Ecological Indicators最新文献

{"title":"The “guild” concept in riparian ecology: Use, limitations and prospects for improving the reproducibility and transferability of results","authors":"Philippe Janssen","doi":"10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113152","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113152","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In riparian ecology, the use of information contained in quantitative and qualitative traits to reconstruct plant “guilds” is widespread in the scientific literature. This was formalized by Merritt et al. 2010 with the concept of “riparian vegetation-flow response guilds”, with the aims to develop general frameworks and transfer patterns from one system to another. Here, I reviewed the scientific literature that has applied the “guild” concept to study riparian plant communities. The aim was to highlight the advantages and disadvantages of this approach, in a context of generalization, comparison and reproducibility of results. I identified 24 original research articles and extracted information on the traits used, guild construction methods and study contexts. Results showed that an average of 14 traits out of a total of 74 were used to construct an average of 7 guilds. Most of these traits, however, were common to no more than three studies, and most studies mixed traits related to plant morphology with ecological “traits” describing abiotic tolerance of species, obtained without replicable protocols. Most studies have also mixed quantitative traits with qualitative or nominal traits to produce guilds. This discretization process results in a loss of information that is useful for understanding variations in community response to environmental changes. This is further amplified by the use of Gower distance to construct guilds, which produces a disproportionate contribution of the qualitative traits to multi-trait dissimilarity. Guild naming was also specific to each study, with frequent use of words related to growth form, plant size and habitat requirements. Although the guild approach has advantages for transferring results to managers or simplifying communities for modeling purposes, the way it is implemented does not allow for generalization of results. To improve the comparability of studies between riparian systems, but also to obtain a more mechanistic and reproducible understanding of the effects of environmental change on riparian plant community, it would be beneficial i) to focus on a more limited number of traits, shared between studies; ii) to preserve as much as possible the information contained in quantitative traits; iii) not to mix traits reflecting the morphological response of species with traits linked to their ecological requirements; iv) to always test the relationship between each individual trait and the environmental variables studied.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11459,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Indicators","volume":"171 ","pages":"Article 113152"},"PeriodicalIF":7.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143359174","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A comprehensive environmental index for monitoring ecological quality of typical alpine wetlands in Central Asia","authors":"Jiudan Zhang ,&nbsp;Junli Li ,&nbsp;Changming Zhu ,&nbsp;Anming Bao ,&nbsp;Amaury Frankl ,&nbsp;Philippe De Maeyer ,&nbsp;Tim Van de Voorde","doi":"10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113216","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113216","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Understanding the long-term ecological quality trends of alpine wetlands in cold mountainous areas of Central Asia is essential for effective conservation and restoration efforts. However, inconsistencies and ambiguities regarding wetland health persist due to methodological variations and differences in spatio-temporal scale among studies. This study employed a deep-learning semantic segmentation model to map the structural changes of the Bayanbulak alpine wetland using Landsat imagery from 1977 to 2022. Subsequently, an Alpine Wetland Ecological Quality Index (AWEQI) was developed to quantify the changes in ecological quality over this period. Furthermore, the driving factors behind these changes were analyzed by combining meteorological precipitation data with human activities. Long-term monitoring results indicate that the Bayanbulak Wetland has experienced significant expansion, with its ecological quality improving remarkably over the past 45 years, particularly in the Big Urdus basin. The wetland area expanded from 969.11 km² to 1,108.75 km² at an average of 1.83 km² per year. Meanwhile, improvements were also observed in hydrological conditions, vegetation vitality, and aboveground biomass, coupled with a reduction in wetland landscape fragmentation, improving ecological stability. Moreover, variations in water network density across basins influenced the effectiveness of restoration, underscoring the spatial heterogeneity of ecological recovery. Increased precipitation and improved conservation measures have contributed to these positive trends. This study offers a scientific foundation for adaptive strategies to sustain the resilience of alpine wetland ecosystems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11459,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Indicators","volume":"171 ","pages":"Article 113216"},"PeriodicalIF":7.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143372613","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Landscape ecological risk assessment of the northern coastal region of China based on the improved ESRISK framework: A case study of Cangzhou City","authors":"Guohao Hu ,&nbsp;Yu Guo ,&nbsp;Changchun Zhang ,&nbsp;Yao Chen ,&nbsp;Yu Lang ,&nbsp;Lei Su ,&nbsp;Haolin Huang","doi":"10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113222","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113222","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Cangzhou City, located in Hebei Province, is a typical ecologically vulnerable coastal area and a major grain-producing region within the Jingjinji area, playing a crucial role in the region’s sustainable eco-economic development. The interplay of natural disasters and anthropogenic activities has introduced greater variability and uncertainty to landscape ecological risks (LERs) in the region. Assessing these risks and identifying their key drivers is essential for safeguarding food security, maintaining ecological function stability, and implementing effective risk prevention and control strategies. This study quantitatively assesses the loss of five key ecosystem services in Cangzhou from 2008 to 2023, including grain production (GP), carbon sequestration (CS), soil conservation (SC), water yield (WY), and habitat quality (HQ), using the InVEST model. It optimizes the ESRISK framework and employs the Entropy Weighting Method − Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP-EWM) to construct a future loss probability index model. Following a “loss-probability” framework, the research conducts an in-depth assessment of LERs and identifies their key driving factors. The results reveal the following: (1) From 2008 to 2023, the changes in the five typical ecosystem services in Cangzhou City were relatively stable, although significant shifts occurred in ecosystem services within the eastern coastal and central urban areas. (2) From 2013 to 2023, the spatial differentiation characteristics of LER in Cangzhou City were evident, with a trend of higher risk in the southeast and lower risk in the northwest. The areas of extremely high and high-risk levels decreased each year, with the overall risk focus shifting from medium-low risk to low risk, indicating an overall improvement in regional ecological risk. (3) Overall, LER was mainly influenced by factors such as vegetation cover and fertilizer input per unit of cultivated land. Locally, salinization, vegetation cover, the proportion of built-up land, and farmland landscape fragmentation had a more pronounced impact on LER. This study highlights the spatial variability and key drivers of LERs in Cangzhou, providing valuable insights for decision-making and promoting sustainable development in coastal regions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11459,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Indicators","volume":"171 ","pages":"Article 113222"},"PeriodicalIF":7.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143420008","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Driving mechanisms of ecosystem services and their trade-offs and synergies in the transition zone between the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the Loess Plateau","authors":"Jie Zhou ,&nbsp;Jie Yang ,&nbsp;Zhuangsheng Tang ,&nbsp;Lingyu Xue ,&nbsp;Wenliu Zhang ,&nbsp;Jing Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113148","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113148","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The transitional zone between the Tibetan Plateau and the Loess Plateau features diverse ecological structures, with varied terrain and climate contributing to the high sensitivity and fragility of its ecosystems. Furthermore, the impact of human activities has made ecosystem services and their interrelations increasingly complex and dynamic. Therefore, studying ecosystem services and their driving factors, as well as implementing measures to mitigate or eliminate negative impacts, is of great significance for maintaining ecological stability and promoting sustainable development in this region. This study assessed five ecosystem services in the transitional zone of the Tibetan Plateau and Loess Plateau from 1990 to 2020. By combining multi-scale analyses (1 km, 5 km, and 10 km grids) with structural equation modeling, the study identified trade-offs, synergies, and the main driving factors among these ecosystem services. The results indicated that, with the exception of habitat quality (HQ), the other four services showed an increasing trend. soil conservation (SC), water yield (WY), habitat quality (HQ), and carbon storage (CS) demonstrated synergistic relationships, while net primary productivity (NPP) exhibited a trade-off relationship with WY and HQ and a synergistic relationship with SC and CS. Spatially, these services were not entirely aligned as either synergistic or competitive, revealing spatiotemporal heterogeneity. Additionally, consistent relationships were observed between pairs of services across scales, with similar correlation strengths across scales. The analysis of driving factors revealed that natural and social factors often exerted opposite influences on ecosystem services. Specifically, SC and CS were primarily driven by natural factors such as precipitation (Pre), temperature (Tem), and potential evapotranspiration (PET). In contrast, WY, NPP, and HQ were influenced by a combination of natural and social factors, including population density (Pop), Pre, and GDP. Additionally, variations in key driving factors and their effects across temporal and spatial scales demonstrated the spatiotemporal heterogeneity of primary drivers in ecosystem services. This study reveals the complexity of ecosystem services and their interrelationships from multiple perspectives, providing a scientific framework for ecosystem management in environmentally fragile regions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11459,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Indicators","volume":"171 ","pages":"Article 113148"},"PeriodicalIF":7.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143359166","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The responses of vegetation water use efficiency to biomass density and CO2 balance in dryland of Central Asia during 21st century","authors":"Alphonse Kayiranga ,&nbsp;Xi Chen ,&nbsp;Xuexi Ma ,&nbsp;Dative Ingabire ,&nbsp;Tie Liu ,&nbsp;Yaoming Li ,&nbsp;Emeka Edwin Igboeli ,&nbsp;Eldiiar Duulatov ,&nbsp;Hubert Hirwa ,&nbsp;Clement Nzabanita ,&nbsp;Ping Hu","doi":"10.1016/j.ecolind.2024.113070","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecolind.2024.113070","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Water-use efficiency (WUE) is a critical component that links plant carbon (CO₂) and water cycles through various aspects of plant ecosystem functioning. However, the variations of plant CO₂ in response to water use efficiency (WUE) across temperate dryland ecosystems remains inadequately understood. In this study, we examined the patterns and magnitude of WUE effects on desert vegetation aboveground biomass (AGB) and carbon stocks (C. stocks) and related fluxes by utilizing multiple streams of state-of-the-art multispectral satellite imagery and polynomial model across the temperate drylands of Central Asia (CA) from 2000 to 2023. The results indicated an annual increase in desert vegetation AGB density of 0.04 ± 0.66 kg.m². yr⁻¹ and in C. stocks of 0.32 ± 0.85 kg C.m². yr⁻¹. The results showed also that during 2000–2023, the total biomass density and total C. stocks of the CA desert ecosystems were amounted to 5.52 ± 1.19 Gt and 3.12 ± 0.88 Pg C with 0.044 Pg C and 0.218 Pg C the actual total C. sources and C. sinks, respectively. Among the desert plants’ water fluxes, water use efficiency at canopy conductance (iWUE) showed a significant impact on C. stocks (R² = 0.57) compared to desert ecosystem water use efficiency (vWUE) and water use efficiency at plant respiration (tWUE). These findings have implications on regional strategies for CO₂ controls and climate change mitigations and adaptation along the different global desert ecosystems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11459,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Indicators","volume":"171 ","pages":"Article 113070"},"PeriodicalIF":7.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143359484","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Alleviating small sample problem in continuous forest monitoring with remote sensing-assisted Copulas","authors":"Xinjie Cheng ,&nbsp;Zhengyang Hou ,&nbsp;Annika Kangas ,&nbsp;Jean-Pierre Renaud ,&nbsp;Hao Tang ,&nbsp;Weisheng Zeng ,&nbsp;Qing Xu","doi":"10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113132","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113132","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>With model-assisted (MA) estimation, remote sensing (RS) has provided auxiliary modeling data to enhance precision in estimators of forest parameters for continuous forest monitoring as mandated by various official reporting instruments. However, model-assisted estimation is largely reliant on a sample resulting from costly field surveys to meet the precision standard mandated by these instruments. While a large sample is more likely to represent the population in question and ensure meeting the prescribed precision, it is crucial to reduce costs by finding a balance between precision and sample size. Consequently, this study aims to (1) develop and demonstrate estimation using Copulas modeling; (2) propose a sample size optimization procedure for MA estimators in the context of continuous forest monitoring; and (3) compare survey precisions of the estimators using Copulas and Weighted Least Squares regression (WLS) as a function of sample sizes. Four main conclusions are relevant: for both Burkina Faso (BF) and Genhe (GH) study area, (1) Copulas outperforms WLS in modeling and prediction, both in terms of mean values and maximum/minimum values; (2) Copulas consistently demonstrates superior performance and precision across varying sample sizes compared to the WLS with MA estimators; (3) a straightforward sample size optimization approach reveals that variance estimates of Copulas remain lower than those of WLS as the sample size decreases in monitoring surveys; (4) Copulas requires about 20% smaller sample size than WLS does when achieving a specified precision, suggesting enhanced efficiency. Overall, Copulas appears promising to satisfy the precision, cost-efficiency, and flexibility requirements of monitoring surveys, particularly in situations involving small sample sizes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11459,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Indicators","volume":"171 ","pages":"Article 113132"},"PeriodicalIF":7.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143334109","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Cryptophyte diversity and assembly mechanisms reveal ecological discontinuities in a river-estuary-coast continuum","authors":"Changyun Wang ,&nbsp;Yao Liu ,&nbsp;Zhuyin Tong,&nbsp;Shujie Cai,&nbsp;Yichong Wang,&nbsp;Nengwang Chen,&nbsp;Bangqin Huang,&nbsp;Wupeng Xiao","doi":"10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113114","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113114","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Cryptophytes, a group of microalgae, play crucial roles in aquatic ecosystems but have been relatively understudied, particularly in terms of their diversity and community assembly along environmental gradients. This study investigated the diversity patterns and assembly mechanisms of cryptophyte communities across a river-estuary-coast continuum in southeast China. Contrary to Remane’s Artenminimum hypothesis, which predicts a minimum in species diversity at intermediate salinities, we observed a peak in cryptophyte richness within the estuarine zone. This finding suggests that cryptophytes may follow different ecological rules compared to macrozoobenthos, perhaps because of the complex habitat heterogeneity and the dynamic mixing of freshwater and marine species in estuaries. Our analyses also revealed significant ecological discontinuities along the continuum, particularly at the estuarine interface, where deterministic processes, such as salinity-driven selection, become more influential in community assembly across habitat boundaries. Co-occurrence network analyses further highlighted the estuary as a hotspot of biological interactions, characterized by a complex network structure that supports high species richness. These results underscore the importance of considering ecological discontinuities and habitat-specific processes in the management and conservation of connected aquatic ecosystems, particularly in transitional environments like estuaries that are subject to rapid environmental changes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11459,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Indicators","volume":"171 ","pages":"Article 113114"},"PeriodicalIF":7.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143334152","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Dynamic changes in soil erosion and challenges to grain productivity in the black soil region of Northeast China","authors":"Jiawang Zhang ,&nbsp;Ming Wang ,&nbsp;Kai Liu ,&nbsp;Zhan’ao Zhao","doi":"10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113145","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113145","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Soil erosion presents a significant obstacle to food and ecosystem security. This study combined multi-source data to construct a soil erosion model and challenges to grain productivity in the black soil region of Northeast China. By calculating water and wind erosion modulus between 1991 and 2020, we investigated the temporal trend, spatial aggregation, and driving and interacting factors in subregion. Soil water erosion exhibited distribution pattern of middle low and side high, with erosion average modulus was reached at 280.08 t. hm⁻². a^-1, and higher rates observed in summer. Precipitation and vegetation cover were combined significantly enhancement factor of 0.44. Wind erosion was concentrated in the western of Liao River Plain, the average erosion modulus is 0.81 t. hm⁻². a^-1. Wind erosion was relatively stable throughout the year, with two-factor enhancement factor of 0.76 attributed to soil organic matter and clay content. The expansion of cities over the last 30 years has resulted in the encroachment of 7,936 km² of cropland. The average thickness of soil complex erosion reached 48.48 mm/a, affecting 25.23 million hectares and 1.90 million tons grain yield. Soil erosion and grain yield deterioration areas were mainly distributed in sloping cropland regions. Nearly 20,000 km² of cropland faces the threat of soil erosion and disrupted land productivity. There is an imbalance between the land productivity and grain yield, and the proportion of severely disrupted productivity reached 27 %. Soil erosion hotspots, stabilization areas and potential hotspots in each subregion were identified, and recommendations were formulated from a subregional perspective.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11459,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Indicators","volume":"171 ","pages":"Article 113145"},"PeriodicalIF":7.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143359170","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A simple and effective approach to investigate the dominant contaminant sources and accuracy in water quality estimation through Monte Carlo simulation, Gaussian Mixture Models (GMMs), and GIS machine learning methods","authors":"Mobarok Hossain","doi":"10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113188","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113188","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Water quality variables, linked with natural and human activities, significantly impact groundwater quality. Assessing these links and impacts is a complex method, but it can be simplified using innovative approaches like Monte Carlo simulation and Gaussian Mixture Models (GMMs). This approach was applied by examining data on water quality parameters for the years 2009 and 2021 in varied hydrogeology in West Bengal, India. Geospatial distribution of water quality was analyzed using 479 samples in 2009 and 734 samples in 2021 through a recently suggested Water Pollution Index (WPI). The WPI uncovered a deterioration in the quality of water as the percentage of samples categorized as “excellent” decreased from 30.5 % to 28 %, while “polluted” samples increased from 44 % to 45 %. Statistical analyses, including analysis of variance (ANOVA) for yearly comparisons and Friedman tests for variable group comparisons, showed significant differences (p &lt; 0.0001) in both analyses. Sensitivity analysis identified total iron as the predominant factor influencing groundwater quality in both years, along with significant contributions from fluoride, electrical conductivity (EC), total dissolved solids (TDS), magnesium, and nitrate. Uncertainty analysis revealed a shift in the WPI distribution centre from 0.45 to 0.9 in 2009 to 0.5–1.1 in 2021, with shorter probability tails suggesting more consistent water quality measurements in 2021 compared to 2009. Cluster-wise source apportionment for groundwater contaminants using machine learning-based Gaussian Mixture Models (GMMs) suggested that various factors influenced the groundwater quality in the study region. This study highlights the potentiality of applying the Monte Carlo simulation to simply find out the drivers of groundwater pollution as well as linking the GMMs with geospatial distribution, which could be a simple, innovative and best solution to take targeted actions to address the issue and manage water quality effectively.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11459,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Indicators","volume":"171 ","pages":"Article 113188"},"PeriodicalIF":7.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143388040","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Unstable changes in ecological quality of the four major sandy lands in northern China based on Google Earth Engine","authors":"Haowen Ma ,&nbsp;Yongfang Wang ,&nbsp;Enliang Guo ,&nbsp;Shan Yin ,&nbsp;Yao Kang ,&nbsp;Yanli Wang ,&nbsp;Jiapei Zhao ,&nbsp;Jisiguleng Wu ,&nbsp;Quanfei Mu ,&nbsp;Delong Zhou","doi":"10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113195","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113195","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Based on the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform, this study constructed a Remote Sensing-based Ecological Index (RSEI) model for four major sandy lands in northern China from 2000 to 2022. RESI incorporates a Bayesian Estimator of Abrupt change, Seasonal change, and Trend (BEAST) to mine abrupt change years and key information within the time series data. Moreover, it combines Geographical Detector (GD) to conduct a detailed quantitative study on the spatiotemporal variation and driving mechanisms of the Ecological Quality (EQ) in these sandy lands at different times and discusses possible causes for abrupt changes in the EQ. The results indicated that from 2000 to 2022, the EQ of all four major sandy lands improved to varying degrees. However, the introduction of BEAST revealed that the RSEI of all four sandy lands experienced abrupt changes in the latter half of the study period, with the EQ in the Horqin and Hulun Buir showing potential for continued improvement post-change. By contrast, the EQ of the Mu Us and Otindag showed a downward trend within certain intervals, indicating instability under adverse natural conditions. Regarding the driving mechanisms, the spatial distribution of the EQ in the four sandy lands was influenced by natural and anthropogenic factors, displaying complex interactions of driving factors within each sandy land. Among them, in the Mu Us, Otindag, and Hulun Buir, natural factors played a dominant role, whereas in the Horqin, anthropogenic factors played a dominant role.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11459,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Indicators","volume":"171 ","pages":"Article 113195"},"PeriodicalIF":7.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143402065","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}