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Recent Advances in Global Climate and Ecology Change

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainability in Geographic Science".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 July 2022) | Viewed by 5808

Special Issue Editors

School of Geography, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210023, China
Interests: vegetation change; climate changes; karst; landscape ecology; carbon sink; land use and land change; nonlinearity; invasion ecology
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Guest Editor
College of Geographical Science, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210023, China
Interests: global change and vegetation dynamics; phytogeography

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Geographical Science, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210023, China
Interests: climate change and vegetation dynamics; vegetation phenology; machine learning photo

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Global environmental change is rapidly altering the dynamics of vegetation, with consequences for the structure, composition, and function of the terrestrial ecosystem. Terrestrial ecosystems and their responses to climate change have been given priority in global change research, owing to their important role in offsetting climate warming and rising atmospheric CO2 concentration. Changes in terrestrial ecosystems may profoundly alter the global land–atmosphere coupling process, and minor perturbations in their structure will have implications for global biodiversity, biogeochemical cycles and climate change. Moreover, the fertilization effects of elevated atmospheric CO2 concentration, regional climate change (temperature, precipitation and radiation), varying rates of nitrogen deposition, and changes in land cover and land management intensity will strongly influence long-term changes in the ecosystem. Climate change is likely to pose unpredictable risks to terrestrial ecosystems, and recent global changes have heightened our need to better understand ecosystem responses to the changing climate and to prepare optimal adaptive strategies. This Special Issue aims to explore recent advances in global climate and ecology change. Original research articles, short communications, review articles, and perspectives in this research field are welcome for submission. The research topics include, but are not limited to;

  • Ecosystem carbon cycles;
  • Climate change and ecological responses;
  • Global change and land use or land cover change;
  • Biodiversity and forest disturbances under climate change;
  • The impact of global changes on the distribution of species;
  • Climate change and terrestrial ecosystems.

Dr. Hui-Yu Liu
Dr. Xiang-Zhen Qi
Dr. Hai-bo Gong
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • ecosysetm
  • climate change
  • carbon cycle
  • water cycle
  • biodiversity
  • vegetataion
  • land

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 1752 KiB  
Article
A Study on the Rationality of Land Use Change in the Dianchi Basin during the Last 40 Years under the Background of Lake Revolution
by Qiuju Wu, Renyi Yang and Zisheng Yang
Sustainability 2022, 14(18), 11479; https://doi.org/10.3390/su141811479 - 13 Sep 2022
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 1300
Abstract
(1) Background: Dianchi Lake is the largest freshwater plateau lake in southwest China. Since the 1970s, with the large-scale lake reclamation and rapid urbanization, the land use/cover of the Dianchi Basin has changed dramatically, directly hindering the sustainable development of the watershed. It [...] Read more.
(1) Background: Dianchi Lake is the largest freshwater plateau lake in southwest China. Since the 1970s, with the large-scale lake reclamation and rapid urbanization, the land use/cover of the Dianchi Basin has changed dramatically, directly hindering the sustainable development of the watershed. It is urgent to study the rationality of land use change in order to promote the “win-win” of eco-environment protection and sustainable economic and social development in Dianchi Basin. (2) Methods: The rationality judgment criteria of land use change in Dianchi Basin was constructed from ecological values, land suitability, laws and regulations, and the rationality of land use change in the Dianchi Basin from 1980 to 2020 was evaluated. (3) Results: The rational degree of land use change in the Dianchi Basin was 71.76%, and the level of rationality was low rationality. The rational degree of change in cultivated land, woodland, grassland, water area and construction land was 74.41%, 69.11%, 77.11%, 3.07% and 98.26%, respectively. Among the irrational land changes, 86.59% of the land had changed to construction land. (4) Conclusions: The main problems of irrational land change in the Dianchi Basin are the massive reduction in high-quality cultivated land, the degradation of woodland, and the unordered expansion of construction land. In order to achieve sustainable development, it is important to protect cultivated land, woodland, grassland and lakes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Global Climate and Ecology Change)
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15 pages, 5785 KiB  
Article
Research on the Value of Land Ecological Service in Yunnan Province Based on the Perspective of Spatial Pattern
by Kai Xu and Zisheng Yang
Sustainability 2022, 14(17), 10805; https://doi.org/10.3390/su141710805 - 30 Aug 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1389
Abstract
(1) Background: Ecosystem service value assessment is a trending area of sustainable development research and ecological civilization construction. Ecosystems provide supply, regulation, support, and cultural services, and the value assessment of ecosystem services is helpful for people to understand the importance of natural [...] Read more.
(1) Background: Ecosystem service value assessment is a trending area of sustainable development research and ecological civilization construction. Ecosystems provide supply, regulation, support, and cultural services, and the value assessment of ecosystem services is helpful for people to understand the importance of natural ecosystems to production and life. Based on the insufficiency of the current research on the value of land ecological services, this paper discusses the research direction of the evaluation of the value of ecosystem services in the future, provides a reference for the evaluation of the value of ecosystem services, and promotes multi-scale and multi-directional research experiments on the value of land ecological services. (2) In this paper, the basic information data are obtained through the interpretation of remote sensing images, and the value equivalent factor is corrected according to the average grain yield per unit area and grain price data in 2000, 2010, and 2020 to calculate the land ecological service value. The relevant data obtained by processing the ecological service value are classified into different levels to discuss the changes and trends of 129 county-level administrative units in three periods and analyze the quantitative and spatial variation characteristics of the ecological service value of 129 county-level administrative units. The paper studies the spatial agglomeration state of the total value of ecological services and finds the hotspot areas of the land ecological service value in the study area. (3) During the study period, great changes have taken place in the land use pattern of Yunnan Province, with the area of construction land expanding and the area of wetland decreasing. The ecological service value level of 129 county-level administrative units is relatively stable. The total value of each service is ranked as soil formation and protection > gas regulation > water conservation > biodiversity protection > climate regulation > raw materials > waste treatment > entertainment culture > food production. In the three periods, Shangri-La City has the highest value of ecological services per unit of land and Wuhua District has the lowest. The value of ecological services per unit of land in 129 county-level administrative units continues to rise. The areas with high average values are mainly in western Yunnan, southwestern Yunnan, southern Yunnan, and southeastern Yunnan. (4) The development speed of land ecological service value in Yunnan Province is far less than the development speed of GDP. There is still a lot of room for the development of ecological service value in Yunnan Province. The economic influence of Kunming is radiating to various cities through expressways and high-speed railways. The spatial distribution of land ecological service value in Yunnan Province has a strong correlation, showing a pattern of spatial agglomeration distribution, and the clustered areas are very stable. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Global Climate and Ecology Change)
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39 pages, 19929 KiB  
Article
The Elusive Turkestan Lynx at the Northwestern Edge of Geographic Range: Current Suitable Habitats and Distribution Forecast in the Climate Change
by Nazerke Bizhanova, Moriz Steiner, Nurkuisa Rametov, Alexey Grachev, Yuri Grachev, Maxim Bespalov, Tungyshbek Zhaparkulov, Saltore Saparbayev, Amanbol Sailaukhanuly, Sergey Bespalov, Aibol Bolatuly, Kuandyk Saparov and Shahrul Anuar Mohd Sah
Sustainability 2022, 14(15), 9491; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14159491 - 2 Aug 2022
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2576
Abstract
The Turkestan lynx (Lynx lynx isabellina Blyth, 1847) is a rare and understudied subspecies of the Eurasian lynx occupying the mountains of Central and South Asia. This elusive felid’s northwestern range includes the Tien Shan and Zhetisu Alatau mountains in the border [...] Read more.
The Turkestan lynx (Lynx lynx isabellina Blyth, 1847) is a rare and understudied subspecies of the Eurasian lynx occupying the mountains of Central and South Asia. This elusive felid’s northwestern range includes the Tien Shan and Zhetisu Alatau mountains in the border region of Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan. As the first step to conserve this vulnerable carnivore, we have conducted the first full-scale research from 2013 until 2022 on its distribution in this region. Using 132 environmental predictors of 359 lynx sightings, we have created species habitat distribution models across the lynx’s northwestern range using machine learning approaches (Maximum Entropy—MaxEnt). Additionally, we created species distribution forecasts based on seven bio-climatic environmental predictors with each three different future global climate model scenarios. To validate these forecasts, we have calculated the changes in the lynx distribution range for the year 2100, making the first species distribution forecast for the Turkestan lynx in the area. Additionally, it provides insight into the possible effects of global climate change on this lynx population. Based on these distribution models, the lynx population in the Northern and Western Tien Shan and Zhetisu Alatau plays a significant role in maintaining the stability of the whole subspecies in its northwestern and global range, while the distribution forecast shows that most lynx distribution ranges will reduce in all future climate scenarios, and we might face the Turkestan lynx’s significant distribution range decline under the ongoing and advancing climate change conditions. For a future (year 2100) warming scenario of 3 deg. C (GCM IPSL), we observe a decrease of 35% in Kazakhstan, 40% in Kyrgyzstan, and 30% in China as the three countries with the highest current predicted distribution range. For a milder temperature increase of 1.5–2 deg. C. (GCM MRI), we observe an increase of 17% Kazakhstan, decrease of 10% in Kyrgyzstan, and 57% in China. For a cooling scenario of approx. 1–1.5 deg. C (GCM MIROC), we observe a decrease of 14% Kazakhstan, increase of 11% in Kyrgyzstan, and a decrease of 13% in China. These modeled declines indicate the necessity to create new and expand the existing protected areas and establish ecological corridors between the countries in Central and South Asia. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Global Climate and Ecology Change)
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