Search Results (14)

Research on watershed ecological protection and restoration within the framework of territorial spatial planning serves as a critical approach to ensuring national ecological security and plays a vital role in enhancing ecosystem stability. In recent years, scholarly interest in this topic has grown significantly. However, development trends and optimization strategies remain unclear, especially regarding comparative insights between Chinese and English research articles within the territorial spatial planning paradigm. A comprehensive review is therefore needed to bridge this gap. This study utilizes bibliometric analysis with CiteSpace, based on publications from the Web of Science (WOS) and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) databases, to visualize and compare Chinese and English research articles on watershed ecological protection and restoration. By combining quantitative and qualitative approaches, this study identified research hotspots and trajectories and provided directions for future research. The main findings are as follows: (1) A quantitative analysis indicates that the number of publications has increased significantly since 1998, with growing interdisciplinary and cross-sector collaboration. (2) The qualitative analysis reveals three fundamental theoretical principles: holistic management, multi-scale interactions, and dynamic coordination. (3) The Chinese Academy of Sciences led in research output, while other institutions showed wider geographic coverage, stronger collaboration networks, and a decentralized, multi-core structure. (4) Keyword clustering highlights three major themes: evaluation methodologies for ecological protection and restoration, spatiotemporal evolution and driving mechanisms, and integrated governance system development. (5) Within the territorial spatial planning paradigm, future researchers should employ big data analytics and monitoring technologies to better diagnose and address ecological challenges. Full article

The Middle Yangtze River Urban Agglomeration, a critical ecological barrier in China, faces escalating pressures from rapid urbanization and climate change, leading to fragmented landscapes and degraded ecosystem services. To address the synergistic challenges of ecological protection and risk management, this paper takes the urban agglomeration in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River as the study area, and obtains the source patches through morphological spatial pattern analysis. Based on the spatial distribution of risky source areas, ecological blind zones are cut down by optimizing buffer zones and merging fragmented patches. Finally, a composite ecological network is constructed through circuit theory superimposed on the dual network method. The results showed that (1) there are 16 ecological source patches and 16 risk source patches in the study area. Six complementary ecological sources and four new ecological sources were obtained through the blind zone reduction strategy. The percentage of ecological blind zones reduced from 58.4% to 39.5%. (2) The integrated nodes with 11,366 connecting edges were identified. The integrated nodes are distributed around the central Jiuling-Mafushan Mountains, mainly in the western and southern areas of the Dongting Lake Plain. (3) Primary integration nodes are critical for network stability, with a 75% node failure threshold triggering systemic collapse. The proposed strategy of “mountain protection–plain control–railway monitoring” is consistent with China’s territorial and spatial planning. By incorporating the risk network into the conservation framework, this study provides feasible insights for balancing development and sustainability in ecologically fragile areas. Full article

The Mexican Caribbean coastal dune is protected by national and international environmental legislation. However, through permits, concessions and authorizations for changes in land use, the coastal dune has been fragmented or suppressed, mainly for touristic activities, causing a decline in protective and ecological ecosystem services. In this study, we evaluated the strength and weakness of Mexican legislation to protect the Caribbean coastal dune ecosystem and estimated the historical and current effects on coastal dune vegetation and dune geomorphology, associated with legal allowances of land use change in the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve (SKBR). Legislation at the federal, state and local level were critically reviewed, and with remote sensing techniques and the Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS), we conducted a case study in the SKBR to estimate coastal dune vegetation alteration trends during the period 2011–2020 and modifications on the dune geomorphology associated with land use change allowances. At the federal (four laws), state (eight laws) and local (nine Local and Territorial Planning Programs (POEL and POET) levels, we found a lack of consensus and alignment between regulations, starting with a lack of definition of ecosystems subject to protection. For coastal dunes, none of them consider topography, ecological function and a way to identify it in the field, making the surveillance highly complex and favoring land use changes, the removal of vegetation and dune geomorphology alteration. Remote sensing techniques showed that areas with land use authorizations exhibit negative vegetation cover trends (Mann–Kendall <−0.4), indicating a decline in vegetation cover density that is mostly anthropogenically induced. The RPAS analysis demonstrated drastic alterations to complete elimination of the coastal dune geomorphology in areas with land use change. In the Mexican Caribbean, the loss of coastal dune and associated ecosystem by the lack of congruent legislation threatens the environmental stability of the coastal areas. Full article

Land is multifunctional and includes production, living, and ecological functions (PLEF). Each aspect of PLEF is critical to the stability of human and natural ecosystems, and the balanced coordination of the three is an important guarantee of sustainable development. The study of the coupling and coordinated relationship of the three functions is of great significance to comprehensively optimizing the allocation of territorial space and promoting the coordinated and sustainable development of the national territory. Taking Jiangsu as a case study, based on the perspective of PLEF, this research constructed a PLEF evaluation index system adapted to rapidly urbanizing areas at the county scale and adopted the modified coupling coordination degree model (CCDM) for in-depth analyses of their coupling and coordinated relationships. The results of this study showed that the spatial distribution of PLEF had obvious heterogeneity, with living function (L) and ecological function (E) presenting as high in the south and low in the north, and production function (P) presenting as high in the middle and low in the north and south of Jiangsu; from 2010 to 2020, the production function steadily increased, the living function showed obvious signs of improvement, while the ecological function remained basically stable. The coupling degree and coupling coordination degree formed a spatial pattern with the intersection belt of North and Central Jiangsu and Central and South Jiangsu as the high-value area; from 2010 to 2020, both the coupling degree and the coupling coordination degree showed an upward trend. In the future, differentiated development strategies should be implemented according to the law of coupling and coordinated evolution and different regional characteristics. This study will provide a more appropriate reference for promoting the coordinated development of PLEF in rapidly urbanizing areas and formulating county policy planning. Full article

Ecological corridors can improve the connectivity between different habitat regions, ultimately halting the loss of biodiversity and habitat fragmentation. Building ecological corridors is a crucial step in protecting biodiversity. Ecological corridors had previously been built primarily on nature reserves, ignoring ecosystem services. In this study, a novel approach to building ecological corridors is put forth that takes into account a variety of ecosystem services, morphological spatial pattern analysis (MSPA), and connectivity methodologies to identify significant ecological sources. Ecological corridors and significant strategic nodes are created based on the minimum cumulative resistance model (MCR) and circuit theory in order to construct the Yangtze River Delta’s ecological security pattern. The research found that: (1) the identified ecological sources are 90,821.84 km², and the total length of ecological corridors is 4704.03 km. (2) In total, 141 ecological restoration areas are identified, with a total area of 2302.77 km²; 151 ecological protection areas are identified, with a total area of 5303.43 km². This study can provide valuable insights into the establishment of ecological patterns and the construction of priority restoration and protection areas in the ecological restoration of the Yangtze River Delta. Full article

Fragments of woodland represent important natural and semi-natural elements that contribute to ecological stability and biodiversity in a landscape. In the Czech Republic, they are part of the Territorial System of Ecological Stability (TSES), which consists of bio-centers, bio-corridors, and interaction elements. The presence of fragments of woodland is of growing importance in the agricultural landscape, where they provide effective protection against soil erosion and serve as a refuge for many animals, whose presence is crucial in maintaining essential ecosystem functions. A functioning ecosystem is especially important in intensively farmed landscapes, which are exposed to frequent and heavy disturbance. Our aim was to evaluate the influence of certain habitat characteristics of fragments of woodland on the activity-density and species richness of selected groups of soil invertebrates (ground beetles, spiders, harvestmen, centipedes, millipedes, and isopods). The research was conducted in the agricultural landscape of South Moravia (Czech Republic) in the summers of 2016–2017, for which we used pitfall traps to collect soil invertebrates on preselected fragments of woodland. The results highlight a wide range of habitat preferences of individual groups of invertebrates, wherein it is not possible to clearly determine the most favorable environmental conditions for all organisms. Consequently, the priority should be to maintain the highest possible degree of heterogeneity among natural and semi-natural features, including with respect to their surrounding landscape. In addition, we found that due to their small size and width, fragments of woodland that are not included in the concept of bio-centers and bio-corridors can similarly support the activity-density and diversity of soil fauna. Full article

As a result of the rapid urbanisation in China, the ecological system in urban areas has become fragmented, posing a threat to ecological stability. Constructing ecological networks is considered a critical strategy to reconnect habitats, restore ecosystems and improve ecological capacity. This research aims to develop a GIS-based model that can inform urban ecological network construction and identify the priority areas for ecological protection in a given urban context. The methodological prototype considers land use, habitat conditions and human interventions from an integrated perspective and has been tested based on a case study in Wujiang District, Suzhou. The results show that (i) 30 critical ecological patches were identified, including 2 vital, 4 important and 24 general cores; (ii) 69 ecological corridors, including 15 vital, 36 important and 18 general corridors, 59 ecological nodes and 24 barriers were determined. Based on these results, this research identified priority restoration and protected areas that urgently require the restoration of ecological networks according to their importance. This research proposes further recommendations on management strategies for construction and protection guidance at macro and micro levels in accordance with existing territorial and spatial planning of Wujiang. The model developed in this research provides a scientific methodology for planning and optimising ecological networks and can serve as a basis for realising ecological protection. Full article

Industrial symbiosis (IS) involves networks of organizations collaborating through flow exchanges. Scientific research has shown that such systems are able to provide benefits at the environmental level. Structural organization and stability were also studied, as they are linked to resilience (maintenance of activity over time), especially with ecological network analysis (ENA), which considers several dimensions in the assessment of a network organization. Studies combining ENA and environmental assessment are lacking in the literature; therefore, the links between the two dimensions are not well documented. The intention of this study was to fill this gap by analyzing structural and environmental performance simultaneously using ENA and a life-cycle-analysis-based approach focusing on the structural topology of IS. The results show that the two dimensions do not strictly influence each other. Structural performance was found to vary depending on the network structure topology, whereas environmental performance was influenced by the network complexity. To ensure the continuation of IS benefits, the two dimensions should be considered in the decision-making process in IS planification, even if they are independent evaluation criteria. Tradeoffs should be based on IS development possibilities and territorial needs. Full article

Stability and resilience are two crucial concepts to the proper functioning and understanding of the behavior of both natural and man-made systems exposed to perturbations and change. However, although the two have covered a similar territory within dynamic systems, the terminology and applications differ significantly. This paper presents a critical analysis of the two concepts by first collating the wealth of modern stability concept literature within dynamics systems and then linking it to resilience thinking, defined as adaptation where the system has the ability to respond perturbations and change through passive and active feedback structures. A lumped mass and simple pendulum, two simple linear and nonlinear dynamic systems following a state-space approach from modern control systems theory, are used to support the analysis and application. The research findings reveal that the two overarching categories of engineering resilience and socio-ecological resilience (extended ecological resilience) are in fact a reinvention of a closed-loop system dynamic stability with different types of active feedback mechanisms. Additionally, structural stability describes some vital aspects of social–ecological resilience such as critical thresholds where, under change, a system loses the ability to return to the starting form or move to another suitable form through active feedback mechanisms or direct management actions. Full article

The safe development of chemical industries requires adequate control of the environmental sustainability of the areas where enterprises are located. The purpose of the article is to develop and test a methodology for solving the multicriteria problem of choosing industrial zones for the development of chemical industries using the method of an additive global criterion. The novelty of the methodology lies in the multi-criteria and complexity of the tool and the presence of a statistical base, which allows it to be used for various socio-economic purposes at all levels of government. As the main research tools, the methods of multi-criteria selection of objects, one-dimensional data scaling, additive convolution of criteria, and methods of multivariate statistical analysis for verifying the results obtained and making a decision were used. The article describes the mathematical apparatus of the technique for solving the multicriteria problem of selecting objects by the method of an additive global criterion. The solution algorithm provides for a three-level integration of particular indicators using the methods of mathematical processing of an array of different-dimensional values. The procedure for selecting the vectors of the criterion space makes it possible to select industrial zones and obtain a global criterion using the additive convolution method. In order to test the methodology, the problem of choosing industrial zones for the potential development of chemical industries in the Russian region was solved. For the development of chemical production, industrial zones have been selected that are included in the above-average environmental sustainability group: Bavlinskaya, Nurlatskaya, Bugulminskaya, and Leninogorskaya. Tendencies of decrease in ecological stability of the zones, which have relatively safe industries on their territory but are adjacent to the zones of location of environmentally unfavorable industries, are revealed. The materials of the article can be used in the development of intelligent systems for monitoring and controlling the development of chemical industries, which allow monitoring the level of environmental safety of industrial zones, identifying sources of negative environmental impact with pursuing decision-making on the organization and planning of production systems in the territorial space. Full article

Artisanal products are considered an alternative to industrial production; however, upon entering global commodity markets, pressures are placed on the territories and customary governance of producer communities. Through the lenses of land system science and telecouplings, this paper examines the links connecting global markets and artisanal products, using the case of mezcal production in an Indigenous community in Oaxaca, Mexico, and the resulting impacts to LULC (land-use and land-cover) dynamics and associated governance. Data were collected through document review, semi-structured interviews, and LULC analysis comparing the years 1993, 2001, 2013, and 2019. Agave crops expanded from 6 to 14% during 1993–2001, stabilized through 2001–2013, and expanded from 14 to 22% during 2013–2019. Market dynamics played a crucial role in the resultant LULC changes, with the biggest impact on tropical dry forest (TDF). The LULC results were coupled with tequila markets during the first two periods, while the third period was linked to new mezcal markets. Our research shows how artisanal production can drive LULC changes. However, customary governance institutions can mediate the relationship between producers and markets to support more sustainable management of territorial resources, including TDF as an ecologically important but locally undervalued forest type. Full article

One of the active tools that increase the ecological stability of a country are projects related to territorial systems of ecological stability (TSES). An important part of the elaboration of TSES projects is also the evaluation of positive socio-economic phenomena (PSEP). Their evaluation is important for the design of measures that will ensure its proper functioning. The PSEP enter, the spatial system as elements that fulfill important ecological functions and help preserve the natural resources, gene pool, ecological stability and diversity of the landscape. Therefore, it is necessary to maintain their functions in the future. The theoretical and methodological basis for the evaluation of PSEP within TSES is the LANDEP methodology. They are not unique in the area, and they can occur in various combinations. Based on varied combinations of positive phenomena ensuing from nature conservation, protection of water sources, forest and soil sources, mineral resources and cultural or historical resources there are various types of territories with different landscape ecological significance and different ecological stability. The resulting combinations are a limiting input for the proposed activities and must be respected when processing ecostabilization measures within TSES projects. The presented study presents a landscape ecological evaluation of socio-economic phenomena of nature protection and natural resources in a project of the local system of ecological stability which was developed for the agriculturally intensively used area of Dolný Lopašov. It assesses the legal status of the territory and specifies and spatially expresses areas with different representations of important landscape elements which come under legislative protection. Based on the occurrence, abundance, character and combinations of PSEP occurring in the cadastral area of the commune Dolný Lopašov, this specifies 8 degrees of landscape ecological significance. Significance categories form the basis for the overall classification of the territory required for the processing of TSES projects at the local level. The obtained results must be applied to the proposals of measures to increase ecological stability, especially in the central and southern part of the cadastral area of the commune Dolný Lopašov. Full article

Forest landscape restoration and ecosystem of Loess Plateau have enhanced prominently, since the policy implementation (1999) of the Grain for Green Project in China. Land ecological security (LES) performs an extremely critical function for protecting vulnerable land resources and sustaining forest ecosystem stability. Predecessors’ studies substantially concentrate on biophysical and meteorologic variables using numerous grounded methodologies, little research has been launched on systematic natural-socio-economic-ecological relationships and how these contributions and regulations for LES evaluation. Here, pressure-state-response (PSR) model was used to establish the evaluation system of LES in regional-scale, and LES was classified into five levels measured by ecological security index (S), including high (S ≥ 0.75), medium−high (0.65 ≤ S < 0.75), medium (0.55 ≤ S < 0.65), medium−low (0.45 ≤ S < 0.55), and low (S < 0.45) level, for systematically analyzing its spatiotemporal distribution characteristic and response mechanism to explanatory variables in Yan’an, northwest China, from 2000 to 2018. The results demonstrated that: (1) LES status was mainly characterized by medium−high level and medium level, and maintained profound stability. (2) zone with medium−high LES level was mainly concentrated in western and southern regions, continuously expanding to northeast regions, and possessed the largest territorial area, accounting for 37.22–46.27% of the total area in Yan’an. (3) LES was primarily susceptible to normalized differential vegetation index, vegetation coverage, and land surface temperature with their optimal impacting thresholds of 0.20–0.64, 0.20–0.55, and 11.20–13.00 °C, respectively. (4) Normalized differential vegetation index and vegetation coverage had a significant synergistic effect upon LES based on their interactive explanation rate of 31% and had significant variation consistency (positive and negative) with LES, which were powerfully suggested to signal the intensification of the regional eco-security level in the persistent eco-greening process. Full article

Though on a global scale, for ecological reasons, increased forest cover is universally regarded as positive, on a local scale, the reforestation of arable land may pose threats to cultural landscapes by removing characteristic landscape features. Particularly vulnerable are marginal rural areas, e.g., mountain regions, where most traditional land use systems have survived and which are subject to the most spectacular land use change. The purpose of this article is to draw attention to the issue of the management of forest cover in historical cultural landscapes in mountain territories in Poland within the context of widespread land use change in Eastern Europe. Land cover data were obtained from historical and contemporary aerial photographs, as well as topographic maps from five time points between 1824 and 2016. The study was conducted by means of spatio-temporal forest cover trajectory analysis (LCTA), transition and time–depth analysis, and land cover change calculations that were made by means of ArcGIS. Our research indicates that the rate of change has risen considerably in the last two decades, and the current share of forest cover is much bigger than that reflected in the official data. Eight principal forest cover trajectory types were identified. The biggest area is occupied by woodland of long-term stability. Another large group is constituted by forests created on the basis of arable land and grassland as a result of simple conversion at one point in time, mainly in the years 1824–1886 and 1939–1994. At the same time, a sizeable group is made up by areas that have been subject to unplanned cyclical or dynamic changes during various periods. A very important group is comprised new forests that were created in 1994–2016, predominantly as a result of natural succession, that are often not included in official land classifications. The constant expansion of woodlands has led to a shrinking of historical former coppice woodlands. This indicates that the current landscape management mechanisms in Poland are inadequate for protecting the cultural landscape. The barriers include the lack of intersectoral cooperation and the overlooking of the historical context of landscapes. The present situation calls not only for verification of the existing forest policy but also for increasing the role and engagement of local communities, as well as making comprehensive local development plans, all of which may be helped by the findings of our study and of similar research. Full article