Ecological Issues Research Articles

Comparative Population Genomics Reveal the Determinants of Genome Erosion in Two Sympatric Neotropical Falcons.

Studying genetic diversity in endangered species has become an important component of conservation science over the past decades. Thanks to recent developments in sequencing technologies and bioinformatics, genetic parameters of conservation relevance such as neutral and functional genome-wide variation are now routinely estimated. Since inbreeding and deleterious mutations represent significant threats to small and declining populations, assessing the dynamics of these parameters has received particular attention in many recent conservation genomics studies. In this issue of Molecular Ecology, Martin etal. analyse the genomes of two Neotropical falcon species to assess the impact of their contrasting population histories on genome-wide diversity. They show that the Orange-breasted falcon which has had a low long-term population size and has experienced recent population bottlenecks is more inbred but has relatively fewer deleterious variations compared to its sister taxon, the Bat falcon, which is characterised by a larger long-term population size. This study not only provides insights into the role of past demography on the dynamics of deleterious variation in two species with contrasting population histories but also highlights the increasing importance of comparative approaches in population and conservation genomics.

Spatiotemporal characteristics of human activity and land use on ecosystem service functions in mountainous areas of Northeast Guizhou, Southwest China

With the rapid advancement of urbanization and industrialization, intense land utilization in mountainous areas has led to ecological and environmental issues, and also causing a gradual degradation of ecosystem services. Investigating the spatiotemporal characteristics of human activities on land use and ecosystem services in mountainous areas holds significant practical importance for local ecological conservation and land management. This study utilizes human activity and land use models to evaluate the complex relationship between humans and land in the northeastern Guizhou, employs the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) and the Modified Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) models to conduct an in-depth investigation into the spatiotemporal distribution of soil conservation (SC), water yield (WY), carbon sequestration (CS), habitat quality (HQ), and landscape aesthetics (LA). Besides, we utilized the Pearson correlation coefficient and spatial bivariate models to scrutinize the spatial heterogeneity and interactions among these ecosystem services. The results revealed a significant escalation in the intensity of human activity and land use within the study area, with values rising from 0.483 and 316 in 2000 to 0.695 and 351 in 2020, respectively. For 2000–2020, the added value of SC and WY experienced a change of 1.179 t‧hm−2 and 118.503 mm, respectively, while the CS, HQ, and LA have largely remained stable. The spatial distribution of ecosystem service functions exhibited distinct patterns of trade-offs and synergies. The ecosystem's multifunctional benefits were predominantly concentrated in the northern sector of the study area, with the maximum migration distance of class IV hotspots recorded at 70.431 km. Over time, the impact of human activities and land use on ecosystem services has been escalating. Studying the interactions between human activities and land use and their impact on ecosystem services can help us develop land use policies and ecological management strategies.

Assessing the Environmental Sustainability Corridor in South Africa: The Role of Biomass Energy and Coal Energy

South Africa’s national development plan has outlined aspirations to achieve a sustainable environment. However, the country remains bound for an unsustainable trajectory. Despite this ecological issue, no studies have probed how biomass and coal energy impact ecological quality. In light of this gap, this study inspects the environmental effect of political risk, coal energy, and biomass energy in South Africa. Also, this study integrates economic growth and natural resources into its framework. This study uses the load capacity factor (LC), which is a more aggregate proxy of ecological quality due to its accounting for the demand and supply aspect of the environment. This study uses the dynamic autoregressive distributive lag estimator (ARDL), which is capable of not only providing details of the influence of each determinant on LC in the long and short term but also of capturing the counterfactual shock of positive or negative exogenous variables on the LC. The kernel regularized least squares (KRLS) method is used for a robustness analysis of the dynamic ARDL approach. Furthermore, the findings of the dynamic ARDL simulation estimator disclose the negative impact of economic growth on the LC, thereby contributing to environmental deterioration by 0.552%. Natural resources and coal energy have an adverse impact on the LC, indicating a reduction in environmental sustainability by 0.037% and 0.290%, respectively. Meanwhile, biomass contributes to the LC, thereby promoting ecological quality by 0.421%. Political risk contributes to the reduction in the LC. This research provides pertinent policy considerations for policymakers and governments in South Africa, suggesting that the government of South Africa should invest in biomass energy and sustainable extraction procedures since biomass energy has a vital role in increasing ecological quality.

A polyethyleneimine-coated thermally-oxidized graphitic-carbon nitride adsorbent for the removal of organic pollutants.

Negatively charged organic pollutants in water are responsible for a large range of public health and ecological issues. Low-cost and low-toxicity graphitic carbon nitride (CN), with its abundant functional groups and surface defects, is a promising material for the removal of organic molecules by adsorption. However, basic synthesis methods for CN often result in a material with morphology and electric charge that are suboptimal for interacting with negatively charged pollutants. Here, an adsorbent was prepared by thermally oxidizing a tubular CN precursor and then coating the resulting flake-shaped material (FCNO) with the polycationic polymer polyethyleneimine (PEI). The resulting adsorbent, FCNO550-PEI, removed humic acid (HA), a widespread problematic organic molecule, as well as the common toxic anionic dye Congo red (CR). FCNO550-PEI was superior to other CN-based adsorbents previously reported in the literature with maximum adsorption capacities according to the Sips isotherm model for HA and CR of 437.1mg/g and 1430.3mg/g, respectively. In addition, FCNO550-PEI could adsorb HA and CR from different types of water and was reusable. Besides electrostatic interactions and hydrogen bonds between PEI and the pollutants, HA and CR adsorption was enabled by π-π interactions with the FCNO support itself. The high efficiency of FCNO550-PEI for the removal of HA and CR highlights its potential for water treatment applications.

A three-dimensional marine plastic litter real-time detection embedded system based on deep learning.

Marine plastic pollution has emerged as a significant ecological and biological issue impacting global marine ecosystems. To develop real-time cleaning systems for marine plastic litter, we implemented a three-dimensional marine plastic litter real-time detection (3D-MPLRD) system that incorporates deep learning techniques. Specifically, image quality assessment and enhancement are applied to mitigate the adverse effects of harsh underwater conditions on image quality, thereby enhancing the training efficacy of models beyond that achieved by conventional approaches. To facilitate the deployment of the 3D-MPLRD system on embedded devices, the YOLOv5 model is compressed and quantified, capitalizing on its robustness to precision loss and model simplification. Practical experimental results demonstrated that the 3D-MPLRD system outperformed the model trained on original datasets in terms of precision, recall, F1-score, and mean average precision. This innovative 3D-MPLRD system serves as a foundational reference for marine environmental protection based on intelligence systems, as opposed to traditional manual methods.

ҚОРШАҒАН ОРТА САПАСЫН ЖАҚСАРТУДА ЖЫЛУ ЭЛЕКТР ОРТАЛЫҒЫНЫҢ ШЫҒАРЫНДЫЛАРЫН ҚАЙТА ӨҢДЕУ ЖОЛДАРЫ

This article analyzes modern methods of recycling ash and slag waste generated by coal combustion in thermal power plants, as well as their impact on the environment. Currently, the problem of industrial and household waste is becoming increasingly urgent, with ash and slag waste being among the largest in terms of volume. These waste materials pose a risk of environmental contamination with toxic substances and heavy metals. Dust is generated in areas affected by ash dumps, and the components of the ash are washed away, leading to their infiltration into the soil and groundwater, which worsens the ecological situation. This, in turn, negatively affects plants and human health. Recycling ash and slag waste helps conserve natural resources and address ecological issues. The study conducted an analysis of the ash and slag waste from «Kentau Service» TPP-5, determining their potential for use as an ecological construction material — brick. Additionally, the physical and chemical suitability of these waste materials for brick production was tested. It was proven that recycling TPP waste is both economically and ecologically efficient.

Opportunities and Challenges of a Cap-and-Trade System for Plastics.

Recently, the rapid increase in global plastics production has caused various ecological and economic issues, worsened by poor material and waste management. Among the market-based instruments that could help mitigate the environmental impacts of plastics throughout their life-cycle, we evaluate the advantages and limitations of incorporating a cap-and-trade (CAT) system into future policy mixes. Our aim is to inspire further investigation of CAT's feasibility rather than presenting it as the ultimate solution. Drawing from past CAT implementations in domains such as water resource management and carbon emissions, we outline three key policy design considerations: (1) material and target group identification, (2) cap establishment and permit allocation, and (3) development of a competitive market environment. We explore a three-tiered approach with global, national, and sectoral caps covering the plastic lifecycle from cradle to grave. While there are viable reasons to consider a plastics CAT, significant challenges persist, which may ultimately limit its implementation. In the context of ongoing UN Plastics Treaty negotiations or future policy developments, this evaluation of CAT can be beneficial for assessing when and how this tool can address the negative externalities of plastics.

Teaching Geography for a Sustainable Future: Understanding and Analyzing Regions in the Classroom—A Didactic Proposal

This work analyzes the educational role of geography in Spain in addressing climate change and the environmental crisis. While all subjects should address ecological issues, geography, due to its content, objectives, and methods, must take a central role in environmental education through innovative pedagogical approaches. To contribute to this revitalization, a didactic proposal is presented, aimed at raising students’ environmental awareness in the subjects of geography and history. Designed for the third year of secondary education (ESO) in the Canary Islands, this proposal is flexible and applicable to other educational and territorial contexts. Based on methodologies such as Project-Based Learning and Service-Learning, it organizes a teaching unit adapted to the new curricular requirements. Students analyze the socio-territorial reality of their municipality, assess its sustainability, and design strategies to promote sustainable development. The implementation of this didactic proposal is highly valued, as it has increased the students’ knowledge about their locality, the possibilities and richness of geography as a discipline, and also sustainability as a goal applicable to a local context. In this way, the value of education as a continuous reflection and a practical problem-solving tool is reaffirmed, incorporating sustainability as an essential principle.

Influence of the external N and P inputs on nutrients in the coastal area of Xiamen, China

Environmental context External nutrients giving rise to critical ecological issues of the coastal seawater. We investigated the nearshore nutrient concentrations and their sources in Xiamen Bay during 2013–18. Our results could provide theoretical support for controlling nearshore nutrient pollution. Rationale External nutrients greatly increase the critical ecological risks of the coastal seawater. Therefore, it is important to understand the sources and variation characteristics of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) in the coastal area. Methodology The dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) and phosphate (PO4–P) in coastal Xiamen were monitored from 2013 to 2018. The input of nitrogen from runoff in the coastal Xiamen was calculated from the runoff flow amount collected by Xiamen Marine and Fisheries Bureau. Atmospheric dry deposition of DIN was simulated using Williams model to analyse the potential sources of nutrients in the coastal Xiamen. Results High DIN and PO4–P levels occurred in the inner bay and decreased dramatically outside Xiamen Bay. The lowest values of DIN and PO4–P were observed in summer, which is consistent with the temporal variation in nutrient inputs from the surface runoff and atmospheric deposition. The nutrient input of Jiulong River is the main source of eutrophication for Xiamen Bay, providing more than 4 × 104 tonnes (Mg) of N input per year. The atmospheric N dry deposition provided more than 2.2 × 103 Mg of DIN input per year, which accounts for ~3.4–6.3% of the Jiulong River DIN input in the coastal Xiamen. Discussion The ratio of atmospheric nitrogen deposition to nitrogen enrichment from Jiulong River varied from 0.21 to 0.40, indicating that atmospheric nitrogen deposition was an important contributor to the coastal nutrient in Xiamen. This study provides an insight into the major sources of N and P and highlights the importance of atmospheric nitrogen deposition to the DIN in the coastal city Xiamen.

Yield and Sensorial and Nutritional Quality of Strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duch.) Fruits from Plants Grown Under Different Amounts of Irrigation in Soilless Cultivation.

Water scarcity is an ecological issue affecting over 10% of Europe. It is intensified by rising temperatures, leading to greater evaporation and reduced precipitation. Agriculture has been confirmed as the sector accounting for the highest water consumption globally, and it faces significant challenges relating to drought, impacting crop yields and food security. Sustainable practices, precision irrigation, and the development of drought-resistant crops are essential for the mitigation of this threat. Effective, innovative solutions are crucial for optimizing water use for intensive crops such as cultivated strawberries (Fragaria × ananassa). This study emphasizes the importance of identifying the genotypes most resilient to low water availability. Experimental trials involving reduced irrigation levels were set up to identify genotypes with a greater capacity to increase fruit quality and maintain fruit yield. Reduced water conditions positively influenced strawberry fruit quality, exhibiting improved citric acid, soluble solids, and color brightness linked to decreased water use, while firmness remained stable. Notably, the total phenolic content was most affected by stress, indicating strong antioxidant responses. With these interesting variations in fruit quality came a different response in plant yield. Plants belonging to the Lauretta and AN15,07,53 cultivars maintained a 98% fruit yield when grown under WS1 conditions. While the yield for the Francesca cultivar increased by 10% under the stressed WS1 conditions in comparison to the control conditions, water stress in the WS2 treatment caused a strong reduction in yield in all three genotypes. Overall, the findings emphasize the importance of identifying for each new cultivar the most appropriate water regime in order to amplify the quality of the fruit, thus maintaining high production standards and saving water.

Research on Ecological Environment Monitoring and Protection Applications Based on Remote Sensing Technology

As global ecological and environmental issues become increasingly severe, remote sensing technology, as an effective monitoring tool, plays a crucial role in ecological environment monitoring and protection. Remote sensing technology can provide large-scale, high-resolution data, supporting a wide range of applications such as ecosystem health assessment, land use/land cover change monitoring, biodiversity conservation, water resource management, pollution monitoring, and climate change monitoring. This paper reviews the application progress of remote sensing technology in ecological environment protection, analyzes the challenges and development trends it faces, and discusses potential directions for future research.

Eco-spirituality in Papua New Guinea’s Traditional Beliefs and Christian Teachings: A Response to the Contemporary Ecological Crisis

Like many other countries, Papua New Guinea (PNG) faces significant environmental challenges, including deforestation and climate change impacts. This research responds to these ecological issues by analyzing traditional beliefs and religious practices in PNG, emphasizing the interconnectedness of all life forms and their intrinsic relationship with the cosmos, and integrating them into Christianity. Using qualitative interviews, ethnographic fieldwork, and textual analysis, the research reveals that the holistic perspectives of indigenous and Christian beliefs and their eco-spirituality can inspire meaningful dialogue and action in addressing pressing environmental issues and nurturing spiritual well-being. Key findings indicate that these integrated spiritual perspectives can lead to more sustainable environmental practices and policies. By showcasing the wisdom embedded in PNG’s indigenous knowledge and its alignment with particular Christian spiritualities, the research underscores the relevance of these belief systems to current academic and practical discourses on environmental sustainability. This research not only enriches the understanding of eco-spirituality in a specific cultural context but also offers valuable insights for global efforts to harmonize human-environment relationships, emphasizing the role of spirituality in fostering sustainable futures.

How to Create an Ecocentric Environment

Abstract Humans have faced a great challenge in the new Anthropocene Epoch of the Earth: the threat of an ecological catastrophe. Dealing with the crisis and correcting our mistakes is the duty of all people, regardless of gender, ethnicity, religion, political or other affiliation. Unfortunately, the majority of the population, numerous politicians and businessmen among them, does not fully grasp the seriousness of the problem. It is important to deepen the society’s awareness and sensitivity towards ecological issues, and to actively involve the society in environmental causes. The main purpose of our paper is to compare anthropocentric and ecocentric attitudes towards environment issues and to share ideas on how to create a more eco-friendly environment in which to raise the next generation. We propose different types of educational methods or activities that will help children to develop elementary habits that will make them more understanding and caring as citizens in relation to nature and the environment.

Critical Digital Pedagogy: Alternative Ways of Cultivating Critical Consciousness on Religious and Ecological Issues

This study aims to examine to what extent digital learning through documentary films contribute to instill students’ critical consiousness and inclusive understanding on ecological crisis and religious issues. The Mixed Method is employed in this study in which data are collected through observations, participative interviews, and questioners. As research participants, it involves 61 English Education students (the second semester in the year of 2024/2025) of Raden Intan Lampung of State Islamic University (UIN RIL). During one semester of following the lecture of “Islam and Environment”, they are provided the 10 selected documentary films that must be watched, analyzed, and wrote the idea of film into short essay. This study shows that students seems interested and enthusiastic in learning process and, in the broader sense, learning via films can enhance students’ sensitivity, new knowledge, self-awareness. This study also points out that as many as 78.7% of participants agree that political interests, uncertainty of laws, and inequal relation between human and nature are the roots of natural damage. Then, more than 80% of students (very) agree that all religions are responsible for preserving nature, not solely limited to certain religion. Related to the existence of indigenous communities, 54.1% of students very agree that they should be protected and not stigmatized and discriminated. Thus, this study concludes that digital pedagogy through documentary films can be alternative to instill students’ critical consciousness and inclusive religious understanding on the ecological issues.

Scaling of shoot and root respiration of woody and herbaceous plants.

Woody and herbaceous plants are the main components of global terrestrial ecosystems, and their growth, adaptation and survival depend largely on the metabolism of shoots and roots. Therefore, understanding size-scaling of metabolic rates in woody and herbaceous plants, and in shoots and roots, is a fundamental issue in ecology. However, few empirical studies have examined metabolic scaling exponents across a wide range of plant sizes. Using whole-plant chamber systems, we measured respiration rates of entire root systems and shoots of 96 woody species (n = 1243) and 33 herbaceous species (n = 463) from various terrestrial biomes, with plant masses spanning nine orders of magnitude. Scaling exponents for relationships between respiration rates and fresh mass were greater in shoots than in roots, and both were greater in herbaceous plants than in woody plants. Furthermore, scaling of whole-plant respiration, including various species, converged separately for woody and herbaceous plants. These findings suggest some general physico-chemical constraints on energy use by shoots and roots of individual plants in various terrestrial biomes, including forests and grasslands. These data will advance our understanding of terrestrial ecosystem structure and function.

Parasitoid avoidance of intraguild predation drives enemy complementarity in a multi-trophic ecological network.

How consumer diversity determines consumption efficiency is a central issue in ecology. In the context of predation and biological control, this relationship concerns predator diversity and predation efficiency. Reduced predation efficiency can result from different predator taxa eating each other in addition to their common prey (interference due to intraguild predation). By contrast, multiple predator taxa with overlapping but complementary feeding niches can generate increased predation efficiency on their common prey (enemy complementarity). When viewed strictly from an ecological perspective, intraguild predation and enemy complementarity are opposing forces. However, from an evolutionary ecology perspective, predators facing strong intraguild predation may evolve traits that reduce their predation risk, possibly leading to niche complementarity between enemies; thus, selection from intraguild predation may lead to enemy complementarity rather than opposing it. As specialized predators that live in or on their hosts, parasitoids are subjected to intraguild predation from generalist predators that consume the parasitoids' hosts. The degree to which parasitoid-predator interactions are ruled by interference versus enemy complementarity has been debated. Here, we address this issue with field experiments in a forest community consisting of multiple species of trees, herbivorous caterpillars, parasitoids, ants, and birds. Our experiments and analyses found no interference effects, but revealed clear evidence for complementarity between parasitoids and birds (not ants). Parasitism rates by hymenopterans and dipterans were negatively associated with bird predation risk, and the variation in the strength of this negative association suggests that this enemy complementarity was due to parasitoid avoidance of intraguild predation. We further argue that avoidance of intraguild predation by parasitoids and other arthropod predators may explain enigmatic patterns in vertebrate-arthropod-plant food webs in a variety of terrestrial ecosystems.

Blue and Green Water Scarcity in the McKenzie Creek Watershed of the Great Lakes Basin

ABSTRACTClimate change and extreme weather events affect hydrology and water resources in catchments worldwide. This study analysed Blue Water (BW) and Green Water (GW) scarcity in the McKenzie Creek watershed in Ontario, Canada, and explored how changes in temperature and precipitation may impact water scarcity dynamics. The McKenzie Creek is the main water source for agricultural activities for the Six Nations of the Grand River reserve (the largest Indigenous community in Canada) and other non‐Indigenous communities in the watershed. Data from the water use surveys and streamflow simulations performed using the Coupled Groundwater and Surface‐Water Flow Model (GSFLOW) under the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP) scenarios 4.5 and 8.5, representing moderate and high greenhouse gas emissions and climate warming, respectively, were used to calculate BW and GW scarcity. Study results showed that BW scarcity may increase to ‘moderate’ levels if water users extract the maximum permitted water withdrawal allocation. This level of scarcity has the potential to cause ecological degradation and water quality issues in the watershed. GW scarcity will steadily increase throughout the 21st century due to climate warming with the western portion of the McKenzie Creek watershed projected to experience slightly higher levels of GW scarcity. This may cause users to withdraw more water resources, thereby decreasing BW available for downstream communities, including the Six Nations of the Grand River. This study provides water resource managers and regional planners with important information about potential challenges facing the watershed due to increased water use and changing climate conditions.

Trends in urban edible landscapes: a comprehensive bibliometric analysis

Abstract In response to the dual challenges of urbanization and population growth, urban edible landscapes have emerged as innovative green infrastructure with the potential to address ecological, social, economic, and food security issues. This study systematically analyzes 3,089 publications from 2000 to 2024, sourced from the Web of Science database, using keywords such as ‘Edible Landscapes,’ ‘Edible Garden,’ ‘Rooftop Garden,’ ‘Community Garden,’ and ‘Productive Landscape.’ This study adopts bibliometric and visualization tools, such as CiteSpace and R, to systematically sort out and visualize the research hotspots, knowledge structure, emerging trends, and the evolution of this field. The analysis begins with a co-occurrence network of keywords, identifying core topics and evolving research trends. Cluster analysis further delves into various research themes, elucidating the field’s main directions and focal points. The paper highlights the multifaceted impacts of edible landscapes on urban ecosystems and residents’ well-being, emphasizing their critical role in promoting urban sustainability. Additionally, it outlines strategic recommendations for policymakers and stakeholders to enhance the implementation and expansion of urban edible landscapes in alignment with sustainable development goals. This research provides comprehensive insights into the historical evolution, status, and future trends of urban edible landscape studies, offering valuable guidance for policy development and practical innovation in both academic and real-world contexts.

Exploring Environmental Education Content and Pedagogical Skills for Trainee Teachers: A Study on Ecological Literacy, Environmental Issues, and Practical Teaching Approaches

Exploring Environmental Education Content and Pedagogical Skills for Trainee Teachers: A Study on Ecological Literacy, Environmental Issues, and Practical Teaching Approaches

Expansion of Impervious Surface Area in Pekanbaru (1990–2018) and Predictions for 2038 Using Big Data

Climate change and biodiversity loss are two major ecological issues facing the world today, 25% of which are caused by land use change. The rate of development of the Pekanbaru City area has an impact on the phenomenon of Impervious Surface Area (ISA) growth that is inevitable in the suburbs. This situation can result in environmental degradation and unpreparedness of government officials so that the growth process leads to unsustainability. The development of spatial big data technology and high-performance cloud computing, the phenomenon of built-up land growth that occurs in Pekanbaru City can be studied further. By using programming carried out through the Google Earth Engine, the process of extracting the trend of built-up land growth in Pekanbaru City can be extracted quickly and presented in a multi-temporal. Through the polynomial regression modeling process with python, from the 1990-2018 data we can predict the area of built-up land in Pekanbaru City in 2038 is around 27985.139 hectares with r2 = 0.97. With accurate future predictions, we can take appropriate policies to handle urban growth sustainably.