Search Results (2,994)

The Linpan in western Sichuan is a composite rural landscape of “household-water-forest-field” on the Chengdu Plain. Under the interference of human activities, problems such as landscape fragmentation and ecological function degradation have become increasingly serious, threatening regional ecological security. The specific components involved in the “study on ecological risk sequence” include landscape disturbance degree, landscape vulnerability degree, landscape connectivity, and human activity intensity. Given the lack of long-term ecological risk research on the Linpan landscape in Chongzhou City to support conservation decisions, this study takes it as the object. Based on five phases of land use data from 2003 to 2023, a landscape ecological risk assessment model was constructed. This model is a deterministic and nonlinear comprehensive evaluation model. The determinism is reflected in the fact that, based on specific influencing factors, a unique and definite result can be obtained through a fixed indicator system and calculation method. The nonlinearity is reflected in the fact that the comprehensive risk index does not involve a simple linear superposition of the various factors; instead, the evaluation result is obtained by integrating the factors through nonlinear approaches such as weighted coupling. Using ArcGIS and spatial analysis methods, based on a temporal resolution of 5 years and a spatial resolution of 30 m, the spatiotemporal evolution characteristics were revealed. The results show that: (1) From 2003 to 2023, the Linpan landscape pattern in Chongzhou City underwent significant evolution, characterized by “reduction in agricultural land, expansion of construction land, and slight recovery of ecological land”. Landscape fragmentation intensified, connectivity decreased, but overall aggregation remained stable. (2) The evolution of the landscape pattern drove the ecological risk to show a stable pattern of “low in the northwest and high in the southeast”. The global Moran’s I value decreased from 0.887 to 0.832, indicating that risk aggregation intensified in the early period and was alleviated in the later period. (3) Landscape disturbance degree is the key factor dominating the change in the comprehensive ecological risk index. Compared with similar studies, this research shares the commonality of urbanization-driven fragmentation exacerbation risk, but also exhibits the uniqueness of Linpan structural resilience and conservation policies promoting a reduction in high-risk areas. This study can provide a scientific basis for Linpan protection, land use optimization, and ecological security pattern construction in Chongzhou City. Full article

Conserved lands play a central role in sustaining ecological functions within working agricultural regions, yet their capacity to maintain wetland conditions varies widely depending on hydrologic persistence and seasonal dynamics. This study assesses the hydrologic performance of Nebraska’s major conservation programs using multi-year Sentinel-2 satellite observations spanning from 2018 to 2024. Five land-protection categories were evaluated: the Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP), Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs), Waterfowl Production Areas (WPAs), the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), and additional protected lands mapped in the Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US). To capture hydrologic dynamics across scales, we quantified parcel-level inundation percentages alongside program-level wetness metrics that represent cumulative surface-water extent. Lands enrolled in WRP and WPA generally exhibited higher inundation levels at the 0% threshold across annual and seasonal periods, with variability across programs, reflecting their role in wetland restoration and habitat provision. WMAs showed greater seasonal variability but retained water under higher persistence thresholds (≥25% and ≥50%), underscoring their importance in maintaining semi-permanent wetland conditions during drier periods. Wetland-associated CRP lands provide essential short-duration wetness that supports regional hydrologic connectivity across working agricultural landscapes. Similar seasonal patterns were observed across other protected lands, which generally contributed to episodic surface water rather than long-term hydrologic storage. Seasonal analyses highlighted strong intra-annual variability driven by snowmelt, precipitation regimes, and evapotranspiration. Collectively, the results demonstrate substantial differences in hydrologic function among conservation programs and provide an empirical basis for prioritizing investments toward lands that most effectively sustain wetland habitats and water-quality benefits. Full article

Understanding the spatiotemporal formation mechanisms of built cultural heritage is essential to interpreting regional cultural landscapes and informing differentiated conservation strategies. Using Fujian Province, China, as a representative mountain–sea transitional region, this study constructs a province-scale, multi-category, and dynamically oriented analytical framework to investigate the temporal evolution, spatial structure, and driving mechanisms of immovable cultural relics. Based on a georeferenced dataset of 940 immovable cultural relics, textual historical records were standardized into continuous temporal variables and integrated with GIS-based kernel density estimation, spatial autocorrelation analysis, distance-to-coast modeling, and category co-occurrence analysis. The results reveal a pronounced temporal concentration in the Ming–Qing and modern periods, with a primary formation peak during the Qing Dynasty and a secondary peak in the early 20th century driven by modern heritage. Spatially, relics exhibit significant positive spatial autocorrelation (Global Moran’s I = 0.375, p < 0.001) and form a structured dual-core pattern, consisting of a persistent coastal heritage belt and a distinct inland modern core centered in western Fujian. More than 75% of relics are located within 110 km of the coastline, confirming strong maritime orientation, while regression analysis reveals that this inland shift is primarily driven by the Modern Era rather than representing a continuous long-term trend. Category-level correlation analysis further demonstrates a clear spatial decoupling between traditional heritage and modern sites, indicating fundamentally different locational logics. Synthesizing these findings, this study proposes a dual-core driven model under a mountain–sea geographical framework, in which a path-dependent, economically reinforced coastal core coexists with a historically contingent, politically driven inland core. The results advance quantitative understanding of how multiple cultural logics, operating across different temporal scales, jointly shape complex regional heritage systems and provide a transferable framework for heritage analysis and spatially differentiated conservation planning. Full article

Traditional villages embody regional culture and local knowledge, yet culture–tourism integration often suffers from a mismatch between resource value and effective transformation. To address this problem, this study proposes a two-dimensional “benefit–obstacle” diagnostic and strategy-matching framework and tests its case-based applicability in Dayuwan Village. First, a cultural landscape gene (CLG) atlas was constructed for the village based on a geo-information coding scheme, covering both tangible and intangible CLGs. Second, a four-dimensional evaluation system was operationalized through five expert judgments and 106 valid on-site questionnaires collected from tourists (n = 67) and residents (n = 39). Criterion weights were determined using an AHP–entropy combination approach, and the comprehensive benefit closeness coefficient was calculated via TOPSIS. Third, an obstacle degree identification model was employed to pinpoint key constraints and derive composite obstacle degrees. Results within the Dayuwan case show that the TOPSIS closeness coefficients of the 17 genes ranged from 0.653 to 0.782 (mean = 0.714), with 4, 6, and 7 genes classified as excellent, good, and medium, respectively; composite obstacle degrees ranged from 0.0228 to 0.1975. In Dayuwan Village, higher obstacle degrees clustered mainly in intangible CLGs, whereas Ming–Qing architecture and frequently practiced folk-cultural genes showed comparatively lower obstacle degrees. The transformation process is constrained by four mechanisms—landscape character protection, economic transformation, social identity, and market demand—with economic transformation constraints being the most prominent. Based on the benefit–obstacle matrix, 17 CLGs were classified into five activation scenarios and matched with corresponding revitalization strategies. This framework links benefit ranking, obstacle diagnosis, and strategy matching, and provides a case-based diagnostic reference for the conservation and culture–tourism integration of villages with comparable heritage conditions, subject to local recalibration of indicators, weights, and thresholds. Full article

Analyzing the dominant drivers of the Food-Water-Land-Ecosystem (FWLE) nexus in the future is important for improving sustainable development in dryland ecosystems. However, the future trajectories of food–water–land–ecosystem interactions in typical drought-prone regions remain poorly understood. To address this gap, this study coupled the Gray Multi-Objective Programming with Patch-generating Land Use Simulation (GMOP-PLUS) model and applied spatial analysis methods (including longitudinal and zonal statistical analysis, trade-off synergy analysis, and redundancy analysis) to examine the spatiotemporal differentiation patterns of the FWLE nexus in Xinjiang under different development scenarios. Over the past two decades, water yield in Xinjiang’s agricultural landscapes has declined by 57.4%, primarily due to land-use and land-cover changes. Under the 2030 sustainable development scenario, a custom optimization developed via the GMOP model that balances economic and ecological objectives, crop production and habitat quality are projected to increase by 47.9% and 55.1%, respectively. Moreover, redundancy analysis results indicate that the driving contribution of precipitation on the FWLE nexus is expected to reach 76.9% by 2030. These findings provide a clear delineation of priority spatial units for improvement within Xinjiang agro-ecosystem and offer a strategic pathway for balancing ecological conservation and economic development. Full article

Mosses (Bryophyta) comprises a group of terrestrial plants that colonized land more than 450 million years ago that play fundamental ecological and evolutionary roles, particularly in polar and peatland ecosystems. The sequencing of Physcomitrium patens marked a milestone in bryophyte genomics, establishing mosses as model organisms for evolutionary and functional studies. However, the recent advent of next-generation sequencing technologies has broadened genomic exploration beyond P. patens, unveiling the genetic diversity of additional bryophyte species. Notably, the genomes of Sphagnum fallax, Sphagnum magellanicum, the liverwort Marchantia polymorpha and hornworts from Athoceros genus have provided new insights into carbon fixation mechanisms, ecological adaptations, and lineage-specific evolutionary traits. These advances have enabled large-scale comparative analyses and expanded the understanding of conserved and divergent genomic features among bryophytes. The integration of these datasets into public databases such as Phytozome and NCBI Genome has created a robust framework for investigating plant genome evolution and biotechnological potential. Altogether, the expanding genomic landscape of bryophytes reveals their remarkable evolutionary plasticity and underscores their importance as key models for studying adaptation, metabolism, and genomic innovation in terrestrial plants. Full article

Vibrio alginolyticus is a common pathogenic bacterium and can cause diseases in aquaculture animals. Lysine lactylation (Kla) is a novel post-translational modification (PTM) that has been confirmed to play critical roles in key biological processes. However, the modification landscape and functions of Kla in V. alginolyticus remain unclear. In this study, lactylation modification profiles of the bacterial pathogen V. alginolyticus were first systematically characterized; a total of 9308 lactylation sites on 2155 proteins were successfully identified. The lactylation of cAMP receptor protein (CRP) and triosephosphate isomerase (TPI) was verified by Co-immunoprecipitation (Co-IP) and Western blot to validate the lactylome data. Bioinformatic analysis of the Kla sites revealed 32 conserved sequence motifs surrounding the modified residues. Kla proteins were mainly involved in central metabolic pathways, including glycolysis/gluconeogenesis and ribosome biogen regulators were found to contain Kla modification sites. To investigate crosstalk among lysine acylations in V. alginolyticus, we integrated Kla, lysine acetylation (Kac), and lysine succinylation (Ksuc) profiles and identified 337 co-modified proteins and 5 co-modified sites. Additionally, phylogenetic analysis of Vibrio alginolyticus CobQ based on protein sequence alignment revealed no homology to the known delactylase CobB. Combined in vitro and in vivo functional validation identified VaCobQ as a candidate delactylase with potential NAD⁺-independent activity. This study establishes a lysine lactylation landscape in V. alginolyticus, providing a resource for exploring Kla functions in bacterial metabolism and its possible connections to virulence. Full article

The neotropical genus Inga (Fabaceae) is a fast-growing tree component of tropical forests which plays crucial ecological and functional roles. However, its diversity patterns and the specific environmental drivers that structure its distribution in Andean landscapes remain insufficiently documented. This study aimed to quantify the diversity and distribution of Inga species in the province of Imbabura (4785 km²), northern Ecuador, while evaluating the influence of key environmental determinants. By integrating 52 field records along 321 km of exploration and 22 herbarium records (QCNE, MO, AAU, F, HUTN), the study analyzes the role of topographic variables (12.5 m resolution) and climate data (1 km² resolution). Seventeen species were recorded, almost tripling previous regional findings. The results demonstrate that species richness and occurrence are strongly structured by altitude, temperature, and soil properties as primary environmental drivers. Ten species showed narrow altitudinal ranges and limited thermal tolerance (<2 °C), indicating high habitat specialization, while I. densiflora and I. insignis exhibited broader niches. Edaphically, most species were associated with sandy loam soils, particularly Mollisols and Inceptisols developed from volcanic material. These findings indicate that climatic gradients and edaphic conditions act as the main environmental filters shaping Inga assemblages in heterogeneous montane landscapes. The observed high level of specialization suggests significant vulnerability to land-use change and highlights the need for habitat-specific conservation strategies in Andean forests. Full article

Frequent co-occurrences of high temperature and drought in tropical regions make heat and drought tolerance of landscape plants core physiological traits that determine their landscape adaptability and community stability. However, systematic elucidation of the differentiation patterns of stress resistance between specialist and generalist tropical landscape plant species, the intrinsic correlations between heat and drought tolerance traits, and the regulatory mechanisms of leaf functional traits remains lacking. In this study, eight typical tropical landscape plant species in Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden were selected as research objects. By determining leaf chlorophyll fluorescence parameters, water relation parameters and leaf functional traits, we systematically analyzed the differences in heat and drought tolerance and interspecific differentiation characteristics between specialist and generalist species, and simultaneously elucidated the correlation patterns of drought-heat tolerance traits as well as the regulatory effects of leaf functional traits on these traits. The results showed that the turgor loss point water potential (Ψ_TLP) of generalist tropical landscape plant species was significantly higher than that of specialist species, with superior drought tolerance; in contrast, the half-lethal temperature of photosystem II (T50) of specialist species was significantly higher than that of generalist species, with stronger heat tolerance. Among the eight tested species, Bombax ceiba exhibited the strongest drought tolerance, while Baccaurea ramiflora had the optimal heat tolerance. The study also found that the drought and heat tolerance traits of tropical landscape plants exhibited stress-specific trade-offs; leaf functional traits had limited overall explanatory power for the stress resistance of tropical landscape plants and only exerted a certain regulatory effect on drought tolerance. This study clearly reveals the differences in heat and drought tolerance between specialist and generalist species. This finding not only enhances our mechanistic understanding of stress resistance in tropical plants but also provides data support for ecological restoration and conservation practices in tropical gardens. Full article

Rapid renewal and tourism-driven commercialization intensify tensions between heritage conservation and redevelopment in historic districts, and decision-oriented tool chains that translate Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) layering into change management remain limited. Taking Chengdu’s Kuanzhai Alley and Daci Temple historic districts as comparative cases, this study traces four benchmark time slices (1911, 1933, 1994, and 2025) using georeferenced historical maps, remote-sensing imagery, planning base maps, archival documents, and field checks. An auditable morphological-evidence coding manual is developed for street–alley skeletons, plot integrity, redevelopment intensity, interface commodification, connectivity, and heritage-anchor integrity, and it is triangulated with resident-population and commercial-mix evidence to interpret regeneration mechanisms. The results show that morphological continuity can coexist with social discontinuity. Kuanzhai Alley retains a legible street–alley backbone, while plot/operational consolidation and intensive commodification coincide with resident withdrawal. The Daci Temple district experiences broader street–plot reconfiguration and upscale clustering that heightens landmark visibility but challenges contextual integrity and community continuity. Based on these mechanisms, four renewal zoning prototypes and zone-specific monitoring indicator domains are proposed to operationalize HUL’s feedback loop and to support balanced governance of heritage, everyday life, and sustainable urban heritage tourism. Full article

Understanding the sustainable management of the complex adaptive tourism systems requires an integrated research approach that combines environmental processes with stakeholder behaviors. Agent-based modelling (ABM) has emerged as a pivotal tool for decoding the resilience, adaptability, and sustainability of tourism systems. However, the current application landscape, methodological limitations, and future research directions of ABM remain insufficiently synthesized, thereby constraining its full potential in advancing sustainable tourism management. This study examines 137 publications on the application of ABM in tourism research between 1989 and 2025, aiming to clarify the application characteristics and evolutionary trajectories. The results show the following: (1) ABM applications in tourism have become increasingly comprehensive and refined, evolving from simplistic simulations based on simplex agents and static spatial representations toward integrated models incorporating heterogeneous agents, fine-grained spatial environments, and multiple contextual factors. (2) Behavioral modeling has progressed from basic human–space interactions to complex, co-evolutionary dynamics among human, social, and ecological systems. (3) ABM applications exhibit context specificity: climate-sensitive scenarios emphasize resource dynamics and adaptation strategies; disaster-prone contexts focus on multi-agent responses and emergency management; conservation-oriented systems support sustainable policy development; and management-centric scenarios prioritize technological innovation and macro-level regulation. Future research should prioritize refining agent interactions through dynamic social network integration, incorporating cross-scale and long-distance system linkages, and strengthening the connection between theoretical modeling and real-world applications. This study would provide a comprehensive knowledge base for advancing the innovative application of ABM in sustainable tourism research and contribute to strengthening resilience, adaptive governance, and long-term sustainability within complex tourism systems. Full article

Leaf senescence in perennial species constitutes a highly orchestrated developmental phase that differs fundamentally from the obligate monocarpic senescence of annual plants. While individual organs undergo programmed senescence, prerennial organisms maintain longevity across multiple growing seasons through a sophisticated interplay between endogenous programs and exogenous cues. This review provides a systematic synthesis of the regulatory mechanisms governing leaf senescence in herbaceous perennials (Lolium perenne and Festuca arundinacea) and woody perennials (Populus, Pinus, and Agave). We highlight a multi-layered regulatory landscape, encompassing divergent and conserved pathways in transcriptional orchestration, hormonal crosstalk, metabolic reprogramming, and telomere maintenance. Specific emphasis is placed on how these mechanisms allow for tissue-specific and seasonal adaptation, such as the integration of dormancy signals in woody taxa versus stress-plasticity in perennial grasses. By elucidating these complex frameworks, this review not only advances our fundamental understanding of plant life-span regulation but also provides a theoretical foundation for the molecular breeding of delayed senescence germplasm, offering transformative potential for enhancing agricultural productivity and ecological resilience. Full article

Forest structural complexity underpins habitat quality, microclimate buffering, and resilience, yet it remains poorly characterized across the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) where field inventories and airborne LiDAR are difficult to scale across rugged terrain. Conservation planning and protected-area evaluation in the HKH therefore often rely on canopy height or cover proxies that do not directly represent vertical structural organization. Here we develop a repeatable, uncertainty-aware indicator of forest structural complexity from GEDI waveform LiDAR using the Waveform Structural Complexity Index (WSCI) and its prediction intervals. We first define a conservative analysis footprint (“trustable pixels”) by combining a woody-vegetation screen with minimum GEDI sampling support and canopy-stature plausibility, and by excluding the highest-uncertainty tail using a relative prediction-interval criterion. To separate complexity from canopy height, we model the HKH-wide expected WSCI–RH98 relationship and map height-normalized excess complexity (observed minus expected), identifying structural complexity hotspots and coldspots as the upper and lower tails of the excess distribution. Anomaly patterns are strongly organized along elevation and treeline-relevant belts and show coherent departures among ecoregions that persist after stratified adjustment for elevation and mean annual precipitation, indicating additional controls beyond broad environmental gradients. Protected areas exhibit systematically lower hotspot prevalence than surrounding landscapes, and within-elevation comparisons suggest this association is not explained by elevation alone, highlighting the need to interpret protected-area signals in the context of placement and land-use pressure. Overall, the anomaly atlas provides an operational indicator framework to stratify monitoring, prioritize field validation, and support the landscape-scale assessment of structural conditions beyond canopy height across one of the world’s most critical mountain forest systems. Full article

The Somyne lake-mire system is a unique wetland landscape complex in the Polissia region of Ukraine and forms part of the Rivne Nature Reserve. Its ecological importance is internationally recognised through its designation as the Ramsar wetland “Somyne Peatland Massif”. Effective conservation of this wetland requires an understanding of the factors controlling the functioning of the lake and its drainage basin, considered in this study as a lake-basin system (LBS). The aim of this study is to assess the geoecological condition of the Somyne LBS using the principles of landscape limnology and the basin approach. The research integrates morphological, morphometric, hydrological, landscape-metric, hydrochemical and geochemical analyses. These are complemented by bathymetric modelling, landscape mapping, and analysis of long-term meteorological observations. The results identify key natural and anthropogenic drivers shaping the functioning of the system, characterise the hydrochemical state of lake waters and the geochemical properties of bottom sediments, and describe the spatial distribution of bottom sediments and the bathymetric structure of the lake basin. A multivariate algorithm for the geoecological assessment of lake-basin systems is proposed, providing a framework for comparative analysis of small lakes in the Polissian lake region under climate change and increasing anthropogenic pressure. Full article

Quercus pyrenaica (Willd.), a sub-Mediterranean oak, is expected to experience substantial distribution shifts under climate change, with some populations in Portugal at risk. Beyond climate-driven pressures, long-standing anthropogenic pressures have likely contributed to the species’ current vulnerability. This work aims to characterize the current status of closed-canopy Q. pyrenaica forests by providing a spatio-temporal assessment of forest fragmentation and its recent evolution. Using multispectral bands from Sentinel-2 time-series data, vegetation indices, embedding vectors generated by Google’s AlphaEarth foundational model, and topographic variables, we applied a machine learning Random Forest classifier to map Q. pyrenaica forests in 2019 and 2024 and to analyze their spatial configuration patterns. The findings indicate robust predictive performance (spatial cross-validation OA of 95.1%, Kappa of 83.7%, and F1 of 86.9%) and reveal the prominent role of AlphaEarth embedding features in the RF classifier, suggesting that these features are well-suited for classifying forest habitats of conservation importance. Quercus pyrenaica occurs predominantly at mid-elevations (~820 m a.s.l.), on gentle slopes (~9°), topographically neutral terrain, and northwestern-facing aspects, consistently across both years. Between 2019 and 2024, the Q. pyrenaica forest area showed an increasing signal. However, the results point to a landscape in an initial phase of forest recovery, constrained by land-use legacies, with cover increasing predominantly through the sprawl of small, geometrically complex, and poorly connected patches. Together, these results provide a baseline to track recent changes in Q. pyrenaica distribution and fragmentation, highlighting a contrast between apparent area expansion and declining overall structural integrity. In the future, patch connectivity and full recovery of secondary succession should be a priority for policymakers and forest owners. Full article