Search Results (778)

(1) Background: Under the dual pressures of global climate change and rapid urbanization, blue–green infrastructure as a nature-based solution is crucial for enhancing urban sustainability. However, there is still a significant cognitive gap regarding the synergy mechanism between its blue and green components and its nonlinear combined impact on sustainability. (2) Method: To fill this gap, this study takes Zhenjiang, a national sponge pilot city in China, as a case and constructs a comprehensive assessment framework. The framework combines multi-source spatio-temporal big data (remote sensing images, point of interest data, mobile phone signaling data) with spatial analysis techniques (geodetectors, Getis-Ord Gi*) to quantify the synergistic effects of blue–green infrastructure on environmental, economic, and social sustainability. (3) Results: The main findings include the following: (1) urban sustainability presents a spatial differentiation pattern of “high in the center, low in the periphery, and multi-core”, and there is a significant positive spatial correlation with the distribution of blue–green infrastructure. (2) The economic dimension, especially daytime population vitality, contributes the most to overall sustainability. (3) Crucially, the co-configuration of sponge facility density and park facility density was identified as the most influential driving mechanism (q = 0.698). In addition, the interaction between the blue infrastructure and the green sponge facilities showed obvious nonlinear enhancement characteristics. Based on spatial matching analysis, the study area was divided into three priority intervention zones: high, medium, and low. (4) Conclusions: This study confirms that it is crucial to view blue–green infrastructure as an interrelated collaborative system. The findings deepen the theoretical understanding of the synergistic empowerment mechanism of blue–green infrastructure and provide scientifically based and actionable policy support for the precise planning of ecological spaces in high-density urbanized areas. Full article

Urban parks play an increasingly important role in supporting social interaction, ecological services, and everyday well-being in rapidly urbanizing cities, yet prevailing planning practices still rely on equal-provision logics and linear modeling frameworks, implicitly assuming that park vitality increases proportionally with facilities and surrounding services. Such assumptions overlook the possibility that park vitality responds to built-environment factors in nonlinear, threshold-based, and configuration-dependent ways. This study develops an interpretable machine learning approach to identify the nonlinear effects and structural configurations that drive urban park vitality in Changsha, China. We integrate Baidu Huiyan population heat data with AOI-defined park boundaries and multi-source POI indicators to characterize internal facilities and surrounding built-environments for 147 parks in the city’s main urban area. An XGBoost model is trained to predict park vitality, and SHAP values, partial dependence analysis, and bivariate interaction plots are employed to examine variable importance, threshold behaviors, and synergistic or substitutive relationships among key factors. The results show that sports and leisure facilities are the most influential driver of vitality, followed by shopping services and government service facilities. Their impacts are strongly nonlinear: sports and leisure facilities and public amenities display clear saturation thresholds, while high-density shopping services generate substantial gains in vitality only beyond specific concentration levels. Interaction effects further indicate that park vitality emerges from particular configurations of internal facilities and surrounding residential and service environments, rather than from the additive accumulation of isolated factors. These findings demonstrate the value of interpretable machine learning for shifting urban park planning from equal-provision paradigms toward structurally informed configuration strategies and more efficient public space governance. Full article

Exploring the coupling coordination relationship and underlying mechanisms within Production–Living–Ecological Space (PLES) and revealing its spatial interactions are of great significance for promoting the sustainable development of national territorial space. Taking the Beipanjiang River Basin as a case study, this research employs the PLES classification system, the Coupling Coordination Degree (CCD) model, Exploratory Spatiotemporal Data Analysis (ESTDA), and a geodetector to examine the spatiotemporal differentiation patterns and impact mechanisms of PLES coupling coordination from 2010 to 2023 in the karst plateau basin. The results indicate that (1) from 2010 to 2023, the spatial functions of PLES showed significant heterogeneity. Both production and living functions increased gradually, while the ecological function declined slightly. (2) From 2010 to 2020, the coupling degree and coordination level of PLES improved steadily but remained at a low coupling and imbalanced stage overall. From 2020 to 2023, marked growth occurred, though regional disparities persisted. (3) From 2010 to 2023, the overall spatial structure of the CCD of the PLES remained relatively stable, demonstrating significant spatial integration. Regional development exhibited clear path dependence, and the positive spatial correlation effect continued to strengthen. (4) Natural, social, and economic factors jointly influenced the PLES coordination level. Among them, nighttime light intensity, population density, and annual average Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) were key drivers of its spatiotemporal differentiation. Factor interactions showed significant two-factor enhancement and nonlinear enhancement effects. These findings provide a scientific basis for optimizing the PLES in the Beipanjiang River Basin and offer a practical reference for spatial governance and planning in ecologically fragile karst plateau river basins. Full article

Problem Statement: Two global trends, including aging populations and the acceleration of global warming, are increasing the risk of heat-related illness, challenging the health of populations, and the sustainability of healthcare systems. Global warming refers to the increase in the Earth’s average surface temperature, generally attributed to the greenhouse effect, which is occurring at three times the rate of the pre-industrial era. The global population of older adults, defined here as individuals aged 60 and over, is expected to reach over 2 billion by mid-century. This population is particularly vulnerable to heat-related illness, specifically disruption of thermoregulation from excessive exposure to environmental heat due to metabolic and cognitive changes associated with aging. Objectives: This review examines heat-related illness and its impact on older adults within a socio-ecological framework, considering both drivers and mitigation strategies related to global warming, the built environment, social determinants of health, healthcare system responses, and the individual. The authors were motivated to create a conceptual model within this framework drawing on their lived experiences as healthcare providers interacting with older adults in a large urban area of the southwestern US, known for its extreme heat and extensive heat island effects. Based on this framework, the authors suggest actionable strategies supported by the literature to reduce the risks of morbidity and mortality. Methods: The literature search utilized a wide lens to identify evidence supporting various aspects of the hypothesized framework. In this sense, this review differs from systematic and scoping reviews, which seek a complete synthesis of the available literature or a mapping of the evidence. The first author conducted the literature search and synthesis, while the second and third authors reviewed and added publications to the initial search and conceptualized the socio-ecological framework. Discussion: This study is unique in its focus on a global trend that threatens the well-being of a growing population. The population health focus underscores social determinants of health and limitations of existing healthcare systems to guide healthcare providers in reducing older adults’ vulnerability to heat-related illness. This includes patient education regarding age-related declines in extreme heat tolerance, safe and unsafe physical activity habits, the impact of prescription drugs on heat tolerance, and, importantly, identifying the symptoms of heatstroke, which is a medical emergency. Additional strategies for improving survivability and quality of life for this vulnerable population include improved emergency response systems, better social support, and closer attention to evidence-based treatment for heat-related health conditions. Full article

Apis mellifera L. is an important pollinator of both wild and domesticated crop plants, thus greatly contributing to plant biodiversity and commercial agriculture. However, in field conditions, honey bees remain exposed to different pesticides which ultimately affect colony health parameters and their associated ecological services. In the current study, the individual toxicities of sub-lethal doses of two distinct insecticides (bifenthrin and acetamiprid) belonging to different groups (pyrethroid and neonicotinoid) were assessed against the foraging activity, social interactions, and longevity of A. mellifera. The bees were exposed to individual doses of both insecticides via the dietary trophic route through contaminated pollen and nectar under natural field conditions. Sunflower crop (Hysun-33) was sown at nine different sites with an isolation distance of 3 km, and was treated with different doses (1/2, 1/4, 1/10, and 1/20 of the recommended field doses) of both insecticides. However, the untreated control crop plots were not subjected to any chemical treatments (bee colonies received no insecticide, and served as the baseline for making comparison). Twenty-seven bee colonies were introduced in these sites after seven days of treatment applications. Significant differences were observed in the foraging activity of A. mellifera (including bees going out from the hive, returning foragers, and those carrying pollens). The fecundity, adult longevity, and social behaviors like trophallaxis and antennation were significantly lower in bees exposed to higher individual insecticidal concentrations. However, the hatching duration, larval duration, and pupal duration were not affected by the tested insecticidal treatments. Overall, these findings demonstrate that the dietary trophic exposure of sub-lethal doses of insecticides compromised colony activities, which is indeed a matter of concern regarding the existing pesticide application methods in different agro-ecosystems. Such impacts may ultimately impair the survival of colonies, particularly when bees remain exposed to these chemicals over an extended period of time. Therefore, future studies must consider the pesticide application techniques and their application timing to mitigate the direct and indirect negative impacts of pesticides on pollinators. Full article

Cultural ecosystem services (CESs) are the non-material benefits people derive from ecosystems and are important for human well-being. Most research has focused on individual CES supply–demand relationships, with little systematic study of the overall CES structure, interactions, and mechanisms in metropolitan areas. This study takes the Nanjing Metropolitan Area as a case study, integrating multi-source geospatial data and employing the MaxEnt model, self-organizing maps (SOMs), Spearman correlation analysis, and the Optimal Parameters-based Geographical Detector (OPGD). It analyzes supply–demand matching, trade-offs, synergies, and drivers for four CES categories: aesthetic (AE), recreational entertainment (RE), knowledge education (KE), and cultural diversity (CD). The main findings are as follows: (1) CES supply and demand are spatially zoned: the core area has surplus supply, secondary centers are balanced, and the periphery has both weak supply and demand. (2) Three supply–demand bundles have distinct synergy and trade-off patterns: Bundle 1 primarily exhibits strong synergy between AE and CD; Bundle 2 shows a weak trade-off relationship; and Bundle 3 forms a synergy centered on AE. (3) The explanatory power of driving factors exhibits pronounced spatial heterogeneity: Bundle 1 is dominated by non-quantifiable social factors; Bundle 2 features dual synergistic drivers of population and transportation; and Bundle 3 demonstrates synergistic effects driven by facilities and economic factors. Overall, this study contributes an integrated metropolitan-scale framework that connects CES supply–demand mismatch patterns with bundle typologies, interaction structures, and bundle-specific drivers. The results provide an operational basis for targeted planning and coordinated ecological–cultural governance in the Nanjing Metropolitan Area and offer a transferable reference for other metropolitan regions. Full article

Global water management faces a critical challenge: whilst scholarly consensus recognises that multiple, interacting drivers fundamentally shape water availability and management capacity, operational governance frameworks fail to systematically incorporate this understanding. This disconnect is particularly acute in public good contexts where incomplete knowledge, diverse stakeholder values, and statutory planning mandates create distinct challenges. Using Australia’s Murray–Darling Basin as a pilot case, this research develops and demonstrates a rapid, policy-relevant heuristic for identifying, prioritising, and incorporating drivers of change in complex socio-ecological water systems. Through structured participatory deliberation with 70 experts spanning research, policy, industry, and community sectors across three sequential workshops and 15 semi-structured interviews, we systematically identified key drivers across environmental, governance, economic, social, and legacy dimensions. A risk and sensitivity assessment framework enabled prioritisation based on impact, vulnerability, and urgency. Climate change, drought, water quality events, and cumulative impacts emerged as the highest-priority future drivers, with climate change acting as a threat multiplier, whilst governance drivers show declining relative significance. Using these methodological innovations, we synthesise the I-PLAN heuristic: five interdependent dimensions (Integrative Knowledge, Prioritisation for Management, Linkages between Drivers, Adaptive Agendas, and Normative Collaboration) that provide water planners with a transferable, operational tool for driver identification and bridging to planning and management in data-sparse contexts. Full article

Investigating the spatial distribution and dynamics of terrestrial carbon storage is vital for climate change mitigation. However, horizontal spatial analyses often overlook heterogeneity in complex terrains. Here, we focused on the Gonghe Basin on the northeastern margin of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau, where resource exploitation and ecological conservation interact. By using land use and DEM data and integrating the InVEST model, Geoda, and a geographical detector, we showed the altitudinal gradient effect and spatiotemporal evolution of carbon storage in the Gonghe Basin from 2000 to 2020 and identified the key factors influencing these patterns. Results show the following: (1) From 2000 to 2020, carbon storage in the Gonghe Basin exhibited a distinct pattern of “high at mid-elevations, low at both summit and valley” along the elevation gradient. High-value areas were concentrated in the forest–grassland zone between 2800–4400 m, while low-value areas were distributed in the human activity-intensive zone of 2100–2800 m and the alpine desert zone of 4400–5000 m. (2) The synergistic drivers of carbon storage differed markedly across elevation gradients. The low-elevation zone (2100–2800 m) was characterized by strengthened interactions between vegetation cover and precipitation as well as human activity variables, indicating a coupled natural–anthropogenic driving regime. In the mid-elevation zone (2800–4400 m), interactive effects shifted from vegetation–natural factor coupling to enhanced synergy with social factors such as population density. In the high-elevation zone (4400–5000 m), stable long-term interactions between vegetation and temperature predominated, while sensitivity to interactions involving human activity factors increased. (3) Although natural factors remained dominant, the explanatory power of human activity factors—including GDP density, land-use intensity, and grazing intensity—increased over time across all elevation gradients, suggesting progressively stronger human intervention in carbon cycling. (4) Based on these findings, this study proposes a “three belts–three strategies” synergistic governance framework—“regulation and restoration” for the low-elevation belt, “conservation and efficiency enhancement” for the mid-elevation belt, and “monitoring and early warning” for the high-elevation belt—aiming to enhance regional carbon sink capacity and ecological resilience through zone-specific, targeted interventions. These findings offer a scientific basis for reinforcing regional ecological security and improving carbon sink management. Full article

Socio-ecological systems in basin regions characterized by diverse cultural traditions and hierarchical village spatial structure are undergoing profound transformation driven by multifunctional demands and spatial restructuring. This study develops an analytical framework encompassing economic production, socio-cultural functions, and ecological potential to examine the spatial differentiation and socio-ecological coupling mechanisms within the Yilong Lake Basin, Yunnan Province. Through the entropy weighting method and a coupling coordination model, the framework evaluates the “lake–mountain–village” gradient of spatial differentiation. The results indicate that: (1) the overall coordination level of multifunctional systems in the region remains relatively low, exhibiting a decreasing trend from lakeshore to the mountain periphery; (2) village-level dependencies of spatial functions can be summarized into three coupling categories—associated with institutional embedding, self-organization, and value mismatch—revealing distinct socio-ecological interaction patterns; and (3) three coupling categories correspond to three differentiated governance pathways, namely coupling optimization, functional transition, and conflict mitigation. The study advances theoretical and methodological insights into the spatial differentiation and evolution of complex village systems, highlighting the nonlinear coexistence of interdependence and constraint among economic, social, and ecological functions. It further provides practical guidance for coordinated governance and sustainable spatial planning in similar rural and basin environments worldwide. Full article

The precise identification of territorial space conflicts (TSCs) and their driving mechanisms is key to enhancing spatial security governance. Taking Jinan City as a case study, this research evaluates territorial space suitability across production, living, and ecological dimensions, proposes an empirical TSC identification model, and employs GeoDetector to analyze spatiotemporal evolution patterns and driving mechanisms. The results indicated that (1) from 2000 to 2020, significant spatial heterogeneity characterized the suitability of production–living–ecological spaces in Jinan City. High suitability zones of production and living space expanded in the northern plain along the Yellow River and central piedmont plain, respectively, while those of ecological space contracted in the southern mountainous and hilly areas. (2) Significant spatiotemporal variations in territorial space conflicts (TSCs) were observed in Jinan City over the past two decades. Intense conflicts dominated production–living and production–ecological space interactions, while moderate conflicts were prevalent in living–ecological and production–living–ecological space interactions. Production–living space conflict zones expanded, living–ecological space conflict zones contracted, and production–ecological and production–living–ecological space conflict zones showed consistent expansion trends. (3) The spatiotemporal evolution of territorial space conflicts is jointly driven by the natural environment, geographical location, social economy, and regional policies. The interaction of driving factors exhibited significant dual-factor and nonlineal enhancement effects. Finally, this study provides some scientific references for the comprehensive management and pattern optimization of territorial space in Jinan City. Full article

The aim of this article is to present the social–ecological system (SES) as a unit of analysis for sustainable water management under conditions of anthropogenic pressure in Poland. In the face of accelerating climate change and growing human impacts, Polish water systems are exposed to increasing ecological stress and to material and immaterial losses affecting local communities. The SES approach provides an integrative analytical framework that links ecological and social components, enabling a holistic view of adaptive and governance processes at multiple spatial scales, from municipalities to areas that transcend administrative boundaries. Methodologically, this study triangulates three complementary approaches to strengthen explanatory inference. This conceptual SES review defines the analytical categories used in the paper, the bibliometric mapping (Scopus database with VOSviewer) identifies dominant research streams and underexplored themes, and the qualitative Polish case studies operationalize these categories to diagnose mechanisms, feedbacks, and governance vulnerabilities under anthropogenic pressure. The bibliometric analysis identifies the main research streams at the intersection of SES, water management and sustainable development, revealing thematic clusters related to climate change adaptation, environmental governance, ecosystem services and hydrological extremes. The case studies - the 2024 flood, the 2022 ecological disaster in the Odra River, and water deficits associated with lignite opencast mining in Eastern Wielkopolska - illustrate how anthropogenic pressure and climate-related hazards interact within local SES and expose governance gaps. Particular attention is paid to attitudes and social participation, understood as configurations of behaviors, knowledge and emotions that shape decision-making in local self-government, especially at the municipal level. This study argues that an SES-based perspective can contribute to building the resilience of water systems, improving the integration of ecological and social dimensions and supporting more sustainable water management in Poland. Full article

Urban expansion and its driving factors are frequently analyzed within administrative regions to inform regional urban planning, yet such analyses often fall short at the natural basin scale (referring to the spatial extent defined by hydrological drainage boundaries) due to the scarcity of statistical data. Geographic and socio-economic spatial data can offer more detailed information across various research scales compared to traditional data (such as administrative statistical data, survey-based data, etc.), providing a potential solution to this limitation. Thus, this study took the Indus Basin as an example to reveal its urban expansion patterns and driving mechanism based on natural–economic–social time-series (2000–2020) spatial data, landscape expansion index, and geographical detector model (GDM). Future urban expansion distribution under different scenarios was also projected using Cellular Automata and Markov model (CA-Markov). The results indicated the following: (1) The Indus River Basin experienced rapid urban expansion during 2000–2020 dominated by edge-expansion, with urban expansion intensity showing a continuous increase. (2) Between 2000 and 2010 as well as 2010 and 2020, the dominant factor influencing urban expansion shifted from altitude to population (Pop), while the strongest interacting factors shifted from fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) and altitude to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Pop. (3) Future urban expansion probably occupies substantial mountainous area under the normal scenario, while the expansion region shifts towards the central plains to protect more ecological zones under a sustainable development scenario. Findings in this study would deepen the understanding of urban expansion characteristics of the Indus Basin and benefit its future urban planning. Full article

This article critically examines the conceptual boundaries and applications of the terms biocultural and ecocultural in interdisciplinary research addressing biodiversity threats in rural communities. The aim is to clarify their meanings and propose recommendations for their use in sustainability science. We conducted an integrative conceptual review combining a narrative literature analysis and corpus linguistics methods on 54 documents across four disciplinary areas: Ecology and Biodiversity Conservation, Economics and Heritage, Ecocriticism and Literature, and Sociocultural Discourses. The narrative synthesis explores theoretical interpretations, while the corpus analysis quantifies term frequency and collocations to identify patterns of use. The results reveal that biocultural perspectives emphasise species-focused interactions, traditional knowledge, rights, ecoethics, and governance, whereas ecocultural approaches foreground discourse, communication, identity, education, and long-term ecological processes. Both frameworks converge in their concern for sustainability and cultural–ecological interdependence but differ in scope and temporal depth. This study contributes scientifically by offering a situated, interdisciplinary analysis of these concepts, and socially by underscoring the need for dialogical frameworks that respect local knowledge and expand applications beyond rural contexts to urban, educational, and policy domains. Recommendations are provided to guide interdisciplinary teams in adopting context-specific conceptualizations for research and action. Full article

The global countryside constitutes a complex social–ecological system undergoing profound transformation. Understanding how such systems navigate transitions and achieve resilient, sustainable outcomes requires examining the interactions and adaptive behaviors of multiple actors. This study investigates the restructuring of rural China through a complex adaptive systems lens, focusing on the county of Lin’an in Zhejiang Province. We employ a middle-range theory and process-tracing approach to analyze the co-evolutionary pathways shaped by the interactions among three key agents: local governments, enterprises, and village communities. Our findings reveal distinct yet interdependent behavioral logics—local governments and enterprises primarily exhibit instrumental rationality, driven by political performance and profit maximization, respectively, while villages demonstrate value-rational behavior anchored in communal well-being and territorial identity. Crucially, this study identifies the emergence of a vital integrative mechanism, the “village operator” model, underpinned by the collective economy. This institutional innovation facilitates the synergistic linkage of interests and the integration of endogenous and exogenous resources, thereby mitigating conflicts and alienation. We argue that this multi-agent collaboration drives a synergistic restructuring of spatial, economic, and social subsystems. The case demonstrates that sustainable rural revitalization hinges not on the dominance of a single logic, but on the emergence of adaptive governance structures that effectively coordinate diverse actor logics. This process fosters systemic resilience, enabling the rural system to adapt to external pressures and internal changes. The Lin’an experience offers a transferable framework for understanding how coordinated multi-agent interactions can guide complex social–ecological systems toward sustainable transitions. Full article

Rural areas are currently facing a deepening “social-ecological divide,” where the fragmentation of natural, economic, and cultural data—often trapped in “data silos”—hinders effective systemic governance. To bridge this gap, in this study, the Rural Landscape Information Model (RLIM), an integrative framework designed to reconfigure rural connections through data fusion, process coordination, and performance feedback, is proposed. We validate the framework’s effectiveness through a comparative analysis of two distinct rural archetypes in China: the innovation-driven Yu Village and the heritage-conservation-oriented Hani Terraces. Our results reveal that digital technologies drive distinct empowerment pathways moderated by regional contexts: (1) In the data domain, heterogeneous resources were successfully integrated into the framework in both cases (achieving a Monitoring Coverage > 80%), yet served divergent strategic ends—comprehensive territorial management in Yu Village versus precision heritage monitoring in the Hani Terraces. (2) In the process domain, digital platforms restructured social interactions differently. Yu Village achieved high individual participation (Participation Rate ≈ 0.85) via mobile governance apps, whereas the Hani Terraces relied on cooperative-mediated engagement to bridge the digital divide for elderly farmers. (3) In the performance domain, the interventions yielded contrasting but positive economic-ecological outcomes. Yu Village realized a 25% growth in tourism revenue through “industrial transformation” (Ecology+), while the Hani Terraces achieved a 12% value enhancement by stabilizing traditional agricultural ecosystems (Culture+). This study contributes a verifiable theoretical model and a set of operational tools, demonstrating that digital technologies are not merely instrumental add-ons but catalysts for fostering resilient, collaborative, and context-specific rural socio-ecological systems, ultimately offering scalable governance strategies for sustainable rural revitalization in the digital era. Full article