Search Results (44)

Moringa oleifera (MO), a nutritionally and pharmacologically potent species, is emerging as a sustainable candidate for applications across bioenergy, agriculture, textiles, pharmaceuticals, and biomedicine. This review explores recent advances in MO-based biotechnologies, highlighting novel extraction methods, green nanotechnology, and clinical trial findings. Although MO’s resilience offers promise for climate-smart agriculture and public health, challenges remain in standardizing cultivation and verifying therapeutic claims. This work underscores MO’s translational potential and the need for integrative, interdisciplinary research. MO is used in advanced materials, like electrospun fibers and biopolymers, showing filtration, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant properties—important for the biomedical industry and environmental remediation. In textiles, it serves as an eco-friendly alternative for wastewater treatment and yarn sizing. Biotechnological advancements, such as genome sequencing and in vitro culture, enhance traits and metabolite production. MO supports green biotechnology through sustainable agriculture, nanomaterials, and biocomposites. MO shows potential for disease management, immune support, metabolic health, and dental care, but requires further clinical trials for validation. Its resilience is suitable for land restoration and food security in arid areas. AI and deep learning enhance Moringa breeding, allowing for faster, cost-effective development of improved varieties. MO’s diverse applications establish it as a key element for sustainable development in arid regions. Full article

Global challenges such as climate change, ecological imbalance, and resource scarcity are closely related with land-use change. Arid land, which is 41% of the global land area, has fragile ecology and limited water resources. To ensure food security, ecological resilience, and sustainable use of land resources, there is a need for multi-scenario analysis of land-use change in arid regions. To carry this out, multiple spatial analysis techniques and land change indicators were used to analyze spatial land-use change in a typical inland river basin in arid Northwest China—the Tailan River Basin (TRB). Then, the PLUS model was used to analyze, in a certain time period (1980–2060), land-use change in the same basin. The scenarios used included the Natural Increase Scenario (NIS), Food Security Scenario (FSS), Economic Development Scenario (EDS), Water Protection Scenario (WPS), Ecological Protection Scenario (EPS), and Balanced Eco-economy Scenario (BES). The results show that for the period of 1980–2020, land-use change in the TRB was mainly driven by changes in cultivated land, grassland, forest land, and built-up land. For this period, there was a substantial increase in cultivated land (865.56 km²) and a significant decrease in forest land (197.44 km²) and grassland (773.55 km²) in the study area. There was a notable spatial shift in land use in the period of 1990–2010. The overall accuracy (OA) of the PLUS model was more than 90%, with a Kappa value of 85% and a Figure of Merit (FOM) of 0.18. The most pronounced expansion in cultivated land area in the 2020–2060 period was for the FSS (661.49 km²). This led to an increase in grain production and agricultural productivity in the region. The most significant increase in built-up area was under the EDS (61.7 km²), contributing to economic development and population growth. While the conversion of grassland area into other forms of land use was the smallest under the BES (606.08 km²), built-up area increased by 55.82 km². This presented an ideal scenario under which ecological conservation was in balance with economic development. This was the most sustainable land management strategy with a harmonized balance across humans and the ecology in the TRB study area. This strategy may provide policymakers with a realistic land-use option with the potential to offer an acceptable policy solution to land use. Full article

For the purpose of providing crucial theoretical support for guaranteeing food security and reaching low-carbon emissions, this study examines the spatiotemporal evolution and influencing factors of the eco-efficiency of cultivated land use (ECLU) across 125 cities in the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB) from 2005 to 2022. Utilizing models such as Super-SBM, spatial autocorrelation, standard deviational ellipse, and regionally weighted regression, we investigate the spatiotemporal characteristics and influencing factors. The results indicate that (1) from 2005 to 2022, the overall ECLU in the YREB has shown a notable increase, demonstrating an “N”-shaped trend of “rise-decline-rise”, although trends vary at the city level, with upstream areas exhibiting higher efficiency than downstream and midstream areas. (2) Furthermore, a significant positive correlation exists in the ECLU among the cities, exhibiting pronounced spatial differentiation; the centroid displays a migration trajectory from “southwest-northeast-southwest”, with the long axis of the ellipse consistently oriented in the “southwest-northeast” direction. (3) Additionally, the influencing factors of the ECLU exhibit significant spatial heterogeneity across different years and regions, revealing substantial regional disparities among the cities in the YREB. Future efforts should focus on exploring differentiated regional pathways, increasing investment in agricultural technology, and enhancing farmers’ environmental awareness to promote the improvement of the ECLU. Full article

The Huaihe River Eco-Economic Belt (HREEB) is a pivotal region in China’s national strategic planning. Land use in this region is crucial to improving ecological quality and ensuring food security. Using the PLUS model and Geodetector, we evaluated the contribution and interaction of 10 drivers to production–living–ecological land (PLEL) and performed multi-scenario simulations of PLEL. The results show that the following: (1) Ecological land is mainly affected by elevation (contribution value > 0.16 for forest, grassland, and water). Production land is influenced by topographic relief, elevation, and GDP per capita (contribution value > 0.13). Living land is driven by topographic relief, GDP per capita, elevation, and population density (contribution value > 0.13). Interaction analysis shows nonlinear or two-factor enhancement among factors. (2) Ecological land in the HREEB has a relatively stable spatial pattern. Simulation results indicate that ecological land will not exceed a 12% change in the next 50 years. (3) By 2075, simulations under various scenarios predict significant changes in land area. Compared with the natural development scenario, production land increased by 14.8% in the farmland protection scenario, and living land increased by 14.3% in the urban development scenario. This research is vital for managing and developing PLEL resources within the HREEB. Full article

Global urbanization has caused enormous challenges that seriously threaten ecological security and the food system. Thus, there is a need for finding an optimal solution for the eco-efficiency of cultivated land use (ECLU) that can promote the development of new-type urbanization, while ensuring the sustainable utilization of limited cultivated-land resources. The quantitative system of multi-scale ECLU used in existing studies is inadequate; it is necessary to establish a measurement system from the perspective of geographical spatial relationship that uses evaluation as a key basis for management. In this study, we considered the Changchun Metropolitan Area and a representative urban–rural transition area as the target regions and customized new ECLU evaluation systems for different scales. The super slack-based measure and gravity and social network analyses methods were applied to evaluate the ECLU and explore the structural characteristics of its spatial association network. The average ECLU value for the Changchun Metropolitan Area was 0.974; the results indicated that most of the study area was eco-efficient. The value of ECLU for the urban–rural transition area varied from 0.022 to 1.323; thus, the highly efficient cultivated land was mainly distributed around the urban built-up area. The spatial association network of ECLU revealed that the overall spatial correlations were relatively weak, with a significant “bipolar” division of ECLU; furthermore, the network hierarchy and stability needed improvement. Moreover, we noted distant attraction capacity and siphoning effects outside regional boundaries. In the Changchun Metropolitan Area, it manifested as a monocentric radiation, with Changchun City as the center. In the urban–rural transition area, the cultivated land in proximity to the newly built urban area was more likely to experience spatial spillover. These findings have important implications for strengthening land-use management and advancing sustainable agricultural development for new-type urbanization. Our study can be used by policymakers and stakeholders to design sustainable urban cities, while improving land-use management and optimizing resource use. Full article

The combined pressures of climate change and human activities have exacerbated ecological risks in fragile and sensitive areas. Assessing the ecological restoration status of key nature reserves and developing a new conservation and development framework are fundamental for achieving ecological civilization and enhancing sustainability. As an ecological security barrier in the northwestern alpine region, Qilian Mountain National Park (QMNP), is of great significance for maintaining the sustainable ecological environment of western China. By measuring changes in ecological land use and monitoring key vegetation indicator trends in QMNP, we constructed the Regional Ecological Resilience Indicator (RERI) and proposed a new restoration and restoration framework. The results show that: (1) the ecological land restoration in QMNP was remarkable, with a total of 721.76 km² of non-ecological land converted to ecological land, representing a 1.44% increase. Forest restoration covered 110 km², primarily made up of previously unused land from 2000 to 2020. (2) The average NDVI value increased by 0.025. Regions showing productivity growth (NPP) accounted for 51.82% of the total area from 2000 to 2020. The four typical eco-migration zones reduced the building profile area by 47.72% between 2015 and 2019. The distribution of high Composite Vegetation Index (CFI) values overlapped with concentrated forest restoration areas, revealing two main restoration models: forest conservation and population relocation. (3) RERI calculations divided the park into three ecological zones, Priority Conservation Area (PCA), Optimization and Enhancement Area (OEA), and Concerted Development Area (CDA), leading to the proposal of an ecological restoration and development framework for QMNP, characterized by “three zones, two horizontal axes, and one vertical axis”. Our findings contribute to strengthening the ecological security barrier in northwestern China; they offer new insights for the long-term, stable improvement of the ecological environment in QMNP and in other critical protected area systems globally. Full article

The effective allocation of labor and cultivated land resources to ensure food security is a global concern. Understanding the relationship between rural labor off-farm employment and the eco-efficiency of cultivated land use (ECLU) is critical, yet current research in this area remains insufficient. This study explores the dynamics between off-farm employment and ECLU using the North China Plain as a case study, analyzing panel data from 2001 to 2020 through spatial econometric models. The findings reveal significant temporal expansion and spatial differentiation in off-farm employment, with growth rates gradually slowing and spatial disparities diminishing. The average ECLU initially declined from 2001 to 2003, followed by fluctuating increases, with a notable acceleration in growth after 2017. A “U-shaped” relationship between off-farm employment and ECLU was identified, with a turning point at an off-farm employment ratio of 40.73%, occurring around 2003–2004 based on regional averages. Before this threshold, off-farm employment negatively impacted ECLU, while beyond this point, the impact became positive. The study also observed significant spatial spillover effects of off-farm employment on ECLU in the North China Plain. These findings underscore the complex interplay between rural labor migration and agricultural productivity. To maximize the benefits of off-farm employment, policies should encourage the reinvestment of income into sustainable agricultural practices. Furthermore, the significant spatial spillover effects call for enhanced regional coordination and tailored policy interventions to optimize labor allocation and improve ECLU. Full article

The carbon storage capacity of terrestrial ecosystems serves as a crucial metric for assessing ecosystem health and their resilience to climate change. By evaluating the effects of land use alterations on this storage, carbon management strategies can be improved, thereby promoting carbon reduction and sequestration. While county-level cities are pivotal to ecological conservation and high-quality development, they often face developmental challenges. Striking a balance between economic growth and meeting peak carbon emissions and carbon neutrality objectives is particularly challenging. Consequently, there is an urgent need to bolster research into carbon storage management. The study focuses on Jianli City, employing the InVEST model and land use data to examine the response patterns of land use changes and terrestrial system carbon storage from 2000 to 2020. Using the PLUS model, the study simulated the land use and carbon storage in Jianli City for the year 2035 under three scenarios: Natural Development scenario, Urban Expansion scenario, and Ecology and food security scenario. Our findings indicate the following: (1) Between 2000 and 2020, significant shifts in land use were observed in Jianli City. These changes predominantly manifested as the interchange between Cropland and Water areas and the enlargement of impervious surfaces, leading to a decrease of 691,790.27 Mg in carbon storage. (2) Under the proposed scenarios—Natural Development scenario, Urban Expansion scenario, and Ecology and food security scenario—the estimated carbon storage capacities in Jianli City were 39.95 Tg, 39.90 Tg, and 40.14 Tg, respectively. When compared with the 2020 data, all these estimates showed an increase. In essence, our study offers insights into optimizing land use structures from a carbon storage standpoint to ensure stability in Jianli’s carbon storage levels while mitigating the risks associated with carbon fixation. This has profound implications for the harmonious evolution of regional eco-economies. Full article

With global population growth and economic development, the sustainable utilization of arable land resources has become the key to guaranteeing food security and ecological balance. Eco-efficiency in cultivated land use (ECLU)has been increasingly emphasized as an important indicator of the coordinated development of agricultural production and the ecological environment. Studying ECLU in main grain-producing areas (MGPAs) is of great significance for realizing China’s food security guarantee, formulating and implementing scientific land use policies and measures, and safeguarding the long-term healthy development of agriculture. Based on provincial panel data of MGPA from 2008–2021, ECLU is calculated by the super-efficiency slacks-based measure model based on non-desired outputs (SSBM) and non-parametric kernel density estimation. The Dagum Gini coefficient decomposition model was used to explore the spatial non-equilibrium characteristics of ECLU in China, and the geographical and temporal weighted regression (GTWR) model was used to analyze the influencing factors of ECLU. The results showed the following: (1) ECLU in the MGPA showed a fluctuating upward trend, but the overall level was low. (2) In terms of regional disparity, the absolute difference in the development of ECLU among provinces showed a trend of “small-scale expansion followed by reduction”. (3) ECLU showed significant spatial imbalances, with notable internal disparities within the three basins. (4) The effects of economic development level and agricultural irrigation index on ECLU in the MGPA were positively correlated. Based on these findings, this paper suggests implementing region-specific and phased policies tailored to the natural resources and socio-economic conditions of different areas. The aim is to enhance the ecological environment, promote coordinated agricultural development, optimize regional growth, reduce agricultural disparities, and achieve sustainable development for both people and arable land. Full article

The rapid urbanization of Abha and its surrounding cities in Saudi Arabia’s mountainous regions poses challenges for sustainable and secure development. This study aimed to identify suitable sites for eco-friendly and safe building complexes amidst complex geophysical, geoecological, and socio-economic factors, integrating natural hazards assessment and risk management. Employing the Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (Fuzzy-AHP), the study constructed a suitability model incorporating sixteen parameters. Additionally, a Deep Neural Network (DNN) based on eXplainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) conducted sensitivity analyses to assess the parameters’ influence on optimal location decision making. The results reveal slope as the most crucial parameter (22.90%), followed by altitude and land use/land cover (13.24%), emphasizing topography and environmental considerations. Drainage density (11.36%) and rainfall patterns (9.15%) are also significant for flood defense and water management. Only 12.21% of the study area is deemed “highly suitable”, with “no-build zones” designated for safety and environmental protection. DNN-based XAI demonstrates the positive impact of variables like the NDVI and municipal solid waste generation on site selection, informing waste management and ecological preservation strategies. This integrated methodology provides actionable insights for sustainable and safe residential development in Abha, aiding informed decision making and balancing urban expansion with environmental conservation and hazard risk reduction. Full article

Scenario-based simulation in land use and cover change (LUCC) is a practical approach to maintaining ecological security. Many studies generally set constraints of LUCC utilizing ecological patches but without consideration of corridors connecting these patches. Here, we constructed a framework to balance urban growth and ecological security by integrating ecological security patterns (ESPs) into the PLUS model. This study selected Chang-Zhu-Tan Metropolitan Area (CZTMA) in central China as a typical case. Specifically, coupling quantitative demand with spatial constraints of multiple levels of ESPs, this study designed four scenarios, including historical tendency (HT), urban growth (UG), ecological conservation (EC), and coordinating city development and ecological protection (CCE). Then, the transformations and landscape patterns of LUCC were analyzed to evaluate the future land change from 2020 to 2050. The results show sixty-one key ecological sources in the CZTMA, mainly in higher-elevation forested areas. Forty-six ecological corridors were estimated using circuit theory. The building expansion was driven by accessibility to transportation and government locations and will contribute to the loss of forest and cropland in the future. The feature of different scenarios in alleviating the increasing fragmentation of patches and reducing the loss amount of ecological land showed EC > CCE > HT > UG. This study developed the ESP-PLUS framework and its modeling idea, which has the potential to be applied in other regions. This extension would assist decision-makers and urban planners in formulating sustainable land strategies that effectively reconcile eco-environmental conservation with robust economic growth, achieving a mutually beneficial outcome. Full article

The National Key Ecological Function Zones (NKEFZ) serve as crucial ecological security barriers in China, playing a vital role in enhancing ecosystem services. This study employed the theoretical framework of ecological benefits assessment in major ecological engineering projects. The primary focus was on the ecosystem macrostructure, ecosystem quality, and key ecosystem services, enabling quantitative analysis of the spatiotemporal changes in the ecosystem status of the NKEFZ from 2000 to 2019. To achieve this, remote sensing data, meteorological data, and model simulations were employed to investigate five indicators, including land use types, vegetation coverage, net primary productivity of vegetation, soil conservation services, water conservation services, and windbreak and sand fixation services. The analysis incorporated the Theil–Sen Median method to construct an evaluation system for assessing the restoration status of ecosystems, effectively integrating ecosystem quality and ecosystem services indicators. The research findings indicated that land use changes in NKEFZ were primarily characterized by the expansion of unused land and the in of grassland. The overall ecosystem quality of these zones improved, showing a stable and increasing trend. However, there were disparities in the changes related to ecosystem services. Water conservation services exhibited a decreasing trend, while soil conservation and windbreak and sand fixation services showed a steady improvement. The ecosystem of the NKEFZ, in general, displayed a stable and recovering trend. However, significant spatial heterogeneity existed, particularly in the southern region of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau and at the border areas between western Sichuan and northern Yunnan, where some areas still experienced deteriorating ecosystem conditions. Compared to other functional zones, the trend in the ecosystem of the NKEFZ might not have been the most favorable. Nonetheless, this could be attributed to the fact that most of these areas were situated in environmentally fragile regions, and conservation measures may not have been as effective as in other functional zones. These findings highlighted the considerable challenges ahead in the construction and preservation of the NKEFZ. In future development, the NKEFZ should leverage their unique natural resources to explore distinctive ecological advantages and promote the development of eco-friendly economic industries, such as ecological industry, ecological agriculture, and eco-tourism, transitioning from being reliant on external support to self-sustainability. Full article

Exploring the landscape ecological security pattern and its driving mechanisms in key economic zones is of great significance for preventing and resolving landscape ecological risks and promoting regional sustainable development. This study quantitatively analyzed the land use change characteristics in the Huaihe River Eco-economic Belt from 1980 to 2020 using the land use transfer matrix and land use intensity index. Further, the evolution of ecological risks and their driving mechanisms were investigated using the landscape pattern index and hierarchical partitioning analysis. The results show that (1) in terms of absolute area, dryland, grassland, and paddy land decreased by 7075 km², 2708 km², and 1874 km², respectively, while urban–rural land and water area increased by 10,538 km² and 1336 km², respectively. In terms of change intensity, grassland, water area, urban–rural land, and unused land exhibited the most dramatic change, whereas forest land, paddy land, and dryland exhibited weaker change. (2) The conversions in the study area were primarily between dryland, paddy land, and urban–rural land. Paddy land and dryland tended to convert to urban–rural land, which is further likely to be transformed into dryland and unused land when converted. (3) The study area mainly presented medium to low ecological risk. Overall, the ecological risk remained stable throughout the study period. Nevertheless, Jining, Zaozhuang, and Bengbu show high ecological risks in the construction of the economic zone. (4) Forest land explained 40% of the variance in landscape risk, whereas urban–rural land and dryland each explained 20% of the variance. An increase in the proportion of urban–rural land and dryland will increase landscape ecological risk. However, after urban–rural land exceeds 15%, the ecological security risk does not increase significantly with increasing proportion of urban–rural land. Full article

Ecological security patterns (ESPs) provide a solution for balancing the conflicts between ecological conservation and socio-economic development and maintaining sustainable regional development. Identifying sustainable ESPs should be a matter given attention to in order to meet future urban expansion needs. Based on multi-source eco-environmental datasets and remote sensing (RS) containing the history of land-use patterns, our study incorporated future land-use patterns into the ESP identification framework to reduce the potential impact of future urban expansion on the identified ESPs (i.e., ecological corridors and nodes) and to reserve space for future urban development from an urban development perspective. Considering the Changsha–Zhuzhou–Xiangtan (CZX) urban agglomeration, the results show that 57 corridors are extracted, within which 36 key corridors are mainly distributed in the Lukou and Wangcheng districts and Xiangtan and Changsha counties; an additional 21 potential corridors are mainly distributed in the urban built-up area and these corridors connect to Xiangjiang River or its tributary. In addition, 18 pinch points were identified, mainly located adjacent to the Xiangjiang River, Liuyang River, and Laodao River; 9 barrier points are distributed at the junctions of the main roads. A comparison of ESP identification with and without simulated land-use patterns showed the incorporation of future land-use patterns favoured sustainable ESP construction. Furthermore, we discuss the rationality and application of ESP identification from an urban development perspective and emphasize the trade-off between future land-use patterns and ecological conservation, better reflecting the forward-looking thinking of spatial planning. Full article

Coal mining inevitably brings some negative impacts, such as surface subsidence, aquifer breakage, and land degradation, to the eco-geological environment in the mining area. Among these impacts, coal mining-induced ground deformation is the most serious and has threatened the geological, ecological, and human settlement securities of mining areas. Efforts existing in the literature apply to ground deformation identification in mined-out areas at the meso-/micro and short-time scales. However, when looking back at coal mining history, there are few ways to quickly and accurately quantify ground deformation at the regional and long-time scales. In this context, we propose a method for identifying ground deformation patterns in coal mining areas using historical high-precision digital elevation models (DEMs), including data preprocessing, DEM subtraction operations, interpretation, and fitting correction. This method was applied to the Yulin National Energy and Chemical Base and successfully identified the ground deformation characteristics of the Yulin coal mining area from 2015 to 2019. By determining surface subsidence displacement, excavation depth, stacking height, and the position of the goaf suspended roof area, the objective situation of ground deformation in Yulin mining area was obtained, and the mining methods and distribution characteristics of different surface deformations were analyzed and determined. The research results are of great significance for the development of mineral resources in mining areas, reducing geological disaster risks, protecting the ecological environment, and achieving the goal of coordinated development in mining areas. Full article