Land Degradation & Development最新文献

Exploring cultivated land use and conservation from a resilience perspective is crucial to address regional food security concerns. This article first examines the theoretical applicability of resilience in the context of cultivated land use systems and subsequently introduces a specific concept of cultivated land system resilience (CLSR). Focusing on the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, a major grain-producing area in China, the study constructs a measurement system that encompasses five dimensions: endowment of production, socioeconomic factors, scale structure, ecological pressure, and food security. This system is used to evaluate the spatio-temporal evolution and influencing mechanisms of CLSR in the region from 2001 to 2020. The results indicate that the level of CLSR increased by 7.2% overall and exhibits a distinct spatial pattern, with high-value areas expanding from the center to the surrounding regions. Furthermore, CLSR shows a positive spatial correlation with rising levels of agglomeration. The spatial heterogeneity of CLSR is influenced by the interaction of various factors, resulting in a partially nonlinear two-factor enhancement. The influence of each factor varies between different time periods, shifting from ecological pressure to scale structure, ultimately affecting food security. Thus, the resilience perspective offers greater explanatory power to identify key vulnerabilities in the regional cropland system. This approach can improve the efficient allocation of cropland resources and promote sustainable and healthy development at the regional level.

In recent years, the Chinese government has implemented a series of initiatives with the objective of eradicating the invasive Spartina alterniflora along the entire coastline. This has given rise to concerns about the potential for subsequent coastal erosion and salt marsh shrinkage. This study introduces a novel contribution in the form of a model-based analysis, grounded in fieldwork from the Yellow River Delta, which assesses the potential of native Suaeda salsa as an alternative for coastal protection. Our approach is distinctive in that it not only compares the flow velocity reduction effects of S. alterniflora and S. salsa, but also evaluates the efficacy of three distinct planting patterns in managing tidal dynamics. In this study, we present a significant finding: while both species can mitigate tidal flow velocity, S. alterniflora shows superior performance, which represents a novel point of discussion in the field of coastal wetland management. Furthermore, our research indicates that dense aggregated planting patterns are particularly effective during storm surges, offering a strategic insight for future ecological engineering. However, we recognize the potential limitations of our approach, including the need for continuous management to control the spread of S. alterniflora and the necessity for further research to optimize the restoration potential of S. salsa under varying tidal conditions. Our findings highlight the importance of a balanced approach, suggesting the retention of a portion of S. alterniflora while also emphasizing the strategic planting of S. salsa in high-density configurations to enhance coastal resilience.

Biocrusts play an essential role in maintaining ecosystem stability, which is common in arid and semi-arid areas. Although there have been some previous studies on the stoichiometry of biocrust subsoil in grazing systems, further research is needed to assess the effects of varying grazing intensities. Four grazing gradients were established to investigate the change mechanism of biocrust subsoil stoichiometry under grazing conditions, considering its seasonal response. These findings revealed that biocrusts' coverage and their chlorophyll content showed a parabolic trend of increasing and then decreasing with the increase in grazing intensity. At the same time, their standard response thresholds to grazing intensity ranged from 2.67 to 5.33 sheep/ha. Moreover, the premise that the biocrust is damaged by grazing trampling has become a consensus; our study found that the biocrust still played an important role, although its structure was destroyed because of its greenness (BG) increased. The influence of grazing intensity on the biocrust subsoil stoichiometry is unquestionable; in addition, they are influenced by a combination of vegetation (10% and 19%) and environmental influences (6% and 18%). Furthermore, it was observed that these changes did not compensate for the reproduction and development of biocrusts in grazing-induced trampling damage. In this study, the integrated consideration of biocrusts into the grazing system fully affirmed its essential role. Additionally, it clarified the pathways and effect of grazing on biocrusts subsoil stoichiometry, providing a new perspective and reference for developing grazing strategy on the Loess Plateau.

This research aims to identify the intricate connections arising from finance and governance to water, food, and energy, utilizing data from 2000 to 2021 for eight South Asian countries. To address cross-sectional dependence and panel heterogeneity, this study applied an augmented mean group (AMG) approach to discover long-term connections across the chosen indicators. The estimators' outcome shows interconnectedness across water, food, and energy (WFE) resources, showing that water promotes food and energy, and food promotes water and energy. In contrast, energy fosters food production and reduces water availability. Further, governance positively influences food production (0.434%), water (0.044%), and energy consumption (0.142%). Likewise, finance positively and significantly responds to WFE consumption. Our results highlighted that governance unilaterally influences energy dynamics while bidirectional causal links emerge between finance, food, and energy. The obtained outcomes are re-validated with feasible generalized least square (FGLS) and Driscoll and Kraay (DK) estimators. Ultimately, our study offers valuable insights for shaping economic, environmental, and food and water security policies in the region and beyond.