Search Results (1,855)

The Qinling–Bashan mountainous region and its surrounding areas in Shaanxi Province constitute a critical ecological security barrier and significant socio-economic zone within China, currently experiencing mounting ecological stress from both natural processes and anthropogenic activities. This study proposes an ecological restoration zoning framework built upon assessments of ecological vulnerability (EV) and ecosystem service value (ESV). The InVEST model was used to quantify major ecosystem services, while the Vulnerability Scoping Diagram (VSD) model evaluated ecological vulnerability. Both the ESV and EV layers were classified using the natural breaks method and aggregated at the township level to delineate restoration zones. Unlike previous studies relying on subjective judgment, this study constructs a standardized ‘vulnerability–service value’ decision matrix for the Qinling–Bashan region, providing a clear technical pathway for spatial restoration. Key findings include the following: (1) Spatial Vulnerability Pattern: The Qinling and Bashan mountain cores exhibit predominantly low vulnerability (potential and slight), while severe vulnerability is concentrated in the urbanizing Guanzhong Plain, emphasizing the need for urban ecological restoration. (2) Dominant Ecosystem Services: Carbon storage and net primary productivity (NPP) together account for 93% of the total ESV, highlighting the importance of forest conservation for national climate regulation. (3) Zoning Strategy: Four functional zones were defined, with the largest being the ecological conservation zone (44.8%), while a smaller ecological restoration zone (2.8%) in urban peripheries requires targeted intervention. Full article

The Ebinur Lake Basin, a key ecological security barrier for windbreak and sand control in northern Xinjiang, is crucial to the ecological safety of western China and the northern sand-prevention belt. Combining the basin’s geographical characteristics, this study comprehensively evaluated ecosystem service functions from four dimensions: water conservation, soil and water conservation, windbreak and sand-fixation, and biodiversity maintenance. Simultaneously, it conducted an ecological sensitivity assessment from four aspects: soil erosion, desertification, land use, and salinization sensitivity. The assessments of the importance of ecosystem service function and ecological sensitivity results were combined to create a tiered zoning plan for the basin. The basin was divided into four first-level zones: the Ebinur Lake Water Area and Wetland Biodiversity Protection Zone, the Desert Vegetation Windbreak and Sand Fixation Ecological Restoration Zone, the Oasis Agricultural Ecological Function Protection Zone, and the Mountain Water Conservation Zone. Six second-level zones were also delineated: the Ebinur Lake Wetland National Nature Reserve, Gobi Vegetation Distribution and Soil Erosion Sensitive Zone, Desert Vegetation Restoration Zone, Jinghe-Bortala Valley Oasis Agricultural Ecological Function Zone, Mountain Water Conservation and Forest-Grass Protection Zone, and Sayram Lake Water Body. This assessment and zoning plan provide support and scientific basis for the basin’s comprehensive ecological management, integrated protection and governance of mountains, rivers, forests, farmlands, lakes, grasslands and deserts, as well as regional ecological development. Full article

Urban lakes, as critical components of urban ecosystems, provide essential ecological services but face water quality deterioration due to rapid urbanization and associated land use changes. This study investigated the temporal and spatial characteristics and evolution mechanisms of water quality in Wuhan city lakes, with a focus on the Great East Lake basin (GELB), a typical urban lake cluster in the middle Yangtze River basin. By integrating monthly water quality monitoring data (2017–2023) with high-resolution land use data (2020), we employed the Water Quality Index (WQI), Spearman correlation analysis, and Redundancy Analysis (RDA) to assess water quality and the impact of land use on major pollutants. The results revealed significant spatial heterogeneity: Sha Lake (SL) exhibited the best water quality, while Yangchun Lake (YCL) and North Lake (NL) showed the worst conditions. Seasonal variations in water quality were observed, influenced by the ecological functions of lakes and surrounding land use. Notably, understanding these seasonal dynamics provides insights into nutrient cycle operations and their effective management under varying climatic conditions. In addition, the correlation between chlorophyll-a concentration and nutrient elements in urban lakes was not consistent, with some lakes showing significant negative correlations. The water quality of urban lakes is influenced by both land use and human management. Land use analysis indicated high impervious surfaces in East Lake (EL), SL, and YCL exacerbated runoff-driven nutrient loads, the nitrogen elevation from agricultural runoff of Yan East Lake (YEL) and NL’s pollution from historical industrial discharge. This study highlights the urgent need for targeted water management strategies to mitigate the impact of urbanization on water quality and provide a scientific basis for effective governance and ecological restoration in rapidly urbanizing areas around the world. By adopting an integrated approach combining water quality assessments with land use data, this research offers valuable insights for sustainable urban lake management. Full article

As a strategic core of the Western Land–Sea New Corridor, the Pinglu Canal Economic Belt (PCEB) is undergoing unprecedented landscape restructuring due to canal construction. This mega-project serves as a critical case for understanding how intense human intervention reshapes regional ecosystem service (ES) patterns. Integrating complex network analysis with Generalized Additive Models (GAMs), this study examines the spatiotemporal evolution of human activity intensity (HAI) and ES networks (2000–2020) and their nonlinear responses. Research findings: the PCEB’s ES network evolution reflects a “policy–terrain coupling” mechanism. While HQ remains the structural anchor for regulating services, FP drives key trade-offs. The network has transitioned from coexisting trade-offs and synergies to synergy dominance, driven by ecological engineering and spatial zoning. We identified HAI 0.10–0.15 as a critical threshold where moderate disturbance promotes service integration. However, excessive intensification leads to functional simplification. Future governance should move beyond rigid zoning, employing dynamic spatial policies and adaptive agroforestry to mitigate FP’s pressure and activate the ecological potential of transition zones. This study provides a framework for understanding nonlinear socio-ecological responses to human–policy–terrain feedback. This study provides a scientific basis for optimizing land-use management and enhancing ecosystem sustainability in the PCEB. Full article

Our work develops the structural mathematical framework of the REGENerative Agriculture (REGENA) Production Function, contributing to the limited global literature of regenerative farming production functions with consistency to the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics and the underlying biophysical processes for ecosystem services’ generation. The accurate structural economic modeling of regenerative farming practices comprises a first vital step for the shift of global agriculture from conventional farming—utilizing petrochemical fertilizers, pesticides and intensive tillage—to regenerative farming—utilizing local agro-ecological capital forms, such as micro-organisms, organic biomasses, no-tillage and resistant varieties. In this context, we empirically test the REGENA structural change patterns with data from eight experimental plots in six Mediterranean countries in Southern Europe and Northern Africa for three crop compositions: (a) with exclusively conventional practices, (b) with exclusively regenerative practices and (c) with mixed conventional and regenerative practices. Finally, we discuss in detail the scientific, institutional, economic and financial engineering challenges for the market uptake of regenerative farming and the contribution of REGENA for the achievement of this goal. In addition, as regenerative farming is knowledge-intensive, we review the vital aspect of Open Innovation (OI) and protected Intellectual Property (IP) business models as essential parts of regenerative farming knowledge-sharing clusters and trading alliances. Full article

As agricultural heritage systems provide crucial ecosystem service functions, conducting functional zoning serves as a fundamental and essential approach to implementing the ecological civilization strategy and promoting targeted conservation and sustainable utilization. Taking the Mountain Spring Water Fish Farming System in Kaihua, Zhejiang, a site recognized as a China-Nationally Important Agricultural Heritage System, as a case study, this research integrates the equivalent factor method and the Self-Organizing Map neural network clustering method to evaluate ecosystem service values, identify ecosystem service clusters, and conduct ecological functional zoning. Protection and utilization strategies are subsequently proposed for each functional zone. The results show the following findings: (1) From 2005 to 2020, the total ecosystem service value of the system exhibited a fluctuating yet overall declining trend, decreasing by approximately 0.25%; (2) five ecosystem service clusters were identified, within which services generally showed synergistic relationships, while trade-offs were mainly concentrated between food provision and other ecosystem services; (3) based on these findings, the study area was divided into five functional zones—the Heritage Culture Core Zone, the Ecological Restoration and Conservation Priority Zone, the Industrial Integration and Development Zone, the Ecological–Industrial Transition and Optimization Zone, and the Multi-Value Protection and Exploration Zone. Specific protection and utilization strategies were proposed for each zone. This study provides a novel theoretical perspective and practical reference for rational ecological functional zoning, as well as the protection and sustainable use of agricultural heritage systems. Full article

Amphibians are among the most threatened vertebrate groups globally, with over 40% of species at risk of extinction. However, a gap remains in understanding how to effectively develop and implement amphibian conservation strategies at local and global scales to minimize extinction risk. This review synthesizes multidisciplinary evidence to frame amphibian conservation as a priority not only for species preservation but for safeguarding ecosystem functioning and human well-being. Drawing on ecological, physiological, biomedical, and technological literature, we highlight the foundational roles amphibians play in various biomes: regulating invertebrate populations, mediating nutrient and energy flows, modifying physical habitats, and supporting biodiversity through trophic interactions. Their dual aquatic–terrestrial life cycles and highly permeable skin make them highly sensitive to environmental change, positioning them as bioindicators for ecosystem health. We further explore emerging tools and concepts such as environmental metabolomics, remote sensing, and citizen science for monitoring population trends and environmental stressors. Additionally, we discuss conservation challenges in relation to land-use change, climate disruption, invasive species, emerging diseases, and institutional underinvestment. We argue for the recognition of amphibians as ecological allies and the increased integration of amphibian conservation into broader frameworks such as ecosystem service valuation, climate resilience planning, and public health policy improvement. Finally, we identify key research gaps and suggest future directions to remedy these oversights, including the incorporation of traditional knowledge, socio-cultural engagement, and technological innovations for sustainable amphibian conservation. Realizing this vision will require globally coordinated, locally grounded strategies that fuse scientific insight, inclusive governance, and long-term investment—ensuring that amphibian conservation advances ecosystem stability and benefits both nature and society. Full article

Urban areas often suffer from enduring environmental issues, including flooding, biodiversity loss, heat island effects, and air and soil pollution. The Miyawaki method of afforestation, characterized by dense planting of native species on remediated soil, has been proposed as a rapid, nature-based solution for restoring urban ecological function. This study aims to evaluate early-stage changes in soil health following Miyawaki-style microforest establishment in formerly redlined neighborhoods in Elizabeth, New Jersey. Specifically, it investigates whether this method improves soil permeability, carbon content, and microbial activity within the first three years of planting. Three microforests aged one, two, and three years were assessed using a chronosequence approach. At each site, soil samples from within the microforest and adjacent untreated urban soil (control) were compared. Analyses included physical (porosity, dry density, void ratio), chemical (total carbon), and biological (microbial respiration, biomass, metabolic rate, carbon use efficiency) assessments. Soil permeability was estimated via the Kozeny–Carman equation. Microforest soils showed significantly greater porosity (p = 0.015), higher void ratios (p = 0.009), and reduced compaction compared to controls. Soil permeability improved dramatically, with factors ranging from 5.99 to 52.27. Total carbon content increased with forest age, reaching 2.0 mg C/g in the oldest site (p < 0.001). Microbial metabolic rate rose by up to 287.5% (p = 0.009), while carbon use efficiency also improved, particularly in the older microforests. Within just one to three years, Miyawaki microforests significantly enhanced both the physical and biological properties of degraded urban soils, signaling rapid restoration of soil function and the early return of ecosystem services. Full article

The integration of IT services is a critical challenge for public organizations that seek to modernize their operational ecosystems and strengthen mission-oriented processes. In the field of fiscal oversight, supreme audit institutions (SAIs) increasingly require systematized and interoperable service architectures to ensure transparency, accountability, and effective public resource control. However, existing literature reveals persistent gaps concerning how service integration models can be deployed and validated within complex government environments. This study describes an enterprise architecture-driven service integration model designed and evaluated within the Office of the General Comptroller of the Republic of Colombia (Contraloría General de la República, CGR). The study tests the hypothesis that an Enterprise Architecture-driven integration model provides the necessary structural coupling to align technical IT performance with the legal requirements of fiscal oversight, which is an alignment that typically does not appear in generic governance frameworks. The methodological approach followed in this study combines an IT service management maturity assessment, process analysis, architecture repository review, and iterative validation sessions with institutional stakeholders. The model integrates ITILv4 (Information Technology Infrastructure Library), TOGAF (The Open Group Architecture Framework), COBIT (Control Objectives for Information and Related Technologies), and ISO20000 into a coherent framework tailored to the operational and regulatory requirements of an SAI. Results show that the proposed model reduces service fragmentation, improves process standardization, strengthens information governance, and enables a unified service catalog aligned with fiscal oversight functions. The empirical validation demonstrates measurable improvements in service delivery, transparency, and organizational responsiveness. The study contributes to the field of applied system innovation by: (i) providing an integration model, which is scientifically grounded and evidence-based, (ii) demonstrating how hybrid governance and architecture frameworks can be adapted to complex public-sector environments, and (iii) offering a replicable approach for SAIs that seek to modernize their technological service ecosystems through enterprise architecture principles. Future research directions are also discussed to provide guidelines to advance integrated governance and digital transformation in oversight institutions. Full article

Climate warming is one of the most pressing global changes, with profound consequences for biodiversity, ecosystem functioning, and the provision of ecosystem services. Although warming is expected to alter soil nutrient cycling and plant community structure, the mechanisms through which it reshapes ecosystem multifunctionality (EMF) remain insufficiently understood. Here, we conducted a 3-year field warming experiment in an alpine grassland to assess how warming influences plant diversity, soil nutrients, and their joint effects on EMF. We found that plant α-diversity declined in both control and warming groups in 2021 and partially recovered by 2023, though recovery was weaker under warming. In contrast, β-diversity (turnover) showed a continuous increasing trend under warming across years, although differences from the control were not statistically significant. EMF, evaluated with single- and multi-threshold approaches, exhibited a consistent decline, with warming accelerating this reduction and producing more complex bimodal fluctuations within intermediate threshold ranges (55–75% and 80–90%). Warming also restructured the functional drivers of EMF: soil organic carbon (SOC) and available nitrogen (AN) emerged as dominant regulators, whereas the contributions of total nitrogen and turnover weakened. Collectively, these findings demonstrate that warming not only alters biodiversity patterns and ecosystem functions but also reshapes the soil–plant–function feedbacks that sustain EMF. By identifying SOC and AN as critical mediators, this study highlights a mechanistic pathway through which climate warming may undermine ecosystem resilience and long-term sustainability, providing insights essential for predicting terrestrial ecosystem responses under future climate scenarios. Full article

Poplars (Populus L.) are fast-growing, widely distributed trees with high ecological, economic, and climate-mitigation value, making them central to diverse agroforestry systems worldwide. This study presents a comprehensive bibliometric and content-based review of global poplar-based agroforestry research, using Scopus and Web of Science databases and a PRISMA-guided screening process to identify 496 peer-reviewed publications, covering publications from 1987 to 2024. Results show a steady rise in scientific output, with a notable acceleration after 2013, dominated by agriculture, forestry, and environmental sciences, with strong international contributions and research themes focused on productivity, carbon sequestration, biodiversity, and economic viability. A wide range of Populus species and hybrids is employed globally, supporting functions from crop production and soil enhancement to climate mitigation and ecological restoration. Poplar-based systems offer substantial benefits for soil health, biodiversity, and carbon storage, but also involve trade-offs related to tree–crop interactions, such as competition for light reducing understory crop yields in high-density arrangements, management intensity, and regional conditions. Poplars provide a wide array of provisioning, regulating, and supporting ecosystem services, from supplying food, fodder, timber, and biomass to moderating microclimates, protecting soil and water resources, and restoring habitats, while supporting a broad diversity of agricultural and horticultural crops. However, several critical gaps—including a geographic research imbalance, socio-economic and adoption barriers, limited understanding of tree–crop interactions, and insufficient long-term monitoring—continue to constrain widespread adoption and limit the full realization of the potential of poplar-based agroforestry systems. Full article

The proliferation of Internet of Things (IoT) applications in safety-critical domains, such as healthcare, smart transportation, and industrial automation, demands robust solutions for data integrity, traceability, and security that surpass the capabilities of centralized databases. This paper analyzes how blockchain technology can be integrated with core IoT service functions—including data management, security, device management, group coordination, and automated billing—to enhance immutability, trust, and operational efficiency. Our analysis identifies practical use cases such as consensus-driven tamper-proof storage, role-based access control, firmware integrity verification, and automated micropayments. These use cases showcase blockchain’s potential beyond traditional data storage. Building on this, we propose a novel framework that integrates a permissioned distributed ledger with a standardized IoT service layer platform through a Blockchain Interworking Proxy Entity (BlockIPE). This proxy dynamically maps IoT service functions to smart contracts, enabling flexible data routing to conventional databases or blockchains based on the application requirements. We implement a Dockerized prototype that integrates a C-based oneM2M platform with an Ethereum-compatible permissioned ledger (implemented using Hyperledger Besu) via BlockIPE, incorporating security features such as role-based access control. For performance evaluation, we use Ganache to isolate proxy-level overhead and scalability. At the proxy level, the blockchain-integrated path achieves processing latencies (≈86 ms) comparable to, and slightly faster than, the traditional database path. Although the end-to-end latency is inherently governed by on-chain confirmation (≈0.586–1.086 s), the scalability remains high (up to 100,000 TPS). This validates that the architecture secures IoT ecosystems with manageable operational overhead. Full article

The relationship between insect diversity and crop production has been of continuous scientific interest. Understanding insect community dynamics using various sampling and monitoring methods at different crop phenology stages is crucial for enhancing pest management and ecosystem service functioning. The present study assessed the influence of four trap types (Blue, Yellow, White, and Malaise) applied at four tomato developmental stages (start of planting, flowering, flowering fruit development and harvest) on insect diversity in northeastern Tunisian open-field conditions. A total of 1771 insect individuals belonging to seven orders and 31 families were trapped, with the order Hymenoptera being the most common in the sampled plots, which was represented by 25 families. Trap type exerted a strong effect on both abundance and alpha diversity parameters. Yellow pan traps showed the highest diversity, with family richness (S) ranging from 1 to 16, Shannon diversity (H) reaching 2.54, Simpson (Is) diversity ranging from 0.72 to 0.90 and Pielou’s evenness (J) ranging from 0.83 to 0.98. Blue and white traps displayed intermediate diversity (Blue: S = 6 and H = 1.7; White: S = 7 and H = 1.6), while Malaise traps captured the least diverse assemblages (S = 4, H = 1.2 and Is = 0.65). These differences were highly significant (p < 0.05). Phenological stage significantly structured Hymenoptera diversity. Richness peaked at the start of planting (S = 1–16 and H up to 2.54) and declined sharply at harvest (S = 1–6). Pollinator families (Apidae, Halictidae, Megachilidae) were the most abundant during flowering, whereas parasitoid families (Braconidae, Eulophidae) dominated during the fruit development stage. Beta diversity analyses (NMDS, stress = 0.25) and PERMANOVA showed that trap type and phenological stage jointly explained 15.5% of the variation in community composition (R² = 0.155, p = 0.014). Although a strong taxonomic overlap among traps was observed, Indicator Value analysis revealed significant trap-specific associations, including the family Andrenidae with Blue traps and the family Scoliidae with White and Yellow traps. Overall, the results of the present study demonstrate that both trap type and crop phenology significantly influence insect population diversity. A multi-trap sampling strategy combining colored pan traps and Malaise traps could be recommended to accurately characterize insect communities and associated ecosystem services in Mediterranean open-field tomato systems. Full article

Urban parks are key to urban ecosystems, where soil microbe-plant-soil interactions sustain ecosystem services. Using high-throughput sequencing and multivariate statistics, this study explored how plant species diversity affects soil microbial community structure, functional diversity, and environmental drivers. Results showed that fungal and bacterial OTUs differed across plant diversity gradients, with Ascomycota (fungi) and Actinobacteriota/Proteobacteria (bacteria) dominant. Soil organic carbon (SOC) was positively correlated with Verrucomicrobia, while Acidobacteriota increased with lower SOC. Fungi were more sensitive to pH than bacteria. Partial Least Squares Path Modeling (PLS-PM) indicated that plant diversity was significantly positively associated with fungal community structure and was indirectly associated with bacterial diversity via soil factors (e.g., SOC, pH), with fungal community variation more explained than bacterial. Higher plant diversity was associated with elevated SOC and a higher relative abundance of putative nutrient-cycling taxa (e.g., Rhizobium), suggesting a potential enhancement of soil nutrient cycling capacity. This study demonstrates that plant diversity shapes microbial communities directly and via soil properties, highlighting synergistic effects. We propose arbor-shrub-herb composite vegetation in urban forest management to optimize microbial habitats and ecological services. Full article

In the rapid urbanization process, ecological spaces are continuously encroached upon, leading to an increase in landscape fragmentation. This, in turn, results in a series of issues, such as weakened ecological connectivity and an imbalance in the supply and demand of ecosystem services. Green infrastructure serves a variety of ecosystem functions, and constructing and optimizing ecological networks based on green infrastructure is a key approach to enhancing landscape connectivity and mitigating the negative effects of urbanization. This study takes the central urban area of Fuzhou as a case study, innovatively combining the ecological network construction with supply–demand assessments of green infrastructure. It identifies ecological nodes and priority optimization zones. Results indicate that green infrastructure supply exhibits a pattern of “low in the central-eastern areas and high in the northern–southern areas,” while demand shows the opposite trend, revealing significant spatial mismatch between the two. The study identifies 7 key optimization areas, 29 ecological sources, 35 ecological corridors, and 61 ecological nodes. These are classified into core, important, and general levels based on centrality indices, and the ecological elements are finally overlapped to form an ecological network. This research provides practical insights for optimizing green infrastructure. Full article