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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Sustainability and Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2019) | Viewed by 14612

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Dr. Jerry Maroulis

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Soil Physics and Land Management, Wageningen University and Research, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
Interests: geomorphological processes; sustainable land management; land degradation and remediation; quaternary environments; climate change mitigation and adaptation; online learning
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue is sustainable futures-focused, being especially geared towards exploring the sustainable management of the environment and its resources.

We welcome holistic and integrated scientific research approaches that investigate and explore sustainable solutions to environmental issues (from exploring the issues/problems, to methods/approaches to addressing the issue/s, to solutions that are sustainable). We are especially seeking sustainable and innovative solutions that will hopefully hold the key to maintaining viable ecosystems and communities into the future, ensuring productive and viable food production whilst also valuing the environment, communities, societies, and future generations, in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Furthermore, in considering long-term and sustainable solutions, we are also encouraging research that considers the potential policy implications of such a scientific investigation.

In addition, research investigating the important role of education at all levels, ensuring that sustainable solutions are embraced into the future, is also welcomed.

Finally, research that explores the impact and effectiveness of climate mitigation and climate adaptation strategies and how they impact the long-term viability of natural systems is encouraged.

Dr. Jerry Maroulis
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

Sustainable management
Environmental resource management strategies
Integrated strategies and policies
Remediation approaches and solutions focused
Impacts of climate mitigation and adaptation
Sustainable remediation strategies
Environmental sustainability
Pedagogical approaches to sustainability

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

22 pages, 11253 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Necessity of a Multifaceted Approach in Analyzing Growth of Impervious Surfaces

by Ghali Abdullahi Abubakar, Jiexia Wu, Amir Reza Shahtahmassebi and Ke Wang

Sustainability 2020, 12(10), 4109; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12104109 - 18 May 2020

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1889

Abstract

While substantial efforts have been devoted to the remote sensing of impervious surfaces, few studies have developed frameworks to connect impervious surfaces’ growth with spatial planning decisions. To this end, this paper develops a multifaceted approach with three components: Visualization, numerical analysis, and simulation at the sub-pixel level. First, the growth of impervious surfaces was visualized through write function memory (WFM) insertion for the period of 1974–2009 of Cixi County in Zhejiang Province, China. Second, anomaly detection, statistical analysis, and landscape metrics were used to quantify changes in impervious surfaces over time. Finally, a slope, land use, exclusion, urban extent, transportation, and hill shade (SLEUTH) cellular automata model was employed to simulate the impervious surface growth until 2015 under four specific spatial decision scenarios: Current trends, environmental protection growth, business growth, and Chinese policy for protecting rural regions. The results show that Cixi County experienced compact growth due to expansion and internal intensification. Interestingly, the SLEUTH reveals that the projected space of impervious surfaces’ growth was consistent with reality in 2015. The framework established in this study holds considerable potential for improving our understanding of the interaction between impervious surfaces’ growth and planning aspects. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Environments: Issues, Processes, and Solutions)

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13 pages, 2308 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Study on Unsteady Flow Based on Optimized Water Distribution Model in Irrigation District

by Jingjing Wu, Jian Chen, Yu Han and Tongshu Li

Sustainability 2020, 12(4), 1580; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12041580 - 20 Feb 2020

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1904

Abstract

The canal delivery system is the main infrastructure of agricultural irrigation. The efficiency of water use in agriculture can be achieved by mastering the dynamic process of unsteady flow in the channel. In this study, an unsteady flow model for the calculation of the water flow transition information of the river channel during the water distribution process was established, based on the water distribution scheme given by the backtracking-search algorithm (BSA). This model was more suitable for areas with inefficient channel systems. The research areas included the main irrigation channels in Xiying City, which is one of the typical agricultural areas in northwestern China. The scheme obtained by optimal solution proposed for Xiying Irrigation District was feasible. According to the results of the flow simulations, the sluice gate calculation correlation could determine the change process of the gate opening of each channel, which provided a basis to realize the modernization of the irrigation area. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Environments: Issues, Processes, and Solutions)

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21 pages, 12190 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Geomorphometric Assessment of the Impacts of Dam Construction on River Disconnectivity and Flow Regulation in the Yangtze Basin

by Xiankun Yang, Xixi Lu, Lishan Ran and Paolo Tarolli

Sustainability 2019, 11(12), 3427; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11123427 - 21 Jun 2019

Cited by 17 | Viewed by 4297

Abstract

Rivers are under increasing pressure from anthropogenic impacts with incremental dam construction, experiencing global and regional alteration due to river disconnectivity, flow regulation, and sediment reduction. Assessing the cumulative impacts of dams on river disconnectivity in large river basins can help us better understand how humans disintegrate river systems and change the natural flow regimes. Using the Yangtze basin as the study area, this study employed three modified metrics (river connectivity index, RCI; basin disconnectivity index, BDI; and the degree of regulation for each river section, DOR) to evaluate the cumulative impacts on river disconnectivity over the past 50 years. The results indicated that the Yangtze had experienced strong alterations, despite varying degrees and spatial patterns. Among the major tributaries, the greatest impact (lowest RCI value) happened in the Wu tributary basin due to the construction of cascade dams on the main stem of the tributary, while the lowest impact (highest RCI value) happened in the Fu tributary basin, which still has no dams on its main stem. Collectively, rivers in the upper Yangtze reaches experienced more serious disturbances than their counterparts in the middle and lower reaches. The BDI results displayed that a substantial part of the Yangtze River, especially the Wu, Min, Jialing, and Yuan tributaries, only maintain connectivity among one to three representative river systems. No part of the Yangtze connects all the 12 representative river systems. This study also revealed that small dams can also exert significant impacts in flow regulation on regional river systems through their sheer number and density. The study results can help promote more environmentally sustainable river management policies in the Yangtze basin. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Environments: Issues, Processes, and Solutions)

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20 pages, 31580 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Study of the Pedestrianized Zone for Tourists: Urban Design Effects on Humans’ Thermal Comfort in Fo Shan City, Southern China

by Xuan Ma, Hiroatsu Fukuda, Dian Zhou and Mengying Wang

Sustainability 2019, 11(10), 2774; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11102774 - 15 May 2019

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 3644

Abstract

Ling Nan Tian Di block is in Fo Shan city, which is in the hot-summer and warm-winter climate area of China and is a very important scenic spot. A pedestrianized zone aims to provide a commercial and recreational center for tourists. The utilization of it is determined by the outdoor microclimate, which affects not only humans’ thermal sensation but also the commercial value; thus, putting forward the best time of day to visit this region in extreme summer is very necessary. Using the result of this work, tourists can choose the most comfortable time of day with the most suitable thermal conditions to visit this pedestrianized zone. To this end, we conducted field measurements and numerical simulations to analyze thermal sensation. In addition, a field questionnaire survey was utilized to evaluate the thermal comfort range for tourists. The analyzed result shows that the thermal comfort range of tourists is a physiological equivalent temperature (PET) of 22 to 28 °C and the neutral PET is 25 °C. The final thermal calendar shows that the whole commercial zone is within the comfort range after 7:00 p.m. During the daytime, except for the open space without vegetation, the whole region is in the comfort range from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Environments: Issues, Processes, and Solutions)

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12 pages, 1008 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of N Addition Frequency and Quantity on Hydrocotyle vulgaris Growth and Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Wetland Microcosms

by Qian-Wei Li, Xiao-Ya Zhang, Jun-Qin Gao, Ming-Hua Song, Jin-Feng Liang and Yi Yue

Sustainability 2019, 11(6), 1520; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11061520 - 13 Mar 2019

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2466

Abstract

(1) Background: Increased attention has been paid to atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition caused by human activities. N deposition quantity has seriously affected plant productivity and greenhouse gas emissions in wetlands, but the effects of N deposition frequency remain unclear. (2) Methods: We assembled microcosms, which contained vegetative individuals (ramets) of Hydrocotyle vulgaris and soil and subjected them to three frequencies (N addition 1, 2, and 14 times during the experimental period) crossed with three quantities (5, 15, and 30 g N m⁻² yr⁻¹) for 90 days. (3) Results: The quantity of N addition significantly increased the root, stem biomass, and ramets number of H. vulgaris, but decreased the spike biomass. N addition quantity significantly promoted N₂O emission and inhibited CH₄ emission but had no significant effect on CO₂ emission. The increasing frequency of N addition significantly promoted the root-to-shoot ratio and decreased N₂O emission under high N addition quantity. (4) Conclusions: In conclusion, N addition alters the reproductive strategy of H. vulgaris and enhances its invasiveness, promoting N₂O emission but not the CO₂ equivalent of the H. vulgaris-soil system. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Environments: Issues, Processes, and Solutions)

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