular, we compared a PA (Xionglongxi Nature Reserve) and OECMs targeting species conservation. We also investigated the relationship of wildlife with human temporal and spatial activities. The OECMs complemented areas not covered by PA, especially in rich understory biodiversity regions. More species in OECMs tolerated human presence than species in the PA. Existing biodiversity reserves failed to cover areas of high conservation value in Tibet and offered limited protection capacity. Expanding PAs and identifying OECMs improved Xinlong's system by covering most biodiversity hotspots. Building on the tradition of wildlife conservation in Tibet, harnessing OECMs may be an effective means of augmenting biodiversity conservation capacity. We recommend further evaluation of OECMs effectiveness and coverage in Tibetan area as a way to enhance the current PA system.

Microplastic Contamination of the Seawater in the Hamsilos Bay of the Southern Black Sea

The marine ecosystem is severely threatened by microplastics. The entire marine environment of the Black Sea is contaminated with both macro- and microplastics but the contamination of the water column with this pollutant has received less attention. This study aims to obtain data on the microplastic abundance, and vertical and temporal distribution of the microplastics in the water column of Hamsilos Bay which is a natural protected area, and an important area for fishery and tourism on the Sinop coast in the Black Sea. This study was carried out for 12 months in 7 stations. Microplastic abundance varied among 5.58 ± 6.12–8.12 ± 9.17 pieces/m3 in and 1.74 ± 0.80–21.07 ± 3.84 pieces/m3 in stations. The dominant microplastics were fibre by shape (73.92%), 1–2 mm (28.35%) by size class, and blue (37.98%) by colour. The synthetic polymers in the examined microplastic samples of this study were PET (47%), PE (34%), HDPE (10%), PVC (7%) and PS (2%). The results of this study show that the coastal area is widely contaminated with microplastics. Microplastic pollution is an increasingly significant environmental issue that poses a threat to the Black Sea which is particularly vulnerable to microplastic pollution. The region is an important ecological hotspot in the Black Sea and this study can provide valuable insights into the extent of microplastic pollution and will contribute to the literature on the evaluation of microplastic pollution in marine ecosystems. These types of investigations; efforts to address the environmental challenges facing the Black Sea, including the development of programs to reduce pollution, increase sustainability, and support the protection of the region's natural resources, are crucial to its continuity.

Planning for the future: Grasslands, herbivores, and nature‐based solutions

Abstract Global interest and investment in nature‐based solutions (NbS) are rapidly increasing because of the potential of this approach to concurrently counter biodiversity loss, provide cost‐effective measures for climate change adaptations, and maintain natural processes that underpin human health and wellbeing. Recognition is growing that grasslands in many regions will protect carbon stores more effectively than forests in the warmer, drier, more fire‐prone conditions of the future while also serving as hotspots for biodiversity. Yet grasslands have received less attention for their NbS potential. Despite the wide‐ranging goals of this approach, many investments in nature‐based solutions also have focused narrowly on using plants to meet climate pledges, often without considering plant interactions with herbivores and the abiotic environment that jointly control ecosystem functioning and underpin the success of nature‐based solutions. Here, we review the roles that large and small vertebrate and invertebrate herbivores play in the ability of the world's grasslands to provide nature‐based solutions, with a focus on wild herbivore impacts on biodiversity and carbon storage. Synthesis. Planning for nature‐based solutions with a holistic, ecologically informed view that includes the role of herbivores and their interaction with plants and the environment will allow NbS investments to more likely achieve successful, sustainable outcomes.

Anthropogenic disturbance produces divergent effects in the community structure and composition of tropical semi-evergreen forests in the Eastern Himalaya

Studies documenting anthropogenic disturbance-driven changes in forest communities of the Eastern Himalaya, a global biodiversity hot spot, are largely lacking. We studied six forest sites of tropical semi-evergreen forests in Arunachal Pradesh in the Eastern Himalaya to understand the effects of varying disturbance intensities on the forest community structure and composition. Based on the magnitude of disturbance, forest sites were classified as experiencing low, moderate and high disturbance. Mean species richness (SR) of trees and shrubs decreased from low disturbance to high disturbance. Mean SR of herbs was maximum in moderately disturbed forest sites. Maximum values of the Shannon-Wiener Diversity Index (SD) were recorded for trees at sites with low disturbance, for shrubs at sites with high disturbance and for herbs in moderately disturbed forests. Pilelou Evenness Index (EI) values were maximum for trees at sites with high disturbance, while maximum EI values for shrubs and herbs were recorded in the forest sites with low disturbance. The number of tree families decreased from 18 to 13 in the forests with low and high disturbance, respectively. Moderate disturbance led to increased herb species richness and diversity, while increasing disturbance produced contrasting effects on trees. High anthropogenic disturbance led to low species richness, but high diversity amongst shrubs. Our investigations suggest that the magnitude of disturbance elicits differential responses in different physiognomic classes in the forest ecosystems and further our understanding of the effects of disturbance in tropical forest ecosystems of a global biodiversity hotspot.

The impact of land use and cover changes on river flows in Wundanyi Catchment of Taita Hills, Kenya (1970–2030)

<p>Taita hills are one of the most important biodiversity hotspots of Kenya but experiencing a high rate of deforestation due conversion of its original forestland to agriculture and settlement during the last century. These landscape dynamics coupled with rainfall fluctuations in these critical ecosystems may significantly affect water resource distribution and food security in Taita Taveta County and its environs. This study aimed to establish the trends of land use/cover change (LUCC) in Wundanyi catchment from 1970 to 2030 and predict their specific and combined effects on surface runoff and stream flow in the same period. The analysis was based on statistical trend analysis and dynamic landscape modeling using both historical and primary data from Wundanyi catchment, and Landsat TM and ETM+ imagery of Taita Hills for 1990, 2000, and 2010. Results show highly variable mean seasonal and annual values of discharge in Wundanyi catchment probably attributed to environmental changes affecting Taita Hills in general and Wundanyi catchment in particular. Compared to 1990, major land use/cover changes in 2010 were featured by the expansion of built-up area (250%), plantation forest (23.7%), broadleaved forest (17.4%), and thicket (15.9%). Was also notable the decrease in woodland (−30.3%), cropland (−21.6%), and shrubland (−0.8%). Dynamic spatial trends by the year 2030 will be evidenced by increased thicket by 0.41% per annum (<em>R</em><sup>2</sup> = 81.6%), and by decreased plantation forests (−0.13%; <em>R</em><sup>2</sup> = 91.3%), woodland (−0.10%; <em>R</em><sup>2</sup> = 77.6%), shrubland (−0.11%; <em>R</em><sup>2</sup> = 85.2%), broadleaved forests (−0.03%; <em>R</em><sup>2</sup> = 56.6%) and cropland (−0.09%; <em>R</em><sup>2</sup> of 84.4). These changes will shape the catchment landscape and influence its hydrology, unless the existing forest and agricultural policy interventions are enforced. Hence, crop diversification, agroforestry, and soil and water conservation structures are recommended to maintain effective control of LUCC on hydrological processes going on in the Wundanyi catchment.<strong></strong></p>

Gullying and landscape evolution: Lavaka in Lac Alaotra, Madagascar shed light on rates of change and non-anthropogenic controls.

Gully evolution remains poorly understood, largely because multidecadal analysis is lacking. Large gullies (called lavaka) that pepper Madagascar's highlands are generally attributed to human impact; but longitudinal data are few, and anthropogenic causation is inferred not verified. We focus on Lac Alaotra, Madagascar's largest lake and wetland, its major rice-growing region, and an ecological hotspot surrounded by fault-controlled steep hills with abundant lavaka. Analysis of historical aerial photographs and recent orthoimagery reveals that the proportion of highly active lavaka has decreased since mid-20th century. At the same time, human population, farming intensity, and livestock density have increased exponentially. This suggests that background factors, including seismicity, are primary drivers of lavaka formation. Although human activities may contribute to erosion overall, land management policies that overemphasize human causation of gullying and neglect background forcing factors (in Madagascar and elsewhere) are unlikely to be effective in erosion mitigation.

Abandonment or biomass production? Phytodiversity responses to land-use changes of semi-natural grasslands in northern Europe

European semi-natural grasslands are hotspots for biodiversity and important for the provisioning of multiple ecosystem services, but their extent has declined considerably during the past century. Increasing demands for agricultural and forest biomass risk causing further loss of grasslands, raising concern about a goal conflict between climate mitigation and biodiversity conservation. This study focused on the loss of semi-natural grasslands in a mixed farm-forest landscape in southern Sweden by comparing plant diversity in grasslands with continuous grazing regimes to recently abandoned grasslands, improved grasslands (sown leys), and afforested grasslands. Compared to actively grazed grasslands, grasslands where grazing had been abandoned showed a lower plant species richness and fewer plant species of conservation concern, but similar species composition. In contrast, both improved and afforested grasslands showed >50 % lower species richness than abandoned and grazed grasslands, with profoundly different species composition. The dissimilarity in plant diversity between sites was primarily driven by the replacement of species (turnover), and trait-based analyses indicated that environmental filtering of light, management, and nutrient requirements of plants shaped the community differences. Furthermore, an increased cover of semi-natural grassland around the sites positively related to plant species richness and diversity, while an increased cropland coverage around the sites showed a negative relationship. Our results emphasize the importance of integrated land-use strategies that prioritize biodiversity conservation in mixed farm-forest landscapes, such as restoration of semi-natural grasslands and strategic planning of biomass production to avoid serious biodiversity losses.

Exploring the impact of land use change on soil quality under different ecosystems – a case study in the Nilgiri Hill region of Western Ghats global biodiversity hotspot

Exploring the impact of land use change on soil quality under different ecosystems – a case study in the Nilgiri Hill region of Western Ghats global biodiversity hotspot

The Public Prosecutor’s Office’s experience using Global Forest Watch to monitor and deter deforestation in the Cerrado

Summary The Cerrado biome is a global biodiversity hotspot, and more than half of its area has been devastated in recent decades. Nevertheless, environmental enforcement agencies have a low capacity for monitoring and curbing illegal deforestation and fires. In this context, the local unit of the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Itiquira, Mato Grosso, has been experimenting since mid-2018 with the Global Forest Watch platform to detect illegal deforestation at its onset and notify landowners by electronic means (WhatsApp, email, etc.). With this remote inspection there has been a significant increase in the number of infraction notices, criminal actions, agreements for civil reparation of damage and public civil suits. By seeking to identify illegal deforestation in progress (in flagrant situations), the Public Prosecutor’s Office has prevented such events from turning into major deforestation. Preliminary data indicate that the practice of monitoring and notifications by the Public Prosecutor’s Office and environmental control agencies has increased law enforcement on deforestation and fires in that municipality and halted infractions at their inception. The challenge now is to determine the extent to which this method can be replicated in broader territories and other biomes such as Amazonia and Pantanal.

Land-use homogenization reduces the occurrence and diversity of frugivorous birds in a tropical biodiversity hotspot.

Understanding how human-modified landscapes maintain biodiversity and provide ecosystem services is crucial for establishing conservation practices. Given that responses to land-use are species-specific, it is crucial to understand how land-use changes may shape patterns of species diversity and persistence in human-modified landscapes. Here, we used a comprehensive data set on bird distribution from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest to understand how species richness and individual occurrences of frugivorous bird species responded to land-use spatial predictors and, subsequently, assess how ecological traits and phylogeny modulated these responses. Using Bayesian hierarchical modeling, we reveal that the richness of frugivorous birds was positively associated with the amount of native forest and negatively with both agriculture and pasture amount at the landscape scale. Conversely, the effect of these predictors on species occurrence and ecological traits was highly variable and presented a weak phylogenetic signal. Furthermore, land-use homogenization (i.e., the conversion of forest to pasture or agriculture) led to pervasive consequences for forest-dependent bird species, whereas several generalist species thrived in deforested areas, replacing those sensitive to habitat disturbances.

Lidar-derived estimates of forest structure in response to fire frequency

BackgroundLongleaf pine (Pinus palustris) ecosystems are recognized as biodiversity hotspots, and their sustainability is tightly coupled to a complex nexus of feedbacks between fire, composition, and structure. While previous research has demonstrated that frequent fire is often associated with higher levels of biodiversity, relationships between fire frequency and forest structure are more nuanced because structure can be difficult to measure and characterize. We expanded on this body of research by using lidar to characterize vegetation structure in response to fire frequency at a long-term prescribed-fire experiment. We asked (1) how does prescribed fire frequency affect structure and (2) how do structural metrics vary in the strength of their relationships with fire frequency.ResultsOur results indicated that forest structure varied significantly in response to fire frequency, with more frequent fire reducing vegetation structural complexity. Metrics that characterized the central tendency of vegetation and/or the variance of canopy-related properties were weakly to moderately correlated with prescribed fire frequency, while metrics that captured the vertical dispersion or variability of vegetation throughout the forest strata were moderately to strongly correlated with fire frequency. Of all the metrics evaluated, the understory complexity index had the strongest correlation with fire frequency and explained 88% of the structural variation in response to prescribed fire treatments.ConclusionsThe findings presented in this study highlight the usefulness of lidar technology for characterizing forest structure and that structural complexity cannot be fully characterized by a single metric. Instead, a range of diverse metrics is required to refine scientific understanding of the feedbacks between fire, composition, and structure in support of longleaf pine sustainability. Furthermore, there is a need for further research to broaden structural assessments beyond the overstory and incorporate more understory components, particularly within the realm of prescribed fire science and land management.

Microbiota recovery in a chronosquences of impoverished Cerrado soils with biosolids applications

Mining activities put the Brazilian savannas, a global biodiversity hotspot, in danger of species and soil carbon losses. Experiments employing biosolids have been applied to rejuvenate this degraded ecosystem, but a lingering question yet to be answered is whether the microbiota that inhabits these impoverished soils can be recovered towards its initial steady state after vegetation recovery. Here, we selected an 18-year-old restoration chronosequence of biosolids-treated, untreated mining and native soils to investigate the soil microbiota recovery based on composition, phylogeny, and diversity, as well as the potential factors responsible for ecosystem recovery. Our results revealed that the soil microbiota holds a considerable recovery potential in the degraded Cerrado biome. Biosolids application not only improved soil health, but also led to 41.7 % recovery of the whole microbial community, featuring significantly higher microbiota diversity and enriched groups (e.g., Firmicutes) that benefit carbon storage compared to untreated mining and native soils. The recovered community showed significant compositional distinctions from the untreated mining or native soils, rather than phylogenetic differences, with physiochemical properties explaining 55 % of the overall community changes. This study advances our understanding of soil microbiota dynamics in response to disturbance and restoration by shedding light on its recovery associated with biosolid application in a degraded biodiverse ecosystem.

MEDIS—A comprehensive spatial database on Mediterranean islands for biogeographical and evolutionary research

AbstractMotivationThe intrinsic characteristics of islands make them a unique study system for the investigation of ecological and evolutionary dynamics. The Mediterranean Basin, an island‐rich biodiversity hotspot, still lacks a comprehensive spatial database for these geographic features. This study presents the first comprehensive spatial database of all Mediterranean islands larger than 0.01 km2, aiding ecological investigations and interdisciplinary research.Main types of variable containedThe MEDIS spatial database offers detailed information on 39 geographic, climatic, ecological and land‐use variables, including island area, perimeter, isolation metrics, climatic space, terrain data, land cover, palaeogeography, road networks and geological information, providing a multifaceted view of each island's characteristics.Spatial location and grainThe study encompasses 2217 islands in the Mediterranean Basin larger than 0.01 km2. The spatial grain of the datasets on which the selected variables are based varies from 10 m (ESA WorldCover) to 1 km (CHELSA‐BIOCLIM+).Time period and grainThe spatial database incorporates data from various sources, each with its own timeframe, such as the Global Shoreline Vector from 2014 Landsat imagery and the WorldCover dataset from 2021. Historical data like the Paleocoastlines GIS dataset offer insights into island configurations during the Last Glacial Maximum.Major taxa and level of measurementWhile not focusing on specific taxa, the study lays the foundation for comprehensive research on Mediterranean islands, facilitating comparisons and investigations into the distribution of native, endemic or alien species. The level of measurement is extensive, encompassing a wide range of variables and providing polygonal features rather than centroids' coordinates.

Morphological insights into the three-dimensional complexity of rhodolith beds

The ecological importance of rhodolith beds stems from their role as structurally complex three-dimensional habitat formed by free-living red calcareous algae. Their structural singularity is due to the great variety of complex and branching morphologies exhibited by rhodoliths that create interstitial spaces and increase their surface area. This increases the ecological niches for cryptofauna and provide refuge for a high number of organisms, which is why rhodolith beds are considered biodiversity hotspots. In this work, we studied a rhodolith bed located in the Menorca Channel, formed by several species of red calcareous algae that exhibit a great variety of morphologies and form an extensive and heterogeneous habitat. This study explored the morphological diversity of the rhodolith bed, comparing the ‘Core Habitat’ (within the center of the bed with the highest densities of rhodoliths) with the boundaries or ‘Adjacent Habitat’ where rhodolith density was lower. Our results show that all rhodolith growth forms (branched, pralines and boxwork) in the Core Habitat had higher interstitial space and were larger than the ones from adjacent zones. Moreover, we explored the three-dimensional techniques to study the morphological characteristics that have historically been studied in two dimensions. This study contributes to the knowledge of morphological diversity in well-preserved rhodolith beds from continental shelves in the western Mediterranean Sea and reinforces the use of three-dimensional measurements, specifically the interstitial space of branched rhodoliths, to provide more accurate data on habitat complexity.

Variation in macroinvertebrate assemblages and water quality as a test for different levels of ecological impairment across an Ethiopian highland river system

The Ethiopian highlands is an area under high anthropogenic pressure. Despite being a hotspot for freshwater biodiversity, there is no regular monitoring of the ecological status of local rivers. Physicochemical and nutrient water-quality parameters and macroinvertebrate assemblages were sampled monthly from the Megech River and its tributaries from January to March 2021. Sampling locations were designated as being either upstream or downstream of the Gondar City urban area. We tested for temporal (monthly) and spatial (location, river) variation in water quality and spatial (location, river) variation in macroinvertebrate assemblage structure, and examined which water quality parameters were most associated with patterns in macroinvertebrate assemblages. Water quality varied significantly between locations and months, but not between rivers. Water quality differences were particularly driven by higher nutrient, salinity, dissolved solids and conductivity levels downstream, and higher pH and dissolved oxygen levels upstream. Despite macroinvertebrate assemblages being more abundant and diverse downstream, biotic index scores generally indicated slightly increased ecological impairment downstream. There was a clear spatial pattern in macroinvertebrate assemblages between locations. We detected a significant difference between rivers, with pairwise differences between sampling locations, particularly due to high dissimilarity between the upstream and downstream locations of the Angereb, Shinta and Qeha rivers. BIO-ENV Pearson correlations indicated that variation in macroinvertebrate assemblages were mostly explained by dissolved oxygen, salinity and nutrient parameters including nitrate, ammonium, and sulphate. Our findings confirm the need for more rigorous monitoring of Ethiopian highland rivers and improved management of nutrient inputs.

Complete mitochondrial DNA sequence of Alboglossiphonia lata Oka, 1910 (Rhynchobdellida: Glossiphoniidae) and its phylogenetic analysis

The complete mitochondrial genome of Alboglossiphonia lata (basionym: Glossiphonia lata), sourced from a biodiversity hotspot of China, has been determined and reported in this study. It was 15,236 bp in length and consisted of 13 protein-coding genes, 22 transfer RNA genes, 2 ribosomal RNA genes and three control regions. The mitogenome was deposited GenBank under the accession number PP165800. A. lata and other species within the Glossiphoniidae family were clustered together with high bootstrap values. The mitochondrial genome of A. lata provides valuable molecular data for further phylogenetic research on the Glossiphoniidae family.

Enviro‐economic and feasibility analysis of industrial hemp value chain: A systematic literature review

AbstractA recent renaissance of industrial hemp has been driven by a plethora of ecologically amicable products and their profitability. To identify its environment and economic fate across the value chain (VC), this study conducts a systematic review of 98 studies published in ScienceDirect, Web of Science, and Scopus‐indexed journals. The thematic content of the articles is categorized using three deductively derived classification categories: lifecycle analysis (n = 40), VC analysis (n = 30), and feasibility analysis (n = 28). Bibliometric analysis indicates that the majority (>90%) of the studies were conducted in selected regions of Europe or North America, with further findings around regionally prioritized industrial hemp products, such as hempcrete in Southwest Europe, solid biofuel in North European states, and textile fiber and bio‐composites in East Europe and North America. Lifecycle analysis studies highlight nitrogenous fertilizer use during industrial hemp cultivation as a major ecological hotspot, which is taking a toll on the climate change index. However, hemp‐based products are generally climate‐friendly solutions when contrasted against their fossil fuel counterparts, with hempcrete in particular a highly touted carbon‐negative (−4.28 to −36.08 kg CO2 eq/m2) product. The review also identifies key issues within the hemp VC and presents innovative solutions alongside the recognition of value‐adding opportunities. Furthermore, feasibility analysis indicates unprofitability in using hemp for bioenergy production and there is a relative cost worthiness of hemp bio‐composites and hempcrete at the upstream level. Positive returns are observed under co‐production schemes. In contemplating the literature findings, we discussed and identified gap in existing literature for future exploration, including more studies to provide insights from the Global South, and the production of industrial hemp under a biophysically constrained landscape.