Pub Date : 2024-08-08DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2024.112463
Li Qin, Yin Feng, Ran Wang, Yue Wang
This study examines the effect of implementation of the National Ecological Civilization Construction Demonstration Zone (NECCDZ) policy in China as a quasi-natural experiment on Chinese listed firms’ ESG performance. By utilizing a multi-period differences-in-differences model, the empirical results reveal that the NECCDZ policy boosted the ESG performance of China’s A-share listed companies in the pilot region by an average of 38%. However, the NECCDZ policy has differential effects on the three subdimensions of ESG. More specifically, the NECCDZ policy significantly improves the social responsibility performance and governance performance of the company, and has a lagged positive effect on the environmental performance. The mechanism analysis shows that the NECCDZ policy enhances corporate ESG practices by promoting enterprise green technology innovation, while media attention positively moderates the impact of the NECCDZ policy on corporate ESG practices. Further analysis shows that the NECCDZ policy also improves the enterprises’ financing environment through government subsidies and public investment. Overall, the empirical findings show the effectiveness of NECCDZ policy in enhancing ESG practices at the enterprise level and offer a new approach to improving corporate ESG finance in emerging markets such as China.
本研究将中国国家生态文明建设示范区（NECCDZ）政策的实施作为一项准自然实验，考察了其对中国上市公司ESG绩效的影响。通过使用多期差异模型，实证结果表明，国家生态文明建设示范区政策使试点地区中国 A 股上市公司的环境、社会和公司治理绩效平均提高了 38%。但是，国家经济技术开发区政策对ESG的三个子维度产生了不同的影响。具体而言，国家经济技术开发区政策显著提高了公司的社会责任绩效和治理绩效，并对环境绩效产生了滞后的积极影响。机理分析表明，国家经济合作和发展区政策通过促进企业绿色技术创新来增强企业的环境、社会和治理实践，而媒体关注则正向调节了国家经济合作和发展区政策对企业环境、社会和治理实践的影响。进一步分析表明，国家经济技术开发区政策还通过政府补贴和公共投资改善了企业的融资环境。总体而言，实证研究结果表明，国家经济合作和发展区政策在企业层面提升企业环境、社会和治理实践的有效性，并为中国等新兴市场改善企业环境、社会和治理融资提供了新的思路。
{"title":"Impact of the National Ecological Civilization Construction Demonstration Zone on corporate ESG: Evidence from China","authors":"Li Qin, Yin Feng, Ran Wang, Yue Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.ecolind.2024.112463","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2024.112463","url":null,"abstract":"This study examines the effect of implementation of the National Ecological Civilization Construction Demonstration Zone (NECCDZ) policy in China as a quasi-natural experiment on Chinese listed firms’ ESG performance. By utilizing a multi-period differences-in-differences model, the empirical results reveal that the NECCDZ policy boosted the ESG performance of China’s A-share listed companies in the pilot region by an average of 38%. However, the NECCDZ policy has differential effects on the three subdimensions of ESG. More specifically, the NECCDZ policy significantly improves the social responsibility performance and governance performance of the company, and has a lagged positive effect on the environmental performance. The mechanism analysis shows that the NECCDZ policy enhances corporate ESG practices by promoting enterprise green technology innovation, while media attention positively moderates the impact of the NECCDZ policy on corporate ESG practices. Further analysis shows that the NECCDZ policy also improves the enterprises’ financing environment through government subsidies and public investment. Overall, the empirical findings show the effectiveness of NECCDZ policy in enhancing ESG practices at the enterprise level and offer a new approach to improving corporate ESG finance in emerging markets such as China.","PeriodicalId":11459,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Indicators","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":6.9,"publicationDate":"2024-08-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141940953","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Coral reefs are among the most energetic marine ecosystems, taking a place in ecological balance. Microbes participate in the energy exchange in coral ecosystems, which may affect coral resistance and resilience. However, there is still a lack of understanding regarding the microbial structure between corals and seawater. In this study, microbial structure and interactions in coral and seawater were studied using quantitative PCR and high-throughput sequencing. We found that the abundance and diversity of microbes in corals were higher than those in seawater. Corals, as nonfluidic ecosystems, limited the dispersal of microbes, causing broader stochasticity in the ecological shaping process, whereas ecological drift and homogeneous selection were the most important assembly mechanisms in seawater. The microbial niche width was larger in the coral group than in the seawater group, indicating strong adaptability. A group of microbes (e.g., , , and ) may become microbial indicators which differentiate seawater samples (e.g., SAR11 and SAR86 clades, ), which may be due to separated habitats and nutrition. Coral microbes may participate in nitrogen-metabolism to maintain a nitrogen limited microenvironment. Nodes linked in the coral co-occurrence network showed coexisting interactions and higher complexity based on the comparison of topological values. Collectively, significant differences in microbial fractions were demonstrated observed in terms of diversity, composition, co-occurrence patterns, assembly processes and predicted functions between coral and seawater samples, showing potential microbial interactions and providing in-depth insights into the metacommunity diversity in coral reef ecosystems.
{"title":"Distinct diversity, assembly, and co-occurrence patterns of the prokaryotic microbiome in coral ecosystems of the South China Sea","authors":"Wenbin Zhao, Leiran Chen, Xiaoyun Huang, Jiwen Liu, Wentao Niu, Xiao-Hua Zhang, Fabiano Thompson, Jiaguang Xiao, Xiaolei Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.ecolind.2024.112452","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2024.112452","url":null,"abstract":"Coral reefs are among the most energetic marine ecosystems, taking a place in ecological balance. Microbes participate in the energy exchange in coral ecosystems, which may affect coral resistance and resilience. However, there is still a lack of understanding regarding the microbial structure between corals and seawater. In this study, microbial structure and interactions in coral and seawater were studied using quantitative PCR and high-throughput sequencing. We found that the abundance and diversity of microbes in corals were higher than those in seawater. Corals, as nonfluidic ecosystems, limited the dispersal of microbes, causing broader stochasticity in the ecological shaping process, whereas ecological drift and homogeneous selection were the most important assembly mechanisms in seawater. The microbial niche width was larger in the coral group than in the seawater group, indicating strong adaptability. A group of microbes (e.g., , , and ) may become microbial indicators which differentiate seawater samples (e.g., SAR11 and SAR86 clades, ), which may be due to separated habitats and nutrition. Coral microbes may participate in nitrogen-metabolism to maintain a nitrogen limited microenvironment. Nodes linked in the coral co-occurrence network showed coexisting interactions and higher complexity based on the comparison of topological values. Collectively, significant differences in microbial fractions were demonstrated observed in terms of diversity, composition, co-occurrence patterns, assembly processes and predicted functions between coral and seawater samples, showing potential microbial interactions and providing in-depth insights into the metacommunity diversity in coral reef ecosystems.","PeriodicalId":11459,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Indicators","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":6.9,"publicationDate":"2024-08-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141940999","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-08-06DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2024.112441
Li Chen, Wei Yu, Xuebo Zhang
Promoting the high-quality development of urbanization is a crucial way to achieve sustainable development goals. Water resources are a rigid constraint for such development. However, There is still room for improvement in the research on the spatio-temporal pattern and key driving factors of high-quality urbanization development under the constraint of water resources. Aiming at the problem that the high-quality development of urbanization in the Yellow River Basin (YRB) is facing water resources constraints, this paper discussed the spatial–temporal pattern and key drivers of the high-quality development of urbanization in the YRB under water resource constraints by using the Analytic Hierarchy Process model reformed by entropy technology, multi-objective fuzzy membership function, spatial autocorrelation analysis and obstacle model. The results revealed that, first, we found the High-Quality Urbanization Development Index (UQDI) exhibited steady growth, while both the Water Resources Index (WRI) and the Water Resources Constraint Intensity (WRCI) initially increased and then decreased during the study period. Second, the UQDI displayed a dual-core pattern, with the Shandong Peninsula urban agglomeration and the Central Plains urban agglomeration serving as the cores. WRI exhibited relatively stable spatial distribution, with the southeast region outperforming the northwest. WRCI also demonstrated a relatively stable spatial distribution, resulting in two weak-constraint areas, represented by Shandong and Henan, and a strong-constraint area centered around Ningxia. Third, the UQDI, WRI, and WRCI exhibited spatial interdependence. The spatial interdependence of UQDI and WRI increased, while that of WRCI decreased during the study period. The three indexes also displayed a clear pattern of local clustering in space. Two low-value aggregation areas, namely Shandong and Henan, and a high-value aggregation area located in Ningxia, emerged during the study period. Last, the WRCI was primarily influenced by the fundamental conditions of water resources. The main influencing factors included per capita water resources, mean annual precipitation, total water resources, water resources modulus, and the total amount of foreign investment utilization. In light of the research findings, the paper proposes policy recommendations for promoting high-quality urbanization development in the YRB. This study provides decision-making guidance for countries and regions in arid areas to solve the water resources constraints on the high-quality development of urbanization.
{"title":"Spatio-temporal patterns of High-Quality urbanization development under water resource constraints and their key Drivers: A case study in the Yellow River Basin, China","authors":"Li Chen, Wei Yu, Xuebo Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.ecolind.2024.112441","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2024.112441","url":null,"abstract":"Promoting the high-quality development of urbanization is a crucial way to achieve sustainable development goals. Water resources are a rigid constraint for such development. However, There is still room for improvement in the research on the spatio-temporal pattern and key driving factors of high-quality urbanization development under the constraint of water resources. Aiming at the problem that the high-quality development of urbanization in the Yellow River Basin (YRB) is facing water resources constraints, this paper discussed the spatial–temporal pattern and key drivers of the high-quality development of urbanization in the YRB under water resource constraints by using the Analytic Hierarchy Process model reformed by entropy technology, multi-objective fuzzy membership function, spatial autocorrelation analysis and obstacle model. The results revealed that, first, we found the High-Quality Urbanization Development Index (UQDI) exhibited steady growth, while both the Water Resources Index (WRI) and the Water Resources Constraint Intensity (WRCI) initially increased and then decreased during the study period. Second, the UQDI displayed a dual-core pattern, with the Shandong Peninsula urban agglomeration and the Central Plains urban agglomeration serving as the cores. WRI exhibited relatively stable spatial distribution, with the southeast region outperforming the northwest. WRCI also demonstrated a relatively stable spatial distribution, resulting in two weak-constraint areas, represented by Shandong and Henan, and a strong-constraint area centered around Ningxia. Third, the UQDI, WRI, and WRCI exhibited spatial interdependence. The spatial interdependence of UQDI and WRI increased, while that of WRCI decreased during the study period. The three indexes also displayed a clear pattern of local clustering in space. Two low-value aggregation areas, namely Shandong and Henan, and a high-value aggregation area located in Ningxia, emerged during the study period. Last, the WRCI was primarily influenced by the fundamental conditions of water resources. The main influencing factors included per capita water resources, mean annual precipitation, total water resources, water resources modulus, and the total amount of foreign investment utilization. In light of the research findings, the paper proposes policy recommendations for promoting high-quality urbanization development in the YRB. This study provides decision-making guidance for countries and regions in arid areas to solve the water resources constraints on the high-quality development of urbanization.","PeriodicalId":11459,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Indicators","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":6.9,"publicationDate":"2024-08-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141941001","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Vegetation restoration has induced complex spatiotemporal changes in ecosystem service (ES) relationships. However, dynamic analysis on the driving mechanisms underlying ES relationships remains insufficient, constraining the comprehension on sustainable vegetation restoration. In this study, a comprehensive index (ESI) representing the coordination among four ESs (carbon sequestration, water yield, baseflow regulation, and soil conservation) was quantified in Yan’an City, a typical vegetation restoration area. Using the Bayesian belief network, a social-ecological framework was constructed to explore changes in driving factors of ESI during 1990 to 2020. The results revealed that: (1) the coordination of ES relationships showed a significant enhancement over the past 30 years, which primarily attributed to areas with the highest values of water yield. Areas with low values of baseflow regulation posed a risk to the ESI. (2) The combined contribution of FVC and precipitation was consistently close to 70 %, emerging as the dominant driving factors for the ESI. But in the last decade, contributions from human activities have increased significantly. (3) Scenario reasoning highlighted that expanding vegetation cover alone would exhibit threshold effects on the ESI improvement. Additionally, the results revealed a promising prospect of enhancing baseflow and maintaining the ESI through human actions. This study provides an example of using Bayesian belief network to analyze social-ecological interactions, enhancing the understanding of changes in ES relationships under vegetation restoration.
植被恢复引起了生态系统服务（ES）关系复杂的时空变化。然而，对生态系统服务关系驱动机制的动态分析仍然不足，制约了对可持续植被恢复的理解。本研究以延安市为典型植被恢复区，量化了代表四种生态系统服务（固碳、产水量、基流调节和水土保持）之间协调关系的综合指数（ESI）。利用贝叶斯信念网络构建了一个社会生态框架，以探讨 1990-2020 年间 ESI 驱动因素的变化。结果表明(1) 在过去 30 年中，ES 关系的协调性显著增强，这主要归因于产水量值最高的地区。基流调节值较低的地区对 ESI 构成风险。(2) 水分变化率和降水量的合计贡献率一直接近 70%，成为 ESI 的主要驱动因素。但在过去十年中，人类活动的贡献大幅增加。(3) 情景推理突出表明，仅扩大植被覆盖就会对改善 ESI 产生阈值效应。此外，研究结果还揭示了通过人类活动提高基流和维持 ESI 的广阔前景。本研究提供了一个利用贝叶斯信念网络分析社会-生态相互作用的实例，加深了人们对植被恢复下生态系统服务关系变化的理解。
{"title":"Constructing a Bayesian belief network to provide insights into the dynamic drivers of ecosystem service relationships","authors":"Ting Li, Zhihong Qiao, Liyang Ma, Yu Ren, Ying Luo, Zemin Ai, Yadong Yang","doi":"10.1016/j.ecolind.2024.112444","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2024.112444","url":null,"abstract":"Vegetation restoration has induced complex spatiotemporal changes in ecosystem service (ES) relationships. However, dynamic analysis on the driving mechanisms underlying ES relationships remains insufficient, constraining the comprehension on sustainable vegetation restoration. In this study, a comprehensive index (ESI) representing the coordination among four ESs (carbon sequestration, water yield, baseflow regulation, and soil conservation) was quantified in Yan’an City, a typical vegetation restoration area. Using the Bayesian belief network, a social-ecological framework was constructed to explore changes in driving factors of ESI during 1990 to 2020. The results revealed that: (1) the coordination of ES relationships showed a significant enhancement over the past 30 years, which primarily attributed to areas with the highest values of water yield. Areas with low values of baseflow regulation posed a risk to the ESI. (2) The combined contribution of FVC and precipitation was consistently close to 70 %, emerging as the dominant driving factors for the ESI. But in the last decade, contributions from human activities have increased significantly. (3) Scenario reasoning highlighted that expanding vegetation cover alone would exhibit threshold effects on the ESI improvement. Additionally, the results revealed a promising prospect of enhancing baseflow and maintaining the ESI through human actions. This study provides an example of using Bayesian belief network to analyze social-ecological interactions, enhancing the understanding of changes in ES relationships under vegetation restoration.","PeriodicalId":11459,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Indicators","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":6.9,"publicationDate":"2024-08-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141941000","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-08-06DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2024.112456
Zhaofang Chen, Shuo Sheng, Yuncai Wang
Rapid urbanization in mountainous areas has caused unbalanced development, land use conflicts, and decreased urban spatial efficiency (USE) due to terrain constraints and disorderly land expansion, and this issue has not been fully explored. To address this gap, this study constructs a framework to quantify the impacts of landscape gradients on urban spatial efficiency. By developing indicator systems to characterize both landscape heterogeneity and urban spatial efficiency, the relationships between these factors are analyzed using the Boosting Regression Trees model, and clusters are identified to reveal spatial differentiation through key landscape gradient indicators. The results indicate that (1) the Summit Density (Sds) of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) exhibits the most significant negative impact on urban spatial efficiency, especially on spatial utilization efficiency; (2) the Root Mean Square Slope (Sdq) of Digital Elevation negatively affects traffic and public services efficiency; (3) the Texture Direction Index (Stdi) of building distribution has the most significant positive impact on public service efficiency. In mountainous environments, different landscape gradient types exhibit clear contrasts in urban spatial efficiency. Varied elevations lead to diverse construction sites and building layouts within urban blocks, resulting in spatial differentiation of urban spatial efficiency. This study enhances the use of gradient surface metrics in urban spatial research by describing landscape patterns and heterogeneity at the block scale. It offers valuable insights for urban planning and design with a focus on equity and sustainability.
{"title":"Quantifying the influences of landscape gradient on urban spatial efficiency by using surface metrics in the central area of a mountainous city","authors":"Zhaofang Chen, Shuo Sheng, Yuncai Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.ecolind.2024.112456","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2024.112456","url":null,"abstract":"Rapid urbanization in mountainous areas has caused unbalanced development, land use conflicts, and decreased urban spatial efficiency (USE) due to terrain constraints and disorderly land expansion, and this issue has not been fully explored. To address this gap, this study constructs a framework to quantify the impacts of landscape gradients on urban spatial efficiency. By developing indicator systems to characterize both landscape heterogeneity and urban spatial efficiency, the relationships between these factors are analyzed using the Boosting Regression Trees model, and clusters are identified to reveal spatial differentiation through key landscape gradient indicators. The results indicate that (1) the Summit Density (Sds) of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) exhibits the most significant negative impact on urban spatial efficiency, especially on spatial utilization efficiency; (2) the Root Mean Square Slope (Sdq) of Digital Elevation negatively affects traffic and public services efficiency; (3) the Texture Direction Index (Stdi) of building distribution has the most significant positive impact on public service efficiency. In mountainous environments, different landscape gradient types exhibit clear contrasts in urban spatial efficiency. Varied elevations lead to diverse construction sites and building layouts within urban blocks, resulting in spatial differentiation of urban spatial efficiency. This study enhances the use of gradient surface metrics in urban spatial research by describing landscape patterns and heterogeneity at the block scale. It offers valuable insights for urban planning and design with a focus on equity and sustainability.","PeriodicalId":11459,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Indicators","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":6.9,"publicationDate":"2024-08-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141941109","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Rapid urbanization has a comprehensive impact on the patterns of regional ecological security (ESPs) in the Sino-Singapore Guangzhou Knowledge City, China (SSGKC). This study aims to propose recommendations for ensuring regional ecological security by conducting a spatiotemporal dynamic assessment of ESPs. The findings reveal that SSGKC has experienced rapid urbanization in the past decade, resulting in more than doubling of construction land. The results indicate that the area of the largest 10 patches of ESs decreased by 13.5%. Two largest patches of ESs in the southwest became smaller and were out of the top 10 patches in 2020. The expansion of construction land has encroached upon key ecological corridors (ECs). Two ECs connecting the eastern and central regions have shifted southward. Landscape pattern indexes demonstrate that not only has the area of ESs decreased, but they have also become more fragmented. This study also utilized the Urban Development Boundary (UDB) and FLUS model to simulate and predict the potential impact of future land use change on ESPs. Policymakers are advised to optimize the UDB by excluding areas that overlap with ESs and key ECs, in order to minimize the potential occupation of ESs and ECs in the future. The circular ECs connecting the eastern and central regions should be given priority planned and protection.
{"title":"Spatiotemporal dynamic characteristics and conservation strategy of ecological security pattern in a rapidly urbanizing zone","authors":"Yichao Wang, Xiao Yang, Xiaojun Zhang, Luping Zhu, Xin Wang, Yu Li, Lixuan Zhou, Xijun Yu","doi":"10.1016/j.ecolind.2024.112457","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2024.112457","url":null,"abstract":"Rapid urbanization has a comprehensive impact on the patterns of regional ecological security (ESPs) in the Sino-Singapore Guangzhou Knowledge City, China (SSGKC). This study aims to propose recommendations for ensuring regional ecological security by conducting a spatiotemporal dynamic assessment of ESPs. The findings reveal that SSGKC has experienced rapid urbanization in the past decade, resulting in more than doubling of construction land. The results indicate that the area of the largest 10 patches of ESs decreased by 13.5%. Two largest patches of ESs in the southwest became smaller and were out of the top 10 patches in 2020. The expansion of construction land has encroached upon key ecological corridors (ECs). Two ECs connecting the eastern and central regions have shifted southward. Landscape pattern indexes demonstrate that not only has the area of ESs decreased, but they have also become more fragmented. This study also utilized the Urban Development Boundary (UDB) and FLUS model to simulate and predict the potential impact of future land use change on ESPs. Policymakers are advised to optimize the UDB by excluding areas that overlap with ESs and key ECs, in order to minimize the potential occupation of ESs and ECs in the future. The circular ECs connecting the eastern and central regions should be given priority planned and protection.","PeriodicalId":11459,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Indicators","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":6.9,"publicationDate":"2024-08-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141940954","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Riparian buffer zones are transitional and ecological intersections between land and water. These areas play a major role in advancing ecosystem protection and restoration. Here, we investigated the spatial and temporal evolution of land use, ecosystem service value (ESV), and landscape ecological risk (LER) in riparian buffer zones between 1990 and 2020 using the Shaanxi section of the Weihe River as a case study using a GIS grid, the unit-area-equivalent-factor method, the landscape ecological risk index, and the natural breakpoint method. We also established four ecological zones using standardized Z-scores. The predominant land categories in the study area comprised cultivated, construction, and grassland, which together accounted for more than 80 % of the total area. The construction land demonstrated the most significant increase of 4,062.33 hm area, and cultivated land showed most significant decrease of 13,048.56 hm area, between 1990 and 2020. Next, study-site ESV increased from 28.30 × 10 CNY in 1990 to 28.94 × 10 CNY in 2020, reflecting 2.26 % growth. High-value areas were principally bodies of water and primarily situated along the Weihe River, extending from west to east along the main channel. The LER of the study area was dominated by the lowest ecological risk, low ecological risk, and medium ecological risk classes, which collectively accounted for more than 70 % of the total area. The main land types in the areas with high ecological risk were forest land and cultivated land. The study area’s LER demonstrated a decreasing trend from 1990 to 2020, and the area with the lowest ecological risk and low ecological risk zones increased by 9.97 %. The riparian buffer zone was divided into ecological restoration, reconstruction, conservation, and protection zones based on two factors, namely, ESV and LER. The most dominant of these was the ecological reconstruction zone, which showed a 13.75 % decrease in area share between 1990 and 2020. The ecological restoration zone occupied the smallest area with the largest increase of 56.63 % during this period. In conclusion, this study contributes to ecological zoning and management of the riparian buffer zone along the main channel of the Weihe River. Appropriate zoning is integral to protecting this valuable ecosystem and achieving sustainable development of surrounding human communities.
{"title":"Combining ecosystem service value and landscape ecological risk to subdivide the riparian buffer zone of the Weihe River in Shaanxi","authors":"Yuyang Xie, Qiuchen Zhu, Hua Bai, Hongzhou He, Yuan Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.ecolind.2024.112424","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2024.112424","url":null,"abstract":"Riparian buffer zones are transitional and ecological intersections between land and water. These areas play a major role in advancing ecosystem protection and restoration. Here, we investigated the spatial and temporal evolution of land use, ecosystem service value (ESV), and landscape ecological risk (LER) in riparian buffer zones between 1990 and 2020 using the Shaanxi section of the Weihe River as a case study using a GIS grid, the unit-area-equivalent-factor method, the landscape ecological risk index, and the natural breakpoint method. We also established four ecological zones using standardized Z-scores. The predominant land categories in the study area comprised cultivated, construction, and grassland, which together accounted for more than 80 % of the total area. The construction land demonstrated the most significant increase of 4,062.33 hm area, and cultivated land showed most significant decrease of 13,048.56 hm area, between 1990 and 2020. Next, study-site ESV increased from 28.30 × 10 CNY in 1990 to 28.94 × 10 CNY in 2020, reflecting 2.26 % growth. High-value areas were principally bodies of water and primarily situated along the Weihe River, extending from west to east along the main channel. The LER of the study area was dominated by the lowest ecological risk, low ecological risk, and medium ecological risk classes, which collectively accounted for more than 70 % of the total area. The main land types in the areas with high ecological risk were forest land and cultivated land. The study area’s LER demonstrated a decreasing trend from 1990 to 2020, and the area with the lowest ecological risk and low ecological risk zones increased by 9.97 %. The riparian buffer zone was divided into ecological restoration, reconstruction, conservation, and protection zones based on two factors, namely, ESV and LER. The most dominant of these was the ecological reconstruction zone, which showed a 13.75 % decrease in area share between 1990 and 2020. The ecological restoration zone occupied the smallest area with the largest increase of 56.63 % during this period. In conclusion, this study contributes to ecological zoning and management of the riparian buffer zone along the main channel of the Weihe River. Appropriate zoning is integral to protecting this valuable ecosystem and achieving sustainable development of surrounding human communities.","PeriodicalId":11459,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Indicators","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":6.9,"publicationDate":"2024-08-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141941004","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-08-06DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2024.112415
Fairo F. Dzekashu, Abdullahi A. Yusuf, Kazuhiro Takemoto, Marcell K. Peters, H. Michael G. Lattorff, Ingolf Steffan-Dewenter, Christian W.W. Pirk
Interaction network resilience can be defined as the ability of interacting organisms to maintain their functions, processes or populations after experiencing a disturbance. Studies on mutualistic interactions between plants and pollinators along environmental gradients are essential to understand the provision of ecosystem services and the mechanisms challenging their network resilience. However, it remains unknown to what level ecological changes along climatic gradients constrain the network resilience of mutualistic organisms, especially along elevation gradients. We surveyed bee species and recorded their interactions with plants throughout the four major seasons (i.e. long and short rainy, and long and short dry) on 50 study sites positioned along an elevation gradient (525 m to 2,530 m asl) in the Eastern Afromontane Biodiversity Hotspots in Kenya, East Africa. We calculated bee and plant network resilience using the network resilience parameter (β) and assessed changes in bee and plant network resilience along the elevation gradient using generalised additive models (). We quantified the effects of climate, bee and plant diversity, bee functional traits, network structure, and landscape configuration on bee and plant network resilience using a set of multi-model inference frameworks followed by structural equation models (SEM). We found that bee and plant species exhibited higher levels of network resilience at higher elevations. While bee network resilience increased linearly across the elevation gradient, plant network resilience increased exponentially from ∼1500 m and higher. Bee and plant network resilience increased in areas with reduced mean annual temperature (MAT) and decreased in areas with lower mean annual precipitation (MAP). Our SEM model showed that increasing temperatures indirectly influenced plant network resilience via network modularity and community assemblage of bees. We also found that MAP had a direct positive effect on plant diversity and network resilience, while the fragmentation of habitats reduced richness of plant communities and enhanced network modularity. In conclusion, we revealed that mutualistic networks showed higher network resilience at higher elevations. We also unveiled that climate and habitat fragmentation directly or indirectly influences the network resilience of plants and bees via the modulation of community assemblages and interaction networks. These influences are lower at higher elevations such that these systems seem better able to buffer against extinction cascades. We thus suggest that, management efforts should be geared at consolidating natural habitats. In contrast, restoration efforts should aim at mitigating climate change effects and harnessing the ability of mutualists to reconnect broken links to improve the network resilience and functioning of East-African montane ecosystems.
相互作用网络的恢复力可定义为相互作用的生物在经历干扰后维持其功能、过程或种群的能力。对植物与传粉昆虫之间沿环境梯度的互作关系进行研究，对于了解生态系统服务的提供及其网络恢复力的挑战机制至关重要。然而，人们仍然不知道气候梯度上的生态变化在多大程度上制约了互生生物网络的恢复力，尤其是在海拔梯度上。我们调查了东非肯尼亚东非山地生物多样性热点地区沿海拔梯度（525米至2,530米）分布的50个研究地点的蜜蜂物种，并记录了它们在四个主要季节（即长雨季和短雨季、长旱季和短旱季）与植物的相互作用。我们使用网络恢复力参数（β）计算蜜蜂和植物网络的恢复力，并使用广义加法模型（）评估蜜蜂和植物网络恢复力在海拔梯度上的变化。我们利用一套多模型推断框架，然后利用结构方程模型（SEM），量化了气候、蜜蜂和植物多样性、蜜蜂功能特征、网络结构和景观配置对蜜蜂和植物网络恢复力的影响。我们发现，在海拔较高的地方，蜜蜂和植物物种表现出较高的网络恢复力。蜜蜂网络复原力在海拔梯度上呈线性增长，而植物网络复原力在海拔1500米以上呈指数增长。在年平均气温（MAT）降低的地区，蜜蜂和植物网络的恢复力增强，而在年平均降水量（MAP）降低的地区，蜜蜂和植物网络的恢复力减弱。我们的 SEM 模型显示，气温升高通过网络模块化和蜜蜂群落组合间接影响了植物网络的恢复力。我们还发现，年平均降水量对植物多样性和网络恢复力有直接的积极影响，而栖息地的破碎化则降低了植物群落的丰富度，提高了网络的模块化程度。总之，我们发现在海拔较高的地方，互生网络表现出更高的网络恢复力。我们还揭示了气候和栖息地破碎化通过对群落组合和相互作用网络的调节，直接或间接地影响了植物和蜜蜂的网络恢复力。这些影响在海拔较高的地方较小，因此这些系统似乎更有能力缓冲灭绝级联。因此，我们建议，管理工作应着眼于巩固自然栖息地。与此相反，恢复工作的目标应该是减轻气候变化的影响，并利用互惠动物重新连接断裂联系的能力，以提高东非高山生态系统网络的复原力和功能。
{"title":"Network resilience of plant-bee interactions in the Eastern Afromontane Biodiversity Hotspot","authors":"Fairo F. Dzekashu, Abdullahi A. Yusuf, Kazuhiro Takemoto, Marcell K. Peters, H. Michael G. Lattorff, Ingolf Steffan-Dewenter, Christian W.W. Pirk","doi":"10.1016/j.ecolind.2024.112415","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2024.112415","url":null,"abstract":"Interaction network resilience can be defined as the ability of interacting organisms to maintain their functions, processes or populations after experiencing a disturbance. Studies on mutualistic interactions between plants and pollinators along environmental gradients are essential to understand the provision of ecosystem services and the mechanisms challenging their network resilience. However, it remains unknown to what level ecological changes along climatic gradients constrain the network resilience of mutualistic organisms, especially along elevation gradients. We surveyed bee species and recorded their interactions with plants throughout the four major seasons (i.e. long and short rainy, and long and short dry) on 50 study sites positioned along an elevation gradient (525 m to 2,530 m asl) in the Eastern Afromontane Biodiversity Hotspots in Kenya, East Africa. We calculated bee and plant network resilience using the network resilience parameter (β) and assessed changes in bee and plant network resilience along the elevation gradient using generalised additive models (). We quantified the effects of climate, bee and plant diversity, bee functional traits, network structure, and landscape configuration on bee and plant network resilience using a set of multi-model inference frameworks followed by structural equation models (SEM). We found that bee and plant species exhibited higher levels of network resilience at higher elevations. While bee network resilience increased linearly across the elevation gradient, plant network resilience increased exponentially from ∼1500 m and higher. Bee and plant network resilience increased in areas with reduced mean annual temperature (MAT) and decreased in areas with lower mean annual precipitation (MAP). Our SEM model showed that increasing temperatures indirectly influenced plant network resilience via network modularity and community assemblage of bees. We also found that MAP had a direct positive effect on plant diversity and network resilience, while the fragmentation of habitats reduced richness of plant communities and enhanced network modularity. In conclusion, we revealed that mutualistic networks showed higher network resilience at higher elevations. We also unveiled that climate and habitat fragmentation directly or indirectly influences the network resilience of plants and bees via the modulation of community assemblages and interaction networks. These influences are lower at higher elevations such that these systems seem better able to buffer against extinction cascades. We thus suggest that, management efforts should be geared at consolidating natural habitats. In contrast, restoration efforts should aim at mitigating climate change effects and harnessing the ability of mutualists to reconnect broken links to improve the network resilience and functioning of East-African montane ecosystems.","PeriodicalId":11459,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Indicators","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":6.9,"publicationDate":"2024-08-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141941006","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Monitoring and conserving bird biodiversity in rice landscapes is a global challenge. Although environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding can potentially provide a sensitive and comprehensive assessment of bird biodiversity in farmlands, there is a lack of research on the usefulness of eDNA samples from paddy water as sources of information on the species richness and abundance of birds. Hence, in this study, we conducted eDNA metabarcoding during the breeding seasons of birds in 2021 and 2022 in central Japan and evaluated its accuracy and comprehensiveness by comparing its performance with that of the conventional line-transect survey. More bird species (18) were detected by conducting the line-transect survey than by performing eDNA metabarcoding (8 bird species). Twelve bird species were detected only by the line-transect survey; meanwhile, two aquatic bird species, including nocturnal species, were detected by performing eDNA metabarcoding alone. The frequency of occurrence of each species among the water sample replicates was positively associated with species biomass. In addition, the frequency of occurrence was higher in aquatic birds than in terrestrial birds probably because aquatic birds intensively breed and forage in flooded rice fields, resulting in higher amounts of DNA deposition. Overall, our results suggest that although conventional bird surveys are superior to eDNA metabarcoding using paddy water samples for monitoring terrestrial bird diversity, eDNA metabarcoding plays a complementary role in assessing aquatic bird diversity.
{"title":"Complementary role of environmental DNA for line-transect bird surveys: A field test in a Japanese rice landscape","authors":"Naoki Katayama, Satoshi Yamamoto, Yuki G. Baba, Kenji Ito, Junsuke Yamasako","doi":"10.1016/j.ecolind.2024.112442","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2024.112442","url":null,"abstract":"Monitoring and conserving bird biodiversity in rice landscapes is a global challenge. Although environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding can potentially provide a sensitive and comprehensive assessment of bird biodiversity in farmlands, there is a lack of research on the usefulness of eDNA samples from paddy water as sources of information on the species richness and abundance of birds. Hence, in this study, we conducted eDNA metabarcoding during the breeding seasons of birds in 2021 and 2022 in central Japan and evaluated its accuracy and comprehensiveness by comparing its performance with that of the conventional line-transect survey. More bird species (18) were detected by conducting the line-transect survey than by performing eDNA metabarcoding (8 bird species). Twelve bird species were detected only by the line-transect survey; meanwhile, two aquatic bird species, including nocturnal species, were detected by performing eDNA metabarcoding alone. The frequency of occurrence of each species among the water sample replicates was positively associated with species biomass. In addition, the frequency of occurrence was higher in aquatic birds than in terrestrial birds probably because aquatic birds intensively breed and forage in flooded rice fields, resulting in higher amounts of DNA deposition. Overall, our results suggest that although conventional bird surveys are superior to eDNA metabarcoding using paddy water samples for monitoring terrestrial bird diversity, eDNA metabarcoding plays a complementary role in assessing aquatic bird diversity.","PeriodicalId":11459,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Indicators","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":6.9,"publicationDate":"2024-08-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141941009","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-08-06DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2024.112380
Yonghang Ma, Xizhi Nong, Lihua Chen, Jiahua Wei, Ronghui Li
Understanding the relationship between sediment loading and its environmental implications in river systems is crucial for water resource management and environmental protection. This study explored the spatiotemporal characteristics of sediment loading and their environmental relationships in seven large rivers in China, aiming to quantify the contributions of various factors to changes in sediment transport. Monitoring data spanning twenty-one years (2002 to 2022) on sediments, hydrology, and the environment collected by sixty-five stations were analysed. The multivariate statistical techniques employed included Spearman’s correlation analysis, principal component analysis, and multivariate regression modeling. The results show that sediment transport in various river systems exhibited spatial heterogeneity, the maximum annual average sediment loadings (1.59 × 10 t/yr) occur in the lower reaches of the Yellow River, the middle reaches have the highest sediment concentration (41.54 kg/m), followed by the downstream of the Yellow River (5.85 kg/m). Sediment loading and runoff changes in the basins did not adhere universally to synchronous patterns. Eleven of the thirteen basins of these river systems showed upward trends in annual runoff volume, whereas nine basins showed downward trends in annual sediment loading. Runoff volume accounted for over 30 % explanatory of sediment loading variations in all seven large river systems, with the Yangtze, Huaihe, Qiantang, and Songhua rivers surpassing 60 % of the explanatory power. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index of all watersheds showed an increasing trend, whereas the index of nine of the thirteen watersheds was correlated negatively with sediment transport. The influence of human activities on basin sediment transport was higher than that of natural resilience, whereas afforestation significantly reduced sediment in arid regions. This study provides insight into the temporal and spatial characteristics of sediment loadings and the driving effects of environmental factors, which has great significance for watershed environmental management.
{"title":"Spatiotemporal variation characteristics and environmental relationships of sediment loadings in large rivers of China: National perspective from 2002 to 2022","authors":"Yonghang Ma, Xizhi Nong, Lihua Chen, Jiahua Wei, Ronghui Li","doi":"10.1016/j.ecolind.2024.112380","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2024.112380","url":null,"abstract":"Understanding the relationship between sediment loading and its environmental implications in river systems is crucial for water resource management and environmental protection. This study explored the spatiotemporal characteristics of sediment loading and their environmental relationships in seven large rivers in China, aiming to quantify the contributions of various factors to changes in sediment transport. Monitoring data spanning twenty-one years (2002 to 2022) on sediments, hydrology, and the environment collected by sixty-five stations were analysed. The multivariate statistical techniques employed included Spearman’s correlation analysis, principal component analysis, and multivariate regression modeling. The results show that sediment transport in various river systems exhibited spatial heterogeneity, the maximum annual average sediment loadings (1.59 × 10 t/yr) occur in the lower reaches of the Yellow River, the middle reaches have the highest sediment concentration (41.54 kg/m), followed by the downstream of the Yellow River (5.85 kg/m). Sediment loading and runoff changes in the basins did not adhere universally to synchronous patterns. Eleven of the thirteen basins of these river systems showed upward trends in annual runoff volume, whereas nine basins showed downward trends in annual sediment loading. Runoff volume accounted for over 30 % explanatory of sediment loading variations in all seven large river systems, with the Yangtze, Huaihe, Qiantang, and Songhua rivers surpassing 60 % of the explanatory power. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index of all watersheds showed an increasing trend, whereas the index of nine of the thirteen watersheds was correlated negatively with sediment transport. The influence of human activities on basin sediment transport was higher than that of natural resilience, whereas afforestation significantly reduced sediment in arid regions. This study provides insight into the temporal and spatial characteristics of sediment loadings and the driving effects of environmental factors, which has great significance for watershed environmental management.","PeriodicalId":11459,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Indicators","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":6.9,"publicationDate":"2024-08-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141941005","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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