Geography and Sustainability最新文献

Profound understanding on the diversity of local residents’ willingness to pay (WTP) for ecosystem services (ESs) may aid evaluation of policy impacts by uncovering trade-offs and synergies for achieving sustainable environmental resource management. However, the reasons for the spatial preference heterogeneity of WTP are still unclear. In this study, an extensive survey with 4,580 residents in the Yangtze River Middle Reaches Megalopolis (YRMRM), central China, was carried out to investigate the public’s WTP to maintain and improve ESs. We identified key influencing factors and explored how they shaped the preference heterogeneity in WTP by random forest model and surface fitting method. Our results showed that 81.4% of residents reported WTP for ESs greater than zero. Water supply, waste treatment, food supply and raw material supply were the preferred ESs for residents. Living environment factors (i.e., extent of farmland, water and forest near the residence) were found as the key drivers of WTP. Proximity to farmland, water and forests resulted in high WTP values for a series of specific ESs. The reasons for the heterogeneity of WTP are (1) the difference in proximity to farmland, water and forest (i.e., the contributor to ESs), (2) the divergence of local residents’ preferences for ESs. This study disclosed the heterogeneity and causes of public preferences in YRMRM, which could help policy and decision makers to develop eco-compensation initiatives towards conservative and sustainable use of the environmental resources.

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is contemplating expanding its list of environmental goods (EG) for trade liberalization to fight climate change. In support of doing so, this study proposes that a long list that retains controversies is better for carbon emission reduction than a short common list. This study examines four mechanisms of longer lists: enlarging market scales, enriching product mixes, enhancing product sophistication, and enriching trade patterns. Using China’s emerging EG trade during the 2001–2015 period as a case study, this study compares four EG lists with different EG. The results show that: (1) a longer list reduces carbon emissions from both imports and exports, making domestic regions with different advantages have better chances of improving carbon efficiencies. (2) Product sophistication reduces the emission gap between trading partners, regardless of the length of EG lists. (3) China’s EG exports contribute to carbon reduction in leading regions, while EG imports provide laggard regions with better chances of reducing carbon emissions. These findings provide three implications for future list-making: it is important to (1) seek a long and inclusive list rather than a short common list, (2) shift the focus from environmental end-use to the technological contents of products, and (3) balance the demand of laggard regions to import and the capacity of leading regions to export.

The peri‑urban area possesses mixed characteristics of rural and urban areas, i.e., agricultural, and built-up land. This review explains various themes and concepts of peri‑urban areas and the importance of peri‑urban agriculture (PUA) as an ecosystem service (ES) for their surrounding areas. The methodological approach is a systematic literature search and explanatory review of books and journal articles. The focus of the discussion is as follows: (1) quantification of review results, (2) urbanization pressures, peri‑urban, and governance, (3) two different concepts about the peri‑urban area, (4) protection of PUA and their resilience, and (5) role of PUA in providing ESs to other regions. The review shows that PUA is more crucial in urban areas than in rural areas in terms of food supply, ecology and biodiversity preservation, disaster mitigation, and recreation. One of the primary causes of PUA loss is massive urban expansion, which entails the conversion of agricultural land in peri‑urban areas into built-up land. Hence, we suggest that every country should develop a peri‑urban management policy. We argue that sociocultural biases in PUA have resulted in many institutional constraints on peri‑urban management being incorporated within existing political and regulatory frameworks, including planning practices and longstanding laws and regulations.

Pedestrianization is an urban revitalization strategy to enhance sustainability and livability in car-oriented cities. Despite many studies in this research field, the effects of pedestrianization on the economy of cities in developing countries still need further investigation. Additionally, the impact of this strategy on the tenant mix of commercial and historical areas in Middle East countries is nebulous. To address these inadequacies, we considered Chaharbagh Abbasi street, located in the heart of Isfahan, Iran, and investigated the impact of a pedestrianization project with particular emphasis on how it affects the economic sustainability of existent commercial fabric. Pre- and post-project data along with field observations and quantifications used to assess structural replacements in trade, were analyzed with SPSS and ArcGIS software. The results revealed unexpected outcomes, such as the closure of some traditional businesses (27.5%), a stagnation in sales (69%) and a decrease in job offers (84%) leading the local economy to a fragile situation. Conversely, it was found that the footfall volume increased by 64% and 73% from the retailers’ and pedestrians’ viewpoints. This evolution along with a wide opening of food and beverage stores (approximately 60%) makes the post-pedestrianization results more promising than earlier predictions. In conclusion, these findings reinforce the importance of pedestrian streets in revitalizing economic activities in historical and commercial areas from the perspective of economic sustainability. Due to the lack of similar investigations in Middle East countries, these findings can support decision-makers and urban planners to take preventive measures in preserving the diversity of individual small shops for upcoming urban rehabilitation projects in terms of pedestrianization.

Gully erosion is one of the most intense landscape degradation mechanisms in areas with varying environmental characteristics. Both natural and anthropogenic factors affect the gullying process. Reliable documentation of these processes in tropical African cities is scarce. This study assessed the gully erosion dynamic and the susceptibility factors in the urban watershed of Kimemi in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Data were obtained through a combination of fieldwork and digitization of very high spatial resolution images from Google Earth (from 2011 to 2021). The length, width, and area of large gullies (width ≥ 5 m) were measured for each year of the study. A logistic regression model (LRM) was also used to investigate the influence of both physical and anthropogenic factors on gully susceptibility. The results revealed that the number of gullies has increased from 36 to 61 during the last decade. The gully mean length of 63.9 ± 61.1 m, 129.3 ± 104.9 m, and 174.7 ± 153.8 m were obtained for the years 2011, 2015, and 2021 respectively. The average density of gully network for the study period was 0.12 km/km², while the degraded land was ∼1.3 and ∼1.1 ha/year for 2011–2015 and 2015–2021 for the entire watershed. The significant changes in morphometric parameters (length, width, area) were found only in the bare land and building land uses. A strong and positive relationship between the length (m) and the area (ha) was found. Furthermore, the susceptibility of gullying was significantly influenced by the slope, stream power index (SPI), distance to roads and rivers, land use and land cover (LULC), and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). This means the areas located in the bare land and building or close to roads and/or streams are more likely to be gullied. The findings emphasize the impact of urbanization on gully erosion in the Kimemi watershed, highlighting the importance of informed land management decisions with a close attention to anthropogenic factors.

Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) requires effective national initiatives and resource allocation. Yet, the simultaneous attainment of all goals is hindered by constraints such as limited budgets and resources, varied national priorities, and the intricate nature of the goals. As we approach 2030 and beyond, an urgent need for an effective, data-driven prioritisation system exists to optimise what can be accomplished. A considerable knowledge gap persists in identifying the priority areas that demand concentrated attention and how their improvement would propel overall sustainability goals. To bridge this gap, our study presents a prioritisation approach that identifies significant SDG indicators based on urgency and impact, utilising Benchmarking, Bivariate, and Network analysis. Furthermore, we introduce an innovative Impact Index (IMIN) to assess an indicator’s extensive effect on the SDG network. This system carries significant international relevance by establishing a robust framework to identify key, potent, and interconnected indicators. It supports decision-makers worldwide in comprehending their nation’s SDG performance and promotes efficient resource allocation. In the specific context of Australia, our analysis spotlights several impactful, yet underperforming SDG indicators. These include the protection of Freshwater, Terrestrial, and Mountain Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs), the share of renewable energy and energy intensity level of primary energy, targeted research and development, gender equality in national parliaments, and carbon-efficient manufacturing, amongst others.

Numerous studies deal with spatial analysis of green innovation (GI). However, researchers have paid limited attention to analyzing the multi-scale evolution patterns and predicting trends of GI in China. This paper seeks to address this research gap by examining the multi-scale distribution and evolutionary characteristics of GI activities based on the data from 337 cities in China during 2000–2019. We used scale variance and the two-stage nested Theil decomposition method to examine the spatial distribution and inequalities of GI in China at multiple scales, including regional, provincial, and prefectural. Additionally, we utilized the Markov chain and spatial Markov chain to explore the dynamic evolution of GI in China and predict its long-term development. The findings indicate that GI in China has a multi-scale effect and is highly sensitive to changes in spatial scale, with significant spatial differences of GI decreasing in each scale. Furthermore, the spatiotemporal evolution of GI is influenced by both geospatial patterns and spatial scales, exhibiting the “club convergence” effect and a tendency to transfer to higher levels of proximity. This effect is more pronounced on a larger scale, but it is increasingly challenging to transfer to higher levels. The study also indicates a steady and sustained growth of GI in China, which concentrates on higher levels over time. These results contribute to a more precise understanding of the scale at which GI develops and provide a scientific basis and policy suggestions for optimizing the spatial structure of GI and promoting its development in China.

Karst groundwater is highly vulnerable to contamination, which urges better land use zoning. This paper proposes a new approach, called COCKPIT-PLUS, to minimize groundwater contamination within cockpit karst regions. The method employed four parameters: P (the existence of ponor/swallow hole), L (lineament density), U (sinking stream to an underground river), and S (distance to spring/pumping site). These parameters are essential for identifying contaminant pathways and transport from the surface to the karst groundwater/springs. COCKPIT-PLUS has been developed and validated in the Gunungsewu karst in Java, Indonesia. This research considers a cockpit as a single hydrological unit that uniquely recharges karst groundwater. We analyzed 2,811 cockpits and 81 other closed depressions to develop a land use planning map. The research used the time to first arrival (Ta), time to peak (Tp), and Q_max/min ratio parameters of two karst springs and two underground pumping sites for validation. Cockpits with ponors/swallow holes, sinking streams, high lineament density, and short distances to springs are vulnerable to groundwater and thus must be restricted areas for any land uses. The findings show that though the COCKPIT-PLUS uses a limited karst dataset, the proposed method seems reliable enough for a rapid land-use zoning approach in cockpit karst areas.

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) is closely linked to human activities in drainage basins and plays a crucial role in maintaining ecosystem functioning and reflecting environmental quality. However, the impacts of climate and anthropogenic-induced changes on DOM in riverine systems under increasingly warming conditions still need to be better understood, particularly at large regional scales. To address this knowledge gap, we analyzed a dataset containing 386 published measurements for nine major Chinese river systems, examining dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations and optical properties of chromophoric DOM (CDOM) under diverse environmental conditions, including mean air temperature, precipitation, surface solar radiation, population density, and land use. Our findings indicate that riverine DOC concentrations are significantly higher in northern China (at ∼46.8%) than in the south. This disparity is primarily due to the high input of soil erosion-induced DOM from drying-affected lands (57.0%), farmland (49.1%), and forests in the north. The high temperate and strong hydrological conditions would lead to DOM degradation easily in the riverine system in the south of China. Our study highlights that various climatic and anthropogenic factors, such as agriculture, vegetation coverage, soil erosion, surface solar radiation, and precipitation, individually or in combination, can affect DOM dynamics in river systems. Therefore, considering alterations in DOM dynamics resulting from climate and environmental changes is crucial for carbon-neutral policies and sustainable river ecosystem assessments.

Ecosystem multiserviceability (EMS), a comprehensive and significant ecological indicator, reflects the capacity of ecosystems to offer multiple services concurrently. Intensified climate change and human activity are continuously altering ecosystem functions, services, and EMSs. However, numerous studies have only focused on one or a few ecosystem services, rarely taking into account spatial-temporal distribution and drivers of EMS on behalf of different agencies. We calculated EMS including pastoralist (PA), environmental protection agency (EPA), biodiversity conservation agency (BCA), and climate change mitigation agency (CCMA) using grassland production, habitat quality, water conservation, and carbon sequestration. Then, the effects of geographical features, climate factors, and human activities on spatial-temporal patterns of EMS were explored. The result indicated that EMS showed a decreasing tendency from the southeast to northwest on the Qingzang Plateau (QZP). Meanwhile, there were no obvious fluctuations in four simulated scenarios (PA, EPA, BCA and CCMA) among different vegetation types during 2000 to 2015. Notably, EMS of all simulated scenarios decreased in the alpine steppe ecosystem, but negligible changes were found in other ecosystems from 2015 to 2020. Moreover, the relative importance of precipitation in annual mean value (from 2000 to 2020) of PA, EPA, BCA and CCMA were 0.13, 0.11, 0.30 and 0.19, respectively. Overall, precipitation played the dominant role on the dynamics of EMS, followed by elevation and human footprint. Our findings highlighted that understanding the patterns and drivers of EMS could provide a reference for the regional management and maintenance of ecosystem stability on QZP.