Search Results (128)

Fine-grained mapping of riparian vegetation is important for ecological monitoring, invasive species control, and ecosystem restoration. However, riparian plant communities often exhibit fragmented patches, broad transition zones and high visual similarity among classes, making stable species-level segmentation difficult from conventional satellite imagery or lower-resolution UAV imagery. To address this gap, we present WetVeg-2mm, an ultra-high-resolution UAV dataset for fine-grained riparian vegetation semantic segmentation. Built from UAV surveys over a representative riparian section of the Jiuzhou River in Guangxi, China, the dataset provides 2054 image chips (1024 × 1024) with pixel-level annotations at 2 mm ground sampling distance. It contains 17 semantic classes in total, including 14 representative wetland plant classes, such as Colocasia, Eichhornia and Phragmites, together with water, bareland and background. Five baseline models, namely U-Net, Attention U-Net, DeepLabV3+, PSPNet and SegFormer, were evaluated using per-class IoU, mIoU, mDice, PA, Precision and Recall. Across all evaluated baseline settings, SegFormer with ImageNet pretraining achieved the best overall performance, with 76.23% mIoU, 86.01% mDice, 85.17% PA, 87.30% Recall and 85.42% Precision on the test set. Overall, WetVeg-2mm provides a reproducible and challenging benchmark for fine-grained riparian vegetation semantic segmentation. Full article

Ignoring real decision contexts in linguistic multi-criteria classification (MCC) causes unreasonable weights, rank reversal and unreliable classification. This paper develops a context-constrained MCC framework integrating case-based reasoning, grey target theory and cloud model. Unlike conventional data-only grey target methods, three practical contextual features structurally reshape all algorithm modules: linguistic dual fuzziness-randomness, labeled benchmark cases and expert weight preferences. First, cloud Hamming distance and cloud-based dual target centers are constructed to eliminate rank reversal, a property invalid without linguistic uncertainty. Second, benchmark case constraints build a target-score classification mechanism with case-calibrated grading thresholds. Third, expert weight bounds form a bi-objective optimization model fusing multi-source information to avoid data-biased weights. A riparian wetland ecological grading case validates the method. A rigorous mathematical proof, counterexample contrast and large-scale random simulation are further supplemented to verify that the proposed fixed dual cloud target center rule significantly mitigates rank-reversal phenomena triggered by adding new alternatives under the designed experimental settings. Comparisons show our framework yields domain-consistent weights, grading outputs with perfect agreement with independent blind expert judgments, and stable monotonic scoring performance (where larger target scores correspond to worse ecological conditions), which achieves more consistent grading results compared with cloud entropy weighting and virtual linguistic approaches in the tested wetland case. Full article

Against the backdrop of global climate change, enhancing the carbon sink capacity of ecosystems has become one of the key pathways for implementing climate action. This study takes the Western Hills–Yongding River Cultural Belt in Beijing as its study area to systematically investigate the coupling mechanisms between multidimensional spatial pattern factors and the carbon sink capacity of vegetation net primary productivity (NPP). The study employed the morphological spatial pattern analysis (MSPA) method to structurally identify and quantify regional green space landscape elements. By integrating vertical vector data such as building height and canopy height, and incorporating terrain background and human activity intensity indicators, a comprehensive system of driving factors was established, encompassing two-dimensional landscape patterns, three-dimensional spatial structures and multi-dimensional attributes. Based on the Local Climate Zone (LCZ) classification system, a detailed classification of the study area’s land cover was carried out, and eight typical units—encompassing built-up settlements, brownfield sites, forested green spaces and riparian wetlands—were selected as the core objects of analysis. Building on this, multiple non-linear machine learning regression models were constructed to conduct fitting analyses and accuracy validation; the LightGBM model was identified as the optimal fitting model based on the test set coefficient of determination (R²) and root mean square error (RMSE) as core indicators; Furthermore, the SHAP interpretability analysis framework was introduced to systematically reveal the relative importance of each of the driving factors, their positive and negative effects, non-linear response characteristics, and two-factor interaction mechanisms. Based on these findings, category-specific, differentiated spatial regulation strategies for enhancing carbon sinks were proposed, providing scientific support for the optimisation of ecological spaces, the ecological restoration of brownfield sites, and the realisation of carbon sink potential within the study area. Full article

Tropical wetlands are highly sensitive to climatic and anthropogenic disturbances, and their macrophyte communities provide valuable information about environmental conditions and habitat structure. This study evaluated the relationship between aquatic macrophyte richness, community composition, and habitat vulnerability to climate change in aquatic ecosystems of the San Luis rural district, Barrancabermeja municipality (Santander, Colombia). Macrophyte communities were characterized at 47 monitoring sites distributed across six mesohabitats: floodplain depressions, swamp, wetland, artificial ponds, naturalized ponds, and stream riparian zones. A total of 63 species belonging to 30 families and 51 genera were recorded. Contrary to theoretical expectations, correlation analyses showed no significant relationship between macrophyte species richness and habitat vulnerability indices (Spearman ρ = −0.118, p = 0.428; Pearson r = −0.069, p = 0.646). However, species richness differed significantly among mesohabitats (Kruskal–Wallis, p < 0.05), indicating strong spatial heterogeneity in aquatic plant distribution. In addition, multivariate analyses using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) revealed that macrophyte community composition was strongly structured by local anthropogenic activities, including livestock farming, oil palm cultivation, and wastewater inputs. Floodplain depressions and artificial ponds were dominated by disturbance-tolerant and eutrophication-resistant species such as Urochloa plantaginea and Salvinia minima, reflecting higher levels of environmental pressure. These results demonstrate that macrophyte community composition, rather than species richness alone, is a more reliable indicator of habitat conditions and anthropogenic disturbance in tropical wetland systems. Overall, this study highlights that taxonomic richness is not a robust predictor of climate-related vulnerability in highly disturbed wetlands and emphasizes the importance of considering species composition and environmental context when assessing ecosystem conditions. Full article

River ecological restoration in lowland plain basins is often constrained by fragmented river networks, degraded riparian zones, eutrophication risk, and intensive human disturbance. Conventional monitoring approaches rarely connect watershed-scale dynamics with responses from typical restoration units, limiting quantitative evaluation and the separation of direct project outcomes from broader environmental variability. To address this gap, this study developed a collaborative satellite–unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)–unmanned surface vehicle (USV) monitoring framework and applied it to the Nihe River Basin, China, a lowland plain river undergoing systematic restoration under the Shan-shui Initiative. The framework combines Sentinel-2 time-series imagery, high-resolution Gaofen-1, Gaofen-2, and Jilin-1 imagery, UAV orthophotos, USV observations, and auxiliary environmental datasets. Unlike single-scale monitoring approaches, it links watershed-scale indicators, including water-body dynamics, chlorophyll-related eutrophication risk, riparian ecological background, and soil-water conservation capacity, with unit-scale diagnosis of riparian buffer and riverine wetland restoration. Results showed that river water-body area increased from 37.78 km² to 40.59 km² during 2021–2024, while normalized difference chlorophyll index (NDCI)-based eutrophication risk improved in 9.12% of the monitored river area and degraded in only 0.47%. Riparian vegetation cover remained high, whereas regional soil-water conservation capacity declined due to climatic factors, revealing asynchronous responses between local recovery and regional background conditions. At the unit scale, riparian buffer restoration enhanced buffer continuity and near-bank water quality, as reflected by decreased chemical oxygen demand (COD), increased dissolved oxygen (DO), and limited ammonia nitrogen (NH₃-N) improvement. Riverine wetland restoration promoted land-use adjustment and ecological spatial reorganization. This cross-scale evidence chain supports adaptive management of inland river and wetland restoration projects. Full article

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

This study develops an integrated framework combining emergy analysis, carbon footprint accounting, and long short-term memory neural network modeling to investigate the effects of nature-based solutions on coastal ecosystem services and blue carbon functions from the perspective of river–coast connectivity. Three transects along a connectivity gradient were established in the Yellow River Delta, a typical large river delta in temperate China, covering riparian zones, estuarine transition areas, intertidal wetlands, and seagrass beds, with multi-source data collected over three consecutive hydrological years. Emergy–carbon coupling analysis based on this case study indicates that the high-connectivity transect shows a higher emergy yield ratio and net carbon sink compared to the low-connectivity transect, with salt marshes being most sensitive to connectivity change. Threshold analysis, specific to this delta, identifies a three-phase response pattern of carbon burial rate with increasing sediment connectivity, and reveals that wave attenuation efficiency declines notably when hydrological connectivity falls below approximately 0.5, although this value may vary across different coastal settings. A higher sea level rise rate raises the critical connectivity level required to maintain carbon sink function. The long short-term memory neural network trained on observational data achieves better prediction accuracy for blue carbon accumulation rates than traditional statistical methods, and SHAP value analysis suggests the possible existence of synergistic effects among connectivity dimensions. Based on these findings, three optimization strategies including tiered restoration, a dynamic pathway, and spatial configuration are proposed as case-specific recommendations for the Yellow River Delta. Framework-based simulations indicate the potential for connectivity-informed strategy adjustments to improve restoration efficiency under local conditions. This study concludes that river–coast connectivity represents an important lever regulating the ecological benefits of nature-based solutions, but emphasizes that all quantitative thresholds and benefit magnitudes reported here are case-specific estimates that require recalibration when applied to other coastal systems. Full article

Leucaena leucocephala is a nitrogen-fixing legume widely used in agroforestry systems, although its invasive potential poses increasing risks to wetlands and riparian ecosystems. This systematic review synthesizes current knowledge on the ecological mechanisms, environmental stressors, and management strategies associated with the invasion of L. leucocephala in humid tropical environments. Following PRISMA guidelines, 60 studies retrieved from Scopus, Web of Science, and Consensus were qualitatively analyzed. The results indicate that invasion success is strongly associated with environmental disturbances and stress conditions, particularly drought stress, altered hydrological regimes, fire occurrence, and land-use change, which reduce ecosystem resistance and facilitate species establishment. Key invasion mechanisms include high seed production, persistent soil seed banks, rapid growth, allelopathic effects, and strong resprouting capacity, leading to suppression of native vegetation and structural simplification of plant communities. Integrated management strategies combining mechanical and chemical control with active revegetation consistently showed higher effectiveness than isolated approaches. The evidence further suggests that climate-related stressors may intensify invasion dynamics and increase ecosystem vulnerability under future climate scenarios. Despite recent advances, important knowledge gaps remain regarding long-term ecosystem functioning, hydrological feedback, and adaptive management in invaded wetlands. Full article

Wetland ecosystems have been a central focus of ecological research for an quite some time. Nevertheless, the degradation of wetland riparian zones has markedly accelerated due to anthropogenic activities, climate change, and habitat heterogeneity. The objective of this paper is to investigate the differences in functional traits of riparian plants under changing wetland environments on a karst plateau, as well as to elucidate the adaptive strategies of wetland plants across different habitats. This study examines the Caohai Wetland located on the Guizhou karst plateau, selecting the leaves of four dominant plant species (Phragmites australis, Onopordum acanthium, Galium odoratum, Paspalum distichum) in the Caohai Wetland lakeshore zone and analyzes the influence of soil factors on the variation of plant functional traits within the wetland riparian zone. The results reveal that: (1) significant differences exist in the functional traits of dominant plants in the riparian zones of karst plateau wetlands, with complex interrelationships among these traits; (2) the coefficients of variation for magnesium (Mg) and calcium (Ca) in the soil are notably high (79.53% and 67.21%, respectively), whereas soil oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) exhibits the lowest coefficient of variation (4.36%)—furthermore, the convergent variation in specific leaf area (SLA) and leaf dry matter content (LDMC) directly reflects the strong environmental filtering imposed by this habitat—and (3) redundancy analysis (RDA) indicates that leaf length (LL), specific leaf area (SLA), leaf area (LA), and plant carbon content (PCC) are particularly sensitive to environmental changes, while soil calcium (Ca), total nitrogen (TN), water-dispersible clay (WDR), soil organic matter (SOM), soil moisture content (SPMC), and total potassium (TK) constitute the principal soil factors influencing plant adaptive strategies in karst plateau wetlands. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that adaptation to karst wetland habitats is mediated through trade-offs in the allocation of photosynthetic products and the regulation of carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) nutrient balances under calcium-enriched and phosphorus-limited conditions, thereby reflecting the response characteristics of functional traits in karst plateau wetland plants to environmental changes. Full article

There is increasing interest in delivering greater resilience to climate change through integrated catchment management that includes Nature-based Solutions (NbS) such as riparian buffer strips, tree-planting and wetlands. Governmental organisations also seek to use water quality modelling to understand the mass of different pollutants avoided per feature for appraisal of nutrient-neutrality purposes, but the assessment of efficacy is not yet fully developed, nor is it clear what it implies at the catchment-scale. We introduce three open, freely distributable models to help understanding efficacy and risk-reduction of buffer-strips at the plot (JUMP), waterbody (Fieldmouse), and national (HYPE) scales to help understand risk-reduction and help objectively quantify improvements in catchment resilience. These approaches have been developed across a range of projects but are also being investigated in more detail as part of the modelling element to the NERC Freshwater Quality programme QUANTUM project. Here we report how the particle tracking model predicts the need for very slow velocities, high loss rates or other processes to achieve buffer strip efficacies in common use—slowing the flow alone is unlikely to achieve these results. Upscaling these results to the catchment scale on the Yeo highlights another significant concept, that of the need to define a catchment scale efficacy for a particular Nature-based Solution, given the practicalities of implementation. We demonstrate how HYPE can be used to target and model mitigations and permits both upscaling nationally and through-time source apportionment to help identify when design efficacies may not be achieved in practice. Full article

Understanding how landscape structure affects nutrient pollution is essential for contemporary effective river basin management. This study examined the influence of landscape composition and configuration on concentrations of nitrate (NO₃⁻), nitrite (NO₂⁻), and ammonium (NH₄⁺) in 30 small lowland catchments of central–eastern Poland during the cold period. Water samples were collected monthly from September 2021 to April 2022, and land-use patterns were quantified using landscape metrics derived from high-resolution spatial data at the catchment scale and within riparian buffer zones. The results showed that the impact of land use on nitrogen concentrations was strongly dependent on both landscape type and spatial scale. Forests, meadows, wetlands, and water bodies generally acted as sink landscapes, reducing nitrate and nitrite levels. The effect was more pronounced in catchments where forest patches (mainly coniferous) covered a larger area, had greater total Edge Length, and were more complex in shape. It was advantageous when meadow patches were large, cohesive, and weakly fragmented. In contrast, arable land and built-up areas consistently functioned as source landscapes, contributing to higher nitrogen concentrations when characterized by a larger share, size (both), and aggregation degree of patches (arable land). Higher landscape diversity at the catchment scale was associated with lower nitrate and nitrite concentrations. Overall, land-use effects were best explained at larger spatial extents, especially the entire catchment and the 500 m buffer zone. These findings emphasize the need to integrate landscape structure and appropriate spatial scale into nutrient management strategies for lowland agricultural catchments. Full article

Floodplain disconnection caused by channel incision and/or levee construction has led to widespread loss of riparian habitats and ecosystem functions globally. Restoring full stream–floodplain connectivity is increasingly promoted, yet evidence of ecological outcomes remains limited. This study evaluates the initial performance of two Stage 0 restoration projects on Whychus Creek, Oregon, which reconnected incised channels to their historical floodplains in 2012 and 2016. We combined pre- and post-restoration vegetation surveys along fixed transects with hydrogeomorphic-based riparian and wetland function assessments and applied quantitative analyses, including Kruskal–Wallis tests, Jaccard correlations, Sorensen similarity indices, and factor analysis, to compare changes in plant assemblages and ecosystem functions across restored, transitional, and unrestored reaches. Our research results indicate that two years post-restoration, the active riparian area expanded 2.5-fold, species richness and structural diversity increased significantly, and riparian and wetland functions such as water storage, sediment retention, and habitat support for fish and amphibians improved markedly. Numbers of anadromous salmonids also increased markedly. This is important as salmon recovery is a regional stream restoration goal. Comparisons with a reach restored six years earlier suggest a positive trajectory toward mature, resilient ecosystems. These findings demonstrate that Stage 0 restoration can rapidly reestablish complex habitat mosaics and enhance ecosystem services critical for biodiversity, water quality, and flood resilience. Practically, this evidence supports process-based restoration strategies that prioritize full floodplain reconnection as a cost-effective approach to reversing long-term ecological degradation. Continued monitoring is essential to guide adaptive management and strengthen the evidence base for the wide-scale implementation of valley-floor wide stream restoration. Full article

This study investigates the cooling effects of coastal wetland systems in Hue City, Vietnam. The analysis focuses on their riparian buffer zones, defined here as areas within 600 m of the wetland boundary. Landsat 8 imagery was used to derive land surface temperature (LST) from 1 March to 31 July 2025—a recent period marked by multiple heatwaves across the region. To assess the cooling performance of wetlands, data samples were collected within the buffer zones. A Light Gradient Boosting Machine was trained to characterize the relationship between cooling intensity and a set of influencing factors (e.g., distance to wetland boundary, land use/land cover, built-up density, and green space density). The model explains approximately 91% of the variation in cooling intensity around wetlands. Notably, a machine-learning-based simulation framework was proposed to attain insights into the cooling characteristics of the riparian zone. The result indicates a mean cooling effect of about 2 °C and an effective cooling distance of 210 m from the wetland boundary. Partial dependence analysis further reveals that increasing built-up density substantially weakens cooling performance and implies that, for the conditions observed in Hue City, maintaining built-up density near wetlands below roughly 45% is favorable for sustaining effective cooling of the blue space, as indicated by the model-based partial dependence analysis. Overall, the research findings provide a data-driven basis for informing urban planning and wetland management in Hue City to mitigate heat stress. Full article

Urban wetlands in coastal cities are under growing strain from urban growth, climate change, and governance that is often fragmented. This study evaluates the condition of the freshwater dune lakes located in the Veracruz–Boca del Río–Medellín conurbation in Mexico, a protected corridor made up of 33 dune lakes that is increasingly pressured by urban expansion. We used an interdisciplinary approach that combined ecological monitoring, legal analysis, and participatory management tools. Fieldwork included 24 h monitoring of dissolved oxygen, measurements of Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD₅) in representative systems, a diachronic review of the legal evolution of five Natural Protected Areas (NPAs), and community workshops to jointly design interventions. The results showed strong day–night swings in oxygen (4.0–14.8 mg/L) linked to vegetation dynamics, with nighttime hypoxia posing risks for aquatic fauna. BOD₅ ranged from 4.8 to 150.3 mg/L, pointing to severe organic pollution in the most degraded system. The legal review identified repeated patterns of environmental regression, expressed through reductions in protected polygons, the legalization of irregular settlements, and the fragmentation of protected areas through judicial processes. In response, we propose a hybrid management model that brings together riparian restoration, Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS), green infrastructure, and participatory monitoring, emphasizing a key 100 m buffer zone. This integrated strategy aims to improve flood regulation, reduce urban heat island effects, and enhance water quality, while also reinforcing community stewardship and legal protection. We conclude that conserving these urban wetlands effectively requires adaptive approaches that connect landscape-scale and local-scale actions, which are essential for climate adaptation in rapidly urbanizing coastal regions. Full article

The sustainability of resources and ecological integrity are significantly influenced by land use and land cover change (LULCC) dynamics, particularly in ecotonal semi-arid regions where biome transitions are highly sensitive to anthropogenic disturbance and climatic variability. This study aims to assess historical LULCC dynamics and spatial reconfiguration across nine classes (grassland, shrubland, wetlands, forestland, waterbodies, farmed land, built-up land, bare land, and mines/quarries) in the C5 Secondary Drainage Region of South Africa over the three periods 1990–2014, 2014–2022, and 1990–2022. Using the South African National Land Cover datasets and the TerrSet liberaGIS v20.03 Land Change Modeller, this research applied post-classification comparison, transition matrices, asymmetric gain–loss metrics, and patch-based landscape analysis to quantify the magnitude, direction, source–sink dynamics, and spatial reconfiguration of LULCC. Results showed that between 1990 and 2014, Shrubland expanded markedly (+49.1%), primarily at the expense of Grassland, Wetlands, and Bare land, indicating bush encroachment and hydrological stress. From 2014 to 2022, the trend reversed as Grassland increased substantially (+261.2%) while Shrubland declined sharply (−99.3%). Forestland also regenerated extensively (+186%) along riparian corridors, and Waterbodies expanded more than fivefold (+384.6 km²). Over the long period between 1990 and 2022, Built-up land (+30.6%), Cultivated land (+16%), Forestland (+140%), Grassland (+94.4%), and Waterbodies (+25.6%) increased, while Bare land (−58.1%), Mines and Quarries (−56.1%), Shrubland (−98.9%), and Wetlands (−82.5%) decreased. Asymmetric analysis revealed strongly directional transitions, with early Grassland-to-Shrubland conversion likely driven by grazing pressure, fire suppression, and climate variability, followed by a later Shrubland-to-Grassland reversal consistent with fire, herbivory, and ecotonal climate sensitivity. LULC dynamics in the C5 catchment show class-specific spatial reconfiguration, declining landscape diversity (SHDI 1.3 → 0.9; SIDI 0.7 → 0.43), and patch metrics indicating urban and cultivated fragmentation, shrubland loss, and grassland consolidation. Based on these quantified trajectories, we recommend targeted catchment-scale land management, shrubland restoration, and monitoring of anthropogenic hotspots to support ecosystem services, hydrological stability, and sustainable land use in ecotonal regions. Full article