Ecological Engineering最新文献

{"title":"Nitrogen removal in vertical flow constructed wetlands: The influence of recirculation and partial saturation","authors":"Carine Baggiotto ,&nbsp;Samara Terezinha Decezaro ,&nbsp;Carlos Alexandre Lutterbeck ,&nbsp;Marciano Friedrich ,&nbsp;Rolando Jose Manuel González Ramírez ,&nbsp;Delmira Beatriz Wolff","doi":"10.1016/j.ecoleng.2025.107519","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecoleng.2025.107519","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study aims to evaluate the performance of a vertical flow constructed wetland (VFCW) with an area of 24.50 m² for nitrogen removal under two different operational strategies: effluent recirculation and partial saturation. The system operated over two phases. In Phase 1, recirculation was applied with a hydraulic loading rate (HLR) of 90 mm d⁻¹, while in Phase 2, recirculation was halted, and a 25 cm saturated layer was introduced at the bottom of the VFCW, with an HLR of 57 mm d⁻¹. The efficiency of the system in removing chemical oxygen demand (COD), total suspended solids (TSS), ammonia nitrogen (NH₄⁺-N), and total nitrogen (TN) was compared between the two phases. In Phase 1, removal efficiencies of 88 %, 92 %, 79 %, and 70 % were recorded for COD, TSS, NH₄⁺-N, and TN, respectively. In Phase 2, the system achieved 93 %, 95 %, 61 %, and 69 % removal for COD, TSS, NH₄⁺-N, and TN, respectively. Statistically, there were no significant differences in COD and TN removal between the two phases, suggesting that partial saturation can perform comparably to recirculation. However, partial saturation offers the added benefits of reduced energy consumption (no need for pumping) and operational simplicity. The results underscore the potential of partially saturated VFCWs as a cost-effective, energy-efficient alternative for decentralized wastewater treatment, particularly where minimizing operational complexity is a priority.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11490,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Engineering","volume":"212 ","pages":"Article 107519"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143165530","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}

{"title":"Survival and growth of “branches of opportunity” from ten coral species outplanted on framed reef modules","authors":"Junling Zhang ,&nbsp;Jingzhao Ke ,&nbsp;Xiangbo Liu ,&nbsp;He Zhao ,&nbsp;Wentao Zhu ,&nbsp;Baruch Rinkevich ,&nbsp;Shai Shafir ,&nbsp;Aimin Wang ,&nbsp;Xiubao Li","doi":"10.1016/j.ecoleng.2025.107529","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecoleng.2025.107529","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>To reveal local coral species aptness for reef restoration, 30 “framed reef modules” (FRMs) were deployed in a degraded coral reef area at the northern part of Wuzhizhou Island, Hainan Island, South China Sea. Fragments of opportunity from 10 coral species (8 branching, 1 foliose, 1 encrusting) were collected and outplanted on the FRMs. Measurements of growth rates, survival, and physiological indexes were then taken at 30, 120, 210 and 360 days after transplantation. The results showed that <em>Acropora microphthalma</em>, <em>Acropora austera</em>, <em>Hydnophora rigida</em> and <em>Montipora foliosa</em> showed fast growth rates (&gt;2.87 cm²·month⁻¹) and high one-year survival rates (&gt;80 %). <em>Acropora hyacinthus</em> and <em>Montipora digitata,</em> while exhibiting faster growth rates (4.95 ± 0.31 and 4.85 ± 0.41 cm²·month⁻¹, respectively), revealed lower one-year survival rates (ca. 50 %). <em>Psammocora contigua</em> and <em>Porites cylindrica</em> showed lower growth rates (1.50 ± 0.14 and 1.96 ± 0.19 cm²·month⁻¹, respectively), yet presented 100 % survival rates. <em>Pocillopora damicornis</em> and <em>Echinopora gemmacea</em> exhibited the lowest growth rates (1.01 ± 0.14 and 1.73 ± 0.21 cm²·month⁻¹, respectively) and 86.2 % and 93.1 % survivals. There are differences in growth and survival among different types of corals, which are closely related to their physiological characteristics. The biomasses of <em>P. contigua</em>, <em>P. cylindrica</em>, and <em>M. foliosa</em> were the highest, &gt;10 mg·cm⁻², while for the remaining 7 species values were &gt; 8 mg·cm⁻². The highest photosynthesis rates were recorded in <em>P. contigua</em>, <em>P. cylindrica</em>, <em>A. austera</em>, and <em>M. digitata</em>, while the lowest were in <em>P. damicornis</em> and <em>H. rigida</em>. These results demonstrate significant interspecific differences in survival and growth patterns, highlighting the importance of species-specific restoration strategies. The present transplantation method supports restoration approaches that combine different coral species in a single transplantation action.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11490,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Engineering","volume":"212 ","pages":"Article 107529"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143165791","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}

{"title":"Zonal gaming and overall enhancement of ecosystem services: A case from the compound area of mine-city and agriculture-forestry-grass in loess region, China","authors":"Shufei Wang ,&nbsp;Yingui Cao ,&nbsp;Shengpeng Li ,&nbsp;Xiaoyang Liu ,&nbsp;Jinxin He ,&nbsp;Yanjun Guan ,&nbsp;Zhongke Bai","doi":"10.1016/j.ecoleng.2025.107513","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecoleng.2025.107513","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The ecological issues resolution in the loess region and the sustainable development of resource-based areas are critical to human sustainable development. The spatial overlap between ecologically fragile loess areas and resource-based region inevitably intensifies conflicts between economic development and ecological conservation. Research on ecosystem service (ES) can effectively alleviate or resolve such conflicts. The ESs sustainable supply is the foundation, and identifying its status and reasonably predicting its future development trends are important contents. However, existing ES studies need to place greater emphasis on long-term dynamics and spatial heterogeneity. Research on such areas where there is a significant conflict between economic development and ecological protection needs to be further deepened. How to reasonably predict future development needs to be further explored. Here, this study took a typical coal resource-based town with fragile ecology as the study area. Under the long-term time scale and unique spatial scale, this study quantified the supply of six ESs, revealed their trade-offs/synergies, and predicted their future development characteristics to provided strategies for sustainable development of the area as well as sustainable optimization of ES supply. The results revealed that the food supply and water yield in mine-city area were higher than those in agriculture-forestry-grass area, while the soil conservation, carbon sequestration, habitat quality, and windbreak-sand fixation in mine-city area were lower than those in agriculture-forestry-grass area. Trade-offs were mainly observed between provisioning and supporting ESs in mine-city area, while which were mainly observed between provisioning and regulating ESs in agriculture-forestry-grass area. Future development predictions indicated that mine-city area should follow the path of resources-agriculture-ecological scenario, and agriculture-forestry-grass area should follow the path of ecological-agricultural or ecological scenarios. By integrating historical analysis, current assessments, and future scenario planning, this study provided a comprehensive framework for balancing coal economy and ecological protection, offered actionable insights for zoning management and targeting strategies of coordinated regional development.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11490,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Engineering","volume":"212 ","pages":"Article 107513"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143166354","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}

{"title":"Ecological restoration processes in pika mounds on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau","authors":"Cheng Lu,&nbsp;Guifang Cheng,&nbsp;Gaofei Wang,&nbsp;Peishan Meng,&nbsp;Chenqi Chen,&nbsp;Rui Xiao,&nbsp;Zhongling Yang","doi":"10.1016/j.ecoleng.2025.107517","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecoleng.2025.107517","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Plateau pika activities affect the plant communities and soil properties by feeding, burrowing, and excretion. However, it is unclear how plant communities and soil properties in exposed mounds caused by pika activity recover. We investigated how plant species richness, vegetation biomass, and soil properties recover in pika mounds, which was formed in 2020, four years after the disturbance was ceased (2020−2023) in an alpine meadow on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The results showed that 1) total carbon (TC), total nitrogen (TN), carbon nitrogen ratio (C:N), and soil water content (SWC) were significantly decreased while soil pH was significantly increased under pika mounds, whereas ammonia nitrogen and nitrate nitrogen showed no difference with control; 2) the decline in soil C:N and TN reduced grass and sedge biomass, respectively, while the increase in soil pH enhanced the forb biomass in pika mounds after 4-year recovery; 3) the decreased sedge and grass biomass outweighed the increased forb biomass, leading to the decline of aboveground biomass; the belowground biomass was also lower than ambient control after 4-year recovery; 4) although species richness increased by 22.00 % in exposed mounds after 4-year recovery, it did not recover to control level. The result suggests that neither soil properties nor plant communities in exposed mounds recovered to control levels after 4-year of recovery. The findings provide an extensive understanding of the restoration process in newly formed pika mounds, which is conductive to restoration and management of degraded grassland.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11490,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Engineering","volume":"212 ","pages":"Article 107517"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143166356","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}

{"title":"Novel settlement substrates for European flat oyster (Ostrea edulis) restoration","authors":"Pauline Kamermans ,&nbsp;Fleur Anteau ,&nbsp;Karin Didderen ,&nbsp;Remment ter Hofstede ,&nbsp;Yanhua Zhao ,&nbsp;Awen Le Graet ,&nbsp;Diede Maas ,&nbsp;Stephane Pouvreau ,&nbsp;Sophie Valk ,&nbsp;Tim Wijgerde ,&nbsp;Abel Zempleni ,&nbsp;Thomas E. Kodger ,&nbsp;Tinka Murk","doi":"10.1016/j.ecoleng.2025.107532","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecoleng.2025.107532","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The flat oyster <em>Ostrea edulis</em> L., once common in the North Sea, declined rapidly due to intensive fisheries in the late 19th century and disease outbreaks at the beginning of the 20th century and is now listed as ‘threatened’ or ‘declining,’ with restoration of oyster beds now included in European directives and national plans. For oyster restoration, availability of suitable substrate is required to ensure successful settlement of oyster larvae. Off-shore windfarms are good candidates for restoration as bottom disturbance is not allowed and hard substrate is present in the form of so-called scour protection. This can provide settlement substrate for oyster larvae. In addition to the rock material that currently makes up the scour protection, studies focus on finding alternative and moldable materials that stimulate settlement. The aim of this study was to identify flat oyster larvae settlement preferences for different substrate materials. Oyster settlement on conventional scour protection rock (granite and eclogite), and currently used sandstone and concrete were compared to new types of scour protection rock (marble and limestone). In addition, three new substrates were included in the tests: a coating based on fine ground oyster shells (BESE-reef paste), substrate made of sandy dredged sediment (Geowall) and a bioinspired glue that binds crushed oyster shell fragments together (SeaCrete). Flat oyster larvae were exposed to the substrates in two hatchery experiments as well as under realistic, challenging field conditions. Flat oyster larvae settled on all substrates, with the lowest spat density on eclogite, granite and Geowall and the highest spat density on the two novel substrates SeaCrete and BESE-reef paste. These results promise to enhance native European oyster bed restoration with limited environmental impact as the novel substrates have low CO₂ footprints and make use of wasted shells from the seafood industry.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11490,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Engineering","volume":"212 ","pages":"Article 107532"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143164671","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":"Systematic review and meta-analysis of Salix vs. Phragmites australis constructed wetlands","authors":"Dee Phillips ,&nbsp;Joshua Larsen ,&nbsp;Philip Davies","doi":"10.1016/j.ecoleng.2024.107477","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecoleng.2024.107477","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Recent research has highlighted interest in using woody vegetation (such as willow, <em>Salix</em>) in constructed wetlands (CWs) to improve pollutant removal compared to conventional CWs (typically using <em>Phragmites australis</em>). Nonetheless, comparative research has been limited to a few specific sites or pollutants. There remains a need for a comprehensive comparison between woody and herbaceous CWs covering multiple pollutants, as well as greenhouse gas emissions. Here we present the first systematic review and meta-analysis to compile and compare data from studies using <em>Salix</em> species against those using <em>Phragmites australis,</em> covering removal of conventional pollutants and emissions of CO₂, CH_4, and N₂O. The review includes horizontal subsurface flow CWs for municipal/domestic wastewater treatment in temperate/continental climates without pronounced dry seasons. It encompasses primary, secondary and tertiary CWs. Findings suggest that i) <em>Salix</em> species improve TN, TKN, NH₄⁺-N and TP removal efficiency by 16-72 % (absolute change), ii) <em>Salix</em> species and <em>Phragmites australis</em> perform similarly in reducing both BOD and COD, iii) <em>Salix</em> species have 12 % worse TSS removal efficiency (absolute change), and iv) <em>Salix</em> species can sequester 14 tCO₂ ha^-1 yr^-1 more than <em>Phragmites australis</em>. BOD and COD findings afford high confidence; however, because of data limitations, there is only medium or low confidence regarding the other findings. For higher confidence, further research is recommended to compare <em>Salix</em> species against <em>Phragmites australis</em> in treating all conventional pollutants, ideally in pilot or operational CWs, for longer durations and across all seasons – and including net greenhouse gas emissions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11490,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Engineering","volume":"212 ","pages":"Article 107477"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143165814","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":"Scalable mangrove rehabilitation: Roots of success for Rhizophora stylosa establishment","authors":"Rory Mulloy ,&nbsp;Christopher M. Aiken ,&nbsp;Gordon Dwane ,&nbsp;Megan Ellis ,&nbsp;Emma L. Jackson","doi":"10.1016/j.ecoleng.2025.107521","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecoleng.2025.107521","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Large-scale mangrove restoration initiatives have been attempted worldwide but have often suffered from low success rates and high costs. Direct seeding is increasingly used as a viable and cost-effective strategy for achieving restoration at scale for other coastal habitats yet has been little used for mangroves. Planting mangrove propagules instead of saplings can reduce costs and labour associated with the collection, growing out, and re-planting involved in conventional restoration methods. In this study, we document research into direct seeding for mangrove restoration, focussing on early establishment processes and identifying recruitment enhancement strategies that will improve natural recruitment success rates. The elongated propagules produced by <em>Rhizophoraceae</em> species can establish by self-planting into the substrate, or after grounding flat as the tide recedes. An aquaria experiment showed that vertically sown (to simulate self-planting) <em>Rhizophora stylosa</em> propagules grew significantly longer and more roots than propagules sown horizontally. After 35 days the vertical propagules grew roots 46.3 ± 20.5 mm in length while horizontal propagules grew roots 17.4 ± 16.6 mm in length. A field study showed that specially designed bamboo structures facilitate vertical self-planting, thus enhancing successful establishment. Propagules grounding in a vertical orientation successfully established 52.6 % of the time, whereas propagules grounding horizontally had a 10 % success rate. Results from this study suggest that grounding orientation, and the hypocotyl being embedded into the substrate, prompt root initiation and may lead to <em>R. stylosa</em> reaching an establishment threshold quicker than naturally stranding propagules. As such we propose that direct seed planting represents a viable alternative for large-scale restoration of Rhizophora.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11490,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Engineering","volume":"212 ","pages":"Article 107521"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143166357","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":"Recovery assessment for earthquake-induced landslides in Central Taiwan: Changes, patterns, and mechanisms","authors":"Wen-Tzu Lin","doi":"10.1016/j.ecoleng.2024.107497","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecoleng.2024.107497","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>On September 21, 1999, a devastating earthquake measuring 7.3 on the Richter scale triggered massive deep-seated landslides in the Chiufenershan area of Nantou County in central Taiwan. This study utilized an improved self-organizing maps (SOM), the derived landslide recovery rate and Markov chain model, with its combination of multi-temporal SPOT images and over two decades of survey data, to assess the long-term changes, patterns, and mechanisms at the sites of the landslide. The analyzed results indicate that highly accurate landslide mapping can be extracted using the proposed SOM model. Over two decades after the earthquake, the changes in landslide area gradually recovered from the initial 209.22 ha (September 1999) to 20.54 ha (February 2020), with a vegetation cover of 90.2 %. The deduced landslide recovery patterns have statistically significant differences that can be used to assess the recovery trends of the studied landslides. Recovery of landslides is carried out in three stages: (I) rapid expansion of herbaceous invasion (1999–2004); (II) competition between pioneer plants and woody communities (2004–2014); and (III) towards stabilized secondary forest (2014–2020). Combining the analyzed findings with the field surveys, it can be inferred that the key mechanisms for recovery in Chiufanershan landslide include moisture, topography, native vegetation species, and succession time. The results indicate that nature itself has a strong ability to restore the landslide within a decade, and provide very useful information for government agencies in landslide management.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11490,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Engineering","volume":"212 ","pages":"Article 107497"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143166363","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}

{"title":"Rehabilitation of intertidal biodiversity on breakwaters could be compromised by grazing pressure and environmental context","authors":"Moisés A. Aguilera ,&nbsp;Ariel Rojas ,&nbsp;Tatiana Manzur ,&nbsp;Fabio Bulleri ,&nbsp;Martin Thiel","doi":"10.1016/j.ecoleng.2024.107476","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecoleng.2024.107476","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Sustaining biodiversity on coastal built structures is a priority to maintain ecosystem functioning in the face of increasing urban sprawl. This goal has been generally pursued by adding physical features to built structures to generate multiple microhabitats, without considering key species interactions, such as grazing. Here, combining descriptive studies across a latitudinal gradient along the coast of Chile (18°S to 41°S) and a field experiment, we examined if topographic enhancement of breakwaters increases grazer abundances. Specifically, we explored whether grazer densities and trait diversity influence the effectiveness of topographic microhabitats (crevices, grooves, and pits) in enhancing biodiversity on wave-exposed and wave-sheltered breakwaters. High abundances of grazers and a positive relationship between scraping-grazer densities and bare rock area were recorded on mid-latitude breakwaters. In most cases, topographic microhabitats did not enhance Shannon’s diversity index or species number of the sessile community on both wave-exposed and wave-protected breakwaters. Only at high shore levels of a wave-exposed breakwater adding crevices resulted in increased diversity, species number and cover of filter feeders and calcareous algae. These changes also corresponded with lower grazer densities and bare space cover. Our results suggest that the effectiveness of eco-engineering solutions in sustaining intertidal biodiversity on coastal structures can be significantly reduced by grazing and influenced by wave-exposure, and tidal level. Innovative designs to rehabilitate biodiversity should attract native predators to control the abundances of grazers and their impacts. Promoting balanced consumer-resource interactions would enhance the ecological value of built structures and could aid in halting anthropogenically-driven coastal biodiversity loss.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11490,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Engineering","volume":"212 ","pages":"Article 107476"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143165116","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}

{"title":"Medium- and long-term independent contributions of climate change, management measures and land conversion to vegetation dynamics and inspiration for ecological restoration in Inner Mongolia, China","authors":"Yongguang Zhai ,&nbsp;Yasong Wang ,&nbsp;Lei Hao ,&nbsp;Wenchao Qi","doi":"10.1016/j.ecoleng.2024.107504","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecoleng.2024.107504","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>To counteract the detrimental impacts of vegetation degradation, the Chinese authorities have initiated numerous ecological restoration projects (ERPs) in Inner Mongolia (IM) since the 1990s. However, the medium- and long-term consequences of these ERPs on vegetation dynamics remain uncertain. This study employed net primary production (NPP) as an indicator to quantify the independent contribution of climate change, management measures and land conversion to vegetation dynamics through scenario modeling over four six-year periods (2001–2006, 2006–2011, 2011–2016, 2016–2021). The findings of the study indicated that human activities were the main driver of changes in NPP in Inner Mongolia across all three six-year periods (2006–2011, 2011–2016 and 2016–2021), with the exception of the period from 2001 to 2006,during which climate change was identified as the dominant factor in this period. The primary variables influencing the net primary production (NPP) of diverse vegetation types, including grassland, crops, and forests, have undergone notable shifts over time. Nevertheless, human activities have consistently been the primary driver of NPP changes in desert ecosystems. During the study period, the observed increase in NPP of IM vegetation was primarily attributable to the implementation of management measures in human activities. This phenomenon was observed consistently across the three main vegetation classes: grassland, forest and desert. In contrast, land conversion was identified as the primary driver of the increase in NPP in cropland during the periods 2001–2006 and 2011–2016. This understanding is crucial for the development of more effective policies and measures for ecological restoration.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11490,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Engineering","volume":"212 ","pages":"Article 107504"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143165523","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}