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Ecological Environment Changes, Evaluation and Sustainable Strategy
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Ecological Environment Changes, Evaluation and Sustainable Strategy

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 October 2023) | Viewed by 5809

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Yiping Chen

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi’an 710061, China
Interests: applied ecology; environmental biology; environmental geography; ecological agriculture
Dr. Yan Zhao

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi’an 710061, China
Interests: eco-environmental risk assessment; management; ecosystem services
Dr. Jifu Ma

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Life Sciences, Yan'an University, Yan'an 716000, China
Interests: soil environment evaluation and reclamation
Dr. Dong Chen

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Qinling Ecological Security, Shaanxi Institute of Zoology, Xi’an 710032, China
Interests: ecological restoration; environmental management

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The ecological environment has suffered severe damage as a result of global economic growth since the industrial revolution, which threatens the survival and development of humankind. Global environmental damage has led to catastrophic consequences such as species extinction, land desertification, global warming, declining forest areas, the depletion of freshwater resources, and marine pollution. Human activity will continue to negatively impact ecological elements, ecological structures, ecological functions, and environmental quality, and cause frequent natural disasters.

What is the path to harmony between humans and nature? How big are the ecological environment thresholds of different regions? How can we better summarize sustainable methods that can be adopted by policy makers based on attention to ecological changes and their assessment results?

To understand and develop sustainable policies in response to ecological change, sustainable nature-based, human-based, and eco-engineering technology-based solutions are required. Sustainability assessments of both ecosystem services and life-cycles are effective approaches. Only when the research results are translated into policies can they truly promote social progress. It is challenging to translate research findings into policy and to develop straightforward tools for sustainability assessment and strategic outputs. Therefore, in this Special Issue, we welcome original research articles and reviews that focus on the following:

  • Environmental pollution and change;
  • Environmental pollution remediation;
  • Evaluation of ecological quality, risk and health;
  • Ecosystem changes and their driving factors under human disturbance;
  • Future predictions of environmental changes;
  • Sustainability assessment;
  • Ecological management and sustainable strategies;
  • Dynamic monitoring and the analysis of factors influencing environment changes.

Prof. Dr. Yiping Chen
Dr. Yan Zhao
Dr. Jifu Ma
Dr. Dong Chen
Guest Editors

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

  • environmental change
  • environmental evaluation
  • pollution and health
  • environmental remediation
  • ecological management
  • sustainability assessment
  • sustainable strategies

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

29 pages, 41523 KiB  
Article
Fatala River Basin (Republic of Guinea, Africa): Analysis of Current State, Air Pollution, and Anthropogenic Impact Using Geoinformatics Methods and Remote Sensing Data
by Vladimir Tabunschik, Roman Gorbunov, Nikolai Bratanov, Tatiana Gorbunova, Natalia Mirzoeva and Veronika Voytsekhovskaya
Sustainability 2023, 15(22), 15798; https://doi.org/10.3390/su152215798 - 9 Nov 2023
Viewed by 994
Abstract
This study conducts an in-depth analysis of anthropogenic transformation and air pollution within the confines of the Fatala River Basin situated in the Republic of Guinea, Africa. The foundation of this investigation relies upon interdisciplinary geoinformatics methodologies and data acquired through remote sensing, [...] Read more.
This study conducts an in-depth analysis of anthropogenic transformation and air pollution within the confines of the Fatala River Basin situated in the Republic of Guinea, Africa. The foundation of this investigation relies upon interdisciplinary geoinformatics methodologies and data acquired through remote sensing, specifically drawing from Sentinel-5P and Sentinel-2 satellite datasets. The primary objectives encompass scrutinizing the extant ecological conditions characterizing the Fatala River Basin and assessing the anthropogenic influences within its geographic expanse. The utilization of remote sensing data, as facilitated by the Sentinel-5P satellite, emerges as a potent instrument for meticulously monitoring environmental transformations. A comprehensive analysis of the designated area, conducted through remote sensing methodologies, is employed to ascertain the concentrations of various atmospheric constituents, including nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, formaldehyde, methane, ozone, and carbon monoxide. The findings gleaned from this inquiry reveal that, notwithstanding the dynamic growth of the extractive industry centered around the world’s preeminent bauxite province, the Fouta Djallon–Mandingo, the anthropogenic transformation of the Fatala River Basin exerts a comparatively minor influence on air quality. Statistical assessments, including correlation analysis, conducted between computed parameters delineating anthropogenic alterations within the Fatala River Basin, and a comprehensive atmospheric pollution index elucidate a lack of a significant nexus. It has been determined that air pollution within the Fatala River Basin is notably influenced by topographical features and the transport of contaminants from adjacent river basins. Consequently, this article makes a substantial contribution to our comprehension of the contemporary ecological state of the Fatala River Basin in the Republic of Guinea. It also holds significant importance in elucidating the ecological challenges specific to the researched region. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecological Environment Changes, Evaluation and Sustainable Strategy)
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25 pages, 2956 KiB  
Article
Escaping the Lock-in to Pesticide Use: Do Vietnamese Farmers Respond to Flower Strips as a Restoration Practice or Pest Management Action?
by Finbarr G. Horgan, Quynh Vu, Enrique A. Mundaca, Shweta Dabholkar, Mark Davis, Josef Settele and Eduardo Crisol-Martínez
Sustainability 2023, 15(16), 12508; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151612508 - 17 Aug 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1471
Abstract
Ecological engineering using linear flower strips is proposed as an alternative to insecticide-based rice pest management. However, its success depends on farmers’ appreciations of related interventions as part of an ecosystem restoration process. We examined agronomic and pest management responses to flower strips [...] Read more.
Ecological engineering using linear flower strips is proposed as an alternative to insecticide-based rice pest management. However, its success depends on farmers’ appreciations of related interventions as part of an ecosystem restoration process. We examined agronomic and pest management responses to flower strips among 305 farmers surveyed at 12 villages in the Mekong Delta Region (MDR) of Vietnam. Practices by conventional farmers at the same villages were used as a baseline. The ecological engineering farmers mainly integrated flower strips with pest management practices by reducing insecticide applications before 40 days after rice crop establishment (ca 38% of farmers; 9% more than on conventional farms). Flower strips were also associated with less frequent and irregular insecticide applications or with insecticide-free rice (i.e., possibly IPM: ca 19% of ecological engineering farmers). Otherwise, farmers (ca 43% of ecological engineering farmers) continued to apply insecticides prophylactically and, in some cases, applied more insecticides than their conventional neighbors. Flower strips were not associated with reductions in any other pesticides. Reported yields were not directly affected by flower strips or pesticide inputs. Our results suggest that ecological engineering was not widely regarded by participating farmers as an ecosystem restoration practice, but rather, as a pest management action. Further promotion of flower strips as a component of ecosystem restoration is required to break the lock-in to pesticide use at ecologically engineered rice farms in the MDR. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecological Environment Changes, Evaluation and Sustainable Strategy)
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19 pages, 10650 KiB  
Article
Air Quality Impacts on the Giant Panda Habitat in the Qinling Mountains: Chemical Characteristics and Sources of Elements in PM2.5
by Junhua Wu, Yiping Chen, Yan Zhao, Yong Zhang, Wangang Liu, Jin Wang, Qiyuan Wang and Xiangbo He
Sustainability 2023, 15(10), 8330; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15108330 - 20 May 2023
Viewed by 1536
Abstract
The wild giant panda habitat is inaccessible and far away from the main areas of human activity, so environmental pollutants entering the habitat are mainly the result of external migration and spread through the atmospheric advection and diffusion processes and particulate matter deposition. [...] Read more.
The wild giant panda habitat is inaccessible and far away from the main areas of human activity, so environmental pollutants entering the habitat are mainly the result of external migration and spread through the atmospheric advection and diffusion processes and particulate matter deposition. To research the variation, transmission route, chemical characteristics, and source of PM2.5 in the habitat of wild giant pandas, we set up a PM2.5 sampling point near the Shaanxi Foping National Nature Reserve (SFNNR), which is the area with the highest population density of wild giant pandas in the Qinling Mountains. The 12-month average concentration of PM2.5 was 11.3 ± 7.9 μg/m3 from July 2021 to June 2022, and the 12-month average concentration did not exceed the limit value set in the standard. In the results of our analysis of element concentrations, As and Pb were much lower than the limit standard. Si, S, P, and Cl accounted for 99.60% of nonmetallic elements, while the proportion of the six metallic elements, Na, Mg, Al, K, Ca, and Fe, was 96.27%. According to the analysis results of enrichment factor (EF) and pollutant emission sources, there were four sources for the total elements in PM2.5, which were mainly distributed in the areas around the reserve. These included dust, coal combustion, biomass burning, and traffic-related emissions, which contributed 55.10%, 24.78%, 11.91%, and 8.22% of the total element mass in PM2.5, respectively. Additionally, Pb, Cu, Zn, As, Sc, Co, Ga, Mg, and, especially, Se were severely affected by human activities (coal burning, biomass burning, and traffic-related emissions). In the villages and towns around the wild giant panda habitat, the majority of energy for cooking and heating comes from coal and biomass burning, and older vehicles with high emissions are used more frequently. Therefore, to better protect the health of and reduce the impact of environmental pollution on wild giant pandas, we put forward relevant recommendations, including upgrading the energy structure of towns and villages near the habitat to increase the proportion of clean energy, such as photovoltaic power generation, natural gas, etc.; decreasing the combustion of coal and biomass; encouraging the upgrading of agricultural diesel machines and older vehicles used in these areas; and setting limits on vehicle emissions in areas surrounding the habitat. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecological Environment Changes, Evaluation and Sustainable Strategy)
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15 pages, 3621 KiB  
Article
Spatial Distribution of Soil Water and Salt in a Slightly Salinized Farmland
by Zengming Ke, Xiaoli Liu, Lihui Ma, Feng Jiao and Zhanli Wang
Sustainability 2023, 15(8), 6872; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15086872 - 19 Apr 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1069
Abstract
It is important to study the mechanisms associated with the spatial distribution of soil water and salt to control soil salinization and promote the sustainable development of farmland. Six plots in a slight farmland with different spatial locations were selected to determine the [...] Read more.
It is important to study the mechanisms associated with the spatial distribution of soil water and salt to control soil salinization and promote the sustainable development of farmland. Six plots in a slight farmland with different spatial locations were selected to determine the spatial distribution of soil water and salt and their correlation using the multifractal method. Each plot was applied using the grid method (15 m × 15 m, 3600 m2), where each sampling site was located at the center point coordinates. The 0–20 and 20–40 cm soil layers were sampled.The spatial variability of the soil water and salt were 1.41 and 1.73 fold higher in the upstream farmland than in the downstream farmland. The spatial variability of the soil water and salt was significantly correlated. In addition, the spatial variability of the soil water and salt significantly correlated in the 0–20 and 20–40 cm layers. The spatial distribution of both soil water and salt in the entire soil layer had similar characteristics at this sampling scale. Our results provide a theoretical basis to study the interactive mechanisms associated with the distribution of soil water and salt. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecological Environment Changes, Evaluation and Sustainable Strategy)
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