Search Results (10,101)

The escalating challenges of climate change, soil degradation, and the need to ensure global food security are driving the transition towards more sustainable agricultural practices. Biostimulants, a diverse category of substances and microorganisms, have emerged as promising tools to enhance crop resilience, improve nutrient use efficiency (NUE), and support sustainable intensification. However, their widespread adoption is hampered by significant variability in efficacy and a lack of consensus on their optimal use. This comprehensive review synthesizes current scientific knowledge to critically evaluate the performance of biostimulants within sustainable agricultural systems. It aims to move beyond isolated case studies to provide a holistic analysis of their modes of action, efficacy under stress, and interactions with the environment. The analysis confirms that biostimulant efficacy is inherently context-dependent, governed by a complex interplay of biological, environmental, and management factors. Performance variability is explained by four core principles: the Limiting Factor Principle, the Biological Competition Axiom, the Stress Gradient Hypothesis, and the Formulation and Viability Imperative. A significant disconnect exists between promising controlled-environment studies and variable field results, highlighting the danger of extrapolating data without accounting for real-world agroecosystem complexity. Biostimulants are not universal solutions but are sophisticated tools whose value is realized through context-specific application. Their successful integration requires a precision-based approach aligned with specific agronomic challenges. We recommend that growers adopt diagnostic tools and on-farm trials, while producers must provide transparent multi-location field data and invest in advanced formulations. Future research must prioritize field validation, mechanistic studies using omics tools, and the development of crop-specific protocols and industry-wide standards to fully unlock the potential of biostimulants for building resilient and productive agricultural systems. Full article

Gross primary productivity (GPP) serves as a critical indicator of carbon uptake in agricultural and natural ecosystems, quantifying the extent of carbon dioxide fixation through photosynthesis. Understanding the influence of climate, phenology, and elevation on GPP is essential for achieving carbon neutrality and ensuring sustainable agricultural and ecosystem management. This study adopts a novel methodology that integrates the Shapley Additive Explanations analysis framework with the XGBoost model (R 4.3.3 package xgboost 1.7.7.1) to elucidate complex nonlinear interactions among the factors under investigation. The results show that from 2001 to 2022, GPP increased at an average rate of 6.77 g C/m²/year, with forests exhibiting the highest productivity (>900 g C/m²) compared to grasslands and croplands (300–600 g C/m²). Phenological changes, such as a 0.44 d/year extension in the growing season and a 0.20 d/year advancement in its peak, highlight the significant impact of climate change on vegetation growth. SHAP analysis further identifies precipitation as the primary driver for croplands, growing season length for forests, and temperature for grasslands. These findings support global initiatives aimed at achieving sustainable development goal 13 (Climate Action) by offering actionable insights for adaptive land use policies and carbon-neutrality strategies. Full article

This study investigates how enterprises in the service (tertiary) sector in Vojvodina, Serbia, integrate and prioritize Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with a focus on ecological sustainability, under crisis conditions. Based on a questionnaire survey and factor analysis of 150 respondents, which identified four key sustainability dimensions explained 59.75% of total variance, were identified: Education and Energy (including SDG4—Quality Education and SDG7—Affordable and Clean Energy), Health and Social Well-being (including SDG3—Good Health and Well-being and SDG2—Zero Hunger), Ecological Sustainability and Nature Protection (including SDG6—Clean Water and Sanitation and SDG14—Life Below Water), and Economy and Climate Change (including SDG8—Decent Work and Economic Growth, SDG13—Climate Action, and SDG17—Partnerships for the Goals). The findings emphasize the multidimensional and interconnected nature of these dimensions and their role in enhancing organizational resilience. By linking crisis management strategies with SDG integration, the study provides both theoretical contributions and practical insights for managers aiming to improve sustainability performance in turbulent environments. Full article

To address uncertainties in how threatened coastal China seas fish communities respond to stressors like overfishing and climate change, this study applied Hierarchical Modelling of Species Communities (HMSC) to disentangle the assembly rules shaping these communities, filling a critical gap in understanding their spatiotemporal dynamics. We analyzed data on 384 fish species (1980–2018) and key environmental factors, with variance partitioning revealing that environmental filtering dominated fish distributions (explaining over 99% of variance), far outweighing random effects (0.60%). Among environmental drivers, sea surface temperature (49.00%) and sea surface salinity (33.25%) were the most influential, while seafloor substrate and water depth played secondary roles; notably, fewer species occupied fine sand habitats, and more preferred silt habitats. Residual species associations—indicative of potential biotic interactions—were most frequent within Gobiidae, likely due to this highly diverse taxon’s specialized resource utilization and wide distribution, highlighting that biotic filtering is concentrated and ecologically relevant within this group. This work demonstrates HMSC’s utility in unraveling coastal fish community assembly, providing a robust basis for predicting community changes and guiding biodiversity conservation efforts that support ocean health and dependent human activities. Full article

This study investigates how climate change literacy (CCL) and institutional contexts shape the climate-related behaviors of Taiwan’s public officials. Drawing on a 2024 national survey of 1940 civil servants, we apply hierarchical and comparative regression analyses to examine the relative influence of knowledge, affective dispositions, and organizational supports. Results show that solution-oriented knowledge exerts greater behavioral influence than factual awareness. At the same time, affective resources—particularly self-efficacy and environmental identity—are the strongest and most consistent drivers of engagement. Institutional factors further condition these relationships: central officials’ behaviors are shaped by departmental mandates and bureaucratic constraints, whereas local officials rely more on supervisor support and prior project involvement. These findings integrate literacy research with institutional perspectives, demonstrating that effective climate governance requires both individual agency and enabling organizational contexts. Policy implications include strengthening leadership training, creating experiential learning opportunities, and streamlining administrative structures across governance levels to accelerate climate action. Full article

Urban green spaces (UGS) are crucial for mitigating rising urban land surface temperatures (LST). Rapid urbanization presents unresolved questions regarding (a) seasonal variations in the spatial co-distribution of UGS and LST, (b) the temporal and spatial changes in UGS cooling, and (c) the dominant factors driving cooling effects during different periods. This study focuses on Beijing’s Fifth Ring Road area, utilizing nearly 40 years of Landsat remote sensing imagery and land cover data. We propose a novel nine-square grid spatial analysis approach that integrates LST retrieval, profile line analysis, and the XGBoost algorithm to investigate the long-term spatiotemporal evolution of UGS cooling capacity and its driving mechanisms. The results demonstrate three key findings: (1) Strong seasonal divergence in UGS-LST correlation: A significant negative correlation dominates during summer months (June–August), whereas winter (December–February) exhibits marked weakening of this relationship, with localized positive correlations indicating thermal inversion effects. (2) Dynamic evolution of cooling capacity under urbanization: Urban expansion has reconfigured UGS spatial patterns, with a cooling capacity of UGS showing an “enhancement–decline–enhancement” trend over time. Analysis through machine learning on the significance of landscape metrics revealed that scale-related metrics play a dominant role in the early stage of urbanization, while the focus shifts to quality-related metrics in the later phase. (3) Optimal cooling efficiency threshold: Maximum per-unit-area cooling intensity occurs at 10–20% UGS coverage, yielding an average LST reduction of approximately 1 °C relative to non-vegetated surfaces. This study elucidates the spatiotemporal evolution of UGS cooling effects during urbanization, establishing a robust scientific foundation for optimizing green space configuration and enhancing urban climate resilience. Full article

Phosphorus (P) is a key limiting nutrient in alpine meadows. Analyzing the spatial distribution of soil P and its forms along altitudinal gradients is crucial to understand soil nutrient cycling and sustain productivity under climate change. In this study, changes in the total P, available P, inorganic P (Pi), and organic P (Po) contents in soil along an altitudinal gradient of 4400–5200 m on the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau were investigated using sequential chemical fractionation and solution ³¹P nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). The results showed that the contents of total soil P, available P, Pi, and Po forms showed vertical distribution patterns. At an altitude of 4400–4950 m, the dominance of NaOH-Po was observed, whereas HCl-Pi was predominant at 5200 m. With increasing elevation, total soil P, orthophosphate, NaHCO₃-Pi, NaOH-Pi, HCl-Pi, and HCl-Po contents increased gradually. In contrast, the concentrations of available P, H₂O-Pi, H₂O-Po, NaHCO₃-Po, NaOH-Po, pyrophosphate, orthophosphate monoester, and diester initially increased, peaked at approximately 4950 m, and subsequently decreased. Both climatic factors (i.e., mean annual temperature and precipitation) and biological factors (aboveground biomass and enzyme activity) jointly regulated the vertical distribution of soil P forms in the alpine ecosystems. Full article

With rapid urbanization and intensifying climate change impacts, the thermal comfort performance of semi-outdoor spaces has emerged as a critical issue in sustainable urban design and housing development. However, the unique void decks of residential environments remain underexplored in the existing literature. This study addresses the knowledge gap by investigating how morphological characteristics influence microclimatic conditions and user satisfaction in high-density subtropical residential environments. Field measurements and questionnaire surveys were conducted across 18 void decks in four representative Shenzhen communities during summer 2024, examining air temperature, relative humidity, wind velocity, mean radiant temperature, and UTCI alongside users’ thermal perceptions. Hierarchical cluster analysis identified three distinct typologies based on spatial attributes: North–South-Ventilated (NS-VD), Single-Directional (SD-VD), and Oblique-Oriented (OO-VD). Ridge regression analysis revealed seven critical configuration variables—height-to-depth ratio, orientation, angle with wind, number of open sides, sky view factor, green view factor, and height from ground—collectively explaining 51.2% of UTCI variation. The results were as follows: (1) we identified morphological typologies and quantify microclimate variations across spatial configurations; (2) established quantitative relationships between objective thermal metrics and subjective thermal perceptions; and (3) developed evidence-based design recommendations for enhancing thermal environments in subtropical residential contexts. The findings support climate-responsive design for high-density residential environments by providing a scientific basis for optimizing microclimates and enhancing community vitality. Full article

The ability of Ribes species to survive the fluctuating winter and early spring conditions, relies on the regulation of transcription factors (TFs) and other key genes involved in the abiotic stress response. In this study, we developed specific primers for 33 stress-responsive genes, which may facilitate future functional studies in Ribes and other less-characterized lineages within the Saxifragales order. These genes were selected based on a comparative transcriptomic analysis of R. nigrum cv. Aldoniai and are known to function in cold acclimation and stress signaling pathways. We analyzed expression profiles of these 33 genes in R. aureum, R. hudsonianum, and R. nigrum microshoot cultures exposed to controlled cold stress, deacclimation and reacclimation treatments. Our results revealed species-specific genetic responses across acclimation cycles of varying durations (24–96 h). Cold stress induces molecular changes in three Ribes spp.; however, deacclimation triggered by transient warming significantly reduced freezing tolerance in R. nigrum, had a moderate effect on R. hudsonianum, and minor impact on R. aureum. Gene expression profiling revealed distinct, species-specific regulatory patterns among species during different stress cycles, highlighting conserved and specific genes in acclimation mechanisms within the Ribes spp. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of transcriptional regulation under acclimation cycles in currants and provide molecular tools that may support breeding strategies aimed at enhancing cold tolerance in Ribes crops amid increasing climate variability. Full article

The secondary sex ratio (SSR), defined as the ratio of male to female live births in a population, is a crucial indicator of reproductive and public health. External factors, such as lifestyle, natural disasters, environmental chemicals and infections, have been examined as potential trendsetters of the SSR. Several global challenges have emerged in recent years, such as climate change, wars, terrorist attacks and stressful political events. These aspects can potentially impact reproductive health outcomes, fertility rates, and the overall well-being of individuals. With respect to this, they may also affect the SSR. Through an in-depth examination of the existing literature, this manuscript elucidates the complex interconnections between global challenges and the SSR. Indeed, terrorist attacks and stressful political events have been linked to a decrease in the SSR. In contrast, high temperatures and warfare have shown a propensity to elevate the SSR in numerous scenarios. However, these associations require further validation through additional studies. The precise mechanisms through which these determinants exert their influence need to be elucidated. Understanding the unseen influences of global challenges on the SSR is crucial for understanding population trends and ensuring effective public health interventions. Full article

Shallow landslide susceptibility assessment is an essential research activity for land management and risk assessment. In this study, a GIS-based approach was developed to assess rain-induced landslide susceptibility in the Municipality of Genoa, a Mediterranean anthropized area historically characterized by intense rainfall events that frequently trigger shallow landslides with high destructive power. Based on a detailed inventory of historical landslides, a semi-quantitative method was applied to assess the influence of seven causal factors of natural and anthropogenic landslides. The areas were categorized into five classes of rain-induced shallow landslide susceptibility, indicating slopes where newly triggered landslides may occur. The landslide susceptibility map was subsequently integrated with the map of gas and water utilities, whose features were used to assess their vulnerability. Finally, an early-stage risk assessment of the two utility networks was developed to serve as a decision support tool for strategic planning and integrated asset management in the context of climate change. The results show that about 9.8% and 6.8% of the total length of water and gas pipelines are exposed to higher risk classes 4 and 5. Full article

Burned area, fire severity, and suppression expenditures have increased in British Columbia in recent decades with climate change. Approximately 80% of suppression expenditures are attributable to wildfires near the Wildland–Urban Interface (WUI). Evaluating the potential for fuel management to reduce suppression expenditures is essential to mitigating demands on fire response resources and reducing impacts on communities. One management approach is to increase the proportion of deciduous tree species, which have a lower propensity for crown fire. Using fire suppression expenditure data from 1981 to 2014, we applied the machine learning method causal forests (CFs) to estimate the effect of the proportion of conifer forest cover on suppression expenditures for WUI fires and how these effects varied with other influential factors (i.e., heterogenous treatment effects). Across all fires, the effect of conifer cover on suppression expenditures was stronger on private land compared to public land, under high fire danger measured by daily severity ratings (DSRs), which reflect wind speed and fuel moisture, and for fires igniting earlier in the calendar year, based on Julian day. These findings provide insights into prioritizing wildland fuel treatment when budgets are limited. The CFs approach demonstrates potential for broader applications in fire risk mitigation and analysis beyond the scope of the current data. CFs may also be valuable in other areas of forest research where heterogenous treatment effects are common. Full article

In recent years, European cities have implemented numerous initiatives to reduce the use of resources and improve the resilience of climate change by promoting shifts toward the circular economy (CE). This comparative case study investigated the results of the applications of the CE model in the built environment from two different national approaches and perspectives of strategic planning in capitals that represent the “old” (Copenhagen) and “new” (Ljubljana) European Union (EU) member states. This paper introduces the original methodology to assess the implementation of the strategic approaches in the adaptation of the CE in architecture and urban design using a set of 10 selecting indicators. Although both cities have ambitious strategic goals and are undertaking actions aimed at shifting to the CE, they are driven by different motivations (climate crisis vs. urban revitalization and zero waste policy) and exhibit different implementation patterns (top-down systemic/institutional vs. gradual/sectoral). The results highlight the key role of a comprehensive approach to CE implementation, particularly the development of institutional frameworks and dedicated infrastructure and digital tools for transition management, the involvement of external stakeholders in the circular vision, wide-range educational activities, and the promotion of CE initiatives. However, limitations resulting from the lack of a comprehensive and standardized measurement framework pose a challenge to effectively accelerate progress in the shift toward a CE in the built environment. The main contributions of this study are: (1) to identify and verify the methods and strategies undertaken by European cities for the adaptation of a CE in the built environment and (2) demonstrate the different dimensions, levels, and the most relevant factors in the strategic management of the processes of transformation toward the CE. In addition, recommendations for future implementations based on CE systems are indicated. Full article

In alignment with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the global pursuit of net-zero emissions, higher education institutions (HEIs) are increasingly expected to demonstrate robust climate accountability and effective decarbonization strategies. This three-year longitudinal study presents a comprehensive assessment of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions at a higher education institution, employing the ISO 14064-1:2018 framework to strengthen inventory design, boundary delineation, and data governance protocols. Findings indicate that purchased electricity constitutes the largest share; however, fugitive refrigerant leakage and Scope 3 activities—particularly commuting and business travel—represent substantial and often underestimated components of the institution’s carbon footprint. Methodological refinements, including the incorporation of updated emission factors coefficients and enhanced data verification, have revealed the sensitivity of GHG inventories to both policy reforms and behavioral changes, as well as institutional policy reforms. The study also demonstrates that targeted refrigerant management and low-carbon mobility initiatives can generate measurable mitigation effects, even under conditions of expanding campus activity. Beyond the institution-specific results, this research proposes a replicable framework that integrates ISO 14064-1 compliance with data quality assurance and digital verification tools. This framework provides HEIs globally with a structured pathway to enhance reporting credibility, develop evidence-based mitigation strategies, and accelerate progress toward carbon neutrality. These insights underline the strategic role of universities in advancing sector-wide climate leadership and contributing to sustainable development transitions. Full article

The pomegranate cultivar Barski slatki, the most widely cultivated on the Eastern Adriatic coast, was evaluated over one growing season across four growing areas to assess its pomological and chemical properties and antioxidant activity. Results showed that location significantly influenced fruit weight, volume, number of arils per fruit, and both total and individual aril weight, with the Kaštela (CRO) site producing the largest fruits and highest aril yields. Climatic factors, such as precipitation during bud differentiation, flowering, and early fruit development, were found to impact fruit set, aril number, and fruit size. Aril and juice yields, however, remained relatively stable across sites. Notable differences were observed in total soluble solids, titratable acidity, pH, total phenolic content, and anthocyanin profiles. Location with higher rainfall occurring during fruit growth favored enhanced phenolic accumulation. Although total anthocyanin content remained consistent among locations, significant variation occurred in aril coloration and composition of individual anthocyanins. In conclusion, microclimatic factors, particularly rainfall distribution, temperature, and altitude, play a decisive role in shaping the physical, chemical, and visual attributes of ‘Barski slatki’. Despite being cultivated under similar Mediterranean conditions, the observed differences across sites highlight the strong adaptability of this cultivar to diverse agroecological environments, while maintaining stable quality. Full article