Search Results (982)

This article examines the effects of climate change on the 32 million inhabitants of the Megalopolis of Central Mexico (MCM), which is threatened by chaotic urbanization, land-use changes, the deforestation of the Forest of Water by organized crime, unsustainable agriculture, and biodiversity loss. Expensive hydraulic management extracting water from deep aquifers, long pipes exploiting water from neighboring states, and sewage discharged outside the endorheic basin result in expensive pumping costs and air pollution. This mismanagement has increased water scarcity. The overexploitation of aquifers and the pollution by toxic industrial and domestic sewage mixed with rainfall has increased the ground subsidence, damaging urban infrastructure and flooding marginal neighborhoods with toxic sewage. A system approach, satellite data, and participative research methodology were used to explore potential water scarcity and weakened water security for 32 million inhabitants. An alternative nature-based approach involves recovering the Forest of Water (FW) with IWRM, including the management of Natural Protected Areas, the rainfall recharge of aquifers, and cleaning domestic sewage inside the valley where the MCM is found. This involves recovering groundwater, reducing the overexploitation of aquifers, and limiting floods. Citizen participation in treating domestic wastewater with eco-techniques, rainfall collection, and purification filters improves water availability, while the greening of urban areas limits the risk of climate disasters. The government is repairing the broken drinking water supply and drainage systems affected by multiple earthquakes. Adaptation to water scarcity and climate risks requires the recognition of unpaid female domestic activities and the role of indigenous people in protecting the Forest of Water with the involvement of three state authorities. A digital platform for water security, urban planning, citizen audits against water authority corruption, and aquifer recharge through nature-based solutions provided by the System of Natural Protected Areas, Biological and Hydrological Corridors [SAMBA] are improving livelihoods for the MCM’s inhabitants and marginal neighborhoods, with greater equity and safety. Full article

Land is a limited yet vital resource, which is fundamental for food security and national stability. Ensuring its effective use requires modern tools to support informed decision making. This study evaluates land suitability for irrigation in the Kyzylorda region of Kazakhstan, with the objective of identifying areas appropriate for crop expansion. A multidimensional approach was employed, integrating soil properties, topography, proximity to water sources, and existing land use patterns, with suitability classes defined according to the Food and Agriculture Organization’s framework. The Analytic Hierarchy Process, based on pair-wise comparisons and Saaty’s scale, was used to assign weights to each factor. The findings reveal that 30% of highly suitable land and 80% of suitable land remain uncultivated. Conversely, 10% of the current cropland is located in marginally suitable area—likely a result of historical land use decisions or the limited availability of optimal land. This research responds to the specific challenges of arid climates and water scarcity by providing a decision-support tool that promotes sustainable land use, strengthens food security, and encourages responsible land management. Full article

Land economic density (LED) is vital for optimizing industrial structure and promoting intensive resource utilization. However, most existing studies have focused on city or county scales, with limited attention to township-level patterns. To address this research gap, we take 86 townships in Anyang City as research units and develop a four-dimensional evaluation system for LED. The study aims to reveal the spatial patterns and driving mechanisms of township-level LED evolution. This study is based on township-level land use, statistical, and socioeconomic data from 2005 to 2023. Using ArcGIS 10.5 for spatial analysis, spatial autocorrelation, standard deviation ellipse, and geographically weighted regression methods were applied to explore the spatiotemporal evolution and driving mechanisms of LED in Anyang City. The results indicate that (1) high-LED areas form a ring around the central city with dual cores in western Linzhou county and southeastern Huaxian county, while low-LED areas are concentrated at the northwestern and northeastern margins; (2) global spatial autocorrelation is weak, with low–low clusters shrinking from contiguous patches to only three townships by 2023, while high–high clusters expand from isolated points to multi-centered diffusion; (3) the ellipse consistently shows a northwest–southeast orientation, with the rotation angle increasing from 128.24° to 130.35°, the flatness ratio rising from 0.432 to 0.445, and the centroid shifting northwest then southeast; (4) The geographically weighted regression (GWR) results highlight economic foundation, industrial upgrading, and government support as the dominant drivers. Based on these findings, we propose a “One Core–Four Poles, Three Axes–Five Zones” spatial optimization framework to promote coordinated urban–rural development. This study provides a practical and multidimensional evaluation approach at the township level, offering methodological support for regional territorial spatial planning and sustainable development. Full article

How are the institutional features of religious organizations formed? In seeking to explain religious change and development, an increasing number of sociologists of religion emphasize the importance of organizational features. However, few scholars have examined how these institutional features take shape during the early stages of religious organizations. Given that emerging religions often originate in marginalized contexts with scarce resources and limited support, this paper draws on the theory of interstitial space to analyze how such relatively unstructured and flexible environments—which provide greater freedom and adaptability for agents—affect religious development. The study finds that interstitial space fosters religious innovation and helps shape the institutional features of emerging religions. Furthermore, this paper proposes four explanatory mechanisms to illustrate how the interstitial space in multiple marginalized areas shapes the features of religious organizations. These mechanisms can shed light on the development of various religious sects, including Chan Buddhism and Pure Land Buddhism in the early Tang dynasty. Full article

In high-density urban areas where ecological protection constraints are increasingly stringent, transportation infrastructure layout must balance service efficiency and environmental preservation. From an ecological-prioritization perspective, this study proposes a three-stage multi-objective optimization strategy for siting underground smart parking facilities using the NSGA-III algorithm, with Haidian District, Beijing, as a case study. First, spatial identification and screening are conducted using GIS, integrating urban fringe-space extraction with POI, AOI, population, and transportation network data to determine candidate locations. Second, a multi-objective model is constructed to minimize green space occupation, walking distance, and construction cost while maximizing service coverage, and is solved with NSGA-III. Third, under the ecological-prioritization strategy, the solution with the lowest land occupation is selected, and marginal benefit analysis is applied to identify the optimal trade-off between ecological and economic objectives, forming a flexible decision-making framework. The findings show that several feasible schemes can achieve zero green-space occupation while maintaining high service coverage, and marginal benefit analysis identifies a cost-effective solution serving about 20,000 residents with an investment of 7 billion CNY. These results confirm that ecological protection and urban service efficiency can be reconciled through quantitative optimization, offering practical guidance for sustainable infrastructure planning. The proposed methodology integrates spatial analysis, multi-objective optimization, and post-Pareto analysis into a unified framework, addressing diverse infrastructure planning problems with conflicting objectives and ecological constraints. It offers both theoretical significance and practical applicability, supporting sustainable urban development under multiple scenarios. Full article

This study examined air quality data collected from 2015 to 2023 across Shenyang, Dalian, Changchun, and Harbin to assess interannual and monthly variations in PM_2.5, PM₁₀, SO₂, NO₂, and O₃, along with their correlations, seasonal meteorological influences, and potential source regions. Annual mean concentrations of PM_2.5, PM₁₀, SO₂, and NO₂ declined substantially (by 39.9–79.3%), whereas O₃ showed a fluctuating pattern, remaining persistently high in the coastal city of Dalian. Seasonally, PM_2.5, PM₁₀, SO₂, and NO₂ concentrations peaked in winter and decreased in summer, while O₃ displayed the opposite trend. Particulate levels in Liaoning rebounded earlier in spring than in Jilin and Heilongjiang. Correlation analysis revealed strong positive relationships among particulate and gaseous pollutants, but O₃ generally exhibited negative correlations with other species. Haze events occurred mainly in winter, whereas complex pollution episodes were more frequent in summer. Meteorological analysis indicated that relative humidity was negatively correlated with PM_2.5, PM₁₀, SO₂, and NO₂ in summer but positively correlated in winter. Elevated temperatures outside the winter months promoted NO₂ dispersion and enhanced O₃ formation. Strong winds in spring and winter markedly reduced PM_2.5 and SO₂ levels, though this effect was less evident in Shenyang. WPSCF results identified significant cross-regional transport from the southwest contributing to PM_2.5, PM₁₀, and NO₂ during spring and winter, while O₃ was primarily affected by long-range transport in spring and only marginally in winter. In Dalian, sea–land breeze circulation further intensified transport processes in summer and autumn. Overall, this work provides an integrated, multi-year, and multi-city assessment of pollution dynamics, meteorological drivers, and transboundary transport in Northeast China, offering new insights into regional air quality improvement and its spatial heterogeneity relative to other regions of China. Full article

The marginal arid region encompassing the western Nafud in the east to Wadi Tabuk in the west has only been subject to limited archaeological survey. This paper reports on data from a systematic remote sensing survey of the region as part of the Endangered Archaeology in the Middle East and North Africa project, using the results to produce preliminary models of settlement, occupation, and land-use, and contextualising within the broader archaeological landscapes of northern Arabia. It also provides datasets that can be used to outline broad trends in modern disturbances and threats to these sites, in part demonstrating the effectiveness of this approach for producing a cost-effective baseline dataset for the management of heritage sites at a landscape level. While confirming that long-term settlement and agriculture were largely confined to the Wadi Tabuk region from the later prehistoric period onwards, including the identification of a significant new fortified settlement south of Tabuk, it also demonstrates evidence of a broader complex landscape of pastoralism, funerary monuments, and other monumental structures across much of the survey area. Most notably, this area may mark a border zone when geographically distinct distributions of Neolithic-adjacent kites and mustatil meet with minimal overlap. Full article

In the context of rapid urbanization, human activities have profoundly transformed urban thermal environments. However, most existing studies have focused on single cities or relatively uniform climatic contexts, and the long-term dynamics between land surface temperature (LST) and nighttime light (NTL) across urban–rural gradients in diverse climates remain insufficiently explored. This gap limits a systematic understanding of how human activities and thermal environments co-evolve under varying regional conditions. To address this gap, we selected ten representative cities spanning multiple climate zones in China. Using MODIS LST and NTL datasets from 2000 to 2020, we developed an urban–rural gradient analysis framework to systematically assess the spatiotemporal response patterns and coupling mechanisms between LST and NTL. Our findings reveal the following: (1) From 2000 to 2020, NTL exhibited a pronounced upward trend across all climate zones, most notably in the marginal tropical humid region, while LST changes were relatively moderate. (2) LST and NTL displayed power-law distributions along urban–rural transects, marked by steep declines in monocentric cities and gradual transitions in polycentric cities, with sharper thermal gradients in northern and inland areas and more gradual transitions in southern and coastal regions. (3) The long-term increase in NTL was most evident in suburban areas (0.94 nW/cm²/sr/a), surpassing that in urban cores (0.68 nW/cm²/sr/a) and rural zones (0.60 nW/cm²/sr/a), with inland cities (0.84 nW/cm²/sr/a) outpacing their coastal counterparts. Although LST changes were modest, suburban warming (0.16 ± 0.08 °C/a) was over twice that of urban and rural areas. Notably, the synergistic escalation of light and heat was most pronounced in tropical and subtropical cities. (4) Eastern coastal cities exhibited strongly synchronized rises in NTL and LST, whereas cities in the plateau, temperate semi-arid, and mid-temperate arid regions showed clear decoupling. Along urban–rural gradients, NTL–LST correlations generally weakened from urban centers to peripheries, yet coupling coordination peaked in fringe areas (mean = 0.63), underscoring pronounced spatial heterogeneity. This study advances our understanding of the spatiotemporal coupling of urban light and heat under varying climatic and urbanization contexts, offering critical insights into managing urban thermal environments. Full article

The rational utilization of cultivated land resources is central to ensuring both ecological and food security in the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB), holding strategic significance for regional sustainable development. Using panel data from 2010 to 2023 for 130 cities in the YREB, this study examines a spatial correlation network (SCN) for non-grain land use (NGLU) and its driving forces via a modified gravity model, social network analysis (SNA), and quadratic assignment procedure regression. The results show the following: (1) The risk of NGLU continues to increase, with the spatial pattern evolving from a “single-peak right deviation” pattern to a “multi-peak coexistence” pattern featuring three-level polarization and gradient transmission, primarily driven by economic potential disparities. (2) The SCN has increased in density, but its pathways are relatively singular. Node functions exhibit significant differentiation, with high-degree nodes forming “control poles”, high-intermediate nodes dominating cross-regional risk transmission, and low-proximity nodes experiencing “protective marginalization”. Node centrality distribution is highly connected with the regional development gradient. (3) The formation of the spatial network is jointly driven by multiple factors. Geographical proximity, economic potential differences, comparative benefit differences, non-agricultural employment differences, and factor mobility all positively contribute to the spillover effect. Conversely, implementing cultivated land protection policies and the regional imbalance in local industrial development path dependence significantly inhibit the non-grain trend. This study further reveals that a synergistic governance system characterized by “axial management, node classification, and edge support” should be recommended to prevent the gradient risk transmission induced by economic disparities, providing a scientific basis for achieving sustainable use of regional cultivated land resources and coordinated governance of food security. Full article

Rapid biofuel expansion has significantly reshaped agricultural land use in the United States, raising concerns about the conversion and long-term sustainability of marginal croplands. Understanding how policy incentives influence these land-use changes remains a key challenge in sustainable land management. This study aims to quantify the effects of the Renewable Fuel Standard on cropland expansion and subsequent abandonment in the U.S. Midwest using a probabilistic and spatially explicit framework. The analysis integrates geospatial datasets from USDA, USGS, gridMET, and the U.S. Energy Information Administration, combining indicators of soil productivity, slope, precipitation, temperature, and market accessibility. Bayesian logistic regression models were developed to estimate pre-policy baseline probabilities of corn cultivation and to generate counterfactual scenarios—hypothetical conditions representing land-use patterns in the absence of policy incentives. Results show that over one-quarter of marginal land cultivated in 2016 would likely not have been planted without biopower policy-related incentives, indicating that policy-driven expansion extended into less suitable areas. A second-stage analysis identified regions where such lands were later abandoned, revealing the role of climatic and economic constraints in shaping long-term sustainability. These findings demonstrate the effectiveness of integrating probabilistic modelling with high-resolution spatial data to evaluate causal policy effects and quantify counterfactual impacts—that is, the measurable differences between observed and simulated land-use outcomes. Full article

Regional agricultural carbon balance studies are crucial for promoting coordinated development and achieving carbon neutrality. This research quantifies agricultural carbon emissions and sinks across 190 counties in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei (BTH) region from 2013 to 2022. The methodology involved the carbon emission factor approach and crop productivity models to assess the agricultural carbon balance. Furthermore, this study employed the carbon load model and the carbon output technical elasticity model to analyze the per-unit contribution of agricultural products and the carbon implications of augmented agricultural output. The findings reveal the following: (1) Total agricultural carbon emissions followed a fluctuating, inverted “U”-shaped trajectory, peaking in 2015. Emission reductions were primarily driven by decreases in agricultural energy consumption and land utilization, followed by crop cultivation. Conversely, agricultural net carbon sequestration and the carbon offset ratio show a fluctuating upward trend. (2) The agricultural carbon balance exhibits a distinct north–south differentiation. There has been a year-on-year reduction in carbon deficit counties, while the spatial aggregation of the carbon balance has become increasingly pronounced over time. (3) The marginal contribution of the agricultural carbon balance across the five primary agricultural zones positively correlates with the scale of agriculture and the prevailing crop cultivation regimes. Specifically, the Central Hebei Plain agricultural zone demonstrated the highest contribution, while the Daming agricultural zone exhibited the lowest. (4) Driven by the synergistic effect of internal and external factors, the BTH region has optimized its production elements. This has led to an elevated agricultural carbon balance and reduced inter-regional disparities. The region’s agricultural carbon balance demonstrates a favorable trajectory, suggesting sustainability under a low-carbon development paradigm. This study offers sustainability recommendations based on four pillars: establishing rigid production systems, enhancing compensation and trading mechanisms, optimizing industrial structures and integration strategies, and reinforcing regional coordination and incentive frameworks. Full article

Climate change is reshaping plant distribution and ecological adaptation worldwide. Ficus tikoua Bur., a perennial resource plant native to Southwest and South China, has not been systematically assessed for its future cultivation potential. In this study, we used the Biomod2 ensemble modeling framework, integrating 12 algorithms with 469 occurrence records and 16 environmental variables, to predict the potential distribution and niche dynamics of F. tikoua under current and future climate scenarios (SSP126, SSP370, and SSP585). The ensemble model achieved high predictive accuracy based on multiple algorithms and cross-validation. The minimum temperature of the coldest month (bio6, 43.5%), maximum temperature of the warmest month (bio5, 25.0%), and annual precipitation (bio12, 10.3%) were identified as the dominant factors shaping its distribution. Model projections suggest that suitable habitats will generally expand northwestward, while contracting in the southeast. Core areas, such as the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau and the Sichuan Basin, are predicted to remain highly stable. In contrast, southeastern marginal regions are likely to experience a decline in suitability due to intensified heat stress. Niche analyses further revealed strong niche conservatism (overlap D = 0.83–0.94), suggesting that the species maintains stable climatic tolerance and adapts primarily through range shifts rather than evolutionary change. This finding suggests limited adaptive flexibility in response to rapid warming. Overall, climate warming may enhance cultivation opportunities for F. tikoua at higher latitudes and elevations, while emphasizing the importance of protecting stable core habitats, planning climate adaptation corridors, and integrating this species into climate-resilient agroforestry strategies. These findings provide practical guidance for biodiversity conservation and land-use planning, offering a scientific basis for regional policy formulation under future climate change. Full article

Flood frequency analysis is essential for designing resilient hydraulic infrastructure, but traditional stationary models fail to capture the influence of climate variability and land-use change. This study applies a bivariate logistic model with non-stationary marginals to eight gauging stations in Sinaloa, Mexico, each with over 30 years of maximum discharge records. We compared stationary and non-stationary Gumbel and Generalized Extreme Value (GEV) distributions, along with their bivariate combinations. Results show that the non-stationary bivariate GEV–Gumbel distribution provided the best overall performance according to AIC. Importantly, GEV and Gumbel marginals captured site-specific differences: GEV was most suitable for sites with highly variable extremes, while Gumbel offered a robust fit for more regular records. At station 10086, where a significant increasing trend was detected by the Mann–Kendall and Spearman tests, the stationary GEV estimated a 50-year return flow of 772.66 m³/s, while the non-stationary model projected 861.00 m³/s for 2075. Under stationary assumptions, this discharge would be underestimated, occurring every ~30 years by 2075. These findings demonstrate that ignoring non-stationarity leads to systematic underestimation of design floods, while non-stationary bivariate models provide more reliable, policy-relevant estimates for climate adaptation and infrastructure safety. Full article

Heirs’ property is a form of collective land ownership arising from intestate succession, often resulting in clouded titles, fractional ownership, and legal vulnerability. This tenure system is especially prevalent among African American landowners in the Southern United States and poses significant challenges for sustainable land use, agricultural development, forest management, and conservation. This paper presents an interdisciplinary review, research, and analysis encompassing legal studies, environmental policies, and rural social science to examine how heirs’ property status leads to diminished productivity, land underutilization, disinvestment, and involuntary land loss. Key issues include barriers to accessing USDA and NRCS programs, an inability to implement long-term land management plans, and an increased risk of partition sales and tax foreclosures. This review also examines demographic trends, regional concentration, and the broader socio-environmental impacts of insecure land tenure. Current policy responses, such as the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act (UPHPA), USDA land access provisions, and community-based legal interventions, are assessed for their effectiveness and limitations. The article concludes with policy and programmatic strategies to support title clearing, promote equitable land retention, and enhance participation in conservation and climate resilience initiatives. By highlighting the intersection of property law, racial equity, and environmental sustainability, this review contributes to a growing body of research aimed at securing land tenure for historically marginalized communities. Full article

Understanding the temporal dynamics and spatial distribution of key soil properties is essential for sustainable land management and informed decision-making. This study assessed the spatial variability and decadal changes (2013–2023) of topsoil properties in Córdoba, central Argentina, using digital soil mapping (DSM) and machine learning (ML) algorithms. Three ML methods—Quantile Regression Forest (QRF), Cubist, and Support Vector Machine (SVM)—were compared to predict soil organic matter (SOM), extractable phosphorus (P), and pH at 0–20 cm depth, based on environmental covariates related to site climate, vegetation, and topography. QRF consistently outperformed the other models in prediction accuracy and uncertainty, confirming its suitability for DSM in heterogeneous landscapes. Prediction uncertainty was higher in marginal mountainous areas than in intensively managed plains. Over ten years, SOM, P, and pH exhibited changes across land-use classes (cropland, pasture, and forest). Extractable P declined by 15–35%, with the sharpest reduction in croplands (−35.4%). SOM decreased in croplands (−6.7%) and pastures (−3.1%) but remained stable in forests. pH trends varied, with slight decreases in croplands and forests and a small increase in pastures. By integrating high-resolution mapping and temporal assessment, this study advances DSM applications and supports regional soil monitoring and sustainable land-use planning. Full article