Search Results (850)

The Western Songnen Plain, a critical yet ecologically fragile grain-producing area, is facing sustainability risks arising from rapid land use changes, which demand scientific assessment and regulation. From an ecological security standpoint, this study synthesizes multiple data sources, including GlobeLand30 data, climate, topography, and soil data. Based on the assessment of water conservation, soil conservation and biodiversity maintenance, combined with minimum cumulative resistance model (MCR) and the CLUMondo model, this study comprehensively reveals the dynamic evolutionary patterns of land use in the Western Songnen Plain over the past two decades, concurrently analyzed the spatial heterogeneity pattern of ecosystem services, and further simulated land use changes under natural growth, farmland protection, and ecological security scenarios. According to the results, the grassland area decreased significantly, while cropland and construction land continued to expand. Water conservation, soil conservation, and habitat quality displayed remarkable regional differences, with high values predominantly situated in wetlands, grasslands, and mountainous regions. In contrast, low values exhibited strong spatial correspondence with regions of heightened anthropogenic disturbance. Although the cropland protection scenario promoted agricultural intensification, it reduced ecological heterogeneity. In contrast, the ecological security scenario achieved a higher patch density (0.408) and landscape diversity (1.142) compared to the natural growth scenario, with moderate increases in aggregation. This study identified 27 ecological pinch points, 24 ecological barrier points, and 97 ecological corridors, which provide direct support for regional water and soil resource protection and further underpin the constructed ecological security pattern of “two belts, three zones, and multiple nodes”. These findings have important reference significance for optimizing regional land use structure and maintaining the stability of terrestrial ecosystems in the Western Songnen Plain. Full article

Addressing the prevalent issue of “physical preservation but spiritual silence” in the revitalisation of China’s national industrial heritage, this study proposes and empirically validates a “dual-track narrative” design framework that systematically translates cultural values into spatial experiences. The framework integrates a “figure–history” narrative, which crystallises historical lineage and symbolic spirit through spatial sequences, commemorative landmarks, and authentic remains, with a “scene–activity” narrative, which transforms former production spaces into dynamic, culturally vibrant stages through ecological restoration displays, industrial landscape transformation, and flexible activity implantation. Using Nantong Guangsheng Oil Mill as a single-case study, the research employs qualitative methods including archival analysis, field observation, and semi-structured interviews to examine how the dual-track framework operates in practice. The findings reveal that the “figure–history” narrative manifests in a walkable “time corridor” along the north–south axis, where architectural remnants from different eras are organised to materialise Zhang Jian’s industrial salvation ethos and the collective memory of generations of workers. Meanwhile, the “scene–activity” narrative activates underutilised spaces—such as the repurposing of acid treatment ponds into constructed wetlands and paved grounds into public stages—enabling ongoing cultural production, community interaction, and ecological healing. The study demonstrates that the dual-track framework bridges the historical and contemporary dimensions often treated separately in heritage practice, establishing a systematic “translation mechanism” from cultural decoding to design intervention. Theoretically, it contributes to industrial heritage research by integrating narratology, memory studies, heritage interpretation, and situationism into a coherent design methodology. Practically, it offers decision-makers evaluation criteria beyond the preservation-versus-development binary, provides designers with a mode of creative transformation grounded in material authenticity, and suggests to operators a content-driven, event-based model for sustaining heritage spaces. By spatialising and eventising narratives, the dual-track approach enables industrial heritage to function as a catalyst for cultural identity, social vitality, and economic sustainability, offering a transferable paradigm for the adaptive reuse of industrial heritage in contemporary urban contexts. Full article

Constructing resilient Ecological Security Patterns (ESPs) in polycentric urban agglomerations is computationally challenging due to persistent scale mismatches between local planning and regional strategies. To address this, we developed a novel Proactive Integration Mechanism (PIM), a computational framework that dynamically optimizes ESPs by algorithmically fusing multi-source geospatial data. The PIM integrates three innovative components: (1) a Function–Structure–Policy data fusion approach that couples Self-Organizing Map clustering of ecosystem services with Morphological Spatial Pattern Analysis and policy data to identify ecological sources; (2) a Dual-Feedback Mechanism that hybridizes circuit theory with an Improved Ant Colony Optimization algorithm for dynamic corridor delineation; and (3) complex network analysis to derive targeted interventions from topological properties. Applied to a node city of the Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle, the PIM identified 22 integrated ecological sources and 37 corridors. The optimized network showed enhanced resilience: a deterministic 20.5% increase in circuit redundancy (α-index) and an 8.6% improvement in overall connectivity (γ-index), achieved through minimal topological modifications. Temporal validation (2000–2020) confirmed the high stability of the identified patterns. This study provides a potentially replicable and computationally robust framework that bridges spatial ecology with optimization algorithms, offering a promising paradigm for constructing ESPs in node cities within subtropical urban agglomerations. Full article

During warm intervals such as the Early Eocene, megathermal vegetation belts expanded toward higher latitudes, displacing mesothermal and microthermal biota. Here, we examine the diversity and paleoclimate of the Early Eocene Ligorio Márquez Formation (LMF) in the context of other Paleogene Patagonian palynofloras, and we model the potential distribution of Nothofagus using Early Eocene climate simulations. From 35 processed samples, 20 yielded palynomorphs and 85 morphospecies were distinguished. We hypothesize that species richness in the LMF is comparable to other Eocene microfloras, and that climate models will confirm mesothermal conditions for this formation while identifying western Gondwana as the primary region of climatic suitability for Nothofagus. Our results indicate that the LMF hosted a diverse flora under mesothermal, humid-temperate conditions (Köppen–Geiger climate Cfa, within the broader Cf no-dry-season regime). Ecological niche modeling further indicates that western Gondwana (South America, the Antarctic Peninsula, New Zealand, and Australia) provided broadly suitable climatic conditions for Nothofagus. In Experiment 1 (modern-to-Eocene transfer), Maxnet models showed high discriminatory power (AUC_test = 0.86–0.88) with low omission at P10 (OR_P10 = 0.099–0.128). In Experiment 2 (Eocene-to-Eocene calibration), performance was consistently high across GCMs (AUC_test = 0.87–0.98; OR_P10 = 0.091–0.182). However, conditions across Antarctica were likely challenging, limiting its effectiveness as a dispersal corridor during the Eocene. Finally, our results suggest that the ancient South Pacific High influenced the northern distributional limit of Nothofagus in South America. Full article

Urban traffic signal control heavily impacts vehicle emissions, yet most reinforcement learning models falsely assume flat terrain, ignoring the energy penalties of uphill stop-and-go driving. This omission creates a structural misalignment between generic, delay-focused rewards and the energetic realities of hilly corridors. In this work, we propose a topography-aware deep reinforcement learning framework that mitigates this hidden ecological cost. Our Context-Specific Reward Design procedure selects, normalizes, and calibrates reward terms based on physical conditions and traffic composition. The controller was trained using a microscopic simulation calibrated from video-derived traffic data, featuring a 3.8-degree uphill approach, 14,800 vehicles over 9 h, and a 20% heavy-vehicle fleet. In the uphill setting, the specialized controller reduced total CO₂ emissions to 256.97 million milligrams, corresponding to 8.6% and 4.7% reductions relative to a pressure-based and a standard deep Q-learning controller, respectively. The proposed method also achieved the lowest mean trip duration of 72.09 s and a queue length of 1.31 vehicles. Welch’s t-tests confirmed that these CO₂, duration, and queue improvements were significant. Overall, treating topography as a foundational design variable is crucial for sustainable urban mobility. Full article

Developing regions rich in ethnic cultures face structural tensions between cultural heritage preservation, ecological conservation, and economic development. Yet existing research analyzes village types in isolation, overlooks non-additive factor interactions, and lacks frameworks connecting spatial heterogeneity to differentiated sustainability pathways. This study addresses these three gaps through integrated spatial analysis of 4083 characteristic villages across five nationally designated types in Southwest China, a region harboring over 40% of China’s Traditional Villages and high densities of Forest Villages, Key Tourism Villages, Ethnic Minority Characteristic Villages, and Historic and Cultural Villages. Kernel Density Estimation, Average Nearest Neighbor analysis, Standard Deviational Ellipse, and Geographical Detector methods are employed in a three-stage analytical progression. Spatial characterization reveals pronounced heterogeneity with “large-scale dispersion, small-scale agglomeration” patterns and systematic cross-type spatial co-location in high-heritage, high-vulnerability zones. Mechanism quantification shows that intangible cultural heritage (q-values 0.66–0.78) and GDP per capita (q-values 0.68–0.82) are dominant drivers whose pairwise interactions exceed individual effects by 40–60%. Sustainability classification translates q-value-weighted composite indices into four context zones across 506 counties, Culture-Ecology Tension Zones (22.7%), Economic Isolation Nodes (17.0%), Tourism-Driven Development Corridors (19.6%), and Balanced Development Potentials (40.7%), each exhibiting a distinct configuration of cultural, ecological, and economic conditions that necessitates differentiated pathways. The “culture-ecology-economy” tripartite framework advances sustainability science in three ways: it empirically identifies non-additive spatial interactions as generative mechanisms of heterogeneity, achieves a methodological progression from pattern description to sustainability diagnosis, and reconceptualizes cultural heritage from a development constraint into a measurable sustainability asset. The framework is transferable to analogous mountain regions globally where heritage-rich communities confront coupled ecological and economic vulnerabilities. Full article

Water resources along mountain railway corridors are characterized by limited availability, high ecological sensitivity, and stringent water quality requirements. These factors render them susceptible to degradation and wastage during construction. To address these challenges, in this study, an integrated dynamic allocation model considering water quantity and quality along mountainous railway sections is developed. The model is established on the basis of a joint allocation framework that considers both water volume and quality parameters holistically. Constrained by sectoral water consumption quotas, the assimilative capacity of water functional zones, and graded water supply standards, the objectives are to maximize the comprehensive benefits of water resource utilization and promote water savings. A gray wolf optimizer (GWO) algorithm is employed to identify high-quality solutions. The model is applied to a case study of water resource allocation in a specific section of a mountain railway. The results indicate that in both the pre- and postoptimization scenarios, total water consumption and water quality are maintained within permissible limits. After optimization, the comprehensive water use efficiency increased by 12.39%, the daily costs decreased by 81.34 USD, and water savings increased by 23.19%. The optimized allocation strategy alleviates water scarcity along the railway corridor, enhances overall water resource efficiency, and provides a reference for addressing quality-induced water shortages in mountainous regions. Full article

Indonesia faces persistent challenges in crime forecasting and judicial resource management, compounded by chronic underreporting and inconsistent spatial resolution in official crime statistics. In this study, a multi-level spatio-temporal machine learning framework is developed and applied to 95,666 adjudicated crime records from the Supreme Court of Indonesia spanning January 2023 to June 2024. Following the CRISP-DM methodology, a hybrid STL-XGBoost v. 3.2.0 model is trained on a chronological split to forecast daily judicial caseloads, achieving an R² of 0.8070, MAE of 16.52, and sMAPE of 9.76% on the held-out test set. DBSCAN spatial clustering, parameterized via k-distance plot analysis ($\mathrm{ϵ}={0.3}^{\circ }$, $minPts$ = 3) and validated through Jaccard Similarity Index sensitivity analysis, identifies 29 distinct adjudicated crime hubs concentrated along Java and Sumatra’s urban and transit corridors. Comparative analysis of reported versus adjudicated crime data reveals systematic judicial funnel attrition ranging from 199.12% in Riau to 2436.02% in Papua, establishing that adjudicated crime records provide a reliable indicator of judicial workload rather than a comprehensive measure of social deviance. Key limitations, including the 18-month observation window that may not capture long-term policy shifts and the use of city centroids as spatial proxies that introduces a degree of ecological fallacy, are acknowledged. The framework offers a scalable, interpretable decision support tool for evidence-based judicial resource planning across national, provincial, and city scales in Indonesia. Full article

Habitat quality is critical for spatial planning strategies and ecological conservation initiative, evaluating the health of the natural environment that supports human survival. However, current approaches pay insufficient attention to revealing the evolution and spatial heterogeneity of the habitat quality simultaneously. In this study, a comprehensive and practical framework was therefore developed for mechanistic habitat quality analysis, which incorporates an adaptable evolutionary model alongside multiple spatial statistical methods. Ningxia, located in Northwest China, was selected as a case study area due to its fragile ecosystem. The proposed framework was then applied to characterize the evolutionary process and spatial heterogeneity of habitat quality in Ningxia. Key factors driving spatial heterogeneity were also found at the same time. From 2000 to 2024, habitat quality in Ningxia is characterized by good habitat and shows significant improvement, following a progressive trajectory. The proportion of poor habitat has been significantly reduced from 29.26% to 24.63%, while that of excellent habitat has been increased from 1.68% to 2.33% over the past two decades. Variation in habitat quality is more pronounced in northern and southern regions, while remaining relatively stable in the central Yellow River ecological corridor. Both natural and socioeconomic factors have an impact on the habitat change in this region, such as the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Net Primary Productivity (NPP), and Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Vegetation factors play vital roles in spatial variation in habitat quality, while the influences of socioeconomic factors are relatively small. The spatial heterogeneity is driven by nonlinear synergistic effects among numerous factors. This paper developed a feasible framework to retrieve the evolution and spatial heterogeneity pattern of habitat quality, which provides a robust methodology for further habitat assessment at the ecologically fragile regions worldwide. Full article

In ecologically fragile and geomorphologically complex mountainous regions, ensuring a smooth transition from poverty alleviation to multidimensional sustainable rural development remains a key issue in regional governance. Focusing on the Qinba Mountains, a typical former contiguous poverty-stricken region in China covering 18 prefecture-level cities in six provinces, this study uses 2009–2023 prefecture-level panel data to examine the spatiotemporal evolution and driving mechanisms of coordinated rural revitalization. An integrated framework of “multi-dimensional evaluation–spatiotemporal tracking–attribution diagnosis” is developed by combining the improved AHP–entropy-weight TOPSIS method, the Coupling Coordination Degree (CCD) model, spatial Markov chains, spatial autocorrelation, and the Geodetector. The results show pronounced subsystem asynchrony. Livelihood and Well-being Security (U5) improves steadily, while Level of Industrial Development (U1), Civic Virtues and Cultural Vibrancy (U3), and Rural Governance (U4) also rise but with clear spatial differentiation; by contrast, Quality of Human Settlements (U2) fluctuates in stages under ecological fragility. Overall, the coupling coordination level advances from the Verge of Imbalance to Intermediate Coordination, yet the regional pattern remains uneven, with eastern basin cities leading and western deep mountainous cities lagging. State transitions display both policy responsiveness and path dependence: the probability of retaining the original state ranges from 50.0% to 90.5%; low-level neighborhoods reduce the upward transition probability to 25%, whereas medium-to-high-level neighborhoods raise the upward transition probability of low-level cities from 36.36% to 53.33%. Spatial dependence is also evident, with Global Moran’s I increasing, with fluctuations, from 0.331 in 2009 to 0.536 in 2023; high-value clusters extend along the Guanzhong Plain–Han River Valley corridor, while low-value clusters remain relatively locked in mountainous border areas. Driving mechanisms show clear stage-wise succession. At the single-factor level, the explanatory power of Road Network Density (F6) declines from 0.639 to 0.287, whereas Terrain Relief Amplitude (F1) becomes the dominant background constraint in the later stage (q = 0.772). Multi-factor interactions are generally enhanced. In particular, the traditional infrastructure-led pathway weakens markedly, with F1 ∩ F6 = 0.055 in 2023, while the interaction between terrain and consumer market vitality becomes dominant, with F1 ∩ F7 = 0.987 in 2023. On this basis, three major pathways are identified: government fiscal intervention and transportation accessibility improvement, capital agglomeration and market demand stimulation, and human–earth system adaptation and ecological value realization. These findings provide quantitative evidence for breaking spatial lock-in and improving cross-regional resource allocation in ecologically constrained mountainous regions. Full article

As a novel approach to address the lack of systematic studies on spatial Gross Ecosystem Product (GEP) accounting and Ecological Security Pattern construction, this study integrates GEP thresholds with Morphological Spatial Pattern Analysis (MSPA) to identify ecological sources. A resistance surface is constructed using five representative influencing factors, and the Minimum Cumulative Resistance (MCR) model is applied to extract ecological corridors, thereby establishing the Ecological Security Pattern for the Yellow River-Fronting Region of Henan in 2020. The results indicate the following: (1) GEP in the study area exhibits a spatial distribution of “high in the northwest, low in the southeast,” with regulating services accounting for more than 90% of the GEP. (2) A total of 11 ecological sources, 13 ecological corridors, and 7 ecological nodes were identified, primarily distributed in mountainous regions. (3) The Ecological Security Pattern exhibits spatial imbalance, with dense corridors in the western mountains and sparse distribution in the eastern plains. These findings provide scientific support for formulating ecological conservation measures and optimizing ecosystem management in the Yellow River Basin. Full article

Dispersed archaeological landscapes are often rich in heritage value but weakly integrated into regional tourism systems. This creates difficulties in visitor orientation, interpretive continuity, and conservation-sensitive tourism planning. In response to this problem, this study examines the Adana–Kozan–Anavarza axis in southern Türkiye and proposes a spatial corridor framework for organising tourism development within a dispersed archaeological landscape. The research integrates spatial accessibility assessment, service-capacity evaluation, field observation, and sequential route design in order to establish a hierarchical gateway–transition–anchor configuration. Anavarza, one of the largest archaeological complexes of Cilicia, represents a monumental urban heritage site and a biocultural landscape situated within a Mediterranean ecological zone historically associated with Pedanius Dioscorides. Although current visitor volumes remain moderate, official statistics indicate a substantial increase in annual entries between 2022 and 2024, reflecting rising destination visibility. This emerging growth trajectory underscores the need for proactive spatial governance mechanisms prior to the onset of congestion and environmental degradation pressures. The findings suggest that Adana can function as a metropolitan gateway, Kozan as an intermediate staging node, and Anavarza as the archaeological anchor within a realistic multi-day visitor sequence. In this configuration, visitor functions are distributed across multiple nodes, while the ecological and archaeological sensitivity of the anchor landscape is more cautiously managed through spatial sequencing. Rather than proposing a predictive model, the study develops and assesses a context-responsive spatial planning framework grounded in accessibility, infrastructural feasibility, and conservation-sensitive visitor distribution. Beyond the local case, the study offers a transferable hierarchical staging logic for corridor-based heritage planning. Full article

Despite five years of hazard tree investigation and mitigation (Potential Hazard Tree monitoring and hazard tree removal) from 2020 to 2024, the incidence ratios of hazard trees (HTs) and Potential Hazard Trees (PHTs) along the Alishan Forest Railway corridor (spanning subtropical, warm temperate, and temperate zones) have not exhibited a significant downward trend. This study aims to investigate the impacts of climate zones, succession, and functional groups on hazard tree occurrence and to further predict the incidence ratios of hazard trees. We employed Generalized Linear Models (GLMs) and structural defect frequency to evaluate these interactions. The significance of the impacts is ranked as follows: functional group > succession regeneration > climate zone. Incidence was highest in subtropical (S) and warm temperate (W) zones (S ≈ W > T), and significantly greater for secondary succession (SS) areas compared to Planning Plantation (PP). Crucially, heliophilous species (H + P; small-to-medium pioneer and canopy heliophilous species) contributed significantly more to hazard incidence than non-heliophilous species (MT + T; mid-shade-tolerant and shade-tolerant species). Model predictions identified (H + P) + SS + S as the highest-incidence ecological combination, while (MT + T) + PP + T was the lowest. Structural defect relative frequency analysis revealed that the fast-growth strategy of H + P species fundamentally compromises their biomechanical stability, resulting in significantly higher defect frequencies compared to MT + T species. Furthermore, continuous corridor disturbances maintain a persistent light environment that perpetually recruits these H + P species via secondary succession. To effectively manage the incidence of HT and PHT, future mitigation measures must prioritize Planning Plantation (PP) using non-heliophilous (MT + T) species selected within their appropriate ecological amplitudes. Full article

As a key spatial platform for implementing China’s Northeast Revitalization Strategy, coordinated development of production–living–ecological (PLE) functions in the Changchun Metropolitan Area is crucial for high-quality regional development. This study uses 24 counties (districts) in the metropolitan area as analytical units and develops a quantitative indicator system to evaluate PLE functions. We integrate the entropy-weighted TOPSIS method, social network analysis (SNA), and geographically and temporally weighted regression (GTWR) to examine the spatiotemporal dynamics, spatial correlation networks, and driving mechanisms of the three functions from 2013 to 2023. Temporally, the production function follows a growth–decline–recovery trajectory, the living function increases overall despite fluctuations, and the ecological function strengthens continuously. Overall, the three functions increasingly exhibit coupling and synergy. Spatially, the production function concentrates in core areas and diffuses along major axes. The living function is led by the core and followed by county-level catch-up. The ecological function is higher in the east, relatively stable in the west, and connected by corridors, together forming a multi-center, axis-based synergistic pattern. In the spatial correlation networks, densities of the production and ecological networks remain largely stable, whereas the living network becomes markedly denser. The three networks display distinct topologies and continue to evolve structurally. For driving mechanisms, the GTWR model provides the best fit. Geographic proximity positively contributes to the formation of all three functional networks, while the eight explanatory factors show pronounced spatiotemporal heterogeneity. These findings provide an evidence base for optimizing functional coordination and implementing differentiated spatial governance in metropolitan areas. Full article

Ground-dwelling pheasants are vital indicators of forest ecosystem health. Understanding their distribution and response to climate change is crucial for regional biodiversity conservation. Based on 97,000 camera-days of infrared monitoring from 2019 to 2022 in Huzhou, China, we analyzed the spatial patterns and niche overlap of five pheasant species, including the first class national protected animal Elliot’s Pheasant (Syrmaticus ellioti), using MaxEnt modeling and Schoener’s D index. Results showed the following: (1) Pheasants in Huzhou exhibited distinct vertical gradients, with Elliot’s Pheasant restricted primarily to mid-mountain forests (200–600 m) in western Anji. (2) Iso-thermality and winter thermal limits were the primary drivers of its distribution. (3) Niche analysis revealed intense competitive pressure; Elliot’s Pheasant habitat was largely encompassed by dominant species like the Silver Pheasant (Lophura nycthemera), showing a high overlap (D = 0.642) with the Koklass Pheasant (Pucrasia macrolopha). (4) By 2050, its suitable habitat is projected to shrink by 84.6% (from 1085.7 to 118.8 km²) and shift eastward. These findings highlight the high climate sensitivity and competitive vulnerability of Elliot’s Pheasant. We recommend prioritizing micro-habitat maintenance in mid-mountain zones and proactively establishing ecological corridors between Anji and Deqing to mitigate habitat loss and displacement. Full article