Search Results (477)

Urban economic development together with the concentration of population acts as a major stimulus for changes in land-use configurations, thereby reshaping local ecosystems and influencing habitat quality. Conducting a rigorous evaluation of the temporal–spatial dynamics and the mechanisms underlying these changes is crucial for refining spatial management strategies, improving urban livability, and steering cities toward sustainable pathways. In this research, we established a comprehensive analytical framework that integrates the PLUS model, the InVEST model, and the GeoDetector model to examine shifts in land-use patterns and habitat quality in Busan Metropolitan City during 1988–2019 to pinpoint the principal influencing factors and to project possible trajectories for 2029–2049 under multiple climate change scenarios. The key findings can be summarized as follows: (1) during the last thirty years, the city’s land-use structure underwent substantial transformation, with forested areas and built-up zones becoming the primary categories, indicating continuous urban encroachment and the reduction in ecological land; (2) the average habitat quality dropped by 18.23%, displaying a distinct spatial gradient from low values in plains and coastal areas to higher values in mountainous and inland zones; (3) results from the GeoDetector revealed that variations in land-use type and NDVI exerted the greatest influence on habitat quality differences, reflecting the combined impacts of environmental conditions and socio-economic pressures; (4) scenario projections show that the SSP1-2.6 pathway supports ecological land growth and leads to a notable improvement in habitat quality, while SSP5-8.5 causes ongoing deterioration driven by the expansion of construction land. The SSP2-4.5 pathway demonstrates a relatively moderate pattern, balancing urban development needs with ecological preservation and thus is more consistent with the long-term sustainability objectives of Busan. This study provides a robust scientific basis for understanding historical and projected changes in land cover and habitat quality in Busan and offers theoretical guidance for optimizing land-use structures, strengthening ecological protection, and fostering sustainable development in Busan and other coastal mountainous cities. Full article

Bacteriophages (phages) play a pivotal role in shaping microbial communities and driving bacterial evolution. Among the diverse mechanisms governing phage–host interactions, the Arbitrium (ARM) communication system represents a recently discovered paradigm in phage decision-making between the lytic and lysogenic cycles. Initially identified in Bacillus-infecting phages, the ARM system employs a quorum-sensing-like peptide signaling mechanism to modulate infection dynamics and optimize population-level survival strategies. Recent studies have elucidated the structural and functional basis of ARM regulation, highlighting its potential applications in antimicrobial therapy, microbiome engineering, and synthetic biology. The significance of ARM systems lies in their ability to regulate bacterial population stability and influence the evolutionary trajectories of microbial ecosystems. Despite being a relatively recent discovery, ARM systems have garnered considerable attention due to their role in decoding phage population dynamics at the molecular level and their promising biotechnological applications. This review synthesizes current advancements in understanding ARM systems, including their molecular mechanisms, ecological implications, and translational potential. By integrating recent findings, we provide a comprehensive framework to guide future research on phage–host communication and its potential for innovative therapeutic strategies. Full article

Natural silk textiles are regarded as integral components of cultural heritage, historically embedded within centuries of sericulture, natural dyeing, and communal weaving. The preservation of intangible cultural heritage in northeast Thailand is investigated through natural sericulture, plant-dyed silk—frequently produced with Indigofera tinctoria—and recent dyeing innovations. A qualitative methodology was employed, guided by the trajectory equifinality model (TEM). Interviews were undertaken with fifteen women weavers from Maha Sarakham Province. Through TEM analysis, four thematic domains were identified: natural sericulture, plant-dyed silk, dyeing innovations, and intangible cultural heritage (ICH). Plant-dyed silk textile production, sustained by ecological sericulture and dyeing practices, was found to support the safeguarding and promotion of intangible cultural heritage. Heritage preservation in the region was demonstrated to be reinforced by sustainable sericulture and innovative plant-dyeing. Full article

To address biodiversity degradation in Nationally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems, this study integrates multi-temporal remote sensing data (2000–2023) with the Biodiversity Maintenance Function (BMF) and InVEST Habitat Quality (HQ) models. We assess ecological changes in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei (BTH) region and 14 nationally recognized heritage systems. A dual-factor HQ–BMF coupling matrix was developed to trace ecological trajectories shaped by both natural and anthropogenic influences. Results show that (1) regional BMF followed a non-linear trend of increase, decline, and rebound between 2003 and 2023. The mean value rose from 0.1036 in 2003 to 0.1397 in 2023, despite intermediate fluctuations. In contrast, HQ declined steadily from 0.8734 in 2003 to 0.7729 in 2023, reflecting a continuous loss of high-quality habitats. (2) Nearly all heritage systems experienced phased BMF fluctuations—an initial rise, subsequent decline, and eventual recovery. At the same time, HQ showed a continuous decline in 8 of the 14 systems, indicating that more than half of the systems experienced sustained habitat degradation. (3) The HQ–BMF matrix revealed strong spatial heterogeneity. By 2023, only one site remained in a “dual-high” zone, while another had fallen into a “dual-low” condition, suggesting localized ecological degradation. These findings provide quantitative support for conservation strategies, ecological compensation, and land-use regulation in agricultural heritage systems. Full article

Marine shelled organisms exhibit diverse growth strategies shaped by species-specific traits and environmental conditions that critically influence their ecological roles, particularly within Marine Animal Forests (MAF), which are structurally complex habitats and biodiversity-rich habitats. This review compiles and compares empirical growth data for 16 bivalve and gastropod species across seven families, classified as full MAF contributors (Pinna nobilis, Flexopecten glaber, Pecten maximus, and Placopecten magellanicus), partial MAF contributors (Cerastoderma edule, C. glaucum, Chamelea gallina, Ruditapes philippinarum, Mercenaria mercenaria, Panopea generosa, Anadara kagoshimensis, A. inaequivalvis, and Tegillarca granosa), and ecologically relevant non-MAF species (Buccinum undatum, Hexaplex trunculus, and Rapana venosa). Age estimation methods included direct techniques, such as shell growth ring and opercular annulus analysis, alongside indirect approaches, such as length-frequency analysis, stable isotope profiling, and mark–recapture studies. Growth trajectories were modelled using von Bertalanffy growth function (VBGF) parameters to estimate the shell size from ages 1 to 4. Based on these estimates, species were categorised into slow, moderate, fast, and exceptional growth groups. These classifications were further explored through hierarchical clustering that grouped species according to their VBGF-derived growth values, revealing consistent and contrasting life history strategies. This comparative analysis should enhance the understanding of molluscan growth dynamics and support the conservation and management of MAF-associated ecosystems by informing restoration planning, guiding species selection, and contributing to evidence-based policy development. Full article

Heavy metal pollution is becoming increasingly severe, and cadmium (Cd) is one of the most threatening pollutants. The PCR (Plant cadmium resistance) gene encodes a class of small transmembrane proteins containing the PLAC8 motif, which confer cadmium tolerance to plants through multiple mechanisms such as efflux, compartmentalization, chelation, and antioxidant activity, and regulate fruit size and ion homeostasis. This study systematically integrated the PLAC8/PCR gene families from mosses, monocots, and dicots, revealing their structural and functional relationships, evolutionary trajectories, and functional diversification patterns through phylogenetic and motif analyses, providing a theoretical basis for cadmium-resistant breeding and environmental remediation. Future research should further integrate multi-omics and gene editing technologies to deeply elucidate the transport mechanism of the PCR protein pentamer and the functional differences of key motifs (CCXXXXCPC, CCXXCAL, and CCXXG), and conduct field trials to assess their ecological safety and crop application potential. Full article

Saline lakes are distinct, understudied aquatic ecosystems, particularly those that are hydrologically isolated from marine environments. In British Columbia (BC), Canada, the scope and trajectory of scientific research on these systems remain largely undocumented. To address this gap, a meta-analysis was conducted of peer-reviewed scholarly articles focusing on both coastal and inland saline lakes to identify the primary research themes and assess temporal trends in scientific inquiry. The coastal meromictic lakes Sakinaw and Powell were included because of their retention of relict marine waters. Thematic areas of research spanned a diverse array of disciplines, including paleolimnology, neolimnology, halophilic insect and plant ecology, microbial diversity, and functional genomics, as well as astrobiology as analog environments for extraterrestrial life. Temporal analysis revealed variable research intensity across disciplines: the number of paleolimnological training sets has declined, whereas microbial genomics and astrobiological analog investigations have increased. Among inland saline lakes, Mahoney Lake, Pavilion Lake, and various saline lakes within the Cariboo region emerged as key sites of ecological and geochemical interest. This synthesis highlights both the ecological significance and scientific potential of BC’s saline lakes while underscoring the need for more systematic and interdisciplinary research to better understand their roles in broader environmental and evolutionary contexts. Full article

Agriculture is fundamental to food security and environmental sustainability. Advancing its holistic ecological transformation can stimulate socioeconomic progress while fostering human–nature harmony. Utilizing provincial data from mainland China (2013–2022), this research establishes a multidimensional evaluation framework across four pillars: agricultural ecology, low-carbon practices, modernization, and productivity enhancement. Through comprehensive assessment, we quantify China’s low-carbon green agriculture (LGA) development trajectory and conduct comparative regional analysis across eastern, central, and western zones. As for methods, this study employs multiple econometric approaches: LGA was quantified using the TOPSIS entropy weight method at the first step. Moreover, multidimensional spatial–temporal patterns were characterized through ArcGIS spatial analysis, Dagum Gini coefficient decomposition, Kernel density estimation, and Markov chain techniques, revealing regional disparities, evolutionary trajectories, and state transition dynamics. Last but not least, Tobit regression modeling identified driving mechanisms, informing improvement strategies derived from empirical evidence. The key findings reveal the following: 1. From 2013 to 2022, LGA in China fluctuated significantly. However, the current growth rate is basically maintained between 0% and 10%. Meanwhile, LGA in the vast majority of provinces exceeds 0.3705, indicating that LGA in China is currently in a stable growth period. 2. After 2016, the growth momentum in the central and western regions continued. The growth rate peaked in 2020, with some provinces having a growth rate exceeding 20%. Then the growth rate slowed down, and the intra-regional differences in all regions remained stable at around 0.11. 3. Inter-regional differences are the main factor causing the differences in national LGA, with contribution rates ranging from 67.14% to 74.86%. 4. LGA has the characteristic of polarization. Some regions have developed rapidly, while others have lagged behind. At the end of our ten-year study period, LGA in Yunnan, Guizhou and Shanxi was still below 0.2430, remaining in the low-level range. 5. In the long term, the possibility of improvement in LGA in various regions of China is relatively high, but there is a possibility of maintaining the status quo or “deteriorating”. Even provinces with a high level of LGA may be downgraded, with possibilities ranging from 1.69% to 4.55%. 6. The analysis of driving factors indicates that the level of economic development has a significant positive impact on the level of urban development, while the influences of urbanization, agricultural scale operation, technological input, and industrialization level on the level of urban development show significant regional heterogeneity. In summary, during the period from 2013 to 2022, although China’s LGA showed polarization and experienced ups and downs, it generally entered a period of stable growth. Among them, the inter-regional differences were the main cause of the unbalanced development across the country, but there was also a risk of stagnation and decline. Economic development was the general driving force, while other driving factors showed significant regional heterogeneity. Finally, suggestions such as differentiated development strategies, regional cooperation and resource sharing, and coordinated policy allocation were put forward for the development of LGA. This research is conducive to providing references for future LGA, offering policy inspirations for LGA in other countries and regions, and also providing new empirical results for the academic community. Full article

This theoretical article explores the contrasting ontologies, axiologies, and political economies of transhumanism and posthumanism. Transhumanism envisions the human as an enhanced, autonomous agent shaped by neoliberal and Enlightenment ideals. Posthumanism challenges this by emphasizing relationality, ecological entanglement, and critiques of commodification. Both engage with technology’s role in reshaping humanity. Drawing on Braidotti’s posthumanism, Haraway’s cyborg figuration, Ahmed’s politics of emotion, Berlant’s cruel optimism, Massumi’s affective modulation, Seigworth and Gregg’s affective intensities, Zuboff’s surveillance capitalism, Fisher’s capitalist realism, Cooper’s surplus life, Sadowski’s digital capitalism, Lupton’s quantified self, Schafheitle et al.’s datafied subject, Pasquale’s black box society, Terranova’s network culture, Bratton’s platform sovereignty, Dean’s communicative capitalism, and Morozov’s technological solutionism, the article elucidates how subjectivity, data, and infrastructure are reorganized by corporate systems. Introducing technogensis as the co-creation of human and technological subjectivities, it links corporate-platform practices to future trajectories governed by Apple, Meta, and Google. These branded technologies function not only as enhancements but as infrastructures of governance that commodify subjectivity, regulate affect and behavior, and reproduce socio-economic stratification. A future is extrapolated where humans are not liberated by technology but incubated, intubated, and ventilated by techno-conglomerate governments. These attention-monopolizing, affective-capturing, behavior-modulating, and profit-extracting platforms do more than enhance; they brand subjectivity, rendering existence subscription-based under the guise of personal optimization and freedom. This reframes transhumanism as a cybernetic intensification of liberal subjectivity, offering tools to interrogate governance, equity, agency, and democratic participation, and resist techno-utopian narratives. Building on this, a posthumanist alternative emphasizes relational, multispecies subjectivities, collective agency, and ecological accountability, outlining pathways for ethical design and participatory governance to resist neoliberal commodification and foster emergent, open-ended techno-social futures. Full article

Analyzing the status of food production in Qinghai Province and exploring the nexus between its ecological conservation and food supply are of critical significance. This study systematically synthesizes the evolution of ecological protection policies in Qinghai Province from 2000 to 2020 and delineates the spatiotemporal evolutionary patterns of grain production in Qinghai Province and their underpinning driving factors. The key findings are as follows. (1) From 2000 to 2020, the corpus of policies governing ecological governance measures in Qinghai Province exhibited a sustained growth trend, with management-oriented policies predominating. (2) The primary grain and meat-producing regions in Qinghai Province are predominantly clustered in the northeastern part, displaying a gradual intensification of concentration. From 2000 to 2020, grain production showed an upward trajectory in the northern region and a downward trend in the southern region, whereas meat production exhibited an ascending trend in both the northern and western regions. (3) Agricultural production conditions represent the principal drivers of grain and meat production in Qinghai Province. Specifically, two driving factors—common cultivated area and total power of agricultural machinery—have exerted significant positive effects on grain and meat production across over 30 counties. Ecological protection conditions have manifested heterogeneous effects across different regions of Qinghai Province; the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) has exerted a negative influence on grain and meat production in the eastern region while exerting a positive influence in the western region. Full article

The AP2/ERF transcription factor family plays pivotal roles in plant growth, stress responses, and defense mechanisms, yet its diversity in camphor trees remains underexplored. This study identified 154 AP2/ERF genes in the Camphora officinarum genome, with over 80% belonging to the ERF subfamily, a distribution consistent with other angiosperms. Synteny analysis revealed that tandem and segmental duplications were key drivers of family expansion, suggesting adaptive diversification under ecological pressures. Structural analysis showed that the majority of ERF/RAV subfamily genes possess a single-exon structure, whereas AP2 subfamily genes display muti-exon structures, indicating divergent evolutionary trajectories and potential functional versatility via alternative splicing. Promoter analyses detected numerous hormone- and stress-responsive elements, linking these genes to abscisic acid, auxin, gibberellin signaling, and pathogen defense. Further expression profiling during stem development showed that approximately 60% of CoAP2/ERF genes were constitutively expressed across 17 expression trends, suggesting roles in basal development and stage-specific processes (e.g., lignification). Under Epicoccum poaceicola infection, 23 CoAP2/ERF genes were differentially expressed. Among them, upregulated ERF homologs related to RAP2.2/2.3 suggested roles in hypoxia and antimicrobial responses, while downregulation of ERF5 homologs indicated a growth–defense trade-off, whereby developmental processes are suppressed to prioritize pathogen resistance. Overall, this study deciphers the genomic architecture and structural diversity of CoAP2/ERF genes, along with expression dynamics of these genes in development and biotic stress adaptation of camphor trees. These findings provide critical insights into transcriptional regulation of development and stress responses in camphor trees and establish a theoretical basis for molecular breeding and biotechnological strategies aimed at improving stress resilience in woody plants. Full article

Driven by both natural and anthropogenic factors, farmland abandonment and recultivation constitute complex and widespread global phenomena that impact the ecological environment and society. In the Inner Mongolia Yellow River Basin (IMYRB), a critical tension lies between agricultural production and ecological conservation, characterized by dynamic bidirectional transitions that hold significant implications for the harmony of human–nature relations and the advancement of ecological civilization. With the development of remote sensing, it has become possible to rapidly and accurately extract farmland changes and monitor its vegetation restoration status. However, mapping abandoned farmland presents significant challenges due to its scattered and heterogeneous distribution across diverse landscapes. Furthermore, subjectivity in questionnaire-based data collection compromises the precision of farmland abandonment monitoring. This study aims to extract crop phenological metrics, map farmland abandonment, and recultivation dynamics in the IMYRB and assess post-transition vegetation changes. We used Landsat time-series data to detect the land-use changes and vegetation responses in the IMYRB. The Farmland Abandonment and Recultivation Extraction Index (FAREI) was developed using crop phenology spectral features. Key crop-specific phenological indicators, including sprout, peak, and wilting stages, were extracted from annual MODIS NDVI data for 2020. Based on these key nodes, the Landsat data from 1999 to 2022 was employed to map farmland abandonment and recultivation. Vegetation recovery trajectories were further analyzed by the Mann–Kendall test and the Theil–Sen estimator. The results showed rewarding accuracy for farmland conversion mapping, with overall precision exceeding 79%. Driven by ecological restoration programs, rural labor migration, and soil salinization, two distinct phases of farmland abandonment were identified, 87.9 kha during 2002–2004 and 105.14 kha during 2016–2019, representing an approximate 19.6% increase. Additionally, the post-2016 surge in farmland recultivation was primarily linked to national food security policies and localized soil amelioration initiatives. Vegetation restoration trends indicate significant greening over the past two decades, with particularly significant increases observed between 2011 and 2022. In the future, more attention should be paid to the trade-off between ecological protection and food security. Overall, this study developed a novel method for monitoring farmland dynamics, offering critical insights to inform adaptive ecosystem management and advance ecological conservation and sustainable development in ecologically fragile semi-arid regions. Full article

Surface subsidence caused by coal mining activities generates diverse wetland ecosystems. These newly formed wetlands exhibit distinct environmental characteristics due to variations in subsidence age, resulting in divergent biological communities. While species adapt to environmental changes through specific functional trait combinations, the response of aquatic community functional diversity to environmental gradients across chronosequences of mining subsidence wetlands remains unclear. This study investigated 13 coal mining subsidence wetlands (1–18 years) of macrozoobenthos in Jining, China. Through seasonal monitoring, we analyzed functional traits along with taxonomic and functional diversity patterns. Initial-stage wetlands were dominated by medium-sized (63.9%) and tegument-respiring taxa, whereas late-stage wetlands exhibited a shift toward large-sized (43.9%) and gill-respiring groups. Both species richness and functional richness declined over time, with taxonomic diversity demonstrating greater sensitivity to subsidence age. Seasonal community variability was more pronounced in initial-stage wetlands (1–4 years post-subsidence). Despite increasing habitat heterogeneity with subsidence age, functional redundancy maintains ecosystem stability. The shared origin and developmental trajectory of these wetlands may constrain functional divergence. Current research predominantly relies on traditional taxonomic metrics, whereas our findings emphasize functional trait analysis’s importance for ecosystem assessment, which provides a theoretical framework for ecological restoration and biodiversity conservation in post-subsidence wetlands. Full article

In the context of China’s ‘dual carbon’ strategy, sustainable port–city integration has become critical for regional transformation. Based on the green development perspective, this study constructed a “port–industry–city” (PIC) coordinated development indicator system, conceptualizing ports, industries, and cities as distinct but interrelated subsystems. An improved coupling coordination degree model and an obstacle degree model were employed to analyze the coordinated development between Shanghai Port and its associated industries and urban areas during the green transformation process from 2014 to 2023. Three key findings were found: (1) The comprehensive development index of Shanghai Port exhibited a W-shaped fluctuation followed by rapid growth, while the overall PIC system showed a continuous upward trajectory, with the overall development level steadily rising. (2) During Shanghai Port’s green transformation process, the coordination level of the PIC system improved from moderate imbalance to intermediate coordination, though the overall level still requires improvement. (3) Port green transformation, infrastructure, and urban ecology represent primary obstacles requiring targeted, sustainable interventions. This study enriches the research on port–industry–city coordination and provides both theoretical support and a policy foundation for promoting regional sustainable development led by green port initiatives. Full article

Land degradation is one of the significant ecological and environmental issues threatening regional sustainable development. Datong Coalfield is located in an arid and semi-arid ecologically fragile area and is also an important energy base, the mining of coal resources and natural factors have caused serious land degradation problems. Therefore, dynamic monitoring and influencing factor analysis of land degradation in the Datong Coalfield is particularly important for land degradation prevention and land reclamation in mining areas. This study focuses on the Datong Coalfield, using remote sensing technology to dynamically extract soil erosion, net primary productivity of vegetation, land desertification, soil moisture content. Based on the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), a comprehensive assessment model for land degradation was constructed to analyze the spatiotemporal evolution of land degradation in the Datong Coalfield from 2000 to 2021, and the influencing factors of land degradation were explored using a geographic detector. The results indicate that (1) from 2000 to 2021, the land degradation level in Datong Coalfield changed to mild degradation and non degradation, with the mild degradation area increasing by 30.48% and the non degradation area increasing by 13.9%, and spatially expanding contiguously from localized areas outwards. (2) Over the past 21 years, the land degradation situation in Datong Coalfield predominantly showed an improving trend, accounting for 69.11%, indicating an overall positive trajectory. However, 0.54% of the area experienced significantly intensified land degradation, scattered in the eastern and southwestern parts of the Datong Coalfield, which are areas requiring focused governance efforts. (3) Vegetation and land use are the main factors affecting land degradation in Datong Coalfield. At the same time, the influence of land use has gradually increased over the years, and the influence of vegetation and land use interaction is the highest in the two-factor interaction. Full article