Search Results (6,638)

Africa is becoming one of the most sensitive and vulnerable regions of the global ecosystem due to its variable climate, complex topography, and diversity of natural ecosystems. In the context of global warming, climate change not only alters the spatial distribution of temperature and precipitation in North Africa, but also affects the spatial distribution of vegetation as well as the structure and function of ecosystems, causing changes in the North African ecosystem and inducing a series of food security problems. In this regard, this paper analyzed the spatio-temporal distribution of climate change, climate production potential (CPP), and influencing factors in Africa based on meteorological data for 1901–2019, using the Thornthwaite Memorial model, Mann–Kendall mutation test, and Pearson correlation model. The results indicated that from 1901 to 2019, the CPP in North Africa decreased by 4.9%, while the region’s precipitation experienced a decline of 5.2%. The phased trend in CPP was consistent with the change in precipitation. Temperature and precipitation were the main limiting factors for CPP in North Africa, with precipitation being more limiting. In general, North Africa’s CPP was more sensitive to precipitation, and a continued ‘warm and dry’ climate in the future could lead to an increasing downward trend. Full article

Farmland pollution severely threatens humanity’s sustainable development. Exploring farmland quality protection behavior (FQPB) from the farmers’ perspective is considered one of the best ways to solve the farmland pollution problem. This study develops a theoretical framework for farmers’ FQPB from the perspectives of place attachment (consisting of place identity, dependency, and affection) and self-efficacy. We conducted a primary survey of 412 corn farmers from the northwestern Chinese province of Gansu and empirically examined the effects of place attachment and self-efficacy on farmers’ FQPB and verified the moderating effects that self-efficacy exerts on the influence of place attachment on FQPB by using hierarchical regression and propensity score matching models. The results indicate that: (1) among the three dimensions of place attachment, farmers with stronger place identity and place affection are more likely to implement FQPB; conversely, farmers who exhibit stronger place dependency are less likely to engage FQPB; and (2) self-efficacy not only effectively promotes farmers’ FQPB but also has an enhancing effect on the influence of place identity and place affection on FQPB. Our results suggest that policymakers should encourage farmers to maintain a place’s image and guide farmers to participate in place construction; thus, farmers’ place identity and place affection can be fostered. Meanwhile, the government should diversify the income sources of farmers to reduce their dependency on a single source. The finding that self-efficacy effectively promotes FQPB also implied that the formulation of farmland quality protection policies should shift from traditional command-based policies to participatory approaches, utilizing the initiative of farmers to enhance the policy’s effectiveness, which can not only promote farmers’ FQPB through self-efficacy but also strengthen the positive influence of place identity and place affection on FQPB. Full article

Globally, a green hydrogen economy rush is underway, and many companies, investors, governments, and environmentalists consider it as an energy source that could foster the global energy transition. The enormous potential for hydrogen production, for domestic use and export, places Africa in the spotlight in the green hydrogen economy discourse. This discourse remains unsettled regarding how natural resources, such as land and water, can be sustainably utilized for such a resource-intensive project, and what implications this would have. This review argues that green hydrogen production (GHP) in Africa has consequences where land resources (and their associated natural resources) are concerned. It discusses the current trends in GHP in Africa, and the possibilities for reducing any potential pressures it may put on land and other resource use on the continent. The approach of the review is interpretive, and hinges on answering three questions, concerning the what, why, and how of GHP and its land consequences in Africa. The review is based on 41 studies identified from Google Scholar, and sources identified via snowballed recommendations from experts. The GHP implications identified relate to land and water use, mining-related land stress, and environmental, ecological, and land-related socioeconomic consequences. The paper concludes that GHP may not foster the global energy transition, as is being opined by many renewable energy enthusiasts but, rather, could help foster this transition as part of a greener energy mix. It notes that African countries that have the potential for GHP require the institutionalization of, or a change in, their existing approaches to land-related energy governance systems, in order to achieve success. Full article

In the future, the pursuit of high-quality economic development and a focus on ecological environmental protection in China will inevitably result in significant conflicts between land use and ecological land use. Land use conflicts primarily occur in peri-urban areas characterized by prominent economic development and urban agglomeration. As a municipality situated in the Qin-Ba mountainous region, Ankang has been promoting ecological preservation for a span of two decades. The allocation of construction areas primarily focuses on the proximity of watersheds, while the northern and southern regions are predominantly characterized by mountainous and hilly terrain, thus exhibiting distinct regional attributes. Previous studies have mainly focused on analyzing the effects of land use on habitat quality during intense urbanization, with fewer studies focusing on integrating eco-regions with urbanization to assess changes in habitat quality. However, it is important to recognize that land pressure encompasses economic, ecological, and social aspects. Additionally, it aims to provide insights for the harmonious development of land use in eco-region-oriented cities. Using the SSPs-RCPs scenarios provided by the sixth phase of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP6), this paper employs a system analysis method, the emerging Patch-Generating Land Use Simulation model (PLUS) model, Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) model, and Land Use Conflict Measurement model to dynamically simulate the future habitat quality and spatial conflict patterns of land use in Ankang City. The study explores the spatial coupling effect of both factors under different scenarios. The results indicate the following: (1) The overall development trend reveals an intensification of land use conflicts and a decrease in habitat quality. The expansion rate of construction land is increasing and exhibiting aggregation, while agricultural land area is expanding, and forest land area is continuously decreasing. (2) Land use intensity exhibits a significant positive correlation with land conflict levels, while land conflict levels demonstrate a significant negative correlation with habitat quality. (3) Under different future shared socioeconomic path scenarios, land use intensity, and land conflict levels follow the order of SSP585 (high forcing scenario), SSP370 (medium to high forcing scenario), SSP245 (medium forcing scenario), and SSP126 (low forcing scenario), with intensity and conflict decreasing accordingly. These findings suggest that land use has had some impact on the ecological environment, with indications of habitat degradation. Even in Ankang, where ecological development is highly valued, the city will gradually face conflicts between ecological protection and economic development in future scenarios. The city already has the environment at heart, so it will be worse in cities where the priority is economic development. Therefore, it is crucial to allocate sufficient space for economic development while simultaneously prioritizing ecological protection. The results of the study can provide a reference for analyzing the trade-offs between land development and habitat protection in eco-mountainous cities and for eco-cities to avoid falling into the conflict dilemma of economic cities. Full article

The contributions of this research are making the theoretical analysis of the impact mechanism of urbanisation on carbon emissions efficiency (CEE), and then empirically analysing the effects of urbanisation on CEE in Western China from 2010 to 2019 by applying the epsilon-based measure model with undesirable outputs and the Tobit model. Major findings are: (1) The mean CEE of the 11 western provinces show a trend of declining and then increasing over those 10 years, demonstrating U-shaped change characteristics. (2) The CEE of Guangxi has the most significant decrease, while the CEE of Chongqing showed only a small fluctuation; the CEE of Guizhou has the characteristic that first it rises, then descends, then rises again; the CEEs of Inner Mongolia and Yunnan have been in the production frontier surface from 2010 to 2015, and presents the trend of declining, then increasing after 2015. The CEEs of the other six western provinces present a trend of declining, then increasing. (3) Chongqing, Sichuan, Inner Mongolia, and Yunnan have a high level of CEE, followed by Shaanxi, Xinjiang, Guangxi, and Guizhou, with an intermediate level of CEE, and Gansu, Ningxia, and Qinghai, with the lowest level of CEE. (4) The effects of urbanisation on CEE in Western China present a U-shaped relationship, meaning that the process of influence was first inhibition, then stimulation. At present, the process of urbanisation shows negative impacts on the CEE, while the tipping point has not yet arrived. The western provinces of China should follow the path of high-quality urbanisation to quickly shift the impact of urbanisation on CEE to the right side of the U-shaped curve. Full article

Indigenous Communities residing inside or next to autochthonal forests conserved them through governance frameworks that invoked traditional sacral law and reverence for their resource commons. More recently, however, the link between communities and forest conservation has been mired by dynamics of dispossession and displacement. Through a qualitative case study approach, using key informant interviews, transect walks, focus groups, and interviews, the researchers explore the conservation dynamics in Loita, in the South of Kenya, specifically looking at the sacred Enaimina Enkiyio forest. The study evaluated how the Loita community has challenged two state initiatives predicating conservation efforts and mobilised the sacred to conserve their resource commons. It combines a social-ecological approach with social innovation theory, spiritual geography, cultural studies and literature on indigenous knowledge systems, looking at, among others, sacred values attributed to places, nature–culture relationships, and value and belief systems and rituals. The findings point to the embeddedness of the forest resource in the way of life of the Loita Maasai and the appropriation of the ritual/sacred element as a framework to negotiate and mediate access, use, and conservation outcomes. The Loita community is grappling with and responding to the pressures exerted by various forces on the Loita Enaimina Enkiyio in socially innovative ways, as exemplified in the conservation efforts by the Ilkimpa Community Conservation Association (ICCA). It leverages aspects of the sacred in negotiating its claims over the Enaimina Enkiyio forest, showing that community-driven initiatives present alternative approaches capable of maintaining the connection between communities and their resource commons by integrating the sacred in this connection. Full article

For the intensive, efficient, and sustainable utilization of land resources, it is of great significance to optimize the spatial allocation of different types of land use intensity in rail transit station areas. The current land use optimization model has some shortcomings in objective function, constraint conditions, and the solution process. In response to this, a new multi-objective optimization model for rail transit station land use was built. With station space efficiency as the starting point, the three objectives of the model optimization were the traffic volume, environment quality, and land balance of the rail transit station, and the constraint conditions were the plot ratio, environment quality, and efficiency level. Lingo was used to solve the optimal plot ratio of different types of land use intensity. Compared with the non-inferior solution of the rail transit station area multi-objective original model, the ideal plot ratio of various land uses obtained by the optimized new model was more reasonable. There was a relatively large gap between the non-inferior solutions of some original models and the actual conditions. In contrast, the optimized new model had stronger maneuverability. The deviation ranges of the two models were −0.4% to 0.9% on the residential land plot ratio adjustment index, −3.2% to 4.8% on the public land plot ratio adjustment index, and 1.1% to 1.9% on the commercial land plot ratio adjustment index. This research aimed to provide a basis and reference for the land use and planning of Xi’an rail transit station. Full article

Home gardens play a transcendental role in food sovereignty, for which the management of habitats above ground and underground are complementary strategies. This study aims to compare the biodiversity of soil mesofauna groups between agroecosystems with a conventional and an agroecological design. Through the combination of quantitative (plant inventories) and qualitative (mobile interviewing and talking maps) techniques, the units of this study was described. Soil samples were mounted in a Berlesse–Tullgren system, and the abundance, richness, diversity, and equality of soil organisms were determined. The relationships between functional groups were compared taxonomically and biocenotically. The results indicated higher equality in the conventional home garden, while the communities studied present a medium taxocenotic similarity, without great biocenotic differences. The diversity and richness of taxa, as well as the abundance in each group identified, were higher in the agroecological garden, which had more medicinal and aromatic plants. Full article

To control soil erosion, the intensity, area, and distribution of regional soil erosion must be determined to accurately plan and implement corresponding soil conservation measures. Therefore, regional soil erosion assessment has received extensive attention worldwide. At present, a sampling survey approach and full-coverage grid-based calculation are mainly applied in regional soil erosion assessment. The quantitative evaluation of the entire region depends on the quality of the data source. Furthermore, owing to the greatness of the evaluation object, the difficulty of data acquisition, the high cost, and poor usability, the present approach is bound to be at the expense of data accuracy, spatial resolution, time resolution, etc. The sampling survey approach can obtain high-precision data of soil erosion factors. Therefore, it can accurately quantify soil erosion in a field investigation unit. However, the sampling method, sampling density, and extrapolation methods have a significant impact on regional soil erosion assessments. This study considers the case of Baiquan County in the rolling hills of Northeast China as an example. Regional soil erosion evaluation using sampling survey and grid computing were compared. The impact of the data source accuracy on the soil erosion assessment was also quantitatively evaluated. The results of grid method showed a phenomenon of large rates of soil erosion and the ratio of the soil erosion area (the share of areas above the mild level), which were overestimated by 20% and 6%, respectively. A digital elevation model (DEM) with a resolution of 30 m can be used for soil erosion evaluation in plain areas, but that with the same resolution in hilly areas has insufficient calculation accuracy and provides large errors. The grid method can be adopted when land use and soil conservation measures are accurate. Otherwise, the sampling method is recommended. Interpolation of the ratio of the soil erosion area in the survey unit based on land use can better evaluate regional soil erosion. Full article

Since the mid-1970s, natural resource management package programs have been implemented mainly in the northern Ethiopian Highlands (Amhara and Tigray regions), providing participants with food-for-work (FFW) supported by donor agencies. Meanwhile, the government has sporadically implemented such programs in the Ethiopian Lowlands, including the semi-arid Ethiopian Rift Valley (the study area). Local villagers took the initiative to manage various natural and life resources. In this study, the following factors were determined: (i) the type of village organization that manages common-pool resources (CPRs) and controls collective work, and (ii) the kind of institutional arrangements that should be implemented in participatory CPR management and small-scale village infrastructure development programs. These issues were investigated using mixed methods research, combining multivariate analyses, interviews, and field observation. The analyses were compared specifically with advanced participatory CPR management in Tigray, northern semi-arid Ethiopia. Tigray has an indigenous labor quota system (baito) and a collective grazing land management system (hizati) at the hamlet (qushet) level. Since 1991, the Tigray government has incorporated hamlets into the local administration system and supplied FFW and other incentives to participants with a high participation rate in the baito collective work. Those institutional arrangements helped reduce soil erosion rates and restore grass and tree biomass in the area. In the study area, user groups and youth and women’s associations were (and still are) institutionally fragile CPR organizations (e.g., no bylaws). In contrast, an iddir is a robust CPR organization at the hamlet (gott) level having a labor quota system (iddir system) and funds. The requirements for sustainable participatory rural development in the two regions of semi-arid Ethiopia are, first, to institutionalize a local administration system that links the district, village, and hamlet; and second, to use various incentives provided by donor agencies to strengthen their indigenous labor quota systems. Full article

Urban heat islands (UHIs) caused by urbanization have become a major issue affecting the sustainable development of the ecological environment. The distribution of UHIs is mainly affected by the reflection and transmission of heat radiation caused by differences in urban spaces, and the anthropogenic heat emissions caused by social activities. At present, the research on the urban thermal environment involves two spatial classification systems: local climate zone (LCZ), based on urban morphology and spatial patterns; and urban functional zone (UFZ), based on socio-economic activities. It is not clear whether there are association rules between these two systems in different cities. Against this background, this study explores the association rules between the UFZ and LCZ classification systems using the selected Chinese cities in different regions as typical examples. Our results confirm that there are common association rules from UFZ to LCZ, as the form of buildings is greatly influenced by the types of functional areas in urban construction. Specifically, the medical zone corresponds to the compact mid-rise zone (LCZ2); the business service area and the office area also correspond to the compact zone (LCZ1-LCZ3); and the industrial area corresponds to the compact low-rise zone (LCZ3). These functional zones have the same association rules in different cities. The cross-regional mining of the relationship between different urban functional systems will help to coordinate different planning departments and carry out the integration of multiple spatial plans. Furthermore, we found that LCZ has a better differentiation effect on the surface temperature through our comparison research, which makes it more suitable as a reference for research on the thermal environment and the heat island effect. Full article

Olive groves rank among the cropping systems facing higher erosion risk in Mediterranean Europe. The adoption of erosion control soil management practices is key for reducing such risk and driving olive production towards sustainability. This field experimental study aimed to quantify the erosion control performance of improved soil management as compared to conventional soil management in olive groves of NE Portugal. The design aimed to compare the effects of introducing no-tillage (NT) to a conventionally managed (T) olive grove and those with complementing ground cover by adventitious species (NS) with a sown cover (S) and comprised four treatments: TNS (reference for conventional), TS, NTNS and NTS. Erosion microplots (4 m²) were installed (two per treatment), recording soil loss, runoff and ground cover in seven erosion events throughout one year. The best erosion control performance was found in NTNS (low-cost improved soil management treatment) with 50% and 85% reductions in soil loss, respectively, in the annual total and in erosion events following large precipitation periods. Plots with adventitious vegetation ground cover performed better in soil loss control than the sown ones. Converting to no-tillage, as compared to sowing herbaceous vegetation to increase ground cover, proved more performant and less hazardous for improving erosion control in olive groves. Full article

Trees in cities are vital to the health of the urban ecosystem and residents’ wellbeing. Besides providing habitats, trees provide food via fruits and young leaves, reduce temperature, and enrich landscape aesthetics with spring flowers and autumn foliage. The generation and supply of these ecosystem services are closely related to their traits, such as the size of the canopy and the sparseness of the leaves, which directly affect their ability to shade and cool. Studies focusing on ecosystem services often consider green space as a whole, and some distinguish the difference between trees and grass. Relatively fewer studies examined the influence of tree traits on the supply of ecosystem services. Understanding the association among species, traits, and ecosystem services would be helpful in generating actionable knowledge for urban tree planting. However, these studies are often scattered under different research topics. To this end, we reviewed and summarized studies on the relationship between urban tree species/traits and ecosystem services according to provision, regulation, and cultural service types. Based on 45 publications, we found that leaf area, crown size, diameter at breast height, tree height, and leaf shape may influence various ecosystem services. We presented a preliminary framework of “trait- service” and argued that with the help of such a framework, future research should generate actionable knowledge for practitioners to identify potential tree species for selection according to desired services. Full article

Eco-compensation is an important policy tool to trade off economic development and environmental protection in a watershed. This study introduced the gross ecosystem product (GEP) accounting system to identify the eco-compensation provider (ECP) and eco-compensation receiver (ECR) of a river basin. Then, a cooperative game model and a non-cooperative game model between the ECP and the ECR were established, in which system dynamics was incorporated into the game theoretical analysis to aid selection of the optimal compensation scheme. The study further demonstrated the model applications by taking the Tuojiang River Basin as a case. The results showed that the accounted GEP increased from CNY 32.2 billion in 2018 to CNY 35.5 billion in 2020, with a growth rate of 10.2%. Deyang City, as an ECP, had a cumulative difference of CNY 11.759 billion between its accounted GEP and actual GEP output over the three years. Neijiang City, Zigong City, and Luzhou City were taken as the ECR, receiving the GEP revenues as CNY 11.289 billion, 7.661 billion, and 1.497 billion, respectively. Chengdu City changed from the ECP to the ECR and ultimately to the ECP. However, Ziyang City and Meishan City changed from the ECP to the ECR. The eco-compensations increased to varying degrees during 2018–2020 in both game scenarios, with ECP payments and ECR revenues increasing by 16.5% and 4.6% in the non-cooperative game and by 5.0% and 50.8% in the cooperative game. Particularly, the eco-compensation obtained by the cooperative game had better environmental and economic performance, as there was a total of CNY 7.049 billion being saved. However, there was no savings of compensation by the non-cooperative game. It is expected that the results may provide insight into the design of the eco-compensation standard for a river basin. Full article

This article investigates ufaFabrik’s practice within Berlin’s urban context, which emerged from an occupation of an abandoned site and evolved into a long-term experiment in radical place-making. Through this case study analysis, it explores the role of radical place-making in shaping urban policy, focusing on the dimensions of decision, place and policy. Drawing on an expanded conceptualisation of place-making that embraces a radical perspective, the study is based on a Ph.D. programme and on extensive field research. ufaFabrik has given place-making a political meaning, challenging conventional urban planning in relation to ‘undecided’ spaces. This paradigm of place-making represents grassroots activism and insurgent action and it can catalyse both local and urban transformations. Through a critical analysis of the limits and possibilities of radical place-making practice, the article argues that the ufaFabrik offers valuable insights into the potential of participatory and community-led approaches to reshape urban spaces and promote more inclusive and sustainable forms of urban governance. The study highlights how the re-politicisation of urban issues emerges from conflict and challenges established power dynamics. It highlights the interconnection between ‘place’ and ‘making’, weaving experiential and generative elements into the urban discourse, highlighting its transformative potential and reconfiguration of decision-making dynamics. Full article