Servet Pehlivan, Ender Makineci, Alper Gün Özturna, Doğanay Tolunay
This study aimed to address the knowledge gap by examining the dynamics of biomass, carbon, and nitrogen pools between foliage and forest floor throughout the development of Pinus pinaster plantations in the restoration site of Durusu coastal dune ecosystem in Istanbul-Türkiye. Live foliage biomass was determined by destructive sampling, while forest floor sampling was carried out separately from litter + fermentation (L + F) and humus (H) layers. Carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) were determined by CN analyzer. The relationship between all calculated variables and the independent variable (D2H), derived to represent stand diameter at breast height (D1.3m) and tree height (H), was revealed by regression analysis. Average foliage mass was determined as 8 t/ha, C as 4 tC/ha, and N as 0.08 tN/ha. The mean biomass, C, and N of forest floor were 40 t/ha, 12 tC/ha, and 0.3 tN/ha, respectively. Foliage C, N, and C/N ratio showed high relationships with D2H as R2adj = 0.779, R2adj = 0.798, and R2adj = 0.943, respectively. However, the differences between the variables of living and non-living components showed a linear regression relationship with stand development. The differences in forest floor − foliage values showed lower R2 values with D2H. C and N were stored primarily in living foliage in young maritime pine stands where forest floor accumulation is just beginning. However, in older stands, where forest floor has begun to accumulate, forest floor stores more C and N than live foliage. The average C/N ratio of 42.47 for the entire forest floor indicating decomposition is slow, and C and N storage role shifts to forest floor as the stand develops.
{"title":"Biomass, Carbon, and Nitrogen Relations Between Tree Foliage and Organic Soil Layers With Stand Development of Pinus pinaster Over Dune Restoration","authors":"Servet Pehlivan, Ender Makineci, Alper Gün Özturna, Doğanay Tolunay","doi":"10.1002/ldr.70507","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.70507","url":null,"abstract":"This study aimed to address the knowledge gap by examining the dynamics of biomass, carbon, and nitrogen pools between foliage and forest floor throughout the development of <i>Pinus pinaster</i> plantations in the restoration site of Durusu coastal dune ecosystem in Istanbul-Türkiye. Live foliage biomass was determined by destructive sampling, while forest floor sampling was carried out separately from litter + fermentation (L + F) and humus (H) layers. Carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) were determined by CN analyzer. The relationship between all calculated variables and the independent variable (D<sup>2</sup>H), derived to represent stand diameter at breast height (D<sub>1.3m</sub>) and tree height (H), was revealed by regression analysis. Average foliage mass was determined as 8 t/ha, C as 4 tC/ha, and N as 0.08 tN/ha. The mean biomass, C, and N of forest floor were 40 t/ha, 12 tC/ha, and 0.3 tN/ha, respectively. Foliage C, N, and C/N ratio showed high relationships with D<sup>2</sup>H as <i>R</i><sup>2</sup><sub>adj</sub> = 0.779, <i>R</i><sup>2</sup><sub>adj</sub> = 0.798, and <i>R</i><sup>2</sup><sub>adj</sub> = 0.943, respectively. However, the differences between the variables of living and non-living components showed a linear regression relationship with stand development. The differences in forest floor − foliage values showed lower <i>R</i><sup>2</sup> values with D<sup>2</sup>H. C and N were stored primarily in living foliage in young maritime pine stands where forest floor accumulation is just beginning. However, in older stands, where forest floor has begun to accumulate, forest floor stores more C and N than live foliage. The average C/N ratio of 42.47 for the entire forest floor indicating decomposition is slow, and C and N storage role shifts to forest floor as the stand develops.","PeriodicalId":203,"journal":{"name":"Land Degradation & Development","volume":"107 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2026-02-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146210512","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Xiaoying Jin, Wanling Ji, Mingzhen Xing, Xiao Wang, Xiuyan Wang, Shuo Lv, Zhangliu Du
Intensive agriculture may cause substantial soil quality deterioration, leading to decreased crop production, especially under over-use of chemical fertilizers. Despite this, the effects of bio-organic substitutions on soil quality development via soil organic carbon (SOC) chemistry and soil structure remain largely unexplored. Herein, we characterized the changes in soil aggregation and cementing agents involved, image-based pore structure, hydraulic functions, and their connections to soil quality index from a 4-year field trial in North China. Four treatments included: chemical fertilizer alone (CF), 20% bio-organic fertilizer substitution (Bio20), 50% bio-organic fertilizer substitution (Bio50), and 100% bio-organic fertilizer substitution (Bio100). The results showed that Bio20 and Bio100 enhanced soil macroaggregates by 57.0%–61.1% and mean weight diameter by 71.5%–75.4% in comparison to CF. This improvement may likely be attributed to the increased cementing agents (e.g., SOC, extracellular polymeric substances, glomalin-related soil proteins). Bio50 and Bio100 also enhanced fungal necromass C and its contribution to SOC compared to CF. Bio-organic substitutions enhanced the 3D pore structure, showing higher image-identified porosity by 1.0–2.9 times, and pore anisotropy by 48.8%–63.2%. The enhanced soil structure in the bio-organic substituted soils potentially improved water holding capacity by 32.3%–51.6% and saturated hydraulic conductivity by 0.7–1.8 times versus control. Overall, bio-organic substitutions improved S value by 71.3%–144.2%, indicator of soil physical quality, and soil quality index by 25.9%–34.7% relative to control. Collectively, substituting partial chemical fertilizers with bio-organic fertilizers could boost soil quality via augmenting fungal necromass and soil structure, offering effective and economic solutions for revitalizing light saline soil under an intensive cropping system.
{"title":"Bio-Organic Substitutions Reinforce Soil Quality Driven by Fungal Necromass and Soil Structure in a Light Saline Soil","authors":"Xiaoying Jin, Wanling Ji, Mingzhen Xing, Xiao Wang, Xiuyan Wang, Shuo Lv, Zhangliu Du","doi":"10.1002/ldr.70495","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.70495","url":null,"abstract":"Intensive agriculture may cause substantial soil quality deterioration, leading to decreased crop production, especially under over-use of chemical fertilizers. Despite this, the effects of bio-organic substitutions on soil quality development via soil organic carbon (SOC) chemistry and soil structure remain largely unexplored. Herein, we characterized the changes in soil aggregation and cementing agents involved, image-based pore structure, hydraulic functions, and their connections to soil quality index from a 4-year field trial in North China. Four treatments included: chemical fertilizer alone (CF), 20% bio-organic fertilizer substitution (Bio<sub>20</sub>), 50% bio-organic fertilizer substitution (Bio<sub>50</sub>), and 100% bio-organic fertilizer substitution (Bio<sub>100</sub>). The results showed that Bio<sub>20</sub> and Bio<sub>100</sub> enhanced soil macroaggregates by 57.0%–61.1% and mean weight diameter by 71.5%–75.4% in comparison to CF. This improvement may likely be attributed to the increased cementing agents (e.g., SOC, extracellular polymeric substances, glomalin-related soil proteins). Bio<sub>50</sub> and Bio<sub>100</sub> also enhanced fungal necromass C and its contribution to SOC compared to CF. Bio-organic substitutions enhanced the 3D pore structure, showing higher image-identified porosity by 1.0–2.9 times, and pore anisotropy by 48.8%–63.2%. The enhanced soil structure in the bio-organic substituted soils potentially improved water holding capacity by 32.3%–51.6% and saturated hydraulic conductivity by 0.7–1.8 times versus control. Overall, bio-organic substitutions improved S value by 71.3%–144.2%, indicator of soil physical quality, and soil quality index by 25.9%–34.7% relative to control. Collectively, substituting partial chemical fertilizers with bio-organic fertilizers could boost soil quality via augmenting fungal necromass and soil structure, offering effective and economic solutions for revitalizing light saline soil under an intensive cropping system.","PeriodicalId":203,"journal":{"name":"Land Degradation & Development","volume":"413 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2026-02-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146210326","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Li Junwen, Urszula Mentel, Kamil Gemra, Mohd Ziaur Rehman, Péter Németh
Sustainable forest landscape, digitalization, and green energy are the core pillars of the European Union's policies to achieve sustainable growth; however, their impacts are divergent due to variant regional forest management policies, economic structures, and digital transformation. This study contributes to the literature by uniquely evaluating the asymmetric impacts of forest access, green energy, and digitalization on sustainable growth across the EU countries from 1991 to 2022. It introduces the moderating role of digitalization on forest access, a dimension that has been unexplored previously. This analysis employs the method of moments quantile regression (MMQR) to address the slope heterogeneity and cross‐sectional problems. The outcomes exhibit that green energy and digitalization are the drivers of sustainable growth, while their effects are pronounced at higher and lower growth quantiles, respectively. In contrast, forest access inhibits economic sustainability, with larger impacts realized in high‐growth economies. The interaction term indicates that the applications of digital technologies in the forest landscape significantly support sustainable growth. The robustness analysis confirms the consistency of regression outcomes. These insights offer novel implications for EU climate and digital policy integration under the Green Deal and REPower EU agenda.
{"title":"Leveraging Forest Resources, Green Energy, and Digitalization: Contextual Evidence Apropos Sustainable Growth in the Lens of Climate Resilience Policies","authors":"Li Junwen, Urszula Mentel, Kamil Gemra, Mohd Ziaur Rehman, Péter Németh","doi":"10.1002/ldr.70413","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.70413","url":null,"abstract":"Sustainable forest landscape, digitalization, and green energy are the core pillars of the European Union's policies to achieve sustainable growth; however, their impacts are divergent due to variant regional forest management policies, economic structures, and digital transformation. This study contributes to the literature by uniquely evaluating the asymmetric impacts of forest access, green energy, and digitalization on sustainable growth across the EU countries from 1991 to 2022. It introduces the moderating role of digitalization on forest access, a dimension that has been unexplored previously. This analysis employs the method of moments quantile regression (MMQR) to address the slope heterogeneity and cross‐sectional problems. The outcomes exhibit that green energy and digitalization are the drivers of sustainable growth, while their effects are pronounced at higher and lower growth quantiles, respectively. In contrast, forest access inhibits economic sustainability, with larger impacts realized in high‐growth economies. The interaction term indicates that the applications of digital technologies in the forest landscape significantly support sustainable growth. The robustness analysis confirms the consistency of regression outcomes. These insights offer novel implications for EU climate and digital policy integration under the Green Deal and REPower EU agenda.","PeriodicalId":203,"journal":{"name":"Land Degradation & Development","volume":"14 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2026-02-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146184343","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The interactive effects of gravel content and slope gradient on soil erosion processes of sloping farmland remain inadequately quantified, limiting predictive capabilities and effective conservation. This study investigated how gravel content, rainfall intensity, and slope gradient collectively influenced the particle size distribution of eroded sediment, thereby advancing the mechanistic understanding of soil erosion processes on sloping farmland containing gravel. Through simulated rainfall experiments, the results demonstrated that sediment yield was more sensitive to rainfall intensity than to other factors, and slopes containing gravel generally yielded more sediment than those without gravel. Fine sand, which accounted for 49%–56%, was the dominant fraction, with a clear coarsening trend observed under higher rainfall intensities. Critically, gravel presence significantly altered sediment structure, reducing the mean weight diameter (MWD) while increasing the fractal dimension ( D ). A key finding was the significant interactive effect ( p < 0.05) between gravel content and slope gradient on particle sorting. The treatment with 20% gravel content and a 15° slope gradient was identified as optimal, promoting the enrichment of clay and silt and suggesting improved aggregate stability and permeability. The findings reveal the complex role of gravel in erosion processes, highlighting its potential to exacerbate sediment yield under certain conditions. The results of this study provide theoretical and data‐based support for the management and conservation of sloping farmland containing gravel in the Three Gorges Reservoir area.
{"title":"Distribution Characteristics of Eroded Sediment Particles on Sloping Farmland Containing Gravel Under Simulated Rainfall Conditions","authors":"Bingqin Zhao, Xingfeng Zhang, Weihao Shi, Wanqing Zhu, Lun Zhang, Zhenyao Xia, Daxiang Liu, Zhongyi Wu, Ruzhang Gao, Wennian Xu","doi":"10.1002/ldr.70485","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.70485","url":null,"abstract":"The interactive effects of gravel content and slope gradient on soil erosion processes of sloping farmland remain inadequately quantified, limiting predictive capabilities and effective conservation. This study investigated how gravel content, rainfall intensity, and slope gradient collectively influenced the particle size distribution of eroded sediment, thereby advancing the mechanistic understanding of soil erosion processes on sloping farmland containing gravel. Through simulated rainfall experiments, the results demonstrated that sediment yield was more sensitive to rainfall intensity than to other factors, and slopes containing gravel generally yielded more sediment than those without gravel. Fine sand, which accounted for 49%–56%, was the dominant fraction, with a clear coarsening trend observed under higher rainfall intensities. Critically, gravel presence significantly altered sediment structure, reducing the mean weight diameter (MWD) while increasing the fractal dimension ( <jats:italic>D</jats:italic> ). A key finding was the significant interactive effect ( <jats:italic>p</jats:italic> < 0.05) between gravel content and slope gradient on particle sorting. The treatment with 20% gravel content and a 15° slope gradient was identified as optimal, promoting the enrichment of clay and silt and suggesting improved aggregate stability and permeability. The findings reveal the complex role of gravel in erosion processes, highlighting its potential to exacerbate sediment yield under certain conditions. The results of this study provide theoretical and data‐based support for the management and conservation of sloping farmland containing gravel in the Three Gorges Reservoir area.","PeriodicalId":203,"journal":{"name":"Land Degradation & Development","volume":"34 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2026-02-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146169797","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Climate change threatens global food security significantly, especially in agriculture where drought poses a major challenge. This study examines adoption dynamics and economic benefits of drought‐resistant crops among smallholder farmers in China's degraded, highly vulnerable ecosystems. The objective is to analyze adoption determinants and assess impacts on crop yields and agricultural income, while evaluating government policies' role in facilitating adoption. We hypothesize that policy support, education, and farm characteristics positively influence adoption, while adoption improves economic outcomes. The purpose is to inform policy for sustainable agriculture in drought‐prone areas. Using data from China Household Income Project surveys (2002, 2007, 2013) and regional agricultural statistics, we apply econometric models, including probit for adoption determinants and fixed effects for economic benefits. Results indicate adoption rates rose from 20% in 2002 to 76.3% in 2013, driven by policy support, education, farm size, and household income, while age negatively affects adoption. Adoption boosts crop yields by 0.3 tons per hectare and agricultural income by 437 yuan, with larger benefits in degraded ecosystems. These findings underscore targeted policies' importance in promoting climate‐smart agriculture and building resilience in vulnerable regions. The study concludes that government support, including extension services and subsidies, is essential for widespread adoption, advancing sustainable development and food security.
{"title":"Adoption Dynamics and Economic Benefits of Drought‐Resistant Crops Among Smallholder Farmers in Degraded Ecosystems","authors":"Xinyi Huang, Cheng Chen","doi":"10.1002/ldr.70480","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.70480","url":null,"abstract":"Climate change threatens global food security significantly, especially in agriculture where drought poses a major challenge. This study examines adoption dynamics and economic benefits of drought‐resistant crops among smallholder farmers in China's degraded, highly vulnerable ecosystems. The objective is to analyze adoption determinants and assess impacts on crop yields and agricultural income, while evaluating government policies' role in facilitating adoption. We hypothesize that policy support, education, and farm characteristics positively influence adoption, while adoption improves economic outcomes. The purpose is to inform policy for sustainable agriculture in drought‐prone areas. Using data from China Household Income Project surveys (2002, 2007, 2013) and regional agricultural statistics, we apply econometric models, including probit for adoption determinants and fixed effects for economic benefits. Results indicate adoption rates rose from 20% in 2002 to 76.3% in 2013, driven by policy support, education, farm size, and household income, while age negatively affects adoption. Adoption boosts crop yields by 0.3 tons per hectare and agricultural income by 437 yuan, with larger benefits in degraded ecosystems. These findings underscore targeted policies' importance in promoting climate‐smart agriculture and building resilience in vulnerable regions. The study concludes that government support, including extension services and subsidies, is essential for widespread adoption, advancing sustainable development and food security.","PeriodicalId":203,"journal":{"name":"Land Degradation & Development","volume":"14 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2026-02-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146169505","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Zhen Cheng, Lingchao Meng, Juan Pinos, Manuel López‐Vicente, Jiangbo Qiao, Yingge Xie, Gao‐Lin Wu
Intensive agriculture threatens soil quality globally, especially in semiarid regions. Organic matter inputs are recognized as effective strategies in improving soil quality quickly; however, it is unclear whether the fresh plant organic matter inputs more effectively improve soil quality compared with the traditional dried plant inputs. Here, a 2‐year field study was conducted to quantitatively evaluate the effects of fresh and dried maize straw clipping amendments (incorporated in the first 30 cm of the soil) on soil quality in a semiarid agroecosystem. We found that both fresh and dried plant clippings amendments improved soil physical properties compared with the non‐amended soil. Specifically, fresh and dried plant clippings amendments reduced fractal dimension (2.75% vs. 1.88%), while increasing total porosity (14.82% vs. 15.27%), mean weight diameter (65.38% vs. 14.03%), and geometric mean diameter (24.46% vs. 11.42%) at 0–30 cm soil depth compared with non‐amended soil. These structural improvements enhanced the soil water holding capacity. Furthermore, the enhancement of the soil quality index achieved with fresh plant clipping amendments (30.51%) surpassed that of dried amendments (25.46%). Random forest analysis further revealed that soil water‐holding capacity and porosity were the primary contributors to the soil quality index, whereas aggregate stability had a comparatively lower influence. Our results demonstrate that amending soil with fresh plant clippings is a more effective strategy than dried residues for rapidly improving soil structure, porosity, aggregate stability, and water retention in the short term. These findings highlight the potential of utilizing fresh plant materials to improve soil quality and support sustainable agriculture in semi‐arid regions.
集约化农业威胁着全球的土壤质量，尤其是在半干旱地区。有机质投入被认为是快速改善土壤质量的有效策略；然而，与传统的干植物投入相比，新鲜植物有机质投入是否能更有效地改善土壤质量尚不清楚。在这里，进行了为期2年的实地研究，定量评估了在半干旱农业生态系统中，新鲜和干燥的玉米秸秆修剪改剂（在土壤的前30厘米处加入）对土壤质量的影响。我们发现新鲜和干燥的植物剪枝改进剂与未改进剂相比都改善了土壤的物理性质。其中，新鲜和干燥植物剪枝改性降低了分形维数（2.75% vs. 1.88%），增加了0-30 cm土壤深度的总孔隙度（14.82% vs. 15.27%）、平均重量直径（65.38% vs. 14.03%）和几何平均直径（24.46% vs. 11.42%）。这些结构改进提高了土壤持水能力。此外，新鲜植物修剪改良剂对土壤质量指数的改善效果（30.51%）超过干燥改良剂（25.46%）。随机森林分析进一步表明，土壤持水量和孔隙度是土壤质量指数的主要影响因子，而团聚体稳定性的影响相对较小。我们的研究结果表明，在短期内，用新鲜植物剪枝修补土壤比用干燥残留物快速改善土壤结构、孔隙度、团聚体稳定性和保水性更有效。这些发现强调了利用新鲜植物材料改善半干旱地区土壤质量和支持可持续农业的潜力。
{"title":"Fresh Straw Clippings as Organic Soil Amendments Quickly Recovered Soil Quality of Farmland by Improving Soil Structure and Soil Hydraulic Properties","authors":"Zhen Cheng, Lingchao Meng, Juan Pinos, Manuel López‐Vicente, Jiangbo Qiao, Yingge Xie, Gao‐Lin Wu","doi":"10.1002/ldr.70453","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.70453","url":null,"abstract":"Intensive agriculture threatens soil quality globally, especially in semiarid regions. Organic matter inputs are recognized as effective strategies in improving soil quality quickly; however, it is unclear whether the fresh plant organic matter inputs more effectively improve soil quality compared with the traditional dried plant inputs. Here, a 2‐year field study was conducted to quantitatively evaluate the effects of fresh and dried maize straw clipping amendments (incorporated in the first 30 cm of the soil) on soil quality in a semiarid agroecosystem. We found that both fresh and dried plant clippings amendments improved soil physical properties compared with the non‐amended soil. Specifically, fresh and dried plant clippings amendments reduced fractal dimension (2.75% vs. 1.88%), while increasing total porosity (14.82% vs. 15.27%), mean weight diameter (65.38% vs. 14.03%), and geometric mean diameter (24.46% vs. 11.42%) at 0–30 cm soil depth compared with non‐amended soil. These structural improvements enhanced the soil water holding capacity. Furthermore, the enhancement of the soil quality index achieved with fresh plant clipping amendments (30.51%) surpassed that of dried amendments (25.46%). Random forest analysis further revealed that soil water‐holding capacity and porosity were the primary contributors to the soil quality index, whereas aggregate stability had a comparatively lower influence. Our results demonstrate that amending soil with fresh plant clippings is a more effective strategy than dried residues for rapidly improving soil structure, porosity, aggregate stability, and water retention in the short term. These findings highlight the potential of utilizing fresh plant materials to improve soil quality and support sustainable agriculture in semi‐arid regions.","PeriodicalId":203,"journal":{"name":"Land Degradation & Development","volume":"2017 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2026-02-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146169802","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Southeast Asia's tropical forests play a critical role in global carbon regulation, yet they face accelerating degradation and deforestation. The ecological impacts of forest loss on carbon fluxes and the multidimensional drivers behind forest loss in Southeast Asia remain insufficiently understood. This study aims to quantify forest carbon fluxes, assess the spatiotemporal patterns of forest loss, evaluate the impact of forest loss on carbon fluxes, and identify key drivers across Southeast Asia from 2001 to 2023. We find that the region lost approximately 678,979 km 2 of forest, with Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Greater Mekong Subregion accounting for over 83% of the total loss, concentrated in lowland and swamp forest ecoregions. Carbon fluxes display marked spatial heterogeneity, with Borneo lowland rain forests contributing over 22% of total emissions, while Thailand and the Philippines function as key national sinks. Increasing forest loss was associated with rising emissions, transforming many areas from net carbon sinks into emission sources. Carbon cost indices further reveal significant disparities in emission intensity per unit of forest loss across countries. Using a well‐tuned XGBoost model ( R2 = 75.62%, RMSE = 0.169) combined with SHAP interpretation, we identified oil palm suitability, human footprint, population density, regulatory level, and road accessibility as key drivers of forest loss. While protected areas do not rank among the top predictors overall, they exert a consistent negative effect on forest loss where they exist. These findings highlight the urgent need for targeted, spatially differentiated conservation and land‐use strategies to mitigate carbon emissions and preserve forest carbon sinks in Southeast Asia.
{"title":"Forest Loss and Carbon Flux in Southeast Asia: Spatiotemporal Patterns, Ecological Impacts, and Key Determinants","authors":"Peng Tian, Yanyun Yan, Fengqi Zhang, Haitao Zhang, Yongchao Liu, Chao Ying, Xiangmei He, Jialin Li","doi":"10.1002/ldr.70484","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.70484","url":null,"abstract":"Southeast Asia's tropical forests play a critical role in global carbon regulation, yet they face accelerating degradation and deforestation. The ecological impacts of forest loss on carbon fluxes and the multidimensional drivers behind forest loss in Southeast Asia remain insufficiently understood. This study aims to quantify forest carbon fluxes, assess the spatiotemporal patterns of forest loss, evaluate the impact of forest loss on carbon fluxes, and identify key drivers across Southeast Asia from 2001 to 2023. We find that the region lost approximately 678,979 km <jats:sup>2</jats:sup> of forest, with Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Greater Mekong Subregion accounting for over 83% of the total loss, concentrated in lowland and swamp forest ecoregions. Carbon fluxes display marked spatial heterogeneity, with Borneo lowland rain forests contributing over 22% of total emissions, while Thailand and the Philippines function as key national sinks. Increasing forest loss was associated with rising emissions, transforming many areas from net carbon sinks into emission sources. Carbon cost indices further reveal significant disparities in emission intensity per unit of forest loss across countries. Using a well‐tuned XGBoost model ( <jats:italic>R</jats:italic> <jats:sup>2</jats:sup> = 75.62%, RMSE = 0.169) combined with SHAP interpretation, we identified oil palm suitability, human footprint, population density, regulatory level, and road accessibility as key drivers of forest loss. While protected areas do not rank among the top predictors overall, they exert a consistent negative effect on forest loss where they exist. These findings highlight the urgent need for targeted, spatially differentiated conservation and land‐use strategies to mitigate carbon emissions and preserve forest carbon sinks in Southeast Asia.","PeriodicalId":203,"journal":{"name":"Land Degradation & Development","volume":"97 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2026-02-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146169509","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
In the context of global efforts to combat land degradation, the long‐term sustainability of large‐scale ecological restoration projects is a critical determinant of their success. As the world's largest land restoration initiative, China's major forestry projects offer a unique, continental‐scale natural experiment to assess their effectiveness. Leveraging the Google Earth Engine platform, this study employs a validated Remote Sensing Ecological Index (RSEI) framework to assess the spatiotemporal dynamics of ecological quality, long‐term sustainability, and key drivers across six major forestry project areas from 2000 to 2022. The results reveal significant spatial heterogeneity in restoration outcomes: while regions like the Middle Yellow River successfully reversed severe land degradation, the ecological quality in the Upper‐Middle Yangtze River area exhibited a declining trend, demonstrating that restoration success is highly contingent on regional context. However, a significant knowledge gap remains: existing evaluations often rely on short‐term monitoring or static “snapshot” assessments, which fail to capture the non‐linear dynamic characteristics and long‐term stability of ecosystem evolution, thereby overlooking potential future reversal risks. Crucially, the Hurst exponent analysis reveals a sustainability paradox: historical greening trends do not guarantee future stability. Despite significant past gains, regions like the Liaohe River and Huaihe‐Taihu basins face exceptionally high risks of future degradation (reversal risks reaching 41.56% and 68.78%, respectively), posing a severe challenge to the long‐term efficacy of these interventions. The study finds that while large‐scale restoration projects are effective in addressing historical degradation under low socioeconomic pressure, their capacity to sustain ecosystem integrity is limited in areas with high‐intensity human activity. This underscores the necessity of integrated policies that couple ecological engineering with sustainable land‐use planning to secure long‐term returns on global investments in land restoration.
{"title":"The Sustainability Paradox of Ecological Restoration: Gains and Reversal Risks Across China's Forestry Megaprojects","authors":"Qing Zhou, Qingjiu Tian, Jia Tian","doi":"10.1002/ldr.70494","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.70494","url":null,"abstract":"In the context of global efforts to combat land degradation, the long‐term sustainability of large‐scale ecological restoration projects is a critical determinant of their success. As the world's largest land restoration initiative, China's major forestry projects offer a unique, continental‐scale natural experiment to assess their effectiveness. Leveraging the Google Earth Engine platform, this study employs a validated Remote Sensing Ecological Index (RSEI) framework to assess the spatiotemporal dynamics of ecological quality, long‐term sustainability, and key drivers across six major forestry project areas from 2000 to 2022. The results reveal significant spatial heterogeneity in restoration outcomes: while regions like the Middle Yellow River successfully reversed severe land degradation, the ecological quality in the Upper‐Middle Yangtze River area exhibited a declining trend, demonstrating that restoration success is highly contingent on regional context. However, a significant knowledge gap remains: existing evaluations often rely on short‐term monitoring or static “snapshot” assessments, which fail to capture the non‐linear dynamic characteristics and long‐term stability of ecosystem evolution, thereby overlooking potential future reversal risks. Crucially, the Hurst exponent analysis reveals a sustainability paradox: historical greening trends do not guarantee future stability. Despite significant past gains, regions like the Liaohe River and Huaihe‐Taihu basins face exceptionally high risks of future degradation (reversal risks reaching 41.56% and 68.78%, respectively), posing a severe challenge to the long‐term efficacy of these interventions. The study finds that while large‐scale restoration projects are effective in addressing historical degradation under low socioeconomic pressure, their capacity to sustain ecosystem integrity is limited in areas with high‐intensity human activity. This underscores the necessity of integrated policies that couple ecological engineering with sustainable land‐use planning to secure long‐term returns on global investments in land restoration.","PeriodicalId":203,"journal":{"name":"Land Degradation & Development","volume":"10966 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2026-02-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146153632","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Accurately predicting future land use dynamics and their impacts on ecosystem service value (ESV) is a critical prerequisite for achieving regional sustainable development and optimizing territorial spatial layout. This study proposed an innovative assessment framework integrating system dynamics (SD), mixed‐cell cellular automata (MCCA), and map comparison statistic (MCS) methods, overcoming the limitations of traditional models in representing mixed land use structure and continuous dynamic changes. It systematically simulated the evolution of land use and ESV under various climate and socioeconomic (SSP‐RCP) scenarios and, for the first time, evaluated the uncertainty of ESV across different scenarios and spatial scales. The spatial pattern of ESV exhibited a distribution characterized by “low center–high periphery”, with the forested northern foothills of the Qinling Mountains serving as a core ecological barrier. Between 2020 and 2080, land use change generally exerted a negative influence on ESV, with the intensity of impact following the order of SSP126 > SSP245 > SSP585 under development pathways. Uncertainty increased with decreasing spatial scale, peaking at the grid scale; scenario‐based uncertainty exceeded interannual variability and intensified over longer time periods. The uncertainty associated with ESV responses to land use change demonstrated significant local heterogeneity and scale dependence, while maintaining consistency across scales. We recommend that territorial spatial planning should adopt a low‐carbon ecological orientation, with systematic integration of ecological conservation objectives into decision‐making processes to mitigate the potential risks of high‐carbon pathways. Concurrently, a comprehensive system for preventing and controlling land degradation should be established to enhance the synergistic maintenance of ecological land structure and function, effectively curbing cropland loss and the fragmentation of ecological spaces, thereby safeguarding territorial system stability and ecological security.
{"title":"Discerning Uncertainties in the Implications of Future Land Use Change on Ecosystem Service Values Under Climate Change and Development Patterns: Different Scenarios and Cross‐Scale Perspectives","authors":"Lina Sun, Ping Zhang, Yuting Qi, Jinbao Liu, Yue Huang, Jiexuan Liu, Kang Hou, Ying Pan, Wenping Liu, Xiang Li, Xin Fan, Yucheng Zhu, Yu Huang, Tingting Zou","doi":"10.1002/ldr.70490","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.70490","url":null,"abstract":"Accurately predicting future land use dynamics and their impacts on ecosystem service value (ESV) is a critical prerequisite for achieving regional sustainable development and optimizing territorial spatial layout. This study proposed an innovative assessment framework integrating system dynamics (SD), mixed‐cell cellular automata (MCCA), and map comparison statistic (MCS) methods, overcoming the limitations of traditional models in representing mixed land use structure and continuous dynamic changes. It systematically simulated the evolution of land use and ESV under various climate and socioeconomic (SSP‐RCP) scenarios and, for the first time, evaluated the uncertainty of ESV across different scenarios and spatial scales. The spatial pattern of ESV exhibited a distribution characterized by “low center–high periphery”, with the forested northern foothills of the Qinling Mountains serving as a core ecological barrier. Between 2020 and 2080, land use change generally exerted a negative influence on ESV, with the intensity of impact following the order of SSP126 > SSP245 > SSP585 under development pathways. Uncertainty increased with decreasing spatial scale, peaking at the grid scale; scenario‐based uncertainty exceeded interannual variability and intensified over longer time periods. The uncertainty associated with ESV responses to land use change demonstrated significant local heterogeneity and scale dependence, while maintaining consistency across scales. We recommend that territorial spatial planning should adopt a low‐carbon ecological orientation, with systematic integration of ecological conservation objectives into decision‐making processes to mitigate the potential risks of high‐carbon pathways. Concurrently, a comprehensive system for preventing and controlling land degradation should be established to enhance the synergistic maintenance of ecological land structure and function, effectively curbing cropland loss and the fragmentation of ecological spaces, thereby safeguarding territorial system stability and ecological security.","PeriodicalId":203,"journal":{"name":"Land Degradation & Development","volume":"22 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2026-02-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146153631","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Arid mountain regions face rising ecological risk and mismatched carrying capacity under climate change and human activities. However, an integrated pathway linking diagnosis, scenario analysis, attribution, and governance remains scarce. This study develops a closed‐loop framework that integrates dual‐axis diagnosis of Landscape Ecological Risk (LER) and Ecological Carrying Capacity (ECC), scenario zoning with the Patch‐generating Land Use Simulation (PLUS) model, and nonlinear attribution using eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) and SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP). From 2000 to 2020, risk expanded from isolated patches to continuous belts along transport corridors and urban frontiers. Meanwhile, mountain‐core carrying capacity stayed stable or improved, and the share of moderately high to high risk rose from 0.43% to 2.82%, underscoring a pronounced LER–ECC mismatch. Four‐quadrant zoning shows the conservation zone consolidated dominance, with a net increase of 2.37%. Frontier belts were dominated by restoration‐to‐cultivation transfers, and pressures continued to rise. Projections for 2030 and 2040 show an expanding conservation zone, contracting cultivation and control zones, and a 132.64% increase in restoration demand. These shifts redirect governance priorities toward oasis frontiers and transport corridors. XGBoost–SHAP attribution reveals that nonlinear interactions among land use, accessibility, and climate create high‐ECC, high‐LER frontier belts, marking them for intervention. Integrating the LER–ECC framework with PLUS‐based zoning and SHAP‐based driver analysis, this study connects diagnosis, projection, and management, advancing ecological understanding in arid mountain systems and offering a practical template for governance.
{"title":"Ecological Risk and Carrying Capacity Dynamics With Future Zoning Simulation in an Arid Mountain Region: A Case Study of the Tianshan Mountains","authors":"Jiani Li, Denghui Xu, Yao Wang, Zhonglin Xu","doi":"10.1002/ldr.70409","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.70409","url":null,"abstract":"Arid mountain regions face rising ecological risk and mismatched carrying capacity under climate change and human activities. However, an integrated pathway linking diagnosis, scenario analysis, attribution, and governance remains scarce. This study develops a closed‐loop framework that integrates dual‐axis diagnosis of Landscape Ecological Risk (LER) and Ecological Carrying Capacity (ECC), scenario zoning with the Patch‐generating Land Use Simulation (PLUS) model, and nonlinear attribution using eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) and SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP). From 2000 to 2020, risk expanded from isolated patches to continuous belts along transport corridors and urban frontiers. Meanwhile, mountain‐core carrying capacity stayed stable or improved, and the share of moderately high to high risk rose from 0.43% to 2.82%, underscoring a pronounced LER–ECC mismatch. Four‐quadrant zoning shows the conservation zone consolidated dominance, with a net increase of 2.37%. Frontier belts were dominated by restoration‐to‐cultivation transfers, and pressures continued to rise. Projections for 2030 and 2040 show an expanding conservation zone, contracting cultivation and control zones, and a 132.64% increase in restoration demand. These shifts redirect governance priorities toward oasis frontiers and transport corridors. XGBoost–SHAP attribution reveals that nonlinear interactions among land use, accessibility, and climate create high‐ECC, high‐LER frontier belts, marking them for intervention. Integrating the LER–ECC framework with PLUS‐based zoning and SHAP‐based driver analysis, this study connects diagnosis, projection, and management, advancing ecological understanding in arid mountain systems and offering a practical template for governance.","PeriodicalId":203,"journal":{"name":"Land Degradation & Development","volume":"299 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2026-02-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146153630","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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