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Integrating Green Infrastructure, Ecosystem Services and Nature-Based Solutions for Landscape...
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Integrating Green Infrastructure, Ecosystem Services and Nature-Based Solutions for Landscape Sustainability

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (23 March 2024) | Viewed by 4722

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Xuening Fang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Environmental and Geographical Sciences, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai 200234, China
Interests: landscape ecology; urban sustainability; ecosystem services; green infrastructure; nature-based solutions
Dr. Qin Ye

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Environmental and Geographical Sciences, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai 200234, China
Interests: economic geography; sustainable development
Dr. Qiang Feng

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Resources and Environment, Shanxi University of Finance and Economics, Taiyuan 030006, China
Interests: ecosystem services; land use and cover change; landscape ecology
Dr. Cailin Wang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Resources, Environment and Architectural Engineering, Chifeng University, Chifeng 024000, China
Interests: sustainable development; ecosystem services; emergency response; disaster management

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

A grand challenge of our time is to meet the increasing needs of a growing population while protecting the environment, which is now widely known as the sustainability challenge. Whereas all spatial scales, from individuals and local ecosystems to the global society and the biosphere, are relevant to address sustainability challenges, the landscape/region scale is more operational than others.

Landscape sustainability is the capacity of a landscape to consistently provide long-term, landscape-specific ecosystem services essential for maintaining and improving human well-being in a regional context and despite environmental and sociocultural changes.  In addition to the concept of ecosystem services, two other relatively recent concepts have great potential for promoting landscape sustainability: green infrastructure and nature-based solutions. 

Ecosystem services focus on the processes and structure of an ecosystem and the beneficial effects of ecosystem process outcomes for people.   Green infrastructure can be understood as a strategic planning approach that takes these functional benefits of ESs for “granted”; it thus aims to develop networks of green and blue spaces in landscapes, designed and managed to deliver a wide range of ESs.  Finally, the concept of nature-based solutions focuses on problems and challenges of an environmental or social nature.  All three concepts are interrelated and have a complementary character to a certain degree in promoting landscape sustainability.  Thus, this Special Issue aims at collecting papers mainly related to:

  • Theoretical and empirical studies on integrating ES, GI and NBS for addressing landscape challenges;
  • Methodological advancements for landscape sustainability, particularly through applications of ES, GI or NBS;
  • Case studies in using ES, GI or NBS for creating and maintaining sustainable landscapes.

Dr. Xuening Fang
Dr. Qin Ye
Dr. Qiang Feng
Dr. Cailin Wang
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

  • ecosystem services
  • green infrastructure
  • nature-based solutions
  • landscape sustainability

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 3593 KiB  
Article
Study on Driving Factors and Spatiotemporal Differentiation of Eco-Environmental Quality in Jianghuai River Basin of China
by Hong Cai, Xueqing Ma, Pengyu Chen and Yanlong Guo
Sustainability 2024, 16(11), 4586; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16114586 - 28 May 2024
Viewed by 597
Abstract
For an in-depth analysis of the ecosystems of the Jianghuai Valley, this study utilized municipal data from 2017 to 2021. In addition, this study established an index scale evaluation system for the quality of the ecological environment in the Jianghuai Valley. This system [...] Read more.
For an in-depth analysis of the ecosystems of the Jianghuai Valley, this study utilized municipal data from 2017 to 2021. In addition, this study established an index scale evaluation system for the quality of the ecological environment in the Jianghuai Valley. This system encompasses five critical dimensions: drivers, pressures, states, impacts, and responses, in accordance with the DPSIR model. The entropy-weighted TOPSIS method combined with the gray correlation method was used to assess the ecological status of each region of the Jianghuai Valley at different time periods and the driving factors affecting the ecological quality of the Jianghuai Valley. Our study yields several key conclusions. First, it was observed that the ecological environment within the Jianghuai Valley showed a continuous upward bias in inter-annual variability. Second, there exists variation in ecological environment quality among the eleven urban areas within the Jianghuai Valley, highlighting regional disparities. Third, among the eleven urban areas in the Jianghuai Valley, Anqing has the best ecological quality, and Huainan has the worst ecological performance. Fourth, the ecological environment quality within the Jianghuai Valley demonstrates an aggregated pattern. From west to east, this pattern is delineated by distinct areas: one marked by excellent ecological environment quality, another exhibiting average ecological environment quality, followed by a zone characterized by good ecological environment quality, and finally, an area with poor ecological environment. Fifth, our analysis reveals that Q9 (indicating the percentage of excellent air days) and Q13 (denoting the annual average temperature) have a pronounced correlation with the Jianghuai Valley’s ecological quality. Conversely, Q3, which pertains to the rate of natural population growth, had the lowest relevance to the ecological quality of the Jianghuai Valley. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Integrating Green Infrastructure, Ecosystem Services and Nature-Based Solutions for Landscape Sustainability)
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25 pages, 8147 KiB  
Article
Functional Measurements, Pattern Evolution, and Coupling Characteristics of “Production-Living-Ecological Space” in the Yangtze Delta Region
by Jiaheng Zhu, Zhengyong Shang, Cheng Long and Song Lu
Sustainability 2023, 15(24), 16712; https://doi.org/10.3390/su152416712 - 10 Dec 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1143
Abstract
Based on the “Production-Living-Ecological Space” evaluation system, we hereby form its functional index and take the results of corresponding functional measurement to analyze the spatial pattern, functional evolution, and coupling characteristics of the “Production-Living-Ecological Space” of the Yangtze Delta Region. The results show [...] Read more.
Based on the “Production-Living-Ecological Space” evaluation system, we hereby form its functional index and take the results of corresponding functional measurement to analyze the spatial pattern, functional evolution, and coupling characteristics of the “Production-Living-Ecological Space” of the Yangtze Delta Region. The results show that: (1) From the spatial pattern, the production space is mainly distributed in the plain areas. The living space is concentrated in the dense urban areas along the Yangtze River, the East Sea, and the East Jiangsu–Gansu Line. The ecological space is concentrated in mountainous hill areas. (2) From the spatial transformation, production space expands slightly, living space continues to expand, and ecological space shrinks significantly. (3) The functionality of “Production-Living-Ecological Space” exhibits a high level in hilly mountainous areas and a low level in plains, with an overall downward trend. Notably, the core cities within the Yangtze Delta Region have experienced the most significant decline in functionality. (4) The natural environment is the decisive factor for the overall pattern of “Production-Living-Ecological Space”, while economic and social development is the core driving force of the evolution of the spatial pattern, and regional integration is the catalyst of the evolution of the spatial pattern. (5) The coupling coordination of “production-ecology” is exceptionally strong, with the living function holding an overwhelmingly dominant position. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Integrating Green Infrastructure, Ecosystem Services and Nature-Based Solutions for Landscape Sustainability)
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16 pages, 8781 KiB  
Article
Construction of an Ecological Security Pattern in Yangtze River Delta Based on Circuit Theory
by Jiaquan Duan, Yue ‘e Cao, Bo Liu, Yinyin Liang, Jinyu Tu, Jiahui Wang and Yeyang Li
Sustainability 2023, 15(16), 12374; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151612374 - 15 Aug 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1240
Abstract
Ecological corridors can improve the connectivity between different habitat regions, ultimately halting the loss of biodiversity and habitat fragmentation. Building ecological corridors is a crucial step in protecting biodiversity. Ecological corridors had previously been built primarily on nature reserves, ignoring ecosystem services. In [...] Read more.
Ecological corridors can improve the connectivity between different habitat regions, ultimately halting the loss of biodiversity and habitat fragmentation. Building ecological corridors is a crucial step in protecting biodiversity. Ecological corridors had previously been built primarily on nature reserves, ignoring ecosystem services. In this study, a novel approach to building ecological corridors is put forth that takes into account a variety of ecosystem services, morphological spatial pattern analysis (MSPA), and connectivity methodologies to identify significant ecological sources. Ecological corridors and significant strategic nodes are created based on the minimum cumulative resistance model (MCR) and circuit theory in order to construct the Yangtze River Delta’s ecological security pattern. The research found that: (1) the identified ecological sources are 90,821.84 km2, and the total length of ecological corridors is 4704.03 km. (2) In total, 141 ecological restoration areas are identified, with a total area of 2302.77 km2; 151 ecological protection areas are identified, with a total area of 5303.43 km2. This study can provide valuable insights into the establishment of ecological patterns and the construction of priority restoration and protection areas in the ecological restoration of the Yangtze River Delta. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Integrating Green Infrastructure, Ecosystem Services and Nature-Based Solutions for Landscape Sustainability)
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18 pages, 4213 KiB  
Article
Ecosystem Services Supply–Demand Matching and Its Driving Factors: A Case Study of the Shanxi Section of the Yellow River Basin, China
by Mingjing Xu, Qiang Feng, Shurong Zhang, Meng Lv and Baoling Duan
Sustainability 2023, 15(14), 11016; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151411016 - 14 Jul 2023
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1203
Abstract
Understanding the supply–demand relationships and driving mechanisms of ecosystem services (ES) provides a theoretical foundation for sustainable ecosystem management. This study utilized Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) models and geographical detectors to quantify the spatial–temporal patterns of the supply, demand, [...] Read more.
Understanding the supply–demand relationships and driving mechanisms of ecosystem services (ES) provides a theoretical foundation for sustainable ecosystem management. This study utilized Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) models and geographical detectors to quantify the spatial–temporal patterns of the supply, demand, and supply–demand ratio of ESs such as water yield, soil conservation, and carbon sequestration, along with their driving factors, in the Shanxi section of the Yellow River Basin. The results show that: (1) From the year 2000 to 2020, although the supply and demand of water yield, soil conservation, and carbon sequestration fluctuated, they generally increased during this period of time. In comparison to ecosystem services from the year 2000 to 2020, the supply of water yield exceeded the demand in 2020. The supply, demand, and supply–demand ratio of ESs exhibited notable spatial heterogeneity. (2) The most notable factors influencing the supply–demand ratio of water yield varied between 2000 and 2020. In 2000, construction land was the most important factor, while in 2020, cropland had the greatest impact. However, the primary factors affecting the supply–demand ratio of soil conservation and carbon sequestration remained the same in 2000 and 2020. Forestland was the primary factor in 2000, while construction land was the primary factor in 2020. (3) Considering interaction factors, the interaction factors between construction land and precipitation had the greatest impact on the supply–demand ratio of water yield in 2000, while the interaction between forestland and cropland had the greatest impact in 2020. The interaction between cropland and shrubland had the greatest impact on the supply–demand ratio of soil conservation in 2000, whereas the interaction factors between construction land and forestland had the greatest impact in 2020. The interaction between construction land and shrubland had the greatest impact on the supply–demand ratio of carbon sequestration in 2000, while the interaction between construction land and cropland had the greatest impact in 2020. Overall, the interaction between construction land and various land-use factors had the strongest explanation for the supply–demand ratio of ecosystem services. This study can serve as a reference for the comprehensive development and utilization of the Shanxi section of the Yellow River Basin. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Integrating Green Infrastructure, Ecosystem Services and Nature-Based Solutions for Landscape Sustainability)
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