Search Results (4,232)

Background/Objectives: Japan organizes inpatient care through secondary medical areas (SMAs), but evidence linking area-level care self-sufficiency with population need, healthcare supply, and socioeconomic context is limited. We quantified disease-stratified self-sufficiency across Aichi Prefecture and examined its ecological correlates. Methods: This cross-sectional ecological study analyzed fiscal-year 2024 Diagnosis Procedure Combination discharges from 203 of 276 acute-care hospitals across 11 SMAs. The dataset comprised 396 cells (11 SMAs × 18 Major Diagnostic Categories × surgical/non-surgical strata) linked to census, healthcare-resource, household, and pooled 2020–2024 standardized mortality ratio (SMR) data. Pre-specified single-predictor regressions at the SMA level (n = 11) were supplemented by spatial and cluster-robust sensitivity analyses. Self-sufficiency represented observed resident-to-provider flows within the participating hospital network. Results: Mean self-sufficiency ranged from 34.0% to 88.3% across SMAs (intra-class correlation, 0.54) and was 8.5 percentage points lower for surgical cells (95% CI, 5.9–11.1). Greater shares of residents aged ≥75 years (β = −12.80; 95% CI, −22.84 to −2.75) and households containing an elderly member (β = −13.53; 95% CI, −23.02 to −4.05) were the strongest negative correlates. Supply-density estimates were consistently positive; in the cell-level sensitivity model, physician, general-bed, and psychiatric-bed densities were associated with above-median self-sufficiency (ORs, 2.51–3.16). Exploratory analyses suggested differing patterns across acute and chronic conditions. Conclusions: Self-sufficiency varied substantially across planning areas and was associated with demographic, household, supply, and mortality characteristics. These findings support disease-specific evaluation of regional concentration versus local completion but do not establish causal or individual-level relationships. Multi-prefecture studies with individual-level case-mix adjustment are needed before resource-allocation applications. Full article

Despite the ecological and economic importance of Camellia tetracocca, a rare ancient tea germplasm endemic to karst areas, variation in rhizosphere effects across plantation types and associated soil ecological coupling patterns remain poorly understood. This exploratory study compared physicochemical, biochemical, and bacterial community traits between rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere soils across three C. tetracocca plantation types—wild millennium ancient (MA), century-old cultivated (CC), and modern cultivated (CT)—representing a stand-age and management gradient. Soil nutrient pools, extracellular enzyme activities, bacterial diversity, and taxonomic composition were measured, and permutational multivariate analysis of variance (PERMANOVA), Mantel tests, and co-occurrence networks were integrated to characterize interactive linkages among soil abiotic and biotic variables. Results showed that soil organic matter (SOM) and total nitrogen concentrations in CT were 2.7-fold and 1.6-fold greater than those in MA, respectively. Nutrient limitation patterns diverged by habitat and stand age: non-rhizosphere soils of MA exhibited phosphorus limitation, whereas MA rhizosphere soils and all soils from CC and CT were dominated by nitrogen limitation. Explicit quantification of the rhizosphere effect (RE) revealed complex, indicator-specific patterns rather than a uniform age trend: MA showed the strongest positive RE for available phosphorus (+82.19%) and C-cycling hydrolases (βG: +18.82%, CBH: +29.98%), whereas polyphenol oxidase was the only enzyme showing a consistent increase in RE with cultivation age (MA < CC < CT). PERMANOVA indicated that plantation type explained the largest proportion of variation in bacterial community composition (R² = 0.400, p < 0.001), whereas habitat (rhizosphere vs. non-rhizosphere) had no significant overall effect (p = 0.829). Mantel tests and network analysis revealed that SOM, rather than pH, was the strongest correlate of microbial community structure in these karst soils, and rhizosphere microhabitats strengthened tight correlations among soil nutrients, enzyme activities, and bacterial communities. These findings advance understanding of age-associated rhizosphere response patterns in rare ancient tea ecosystems and provide theoretical support for germplasm conservation and sustainable management of karst tea plantations. Full article

It remains a critical scientific challenge to respond to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and achieve sustainable conservation and synergistic development in resource agglomeration areas. This study focuses on the Taishan Area, a representative resource aggregation area, and employs Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Trade-offs (InVEST), Morphological Spatial Pattern Analysis (MSPA), Spatial Principal Component Analysis (SPCA), and circuit theory to identify sources, construct resistances, and extract corridors, develop an integrated ecological–cultural–recreational network, and optimize it by incorporating stepping stones. The results showed the following: (1) High-quality ecological, cultural, and recreational nodes were connected by constructing the composite network. (2) After optimization, the network structure index (α, β, and γ) increased by 0.13, 0.25, and 0.08, indicating that the spatial structure and connectivity density of the composite network were effectively enhanced. (3) A regional optimization plan featuring “Two conservation areas, Three belts, and Seven circles” was proposed, designating specific areas or circles to guide the synergistic development of resources in the Taishan Area. It also provides a replicable and valuable reference for sustainable development and resource protection in other resource agglomeration areas. Full article

The identification of key ecological patches is fundamental to the construction of ecological security patterns. The current Probability of Connectivity (PC) index and its associated delta (dPC) rely on least-cost path distances and assume that species disperse along a single optimal path, which may underestimate the ecological value of patches that act as multipath hubs. This study proposed computing the PC and dPC indices based on effective resistance from circuit theory. Using NetworkX, we obtained global effective resistance from adjacent-patch resistance, replaced least-cost path distance as the distance metric, and recalibrated the dispersal constant. To evaluate the method, we used a tree network (7 nodes, 6 edges), a cyclic network (8 nodes, 10 edges), and 640 random networks. In the tree network, the optimized method yielded the same ranking as the traditional method, confirming the computational consistency expected in a tree. In the cyclic network, the two methods diverged: Patch 8, whose connector was essentially zero under the conventional method, rose to the largest connector value (15.42%) and climbed from fifth to third place. Across the random networks, the two methods agreed in tree networks and diverged increasingly with topological redundancy. The effective-resistance method therefore makes visible a connector role that the single-path framework cannot detect and should be used to complement, rather than replace, the least-cost method; whether the identified patches are ecologically more critical, however, remains to be confirmed by empirical dispersal data. Full article

Environmental concerns arising from the exploitation of fossil-based resources in electricity generation have emerged as a pressing global issue. In order to achieve the objective of net-zero emissions in this sector, it is imperative to undergo an ecological transition, in which renewable energy sources (RES), such as photovoltaic (PV) and wind energy, assume a central role. However, the deployment of RES also necessitates the parallel operation of Energy Storage Systems (ESS) to compensate for their intermittent characteristics, thereby ensuring the stability of the power network. In the context of large-scale power plants, the construction of conventional low-voltage (LV) battery racks does not appear to be the most technologically advanced approach. Using medium-voltage (MV) racks could enhance the system’s competitiveness in terms of energy efficiency and cost. As the conversion system is a significant contributor to the overall cost of the BESS, this study analyzes DC/AC converters in order to clarify this aspect. Firstly, a comparison of the conventional LV and the proposed MV converter is presented in terms of electrical performance. Subsequently, a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) analysis is applied to the constitutive components of the converter in order to evaluate their environmental impact based on the same delivered power (15 MVA). The findings suggest that the proposed MV DC/AC converter, which embeds state-of-the-art 3.3 kV Silicon Carbide (SiC) power modules, exhibits enhanced efficiency and a reduction in environmental impact when compared to the LV converter. Full article

Historic-cultural greenways integrate heritage conservation, ecology, and development, yet existing planning often overlooks heritage spatial heterogeneity and network drivers. This study proposes a PCA–MCR–NA framework for heritage-oriented greenway planning, applied to Jinzhong (China) with PACA (France) as reference. Results show that transport accessibility, land use conditions, and topographic features dominate greenway siting suitability in Jinzhong, while cultural landscape continuity, heritage network structure, and ecological factors carry comparatively greater relative weight in PACA. The comprehensive resistance surface exhibits a pattern of higher resistance in the southeast and lower resistance in the northwest; core suitable areas and suitable construction areas account for approximately 29% and 41%, respectively. Compared to conventional planning, the framework raises protected heritage unit coverage from 71% to 93%, connectivity from 0.68 to 0.84 (+23.5%), cuts costs by 2.7%, and reduces ecological disturbance by 10.0%. The optimized network identifies three major corridors, four functional zones, and multiple nodes. Findings confirm heritage networks shaped by culture–ecology–space interactions, and the framework offers a transferable tool for complex heritage regions with multi-objective conflicts. Full article

Rapid urbanization is driving land-use and land-cover change (LUCC) and reshaping landscape ecological risk (LER) in coastal bay urban agglomerations, where intensive development affects interconnected terrestrial and aquatic systems. We examined the spatiotemporal evolution of LUCC and LER across the Hangzhou Bay Urban Agglomeration (HBUA) from 2000 to 2020. We integrated eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost), SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) and Geographically and Temporally Weighted Regression (GTWR) to characterize nonlinear responses, interactions and spatiotemporal heterogeneity in the statistical associations between potential associated factors and LER. The results showed that (1) built-up land expanded continuously, primarily at the expense of cropland. This expansion shifted the regional landscape from one dominated by forests and cropland to a more intensively developed, mixed structure. (2) Although the lowest and lower risk classes remained dominant, areas of moderate and higher risk expanded, particularly across bayfront plains, urban expansion frontiers, and in parts of the Zhoushan Islands. In contrast, cells at the lower end of the risk classification occurred primarily in mountainous terrain where landscape continuity remained comparatively high. LER also remained significantly spatially clustered. (3) Among the natural factors, elevation (DEM), slope (SLP), and the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) contributed most strongly to LER prediction and exhibited pronounced nonlinear responses and interactions. The associations between LER and river network density (RND), population density (POP), and gross domestic product per capita (GDP) varied across space and time. The local positive association between POP and LER weakened, whereas that between GDP and LER strengthened. These results offer evidence to support differentiated risk control, dynamic monitoring, and coordinated governance in coastal bay urban agglomerations. Full article

Microbial exopolysaccharides (EPS) are structurally diverse biopolymers with ecological and biotechnological relevance due to their physicochemical and functional properties, including emulsification, metal chelation, and contributions to biofilm formation. In this study, an EPS-enriched extracellular fraction (EPS-EF) produced by Vreelandella zhaodongensis BS253, isolated from the Brazilian Pantanal, was characterized using an integrated approach combining microscopic, physicochemical, molecular, genomic, and transcriptomic analyses. Morphological and structural profiling by microscopy revealed a highly porous, reticulated web-like supramolecular network. The EPS-EF exhibited cation-dependent colloidal stability, with turbidity decreasing by approximately 95% after divalent-cation chelation. The emulsification index after 24 h (E24) against kerosene reached approximately 67%, and the surface tension of water was reduced to approximately 45 mN/m, with an apparent surface-tension inflection (STI) near 10.7 mg/mL. X-ray diffraction (XRD) revealed a predominantly amorphous profile with discrete crystalline reflections. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) demonstrated thermal stability with a multi-step degradation profile and a maximum decomposition rate centered at 280 °C. CHNS/O and FTIR were consistent with a carbohydrate-associated, nitrogen-poor molecular profile containing carbonyl/carboxylate and glycosidic functionalities. UHPLC–ESI–QTOF–MS/MS resolved a reproducible set of oligomeric features across four chromatographic zones, without establishing monosaccharide composition, together with minor hydrophobic features tentatively associated with lipid-related compounds. One-dimensional ¹H NMR provided complementary molecular-fingerprint information, but the primary structure remains unresolved. EPS-EF material analysis may also include contributions from co-extracted components because the analyzed material is an enriched extracellular fraction rather than a chemically homogeneous polysaccharide. Genome mining and targeted RNA-seq analysis of 47 EPS-associated genes identified candidate pathways for precursor metabolism, glycan assembly, and export. Collectively, these findings indicate that V. zhaodongensis BS253 produces an ionic-sensitive EPS-EF with emulsifying activity and support a working hypothesis for EPS-EF biosynthesis and export. Full article

Against the backdrop of global climate change and rapid urbanization, extreme rainstorm events have become increasingly frequent, and urban–rural flood risk has continued to intensify, rendering flood resilience an essential concern for sustainable urban and rural development. To address the serious homogenization of existing indicator systems, the unclear associations among cross-dimensional factors, and the weakness of spatial-differentiation research in current flood resilience evaluations, this study builds a flood resilience evaluation indicator system for Zhejiang Province containing 18 indicators from the “Engineering-Ecological-Management” (EEM) perspective, based on the “Driving-Pressure-State-Impact-Response” (DPSIR) framework. A combined weighting method integrating the entropy weight (EW) and the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is used to determine indicator weights, and the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) is applied to evaluate the Flood Resilience Index (FRI) of 11 cities in Zhejiang Province from 2004 to 2024. The Barrier Degree Model (BDM) is adopted to identify the critical obstacle factors affecting the improvement of flood resilience, and the grey relational analysis (GRA) method is applied to analyze the correlation among engineering, ecological and management factors. The results show that: (1) from 2004 to 2024, the provincial average FRI of Zhejiang Province rose from 0.1657 to 0.5021, with a growth rate of 203.09%, exhibiting an evolutionary pattern of “comprehensive improvement with accelerated growth in the later stage”; (2) in 2024, the spatial pattern of FRI presents a hierarchical agglomeration characteristic of “Fifth grade leading, Fourth grade contiguous, and Third grade dispersed”: Hangzhou, Wenzhou, and Quzhou attain fifth grade flood resilience, Zhoushan remains at third grade, and the other cities are at fourth grade. From 2004 to 2024, the inter-city FRI gap follows an inverted-V trajectory of “large-small-large”; (3) The evolution of the key barrier factors is highly consistent with the different stages of flood management in Zhejiang, having passed through three phases: bridging shortcomings in engineering infrastructure, advancing “engineering and ecology” in tandem, and widening engineering gaps superimposed with new barrier factors. The “maximum pumping and drainage capacity of pumping stations and pipe networks” has consistently ranked as the primary barrier factor; and (4) the pairwise correlations among the engineering, ecological, and management dimensions are differentiated: the “engineering-management” correlation is the highest (0.7957), the “engineering-ecological” correlation is intermediate (0.7488), and the “ecological-management” correlation is the lowest (0.7051), indicating that coordination between green infrastructure and the management system remains weak as flood resilience improves. On this basis, this study proposes differentiated flood resilience improvement strategies for cities in Northern, Eastern, Southern, and Western Zhejiang from the three aspects of engineering defense, ecological restoration, and management coordination, providing decision-making support for the construction of flood-resilient cities. Full article

Constructed wetlands (CWs) depend on plant–microbe associations for pollutant transformation, yet the processes linking macrophyte identity to rhizosphere microbiome assembly remain insufficiently resolved. We compared bacterial communities associated with C. articulatus (Ca) and T. geniculata (Tg) roots with an unplanted treatment (Up) in pilot-scale CWs on the Colombian Caribbean coast. Bacterial communities were characterized by 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. Co-occurrence networks, taxon–environment correlations, and the phylogenetic bin-based null model iCAMP were used to assess community structure, potential associations and assembly mechanisms. CaS supported significantly greater bacterial diversity than TgS and Up, while each macrophyte recruited a distinct community. A shared core microbiome dominated by Rhodocyclaceae, Sphingomonadaceae, Chitinophagaceae, Pirellulaceae, and Xanthomonadaceae comprised taxa with putative roles in nutrient and organic matter transformations. Several bacterial families were significantly associated with PO₄³⁻, NH₄⁺, and dissolved oxygen. Assembly was predominantly stochastic, with dispersal limitation (45.2%) and ecological drift (33.2%) exceeding deterministic selection (16.5%). Nevertheless, planted treatments displayed higher network modularity and connectivity and inferred functional redundancy than Up, consistent with niche differentiation. These findings suggest that species-specific macrophyte configurations are associated with differences in root-associated microbial community composition, while assembly and network analyses provide exploratory insights into community organization. The limited replication precludes causal attribution to plant identity or conclusions regarding treatment performance. Future studies integrating controlled planting densities, increased replication, meta-omics, and root exudate characterization are needed to clarify plant–microbiome relationships and evaluate their potential relevance to constructed wetland functioning. Full article

Mountainous rural cultural heritage remains poorly connected within tourism networks, while rural scenic byway research insufficiently links node selection, cultural resource organization and route planning. The deduplicated inventory contained 173 officially designated traditional villages and historic villages and towns across 11 county-level units in the southern Taihang Mountains, Henan, China. Spatial analyses assessed village clustering and road proximity. Candidate roads were evaluated across five dimensions using combined BWM–CRITIC weighting and GIS overlay. Official designations defined candidate nodes, and GIS-assisted manual planning integrated cultural resources, node coverage and road connectivity. Villages were significantly clustered (NNI = 0.546, z = −11.425, p < 0.001), mainly in Linzhou and the Hebi–Huixian mountains. We identified 6151 road segments with high or relatively high suitability, totaling 2624.405 km. Recommended routes covered 89 nodes across a physical road network of 1200.375 km; 94.69% of this length was traceable to the preceding suitability assessment. Protected-area intersections and steep-slope risks require further ecological compliance and engineering safety assessments. These findings provide a spatial basis for integrating mountainous rural cultural heritage into connected routes and coordinating traditional village conservation. Full article

Alpine forest–grassland ecotones represent sensitive transition zones where drastic shifts occur in vegetation, soil properties and biotic communities. Nevertheless, how soil microbial community composition, inter-taxon interactions and community assembly processes respond to grassland–ecotone–forest transitions remains poorly understood. In this study, we investigated the shifts in soil bacterial and fungal communities along an alpine forest–grassland ecotone, and explored key edaphic drivers as well as underlying assembly mechanisms. Our results showed that bacterial α-diversity in forest soils was significantly higher than that in grassland soils, with 15.44% higher Chao1 index and 4.73% higher Shannon index. Adonis analysis revealed clear community compositional differentiation across grassland, ecotone and forest habitats, with the greatest divergence between grassland and forest, and the highest similarity between ecotone and forest. Species turnover dominated the β-diversity variation in both bacterial and fungal communities along the gradient. Bacterial network complexity, connectivity and cohesion reached maximum values in the ecotone, suggesting intensified potential interspecific interactions and elevated niche overlap for bacterial taxa within transitional habitats. Neutral community model and NST analyses indicated that bacterial community assembly was primarily governed by stochastic dispersal processes. By contrast, fungal communities were controlled by deterministic environmental filtering. Along the grassland-to-forest transition, shifts in host plant traits, mycorrhizal symbiosis and litter inputs intensified habitat filtering, resulting in the continuous simplification of fungal network structure, decreased cohesion and rising modularity. Soil pH, electrical conductivity and total phosphorus acted as core edaphic determinants for bacterial communities, whereas fungal communities were additionally sensitive to ammonium nitrogen. The ecotone functioned as an important ecological buffer zone: stochastic dispersal promoted complex and stable bacterial co-occurrence networks, while deterministic filtering reshaped fungal community structure and inter-taxon associations. This work highlights the divergent assembly strategies of bacteria and fungi across alpine ecotone gradients, and provides insights for understanding microbial community shifts and biotic stability in mountain ecotone ecosystems. Full article

Microbial communities play key roles across the oil supply chain, driving both detrimental processes such as corrosion and souring and beneficial applications including bioremediation. However, genomic and functional information on these microorganisms remains fragmented, limiting integrative analyses. Here, we perform a global genome-resolved analysis of petroleum-associated microbiomes based on a curated collection of 3334 prokaryotic genomes from reservoirs, produced waters, hydrocarbon-polluted sites and related environments worldwide, integrated within the Petroleum-Associated Genome Database (PaGeD). These genomes cluster into 2522 species-level units, more than half representing previously undescribed taxa, revealing extensive hidden microbial diversity in petroleum systems. Functional profiling using 144 KEGG ortholog groups linked to hydrocarbon degradation uncovers a modular organization in which central catabolic pathways are widely conserved across habitats and phylogenetic groups, whereas substrate-specific pathways are restricted to fewer taxa. Gene–genome network analysis further reveals a gradient of functional richness, from generalist genomes occupying central positions to specialized degraders at the periphery. Despite pronounced geographic and ecological heterogeneity, degradation profiles are largely conserved, indicating convergent functional adaptation to hydrocarbon exposure. This work provides a genome-resolved framework for understanding the ecological organization and biotechnological potential of petroleum-associated microbiomes. Full article

The interplay between particle-specific hydrodynamics (settlement velocity, shape-specific drag, resuspension thresholds) and landscape-scale forcing (population-specific density, tidal asymmetry, sedimentological trapping, longshore drift) determines the fate of microplastics (MPs). The central challenge in the present study is the recognition that the existing literature suffers from a conceptual disconnect between the landscape-scale patterns of MPs and their physical dynamics at the particle scale: the former ignore the processes of vertical partitioning and coastal export, while the latter fail to acknowledge the heterogeneity of spatial clusters and source areas. First, we utilize published data on the abundance and composition of MPs in the Sebou Estuary and Atlantic Coast of Morocco to establish a novel conceptual–hydrodynamic–spatial model that simultaneously accounts for these processes. Published data include 18 stations with 10–298 (~300) particles kg⁻¹ in sediments and 10–168 particles m⁻³ in waters sampled on 16 December 2020. Second, we explore the relative roles of size and polymer-specific density, shape-specific drag, and tidal asymmetry in the observed patterns using a modified Stokes–Ganser settling solution, tidal pumping with Shields criterion, Getis–Ord Gi clustering analysis, ecological topology, non-metric multidimensional scaling, hierarchical clustering, and 2D predictive risk mapping. Fibers (PET/nylon, ρ ≈ 1380 kg/m³) settled 3.2–4.0× faster than fragments of the same size (PE/PP, ρ ≈ 920 kg/m³) according to the settling model, explaining the finding that fibers were abundant in Sebou sediments but rarely detected in water. Granules (industrial pellets, 1–5 mm) were not found in water as they rapidly settled to the bottom (at >38 mm/s) and accumulated on the 2 m deep bed within 10–52 s. Bed shear stresses (τ_b) in neap tides (τ_b ≈ 0.18 Pa) were lower than critical resuspension stresses (τ_c) of all sinking MPs, meaning that the bed retained them, while spring currents (τ_b ≈ 2.16 Pa) were sufficiently turbulent to erode particles > 0.1 mm and re-suspend them in the water column. Consequently, their export followed a fortnightly cycle determined by the critical shear-stress analysis with the Shields criterion. According to Getis–Ord Gi analysis, Kenitra Harbor (E5: Z = 11.85, p < 0.01; E6: Z = 8.94) and Mehdia Harbor (E1: Z = 6.42; E2: Z = 5.18) were associated with four statistically significant spatial clusters of MPs that showed a similar pattern of contamination, rather than being isolated anomalies. Non-metric multidimensional scaling (stress = 0.029) confirmed the presence of three distinct contamination regimes, namely background (reference), coastal transport corridor (B7–B10), and urban-sewage (E1, E2, E5, E6), as did hierarchical clustering. The correlation network analysis identified a diagnostic film–granule anti-correlation (r = −0.72) that could be used to distinguish domestic plastics from industrial pellets without spectral analysis. Consistent with the overall pattern, 1D advection–diffusion–decay modeling of the longshore current indicated that MPs would accumulate at Oulad Berjal Beach (B10) with a northward drift of ~0.3 km/day. According to the Monte Carlo simulation of n = 10,000 iterations, a 22% variation in settling velocity would account for a 35% variation in the transport distance. The Sebou Estuary is a local microplastic hotspot with a self-sustaining contamination cycle, while the most promising options for remediation target the identified clusters of anthropogenic input. Full article

Wetland restoration has become increasingly important for biodiversity conservation, ecosystem-function recovery, and climate resilience. However, global restoration evidence remains fragmented across geographical regions, wetland systems, restoration approaches, and ecological response domains, limiting the identification of broadly transferable restoration principles. This review conducted a systematic mapping review of global wetland ecological restoration research published between 2000 and 2024 by integrating evidence mapping, bibliometric analysis, and ecological interpretation of representative restoration studies. The global literature expanded substantially during the study period, but the evidence base remained unevenly distributed among regions, institutions, and wetland contexts. Differences among research participation, research leadership, and study locations indicated that patterns of scientific output were shaped not only by wetland distribution and restoration needs but also by research capacity, monitoring infrastructure, and institutional networks. Thematic development revealed a transition from intervention-oriented studies focusing on hydrological modification, habitat reconstruction, and pollution control toward broader consideration of biodiversity recovery, ecosystem functions, carbon dynamics, microbial processes, and nature-based solutions. Across wetland systems, restoration pathways varied according to ecological processes and degradation contexts, but common challenges emerged regarding the translation of structural improvements into durable ecological recovery. Improvements in habitat structure, vegetation, hydrological conditions, or physicochemical indicators did not necessarily indicate equivalent recovery of biodiversity, ecosystem functions, or resilience. These findings highlight the need for long-term, multidimensional restoration assessment, stronger evidence generation in underrepresented regions, and adaptive approaches that integrate ecological processes, monitoring, and local contexts to support durable wetland recovery. Full article