Search Results (905)

This study evaluates the ecological impacts of seawater desalination discharge on coastal marine ecosystems through a sequential analytical framework linking systematic literature synthesis, field-monitoring evidence, spatial analysis, and predictive ecological modeling. The novelty of the study lies in combining multi-regional evidence from Mediterranean coastal zones, Persian Gulf waters, and Pacific coastal environments with threshold-based ecological risk assessment, thereby linking discharge-related environmental stressors with biological responses and ecosystem-function alterations. The systematic review first retained 750 studies published between 2004 and 2024 for qualitative synthesis. On this basis, 59 high-quality references with sufficient numerical information were selected for the main quantitative meta-analysis, while field-monitoring data were used to support the interpretation of distance-based discharge gradients. Spatial interpolation and hierarchical modeling were then applied to evaluate exposure–response patterns and ecological threshold behavior. The results showed that desalination facilities generated measurable ecological impacts mainly within 50–200 m of discharge points, with a critical transition distance of approximately 127 m where hypersaline conditions, typically 1.5–2.0 times ambient seawater levels, were associated with marked changes in marine community structure. Benthic assemblages showed taxon-specific responses, with mollusks and echinoderms exhibiting greater sensitivity than polychaetes and small crustaceans. Marine vegetation declined strongly under combined salinity, thermal, and chemical stress, while phosphonate-based antiscalants accumulated in filter-feeding organisms and produced bioaccumulation factors up to 42.1 times ambient levels. Ecosystem-function indicators, including microbial community composition and sediment organic matter processing, remained altered up to 300 m from discharge points, indicating that functional impacts may extend beyond the primary hypersaline plume. The predictive modeling framework further demonstrated that ecological risk decreased nonlinearly with distance and varied according to discharge intensity, local hydrodynamics, and biological sensitivity. These findings indicate that conventional uniform buffer-based assessment may underestimate the ecological footprint of desalination discharge. Sustainable desalination management should therefore adopt site-specific monitoring, species-sensitive protection thresholds, improved brine-management technologies, and adaptive mitigation strategies based on real-time environmental feedback. Full article

Microorganisms in sediments participate actively in biogeochemical cycling and are essential for maintaining the stability of marine ecosystems. To investigate the spatial impact of seaweed mariculture on sediment bacterial communities, three distinct zones were selected along the Zhanjiang coast, China: the Gracilaria salicornia aquaculture zone, a transition zone (adjacent to the aquaculture area), and a control zone (with no direct mariculture influence). In this study, 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing was employed to examine the composition, diversity, and potential functions of sediment bacterial communities across these three zones. The dominant microbial communities identified included Pseudomonadota, Thermodesulfobacteriota, Chloroflexota, and Acidobacteriota. Analyses of α-diversity, β-diversity, and molecular ecological network revealed that the bacterial community in the G. salicornia aquaculture zone exhibited significant differences in species composition, community structure, and interspecies interaction compared with those in the transition and control zones. Environmental factors such as pH, dissolved oxygen (DO) and nitrate (NO₃⁻) exerted significant influence on the bacterial community composition and structure. Predicted functional potential analyses indicated high abundances of pathways related to carbohydrate metabolism and amino acid metabolism. Overall, this study characterizes the spatial distribution patterns of microbial communities in a coastal seaweed mariculture ecosystem and provides important data to support further research on biogeochemical processes mediated by sediment bacteria and their response mechanisms to mariculture activities. Full article

This study evaluates the multi-year taxonomic diversity and functional structure of beetle assemblages (Coleoptera) within Sub Arini Park, a historic urban green space in Sibiu, Romania. Following a preliminary baseline and methodological calibration phase in 2023, systematic monitoring was conducted during the 2024 and 2025 seasonal cycles utilizing standardized pitfall trapping across diverse park zones. We explicitly tested two hypotheses: (H1) that long-standing historic park management preserves a resilient and functional insect community structure, and (H2) that local spatial heterogeneity and microhabitat variations significantly drive species distribution. A total of 14,843 individuals belonging to 39 species were analyzed. While total abundance exhibited a slight decrease from 2024 (N = 7112) to 2025 (N = 6551), true diversity metrics (Hill numbers) revealed a significant increase in raw species richness (q = 0) from 30 to 39 species, alongside an enhanced equity of frequent species (Shannon diversity, q = 1, increased from 4.26 to 5.12). Functional guild analysis and multivariate PCA demonstrated a highly structured biocenotic distribution; specialist and hygrophilous species (e.g., Carabus variolosus Fabricius, 1787) were strictly constrained to high-humidity riparian corridors, whereas thermophilous generalists dominated open lawns under high anthropogenic stress. Our spatial analysis identified critical degradation within these heavily managed zones, specifically driven by intensive mowing, soil compaction, and organic debris removal. These findings confirm both hypotheses, revealing that the park operates as a heterogeneous mosaic of ecological refugia rather than a uniform habitat block. Crucially, this study provides a concrete, quantitative basis—derived from empirical thresholds of species richness, abundance shifts, and mapped microhabitat preferences—for implementing nature-based management strategies (such as establishing buffer zones with reduced mowing frequencies, limiting trampling, and retaining coarse woody debris) aimed at mitigating urban biodiversity loss and maintaining vital biological pest control services in Central–Eastern Europe. Full article

Agricultural intensification has simplified European agroecosystems, leading to biodiversity loss and altered ecosystem functioning. Within these landscapes, (semi)natural elements such as riparian zones may enhance biodiversity, yet the mechanisms linking habitat structure to functional diversity remain insufficiently understood. In this study, we investigated how landscape attributes and community-level processes jointly shape avian functional diversity in an intensively managed Mediterranean agricultural landscape in central Greece. Bird communities were surveyed at 60 sampling stations across riparian zones, green elements, and croplands. We quantified taxonomic and functional diversity using generalized linear models and examined direct and indirect relationships using piecewise structural equation modelling (SEM), complemented by variation partitioning and redundancy analysis. Riparian habitats supported significantly higher species richness and functional richness compared to croplands, with green elements showing intermediate values. However, functional dispersion (FDis) showed limited variation among habitat types. SEM results revealed that landscape variables influenced functional diversity primarily through indirect pathways, mediated by species richness, Shannon diversity, and functional richness. Variation partitioning further showed that functional dispersion was overwhelmingly explained by community-level attributes, with negligible independent contribution of landscape variables. These findings suggest that higher-order functional structure in bird communities is not directly associated with habitat configuration but is more strongly related to internal community organization. Our results highlight the importance of considering both taxonomic and functional dimensions, as well as indirect ecological pathways, when designing habitat management strategies aimed at sustaining biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in agricultural landscapes. Full article

River restoration is increasingly promoted as a nature-based solution, but evidence of its ecological effectiveness in mountain gravel-bed rivers remains limited. Macroinvertebrate responses to hydromorphological restoration are variable and are still rarely evaluated using an integrated approach combining taxonomic, biotic index, and trait-based components. This study examined whether the hydromorphological restoration of the upper Raba River was associated with measurable environmental and ecological differences between the restored and unrestored sections. Six river sections were analyzed, including three restored and three unrestored sections. The environmental characterisation included hydromorphological and physicochemical variables. Benthic macroinvertebrates were sampled in shallow marginal and main-current habitats, and the analyses included assemblage metrics, biotic indices, taxonomic composition, indicator taxa, and functional traits. The restored sections showed greater channel complexity, including a larger active channel zone, a larger number of active channels, and a coarser substrate. These differences were accompanied by higher Shannon diversity, higher values of the Polish Biological Monitoring Working Party index (BMWP-PL), a higher percentage of individuals of Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and Trichoptera (%EPT), distinct assemblage composition, and shifts in indicator taxa and selected functional traits. The results highlight the value of multidimensional assessment frameworks to evaluate the effects of restoration on mountain rivers. Full article

The integration of the digital and real economies is a pivotal engine driving the development of new, quality productive forces. Tourism ecological governance is the concrete manifestation of the green dimension of new-quality productive forces in the cultural and tourism sector, as well as being a path for converting ecological value to drive regional sustainable development. The relationship and mechanisms between digital–real integration and tourism ecological governance are critical issues requiring urgent breakthroughs. However, existing research primarily explores the economic factors influencing tourism ecology and has yet to systematically reveal the intrinsic mechanisms through which digital–real integration affects tourism ecological efficiency from the perspective of typical ecological functional zones. Based on data from 78 counties (municipalities, districts) in China’s Taihang Mountains from 2011 to 2023, this study examines the impact of digital–real integration on tourism ecological efficiency and its operational pathways. The findings are as follows: Firstly, from a temporal evolution perspective, tourism ecological efficiency in the Taihang Mountains underwent a phase of dynamic adjustment and gradual improvement between 2011 and 2023, while the level of digital–real integration experienced a phase of general enhancement and phased advancement. From a spatial evolution perspective, neighboring sub-regions within the Taihang Mountains exhibit positive spatial correlations in terms of both digital–real integration and tourism ecological efficiency. From the perspective of spatiotemporal transfer characteristics, changes in tourism ecological efficiency and the level of integration of the digital and real economies in the Taihang Mountains are influenced by neighboring regions. The development processes of tourism ecology and digital–real integration exhibit a relatively stable and gradually improving pattern, driving the agglomeration of regions toward higher levels. Secondly, digital–real integration has a positive impact on improving tourism ecological efficiency by releasing ecological pressure, promoting industrial synergy agglomeration, and driving green innovation development. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that the positive effect of this integration on tourism ecological efficiency is more pronounced in national e-commerce demonstration cities. Digital–real integration has had a positive impact on improving tourism ecological efficiency in the Southern and Western Taihang Mountain regions, while its impact on the Eastern Taihang Mountain region was not statistically significant. This study incorporates digital–real integration with tourism ecological efficiency, as well as environmental, structural, and capacity factors, into a unified analytical framework, providing theoretical references and practical insights for exploring pathways of digital transformation and innovative tourism ecological governance in ecologically sensitive functional zones. Full article

Bacterial communities play vital roles in coastal biogeochemical cycling and ecological stability. Despite their importance, a significant knowledge gap exists regarding their spatiotemporal dynamics and assembly mechanisms in the tropical coastal waters of the Leizhou Peninsula, China. To investigate the bacterial community structure, co-occurrence networks, and assembly processes, we conducted 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing on water samples collected seasonally from August 2022 to June 2023. The bacterial communities were dominated by Proteobacteria and Cyanobacteria, and were characterized by a distinct warm-season peak in the relative of Cyanobium. Alpha diversity indices exhibited significant seasonal fluctuations, reaching a minimum in August (autumn) and a maximum in December (winter). These variations were strongly regulated by water temperature and phosphate availability. Redundancy analysis (RDA) identified salinity as the primary deterministic factor shaping community composition. Seasonal environmental heterogeneity, rather than spatial variation, primarily governed bacterial community dynamics. We also observed a seasonal succession in community assembly mechanisms with deterministic filtering dominated in autumn, whereas stochastic processes prevailed in other seasons. Predicted functional profiles indicated a stable core metabolism, although local anthropogenic inputs stimulated specific metabolic adaptations in industrial and aquaculture zones. Our findings reveal that seasonal environmental filtering (especially temperature and salinity) and a shifting balance between stochastic and deterministic assembly processes govern bacterial dynamics in this tropical coastal ecosystem, with anthropogenic inputs modulating local metabolic functions. This study provides fundamental insights into the mechanisms maintaining microbial diversity and stability in tropical coastal waters facing seasonal and human pressures. Full article

Ecological zoning is important for understanding spatial heterogeneity and supporting landscape-level management. However, existing approaches rarely integrate ecosystem service supply with ecological risk, and their underlying nonlinear relationships remain insufficiently explored. This study aims to develop an integrated framework linking ecosystem service value (ESV) and landscape ecological risk (LER) based on a two-dimensional quadrant model. This framework integrates ESV and LER from complementary benefit–risk perspectives, advancing ecological zoning beyond single-indicator approaches. Using the Miyun Reservoir Basin as a case study, multi-source data from 2000 to 2020 were used to quantify ESV and LER and to examine their spatiotemporal dynamics. The ESV-LER framework was applied to identify ecological functional zones. In addition, the XGBoost-SHAP model combined with the Geographical Detector was used to explore the nonlinear effects and interactions of natural and anthropogenic drivers. ESV showed a “decline-recovery” trend, whereas LER exhibited an opposite “decrease-increase” pattern. Areas with both high ESV and high LER were mainly distributed around the reservoir and river networks, suggesting a spatial mismatch between ecological value and risk. Ecological improvement and conservation zones accounted for approximately 79% of the basin, while ecological risk prevention zones expanded over time, indicating increasing human disturbance. NDVI was identified as a dominant factor with dual effects, enhancing ESV while reducing LER, whereas population density and NPP exhibited nonlinear threshold effects that increased ecological risk. Overall, this study advances ecological zoning by integrating functional value and risk perspectives while explicitly revealing their nonlinear drivers. The proposed framework provides a transferable and interpretable approach for watershed-scale ecological management and supports more targeted and differentiated governance strategies. Full article

Achieving carbon-neutral cities requires innovative strategies that integrate technological carbon capture, sustainable urban infrastructure, and proactive public engagement. While microalgae-based systems have shown promise for CO₂ sequestration and resource recovery, their scalability remains constrained by high costs and energy-intensive photobioreactor (PBR) designs. Here, we propose the retrofit of existing urban fountains into high-efficiency microalgae cultivation systems—microalgae-enhanced fountain landscapes—as an integrated solution that bridges ecological function and social outreach. This approach capitalizes on ubiquitous fountain infrastructure to minimize deployment costs, employs advanced fountain-style cultivation technology to enhance biomass productivity, and leverages strategic locations in high-footfall urban zones to actively elevate public carbon literacy and motivate low-carbon behavioral shifts through immersive engagement—a vital step toward city-wide participatory climate action. We critically analyze the feasibility of this system, highlighting its potential for multi-stakeholder value creation across developers, municipalities, and citizens. Furthermore, we synthesize recent advances in suspended microalgae cultivation, building-integrated PBRs, and microalgae-informed landscape design to contextualize the development pathway of fountain-based systems. By uniting technical efficiency with civic education, this work establishes a replicable framework for scalable urban deployment—simultaneously advancing carbon mitigation, public awareness, and circular resource flows in the transition toward climate-resilient cities. Full article

This study explores the intersection between co-inertia analysis and neutrosophic spaces through a bibliometric analysis of 259 scientific articles indexed in Scopus (1994–2025). Employing PRISMA methodology and the bibliometrix software (version 5.2.0), the temporal evolution, intellectual structure, and collaboration networks in both fields are examined. Results reveal sustained growth in scientific production since 2010, primarily concentrated in France (71 articles, 27.4% of the corpus). Stéphane Dray emerges as the most influential author with 7252 citations, while Bioinformatics leads in impact (6863 citations across 6 articles). Keyword analysis positions ‘multivariate analysis’ as the central term, articulating three clusters: ecology, multivariate statistics, and genomics. However, explicit integration between co-inertia analysis and neutrosophic theory remains incipient, located in the emerging topics zone with low centrality and density. The thematic map identifies consolidated applications in ecology (macroinvertebrates, functional traits) and development opportunities in data integration under high uncertainty. This work establishes a conceptual foundation for future research on the coupling of multivariate methods with neutrosophic frameworks in contexts of heterogeneous information and indeterminacy. Full article

Arid regions are ecologically fragile and occupy a substantial portion of the global terrestrial surface. In these regions, ecosystem services (ESs) are strongly constrained by water availability and, more importantly, by the balance between water supply and demand. However, the nonlinear responses and threshold mechanisms linking water supply–demand balance to ES dynamics remain unclear. Taking the Kubuqi Desert in the “Great Bend” of the Yellow River as the study area, this study quantified the Comprehensive Ecosystem Service Index (CESI) and the Water Supply–Demand Ratio (WSDR) by integrating the InVEST model, RWEQ model, the RUSLE model, Water Balance Method, and so on. The dual-constraint line method and elasticity coefficient approach were integrated to identify the constraint effects and critical thresholds of WSDR on CESI. Ecological management zones were further delineated by integrating the inflection-point intervals of the dual-constraint lines with the threshold intervals identified by elasticity coefficients. The results showed that CESI remained relatively low, with a maximum value of approximately 0.5, suggesting that the overall ES level was still limited, but exhibited a continuous increasing trend. The regional water supply–demand pattern gradually shifted from deficit toward relative balance, although agricultural water use still accounted for about three-quarters of total consumption. CESI showed a nonlinear threshold response to WSDR: mild water deficit suppressed CESI growth, whereas moderate water surplus promoted CESI recovery by alleviating water constraints and improving ecosystem functioning. Thresholds identified by elasticity coefficients mainly occurred near critical transitions between water deficit and surplus. Based on ES supply and threshold sensitivity, nine ecological management zones were identified, with priority enhancement areas accounting for approximately 75%. These findings provide a threshold-based basis for ecological zoning and differentiated restoration in arid regions. Full article

Landscape Ecological Risk (LER) reflects the potential adverse effects of landscape change on ecological structure, function, and stability. In rapidly urbanizing megacities such as Dhaka, vegetation loss and built-up expansion have intensified environmental pressure over recent decades. This study examines the spatiotemporal dynamics of LER in Dhaka from 2004 to 2024 under the combined influence of vegetation change and urban expansion. Multi-temporal remote sensing data were used to generate land cover maps, derive Fractional Vegetation Cover (FVC), and quantify urbanization intensity using Nighttime Light (NTL) data. The Landscape Ecological Risk Index (LERI) was calculated using landscape pattern metrics, while bivariate spatial autocorrelation and geographically weighted regression (GWR) were applied to examine spatial associations and local spatial heterogeneity. The results show that vegetation degradation affected 34.39% of the study area during 2004–2024, while high-risk zones increased from 24.36% in 2004 to 42.95% in 2024. Land cover analysis further indicates a substantial expansion of built-up areas, accompanied by the contraction and fragmentation of vegetation, agricultural land, and lowland classes. Spatial analyses reveal that the relationships among vegetation cover, urbanization intensity, and ecological risk vary across the city and became increasingly spatially differentiated over time. These findings suggest that vegetation loss and urban expansion are spatially associated with increasing ecological risk in Dhaka. However, the results should be interpreted with caution because of uncertainties related to remotely sensed data, unsupervised land cover classification, resampling procedures, and limited ground validation. Despite these limitations, the study provides a spatially explicit framework for understanding ecological risk dynamics and offers useful evidence for green-space conservation, ecological restoration, and sustainable urban planning in rapidly urbanizing regions. Full article

In biodiversity-rich borderlands, some humanitarian settlements are rapidly expanding. This creates a profound conflict: refugees need a place to live, and ecosystems need protection. However, how settlement growth spatially affects the ecology surrounding protected areas remains understudied. This study takes as an example the city of Teknaf in Bangladesh, one of the world’s largest refugee gathering areas, to explore how settlement expansion changes the ecological structure and function of protected area boundaries, with a focus on two questions: Are there critical spatial thresholds? What is the role of climate feedback mechanisms? We build an analysis framework that integrates several types of data: multitemporal remote sensing images, land-use changes, ecological indicators (NDVI, LST, HQ), landscape pattern indices, gradient analysis, and 2036 simulations based on the business-as-usual scenario. Through this framework, we identify the ecological threshold at the junction of settlements and forests within the Teknaf Wildlife Sanctuary. The expansion of settlements has turned the landscape, which was originally dominated by vegetation, into fragmented hard patches. At the same time, the habitat is severely degraded, and heat stress intensifies. Notably, a critical transition zone emerges at approximately 300–500 m from the protected area boundary, where landscape fragmentation intensifies, habitat quality declines, and heat stress reaches its peak, highlighting a spatial hotspot of ecological vulnerability. If there are no intervention measures, future scenario simulations show that the continued expansion of settlements will only isolate protected areas and accelerate ecological degradation. On the basis of gradient analysis for spatial diagnosis, we propose a zoning management framework and regeneration landscape strategy with the direct goal of coordinating ecological protection and humanitarian needs in crisis-prone border areas. Full article

This paper develops a dynamic multidimensional ecosystem service value index for 280 prefecture-level cities in China from 2000 to 2023. The index is constructed by integrating remote sensing, GIS, and ecological–economic indicators, with machine learning used as a data-driven tool to aggregate multidimensional ecological information. Building on this measurement framework, the paper applies a staggered Difference-in-Differences (DID) model to evaluate the impact of the ecological conservation redline policy on regional ecosystem service value. The results show that the policy significantly increases urban ecosystem service value and that the effect is cumulative over time. Mechanism analysis suggests that the policy mainly works through three channels: ecological benefit improvement, ecological spatial reconstruction, and community public participation. Heterogeneity analysis further shows that the effect is stronger in early pilot cities and in high-ecological-function zones. In addition, policy coordination and local governance capacity significantly strengthen policy effectiveness. By combining multidimensional ecosystem service measurement with causal policy evaluation, this study extends existing research on ecological conservation redline and provides empirical evidence for improving land spatial governance and ecological protection policy design in China. Full article

Wetland restoration plays a crucial role in enhancing hydrologic resilience amidst the challenges posed by climate change and evolving land uses. The historical reduction in beaver populations due to the fur trade and alterations to riparian zones have compromised the ecological stability of many landscapes. Presently beaver populations are increasing as there are now protections in place for them. In response, Beaver Dam Analogs (BDAs) have emerged as an effective restoration strategy, particularly in regions where natural beaver activity is limited due to inadequate habitat conditions. BDAs are a human-made structure that mimics the function and form of natural beaver dams. This paper focuses on a restoration project within the Fish Creek area between the year 2019 and 2021, which is a part of the Weber River watershed in northern Utah, where BDAs were installed to rehabilitate a degraded wetland and rectify an incised channel network. Over the initial two years following the installation (2019–2021), significant ecological transformations were observed. Notably, there was an increase in the areal coverage of sediments that sizes ranged from 1 to 256 mm within the stream channel, alongside a corresponding decrease in coarser substrates. These changes facilitated a reduced channel slope, indicating substantial sediment deposition above the installed BDAs. Concurrently, there was an expansion in riparian vegetation along an approximate stretch of 40 m, primarily grasses, reflecting an adjustment in habitat conditions favorable to riparian recovery. The preliminary outcomes from this study contribute to a broader understanding of the dynamics involved in BDA-driven restoration efforts in semiarid regions like the western United States, highlighting the potential shifts in riparian habitats prompted by such interventions. Full article