Search Results (1,025)

Heavy metal(loid) pollution in watersheds surrounding mining areas originates from multiple and complex sources, posing persistent threats to terrestrial–aquatic ecosystems and human dietary safety. This study systematically investigated the pollution characteristics, spatial distribution, ecological risks and human health hazards of seven typical heavy metal(loid)s (As, Pb, Cr, Cd, Cu, Zn, and Ni) in the integrated water–soil–vegetable continuum of a mining-affected watershed in Southwest China. Field sampling was carried out in three functional zones with different mining disturbance intensities, and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was used to detect heavy metal(loid) concentrations in all samples. Multiple pollution evaluation indices and the USEPA human health risk assessment model were adopted for comprehensive quantitative analysis. The results showed that 44.0% of surface water samples exceeded national permissible limits, with high-pollution areas concentrated in intensive mining zones, presenting moderate overall aquatic heavy metal(loid) pollution. Although the average concentrations of seven heavy metal(loid)s in riparian soils complied with Chinese agricultural soil screening standards, localized significant enrichment was observed for As (1.98 times), Cd (4.62 times), Cu (1.81 times), and Zn (2.72 times) compared with regional background values, causing mild comprehensive soil pollution. Farmland soils exhibited prominent Cu and Zn accumulation, and leafy vegetables in the study area suffered severe Pb and Cd pollution, with potential dietary exposure risks. Health risk assessment indicated that children face higher non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risks than adults via soil hand-to-mouth exposure; dietary intake of vegetables leads to moderate carcinogenic risks for children caused by As and Ni exposure. Overall, this study clarifies the migration and enrichment rules of heavy metal(loid)s in the water–soil–vegetable system of mining watersheds, confirms the prominent ecological and human health risks of Cd, As and Pb in the study area, and provides targeted basic data for regional heavy metal(loid) pollution prevention and food safety management. Full article

The Chishui River Basin, a core production area for Chinese sauce-aroma Baijiu (exemplified by Moutai), supports sorghum cultivation critical to the liquor’s distinctive quality. The soil environment quality within this region, therefore, directly impacts the safety and quality of both raw material and the final distilled spirit. To underpin the safe production and sustainable development of this iconic beverage, it is essential to assess soil heavy metal contamination in the soils and quantify the contributions from various sources. In this study, 172 surface soil samples were collected from typical sorghum planting bases in the Renhuai area. Concentrations of eight heavy metals (loids) (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, and Zn) were determined. The contamination status was evaluated using the geostatistical inverse distance weighting interpolation, the Nemerow pollution index (P_N), and the potential ecological risk index (RI). Source identification and quantification were performed using the positive matrix factorization receptor model (PMF). Results revealed significant enrichment of Cd and Hg in the soil, with mean concentrations 2.07 times and 2.54 times the soil background values for Guizhou Province, respectively. Pollution index results (P_i, P_N) indicated that soil Cd contamination is relatively severe, whereas contamination from other elements is minimal. Overall, approximately 86.5% of the study area was classified as clean or only slightly polluted. Cd poses a moderate ecological risk and was the primary contributor to the total ecological hazard. Other elements exhibited lower risk, resulting in a slight overall potential ecological risk. The soil environmental quality in certified organic sorghum bases was generally favorable. PMF analysis identified three principal sources: historic industrial emissions and traffic-related sources (contributing 46%), weathering of carbonate rocks combined with agricultural activities (37%), and natural background coupled with organic fertilizer application (17%). In conclusion, while the overall soil heavy metal pollution level in the sorghum planting areas is low, the notable enrichment and higher ecological risk of Cd necessitate enhanced dynamic monitoring and targeted risk control measures to ensure long-term soil health and product safety. Full article

Mining-subsidence-induced surface cracks pose substantial risks to ecological systems, infrastructure stability, and mining safety. Their thin, elongated, discontinuous, and low-contrast characteristics make accurate detection from unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) imagery challenging, particularly under complex environmental conditions. This study proposes an enhanced YOLO11n framework for detecting surface cracks in mining subsidence areas. Switchable Atrous Convolution (SAConv) was incorporated to strengthen multi-scale feature extraction, while Cascaded Group Attention (CGA) was introduced to suppress background interference and improve feature discrimination, and Shape-IoU loss was adopted to enhance the localization of slender crack targets. The model was evaluated using 5000 annotated UAV images collected in the Zhungeer mining area. It achieved a precision of 85.6%, a recall of 77.9%, an mAP@0.5 of 84.3%, and an F1-score of 81.6%. Compared with the baseline YOLO11n, precision, recall, and mAP@0.5 increased by 1.4, 4.6, and 3.2 percentage points, respectively. Cross-dataset evaluation on the public Crack500 dataset further demonstrated improved robustness under domain variation. These results indicate that the proposed framework improves the detection and localization of slender and discontinuous cracks in complex mining environments, supporting its application in UAV-based geological hazard monitoring. Full article

Introduction: Freshwater ecosystems are among the most threatened worldwide, with river fragmentation, primarily caused by dams and weirs, identified as a major driver of biodiversity loss. This issue is particularly acute in Europe, where more than one million instream barriers disrupt longitudinal connectivity and compromise the movement of migratory fish. Fishways are widely implemented to mitigate these impacts, yet attraction efficiency at fishway entrances remains poorly understood, especially for Iberian potamodromous cyprinids, a group facing severe conservation pressures. Objective: This study aims to investigate how hydraulic conditions and social context influence the attraction and passage behavior of Luciobarbus bocagei, a rheophilic potamodromous cyprinid endemic to the Iberian Peninsula, in an experimental Vertical slot fishway (VSF) entrance. Methodology: Experiments were conducted in a controlled flume equipped with a VSF entrance design. Two hydraulic scenarios were tested, a Low Head Drop (LD) and a High Head Drop (HD), under a constant discharge of 34 L/s. A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model was used to characterize and compare the flow field hydrodynamics. Fish were tested individually and in groups of three to assess the role of social dynamics. The metrics collected included time to first approach, first attempt, time to first successful passage, attraction efficiency, and passage efficiency. Cox proportional hazards models were applied to evaluate treatment effects. Results: Preliminary results showed that social context influenced fish attraction behavior. In the two hydraulic scenarios, individuals tested alone tend to exhibit lower likelihoods of approaching, attempting, and successfully negotiating the fishway compared to fish in schools. Delays were also evident for attempts and successful passages, with LD_Ind performing the worst. Conclusions: These findings highlight the importance of hydraulic conditions and social behavior in shaping attraction efficiency. They underscore the need to integrate species-specific behavioral ecology into fishway design, operation, and attraction assessment, acknowledging that fish attractivity is influenced by environmental and ecological factors beyond fishway structure, particularly in Mediterranean river systems where fragmentation pressures are high and potamodromous cyprinids are at risk. Full article

Microplastic (MP) contamination is an emerging threat to aquatic ecosystems. However, species-specific bioaccumulation patterns across trophic guilds in tropical river ecosystems remain scarcely understood. This study assessed the occurrence, organ-level distribution, polymer composition, and ecological risk of MPs in 220 fish representing 12 species, spanning across multiple trophic guilds, sampled from four sites along a pollution gradient of the river Yamuna, India. MPs were detected in all examined species, confirming extensive distribution across the river ecosystem. A total 1678 MPs were recovered, with significantly higher abundance in fish from the highly urban Delhi stretch than in those from upstream regions (Kruskal–Wallis, H = 11.03, p = 0.011). The highest species-specific MP load was recorded in omnivorous Oreochromis niloticus from Sonia Vihar (436 MPs), whereas the carnivorous species Xenentodon cancila exhibited the lowest accumulation (37 MPs). Surface- and mid-water herbivores and omnivores accumulated more MPs than benthic carnivores and detritivores. Nonetheless, spatial pollution gradients exerted a stronger influence on MP accumulation, compared to trophic guilds. The gastrointestinal tract exhibited the highest MP abundance (751 MP particles), followed by gills (605) and muscle tissues (322), confirming ingestion as primary uptake route, and suggesting possible tissue translocation. Fibers dominated in the assemblage (77.8%), while transparent (44%) and blue (19.5%) were most abundant colors. ATR–FTIR analysis confirmed 10 diverse polymers, with polyethylene (≈24%) and polypropylene (≈21%) together accounting for nearly half of the identified particles. The Polymer Hazard Index analysis classified the recovered MP mix as Category IV (high ecological hazard). These findings identify the Delhi stretch of the Yamuna as a high MP contamination zone and highlight the combined influence of urban pollution and fish ecology on MP bioaccumulation. Full article

Coastal urban environments are increasingly exposed to natural hazards, including storm surges, tsunamis, coastal erosion, and flooding, which threaten lives, livelihoods, and infrastructure. Despite their widespread use, conventional hard and soft engineering measures have often proved insufficient to address the escalating risks posed by climate change and rapid urbanisation. This study explores the potential of Nature-Inspired Solutions (NiS) as a complementary pathway to advance resilience in architecture, urban design, and planning. Unlike Nature-Based Solutions that utilise existing ecosystems directly, NiS draw design principles from both biotic and abiotic natural systems, offering innovative models for resilient settlements, coastal infrastructure, and adaptive urban planning. Using a mixed-methods approach that includes systematic and narrative reviews, semi-structured expert interviews, analysis of urban development plans, a panel discussion, and expert brainstorming, this research examines how natural coastal systems inform design interventions. Sri Lanka was selected as the primary case study context due to its exceptional coastal vulnerability, significant climate adaptation policy gaps, and status as a small island developing state representative of the coastal challenges faced by similar contexts globally. Furthermore, Sri Lanka was selected as the case study in accordance with the original research proposal submitted to the University of Huddersfield, which identified the country as a suitable context due to its significant vulnerability to coastal hazards, as outlined above. Field investigations in the Lunawa coastal area documented community-based adaptive practices emerging from multi-generational environmental observation. Analysis reveals how dune morphologies, root structures, living shorelines, and rock pool formations translate into architectural and engineering applications. Findings identify critical implementation challenges, including context-specific requirements, technical knowledge gaps, insufficient policy frameworks, limited practitioner awareness, and uncertainties about economic feasibility, as well as key enablers such as demonstrated ecological effectiveness and the potential of multifunctional infrastructure. The study demonstrates that embedding NiS into risk-informed planning and resilient urban design contributes to climate change adaptation, ecological sustainability, and inclusive governance, while highlighting persistent barriers that require strategic intervention. By bridging ecological wisdom and architectural innovation, NiS offers transformative opportunities to reimagine resilient coastal cities and communities facing escalating climate-induced hazards. Full article

The desert bottomland of Northern Shaanxi, China, features an ecologically fragile environment with a pronounced mismatch between abundant coal resources and scarce water resources. Large-scale coal mining often impairs the water-resisting capacity of overlying strata, leading to shallow groundwater depletion, surface drought, and vegetation degradation. This study focuses on determining the height of the water-conducting fractured zone (WCFZ) and assessing shallow groundwater loss in such ecologically sensitive mining areas. Through analysis of measured WCFZ heights, the empirical formulas currently specified in national codes are found to be inapplicable to the study area. A multi-factor nonlinear prediction model, better suited to local conditions, is therefore established using multiple nonlinear regressions. Taking the Jinjitan Coal Mine as a case study, a 3D hydrogeological conceptual model is developed using FEFLOW to simulate phreatic water responses to mining activities. The results indicate a maximum phreatic water drawdown of 3–4 m, with post-mining burial depths predominantly ranging from 5 to 8 m, reaching a warning level that requires attention and mitigation. This study provides a valuable reference for water hazard prevention and ecological protection in desert bottomland regions. Full article

Potentially toxic elements (PTE) are persistent contaminants in coastal systems and may accumulate in marine organisms, with relevance for both environmental monitoring and seafood safety assessment. This study provides an exploratory cross-biota assessment of Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, and Pb in fishery resources from the Romanian Black Sea in 2024. The dataset included 24 composite samples and 120 analyte-level observations across bivalves, gastropods, pelagic fish, and demersal fish. Tissue concentrations were integrated with regulatory maximum levels, bioconcentration factors (BCF), biota–sediment accumulation factors (BSAF), and adult dietary risk indices, including estimated daily intake (EDI), target hazard quotient (THQ), and total target hazard quotient (TTHQ). Within the limits of this single-year dataset, Cd and Pb concentrations were generally higher in bivalves than in fish and gastropods, whereas Cr showed higher values in several fish samples, particularly pelagic fish. Cd was the main element of concern, with regulatory exceedances occurring mainly in bivalves and fewer exceedances in pelagic fish, while Pb exceedance was isolated. BCF and BSAF supported the relevance of Cd as a priority element but were interpreted only as descriptive tissue–water and tissue–sediment ratios, not as evidence of specific uptake pathways. Low abiotic Cd concentrations may have inflated some ratio-based values, and Cr interpretation remains limited by the absence of Cr speciation and dissolved/particulate partitioning data. The adult dietary risk assessment did not indicate substantial non-carcinogenic concern, as all individual THQ values and cumulative TTHQ values remained below 1. Overall, the findings support continued PTE monitoring in the Romanian Black Sea, using sessile bivalves as indicators of local environmental contamination and including gastropods and representative pelagic and demersal fish species of ecological and fisheries relevance to capture contaminant patterns across benthic and mobile fishery resources. Future monitoring should improve species-level replication, integrate metal partitioning in abiotic matrices, and include additional contaminants of seafood safety relevance, particularly Hg and As. Full article

Industrial activities have contributed substantially to the global economy but have also resulted in the release of hazardous substances into the environment. This systematic review aimed to identify extremophilic or extremotolerant bacteria capable of surviving high metal concentrations and actively remediating elevated levels of Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Pb, and Zn. Following the PRISMA guidelines, a qualitative systematic review was conducted in the Web of Science and Scopus databases for studies published between 2000 and 2025 (last search: 5 January 2026). The synthesized dataset revealed distinct ecological and functional roles across different taxonomic levels. At the family level, Carnobacteriaceae, Cyclobacteriaceae, and Erythrobacteraceae were predominantly associated with high metal tolerance (“exposed” profiles) in alkaline environments. Conversely, at the genus level, Acidithiobacillus, Phenobacterium, Microbulbifer, and Roseobacter demonstrated high active remediation capacities in acidic settings through bioleaching, precipitation, or biosorption. Species such as Bacillus subtilis and Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans exhibit a dual profile combining environmental tolerance and high bioremediation performance. These findings highlight methodologically heterogeneous studies, necessitating standardized experimental validation prior to large-scale technological deployment. Full article

Soil wind erosion (SWE) remains a significant challenge to improving ecological environmental quality and achieving sustainable socioeconomic development in drylands of northern China. An in-depth understanding of the spatio-temporal variations and underlying mechanisms of regional SWE is a prerequisite for the scientific prevention and mitigation of erosion-related hazards. However, in regions with high variability in intra-annual climate, quantitative studies on the spatial heterogeneity and intra-annual variability of drivers of SWE are scarce. This knowledge gap poses challenges for policymakers in developing effective landscape management strategies that are spatially and temporally specific. Here, the dynamics of SWE in the Xilingol typical steppe of China were simulated using the Revised Wind Erosion Equation (RWEQ) at seasonal and annual scales during 2000–2020. Stepwise regression and geographically weighted regression (GWR) were employed to examine the spatial heterogeneity in the relationships between SWE and environmental variables. The results revealed that RWEQ simulations were significantly correlated with the frequency of dust storm events at the seasonal scale (R² = 0.807, p < 0.01). SWE in spring accounted for approximately two-thirds of the annual total, indicating that spring was the critical period for SWE control. High SWE intensity was concentrated in sandy soil regions, with the Otindag Sandy Land and Gahai Elesu Sandy Land being identified as priority areas for desertification prevention and control. Over the study period, SWE exhibited an overall decreasing trend at both seasonal and annual scales, suggesting an enhancement in the ecosystem’s capacity for windbreak and sand stabilization. The stepwise regression results indicated that climatic factors generally had greater explanatory power than topographic and landscape pattern variables. Wind speed showed the strongest association with SWE across different time scales, whereas the relationships of normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and precipitation with SWE exhibited clear seasonal dependence. The GWR results further revealed pronounced spatial heterogeneity and seasonal variability in both the direction and magnitude of the associations between SWE and climatic and landscape pattern variables. These findings provide scientific support for identifying priority areas for desertification prevention and for developing spatio-temporally targeted landscape management strategies in dryland sandy regions. Full article

Potentially toxic elements (PTE) pollution from lead–zinc (Pb–Zn) production poses significant ecological risks, requiring systematic assessment across the industrial chain. This study investigated soil, surface water, and sediments near a Pb–Zn mining area, integrating pollution indices (I_geo, NIPI, RI) with human health risk models. A spatial analysis framework was established by combining proportional symbol mapping and Thiessen polygons to analyze contamination patterns under small-sample conditions. Results showed a clear pollution hierarchy: smelting > beneficiation > tailings ≈ mining. Smelting and beneficiation zones exhibited multi-element pollution; Hazard Index (HI) exceedance probabilities reached 89% and 95%, respectively, while carcinogenic risk (CR) exceedance approached 100% across all zones. Cd was the dominant ecological risk factor, particularly in mining and tailings zones, where risk was mainly driven by a single element. Source apportionment identified two industrial groups—smelting-related (Pb, Hg, Zn, Se) and ore-associated (As, Cd, Cu, Sb)—whereas Cr, Ni, Co, and V were mainly derived from natural sources. These results indicate the need for coordinated management of beneficiation and smelting processes and provide a spatial analysis approach for small-sample assessment. Full article

Tunnel seepage in heterogeneous ground can trigger hydrogeological hazards such as concentrated water inflow, groundwater depletion, deformation of surrounding structures, and subsequent eco-environmental degradation. However, these processes are still commonly evaluated using deterministic models that neglect the spatial variability of hydrogeological parameters. To address this limitation, this study develops a stochastic hydro–geo–mechanical–ecological framework that integrates random field theory with physics-informed neural networks (PINNs) for hazard evaluation and rapid prediction of tunnel seepage responses. The spatial variability of key parameters, including permeability and porosity, is characterized using the Karhunen–Loeve expansion and embedded into coupled governing equations for unsaturated–saturated seepage, seepage–stress interaction, and groundwater–soil–vegetation responses. A PINN surrogate model with random-field inputs is then constructed to predict hydraulic head, tunnel inflow, displacement, groundwater depth, vegetation coverage, and soil physicochemical indices, while simultaneously quantifying uncertainty. A karst tunnel case in Chongqing, China, is used to demonstrate the proposed framework. The results show that spatial heterogeneity promotes preferential flow paths and intensifies seepage-induced hazards compared with deterministic mean simulations, leading to larger groundwater drawdown, stronger ecological degradation, and greater overall response variability. The proposed PINN achieves high predictive accuracy (R² > 0.97) and reduces single-case computational time from hours to seconds, enabling efficient multi-scenario evaluation and uncertainty-aware risk assessment. This framework provides a physically consistent and computationally efficient tool for evaluating water-related hazards and long-term environmental impacts in underground engineering. Full article

Bidens pilosa L. (Asteraceae), a globally invasive weed native to the Americas, is widely distributed across tropical and subtropical regions and is listed as invasive alien species in many countries. Despite its ecological hazards, it possesses a long history of traditional use and substantial resource potential that remains incompletely synthesized. This review systematically compiles ethnobotanical records from 15 countries, documenting 60 traditional medicinal indications across 14 disease categories spanning Latin America, Africa, Asia, and Oceania. A structured cross-referencing analysis reveals that 26 (43.33%) of these traditional applications are supported by 17 verified pharmacological mechanisms, mediated by 19 classes of bioactive compounds, principally flavonoids, polyacetylenes, and phenolic acids. Among these, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, antitumor, and antimicrobial activities are the most consistently validated. Moreover, this review synthesizes four non-medicinal utilization pathways: dietary use, animal feed, environmental remediation, and industrial raw materials. The resource value of B. pilosa has been independently recognized in the native and introduced ranges alike. Building on this evidence, we propose a “control-through-utilization” framework. To mitigate potential risks in practical exploitation, three targeted strategies are put forward, including timely harvesting, on-site processing and heavy metal safety inspection. This review supports the sustainable management of B. pilosa and offers methodological references for resource exploitation and control of other invasive plants. Full article

Glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) are a major cryosphere-related hazard in High Mountain Asia (HMA), where glacier mass loss and changing hydroclimatic conditions are reshaping glacial-lake systems and increasing the prevalence of potentially unstable lake–dam configurations. However, current knowledge remains fragmented across HMA. Therefore, this review synthesizes historical evidence, future changes, and risk-reduction strategies of GLOFs across HMA from a remote-sensing perspective. Historical evidence derived from satellite archives, multi-temporal lake inventories, geomorphological analyses, and documented event records indicate that reported GLOFs in HMA are strongly clustered by sub-region and dam type, with moraine-dammed lakes representing the dominant source of documented events, while ice-dammed lakes remain important in several mountain belts. The compiled record also shows that GLOFs have caused severe human, economic, geomorphic, and ecological losses. Future projections based on glacier evolution, glacial-lake expansion, and climate-sensitive hazard assessments indicate continued glacial-lake growth under global warming. However, reliable prediction of future GLOF event timing, magnitude, and frequency remains constrained by uncertainties in glacier evolution, dam stability, and triggering processes. This review further shows that effective GLOF risk reduction in HMA requires integrated systems that combine hazard and risk mapping, early warning, structural interventions, and non-structural measures. It also highlights the need to better link remote sensing with monitoring, assessment, and implementation frameworks, and proposes an integrated management cycle to support practical risk reduction. It concludes that the most urgent research priorities are harmonized multi-temporal lake inventories, targeted field observations, explicit consideration of heatwaves and compound extremes, transparent uncertainty propagation, and stronger operationalization of monitoring and warning systems to support durable climate adaptation and disaster risk reduction across HMA. Full article

Small, dispersed, and vegetated creeping landslides in hilly areas of eastern China hinder traditional remote sensing and detection. To address this, this study takes Yixian County (Anhui Province) as a representative area. Based on high-resolution GF-2 satellite images, three deep learning models embedded with the Squeeze-and-Excitation (SE) attention mechanism (ResNet18-SE, VGG13-SE, UNet-SE) were developed and compared with the original UNet model. Combined with field investigation, landslide mapping and accuracy assessment were conducted to evaluate the feature extraction capabilities of four models. The results indicate that the UNet-SE model achieved optimal performance (Precision: 0.911, Recall: 0.685, F1-score: 0.782, Kappa: 0.730, IoU: 0.643). Its F1-score exceeds ResNet18-SE, VGG13-SE, and the original UNet by 8%, 3%, and 5%, respectively, proving superior regional adaptability and generalization performance. Additional verification on creeping landslides in Kecun Town (Yixian County) and post-earthquake landslides in Lushan County (Sichuan Province) further confirms the reliability of the UNet-SE model. Furthermore, Frequency Ratio (FR), Random Forest (RF), and SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) were adopted to reveal the correlation between landslide occurrence and seven geological-environmental factors. Landslides are most susceptible to develop at elevations of 400–500 m, NDVI values of 0.4–0.5, slopes below 10°, east and northeast aspects, 300–500 m away from rivers, 500–1000 m away from faults, and areas covered by soft sedimentary lithology. Distance from faults, distance from rivers, and elevation are identified as the three favorable conditional factors. In conclusion, the proposed landslide detection framework can provide reliable spatial data and technical references for regional geological hazard prevention, ecological conservation and sustainable development in hilly areas. Full article