Regional Land Research Articles

Characteristics and projected changes in maximum daily precipitation across the globe

AbstractResearch indicates a notable rise in extreme precipitation events across the globe in association with a warmed climate. A considerable chunk of such assessments focuses either on global land areas or specific regions, and these have often been reported on an annual basis. However, it is crucial to note that significant monthly variations occur in the precipitation regimes, especially during seasonal transitions. This research evaluates the statistical characteristics of extreme precipitation globally in observations and Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 model projections. Our assessment focuses on maximum daily precipitation on an annual, seasonal, and monthly scale globally for both historical and future climate in the 21st century. The historical assessment is conducted based on the 1980–2014 period, whereas the future climate is sectioned into near future (2040–2060) and far future (2070–2090) focusing on two emission scenarios: SSP245 and SSP585. Monthly assessments of maximum daily precipitation indicate an expansion in the probability density curve's width starting from the boreal winter season going into the peak‐to‐late summer season both in observations and model simulations. Transitioning between unimodal and bimodal distributions in density curves indicates the appearance of one more class of grid points that receive higher precipitation; for example, over the land. Despite large inter‐model spread, future projections assessed based on multimodel mean reveal a substantial rise in maximum daily precipitation in a warmer climate. The reported increase in the intensity of maximum daily precipitation compared with historical climate outweighs the decrease by at least a factor of 1.2 in both scenarios, which is, further, more prominent in SSP585. A large decrease and increase in the intensity of extremes indicates that it may become more variable and intense in future. Additionally, land regions, particularly along the intertropical convergence zone and global monsoon domains, are expected to exhibit more pronounced intensification in future, whereas the decline is mostly confined to tropical–subtropical oceanic regions.

Main Problems of Land Use in Gusar-Gonakkend Cadastral District

The work is devoted to the study of land resources of the Gusar-Gonakkend cadastral district. The analysis of the state of soil fertility and the identification of problems and causes in land use are carried out. The analysis of fund and cartographic materials on the object of study is carried out. The study revealed that the main problems in the use of the studied lands are a decrease in the forest fund and a decrease in soil fertility, an increase in salinity, and soil erosion. It was found that 53.2% (241,492 hectares) of the lands of the Gusar-Gonakkend cadastral district are eroded, of which 41.7% (100,702 hectares) are slightly eroded, 30.8% (74,380 hectares) are moderately eroded, and 27.5% (66,410 hectares) are heavily eroded. The area of forests in the study area is 49,111 hectares, i.e., 10.81% of the total area. Unsystematic logging and failure to establish new forests have led to a significant reduction of 48.9% (19,741 ha). The fertility of the lands of the Gusar-Gonakkend cadastral region has decreased as a result of intensive use in agriculture. 16.92% of the lands of group I, 51.88% of the lands of group II, and 27.69% of the lands of group III are used for arable land. 2.2% (10,000 ha) of the area of the study territory is subject to alkalinization.

Study on Spatial Differentiation Characteristics and Driving Mechanism of Sustainable Utilization of Cultivated Land in Tarim River Basin

The sustainable utilization of cultivated land is a crucial prerequisite for ensuring food security and achieving sustainable socioeconomic development. This study employed a dataset to evaluate sustainable land use and utilized a combination of multi-factor comprehensive evaluation models, structural equation modeling, geographically weighted regression, and Pearson correlation analysis to systematically investigate the overall level, spatial differentiation characteristics, and driving mechanisms of sustainable cultivated land utilization in the Tarim River Basin. Additionally, we compared and tested three spatial interpolation methods using high-resolution data to address the modifiable areal unit problem (MAUP) and enhance the quality of spatial predictions for cultivated land utilization, ultimately identifying inverse distance weighting (IDW) as the optimal method. The results indicate the following: (1) The level of sustainable cultivated land utilization is moderately high, with an average index of 0.581, exhibiting a “U-shaped” trend from the upper to lower reaches of the Tarim River Basin. The highest levels are found in the Kashgar River–Yarkant River Basin, followed by the Hotan River Basin and the Kaidu–Peacock River Basin, while the mainstream area has the lowest levels. (2) The relationships among various cultivated land environmental systems and sustainability demonstrate distinct response characteristics and spatial differentiation patterns. Cultivated land use and management exert the most significant influence on sustainability, followed by soil quality and water resource systems, with climatic factors having the least impact. The effects of each system reveal inverted “U”, inverted “N”, “U”, and “W” patterns from the lower reaches to the upper reaches, respectively. (3) As the complexity of interactions and integrative mechanisms within the regional cultivated land system increases, the sensitivity and vulnerability of the system also rise, resulting in lower levels of sustainable utilization. (4) Based on the current challenges facing the cultivated land environmental system and the primary mechanisms influencing its sustainability, we propose regulatory measures focused on “suitable consolidation”, “suitable resting”, and “suitable planting”. These findings provide valuable insights for formulating differentiated land protection strategies, policies, and spatial planning initiatives.

‘Their Flag has Failed Them’ – Moral Panic and the Imagined Survivors of the SS Douglas Mawson

ABSTRACT The sinking of the SS Douglas Mawson in a cyclone in Northern Australia in March 1923 became the unlikely catalyst for a gendered and racialised moral panic that gripped Australia between June and October 1924. The story, based only on hearsay and rumours, that two white women had survived the loss of the vessel and were captives of Aboriginal people in the remote Arnhem Land region of the Northern Territory, caused an outburst of public indignation. The alleged plight of these women proved deeply unsettling to interwar Australia and became a cause célèbre for newspapers, politicians and civil society groups that routinely linked the imaged violation of these women to Australia’s honour. Officials, newspapers and individuals that questioned some of the key claims of the story were largely ignored. The extensive searches conducted by the Australian government, which found no evidence of any survivors, mostly ended the affair, but some resolutely believed that the women survived. This article explains why inter-war Australia was susceptible to racial panic and how the sinking of small ship became a national controversy.

Correction: Ma et al. Assessment of Crop Water Footprint and Actual Agricultural Water Consumption in Arid Inland Regions: A Case Study of Aksu Region. Sustainability 2024, 16, 2911

The authors would like to make the following corrections to the published paper [...]

Macro‐evolutionary dynamics dominated by dispersal promote the formation of regional biodiversity hotspot‐insights from hawkmoths (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae) in South China

AbstractAimRapid loss in global insect diversity has generated substantial public worry due to their critical ecological roles. However, there is controversy about the effectiveness of the global‐scale hotspots in guiding the conservation of diversity at the regional scale. Even worse, little is known about the knowledge of insect distributional dynamics in many understudied regions, such as East and Southeast Asia. Here, to guide for setting regional‐scale conservation priorities for insect diversity, we explore hawkmoths (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae) for their distributional dynamics and identify regional hotspots requiring protection.LocationSouth China (including Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Hong Kong and Macau) and northern Vietnam (17°~26.5° N, 102°~117.5° E).MethodsSpecies distribution models were generated for 194 hawkmoth species based on 3597 occurrence records to predict their distributions. We calculated the spatial patterns of taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity and identified regional hotspots. Furthermore, the potential assembly mechanisms underlying insect diversity were explored by analysing the rates of speciation, extinction and dispersal between phyloregions.Results(a) The coastal regions of South China and northern Vietnam represent a regional hotspot of hawkmoths in East and Southeast Asia, with significantly higher α‐diversity than that in inland regions. (b) Dispersal played a more important role than local speciation and extinction in the formation of regional hawkmoth hotspots.Main ConclusionsIn this study, the ‘Out‐of‐the‐tropics model’ can explain the formation of the hawkmoth regional hotspots and the enhanced version of the ‘Pure dispersal model’ can explain the formation of the hotspots in Hainan Island. Compared with the local speciation and extinction, dispersal is the main driving factor that promoted the formation of the regional biodiversity hotspot of hawkmoths in South China. The case of Hainan Island suggests that protection within hotspots needs to account for specific regional macro‐evolutionary dynamics rather than indiscriminate coverage of identified hotspots.

Analysis of Annual Spatiotemporal Variations in Carbon Stock in the Urban Agglomeration of the Middle Yangtze River Basin, China

Terrestrial ecosystem carbon stock (TECS) is critical to socioeconomic development and ecosystem services and is jointly affected by land use and cover and climate change. However, the dynamics of long-term annual TECS levels in urban agglomeration remain largely unknown, and research mostly ignores the spatial heterogeneity of climate factors, compromising sustainable environmental management and land planning strategies. To this end, we integrated field observations of carbon density, land use, and climate factors to map the annual distribution of TECS and analyzed their spatiotemporal variations and policy implications in the urban agglomeration of the middle Yangtze River Basin in China from 1990 to 2020. The results showed that 43,855.47 km2 of the land of the urban agglomeration changed from 1990 to 2020, accounting for 12.54% of the study area. The farmland and forest land area fluctuated and reduced, and the construction land area increased significantly. The increase in construction land was mainly from farmland and forest land. The TECS in urban agglomerations underwent a remarkable change, the overall trend fluctuated downward, and the maximum interannual variation was 1560 Tg. The transfer of construction land, farmland, forest land, shrubs, grassland, and other land mainly caused the change in carbon storage. Due to abnormal climate change, the urban agglomeration in some areas illustrated carbon storage with a spatially aggregated distribution. When considering the impact of climate change on carbon density, the TECS changes of land types other than forest land were found to be consistent with the area change but more significant due to climate change. The research results can provide reference data for regional land management policy formulation and realization of “dual carbon” goals.

Response of Topsoil Organic Carbon in the Forests of Northeast China Under Future Climate Scenarios

Soil organic carbon (SOC) serves as a highly sensitive indicator of climate change and plays a crucial role in terrestrial carbon cycles. Evaluating the impact of regional land use changes on SOC stocks is essential for assessing ecological and environmental effects. In this study, we utilized 157 soil samples and 11 environmental variables—including soil properties, topographic factors, and climatic conditions—to develop boosted regression tree (BRT) and random forest (RF) models to estimate topsoil SOC stocks for the year 2015. We used a 10-fold cross-validation approach, along with four validation metrics, to assess model performance. The BRT model demonstrated superior accuracy, with a higher R2 and Lin’s consistency correlation coefficient and a lower mean absolute error and root mean square error compared to the RF model. The key environmental factors influencing SOC stock variability in the BRT model included mean annual temperature, elevation, mean annual precipitation, the topographic wetness index (TWI), and catchment area. Based on this, we employed the space-for-time substitution approach and BRT model to forecast the spatial distribution of soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks in Northeast China’s forested regions under future climate scenarios for the 2050s and 2090s. Our findings indicate that, compared to the 2015 levels, the forecast indicates that SOC stocks will decrease by 122 Tg carbon and 123 Tg carbon under two different future scenarios, SSP245 and SSP585, respectively, by the 2050s. By the 2090s, these figures are expected to decrease further by 127 Tg C and 126 Tg C, respectively. Throughout both future periods, SOC stocks will predominantly be concentrated in the northwest region. This research highlights the necessity of thoroughly considering climatic factors in future studies of regional SOC stock dynamics. Moreover, the high-resolution maps produced in this study offer a scientific foundation for enhancing the implementation of ecological management practices in the forested regions of Northeast China, fostering environmental improvement and bolstering SOC and soil management strategies in response to future climate change.

Soils of the Baikal region: Mapping, use, transformation

The article gives a brief overview of the soil cartographic work carried out in the Baikal region. The paper contains one of the authors' map of agroecological zoning of soils of the Irkutsk region. A fragment of the legend is shown. Suitable and unsuitable districts for their use in agriculture have been identified. Various types of business activities are recommended. Also provided are maps of the use of land of the most developed part of the lands of the Baikal region in 1980 and 2023. In the Irkutsk-Cheremkhov plain with neighboring steppe areas, occupying 11% of the area of the region where the bulk of the farmland is located, relatively good natural and climatic conditions are noted. With the collapse of collective farms and state farms since the 1990s. More than 50% of former agricultural land was abandoned. A positive aspect of the "resetting" of the state system is the emergence of a reserve of agricultural land for use in the form of abandoned land with soils that have restored the level of fertility. The authors proposed a scale of qualitative assessment of the possibility of using land in agriculture, developed an assessment of the state of soil fertility, taking into account their regional characteristics.

Identification of Priority Supply Areas for Carbon Sinks Based on Ecosystem Service Flow: A Case Study for the Hexi Region in Northwestern China

The development and implementation of regional protection plans for ecosystem carbon storage services have been recognized as crucial actions for mitigating global climate change. However, the supply areas of carbon sequestration in terms of ecosystem service flows in inland regions are still less evaluated. The goal of this study is to identify the priority-ranked supply areas for carbon sinks. Here, we conducted a case study in the Hexi Region of northwestern China and proposed a framework to quantify the priority supply areas for carbon sinks from the perspective of ecosystem service flows. Firstly, we quantified the carbon service supply and demand areas by combining carbon models (i.e., the Carnegie–Ames–Stanford Approach model and soil respiration models) with socioeconomic and natural factors. Then, we introduced a breaking point formula to estimate ecosystem service flow, specifically focusing on distance or range. Finally, we determined priority supply areas for carbon sinks based on the Zonation model. The results showed that significantly higher carbon sequestration values were detected in the Qilian Mountains, ranging from 2.0 to 3.0 t hm−2, in comparison with desert oasis areas, where the supply values ranged from 0 to 0.01 t hm−2. The urban areas and rural settlements within the study area are characterized by higher values of carbon emissions compared to those in the Qilian Mountains and deserts. The carbon flow analysis demonstrated that the middle and northern parts of the study area, being characterized by lower precipitation and sandy landscapes, were identified as locations with low carbon sequestration fluxes (<1.0 t hm−2). In addition, the mountainous regions were identified as the main highest priority area for ecosystem carbon sequestration, covering 8.33% of total area of the Hexi Region. Our findings highlighted the importance of the Qilian Mountains in terms of sustaining carbon sequestration service supply in the Hexi Region and targeted ecological protection practices to be implemented going forward.

Assesment of wind potential energy of four major cities in Cote d’ivoire using satellite data from 2015 to 2022

In Côte d’Ivoire, the use of renewable energy is becoming a major challenge in the context of climate change and global warming. Therefore, the aim of this study is to characterize the wind profile for potential energy in Abidjan, Man, Bouaké and Korhogo of Côte d’Ivoire using satellite data. Wind speed and direction data from Copernicus Centre from 2015 to 2022 are used for these major cities. The frequency method is used to build wind rose and power density formula to estimate the potential energy for each city, at ground level (10 m) and in particular level at 100 m and 500 m. The results showed a slightly wind speed and direction variation from 2015 to 2022. This suggests that wind has a seasonal (wet and dry) evolution over the year. However, wind speeds increase for each city with the altitude. The higher average wind speed is observed in Abidjan with a power density of 58 W/m2. The lower wind speed and power density are observed in Man, Bouaké and Korhogo. So, the coastline of Côte d’Ivoire has the higher wind energy resource than the inland regions of the country.

Causes for overestimation of the moisture recycling in an alpine meadow ecosystem of the Shule River Basin, Tibetan Plateau, China

Terrestrial moisture recycling is an essential hydrological component and a significant source of the atmosphere’s humidity budget in arid and semi-arid inland regions. Investigations on moisture recycling using the stable hydrogen and oxygen isotopes is currently a focal point in hydrologic research. However, the direct quantification of recycling ratio based on isotopic composition of evapotranspiration vapor is lacking. So, this causes challenges to compare studies, based in the same region and time period but with different methodologies. In this study, we measured the isotopic compositions of evapotranspiration vapor (δ18OET/δDET) from June to September 2018 in an alpine meadow ecosystem at the Shule River Basin by combining the Keeling plot model and in-situ chamber measurement. Using this data, the moisture recycled rate (mrr) was assessed based on the two-component (Model A) and three-component isotopic mixing models (Model B), respectively. Based on Model A and δ18OET, the analysis revealed that the mean recycled rate for the entire observation period was 35 %, while it was 26 % during the westerly period (the months dominated by the north branch of prevailing westerlies) and 44 % during the monsoon period (when subtropical moisture from the Indian monsoon penetrated the region). The recycled rate based on Model A and δDET was slightly larger with a mean value of 41 % during the entire observation period. The recycled rate based on Model B was also significantly higher in comparison with Model A, while the causes for this difference could be the assumption of substituting xylem water for transpiration vapor and the plant water source δD offset. The contribution of recycled moisture was notable lower for heavy rainfall comparing with light rainfall. Our findings provided a new perspective for the investigations of alpine meadow ecosystem hydrological processes.

Impacts of tropical cyclones on extreme precipitation and flooding in a humid subtropical inland basin of China

Study regionXiangjiang basin, a humid subtropical inland region of central-south China. Study focusTropical Cyclones (TCs) usually cause extreme precipitation events (EPEs) and flooding in both coastal and inland areas, resulting in severe economic losses. However, TC impacts in inland regions were seldom investigated. This study provided a climatological view of TCs, TC-induced EPEs and flooding in the Xiangjiang basin over the past nearly 70 years, and examined their relationships with ENSO using data from 127 meteorological stations, 22 hydrological stations, and TC tracks. New hydrological insights for the regionXiangjiang basin averaged five TC visits annually, primarily between July and September, when the majority of EPEs and flooding associated with TCs occurred. Despite the relatively low frequency (less than 30 %) of TC-induced EPEs and flooding compared to coastal regions, their magnitudes were comparable to or even exceeded those in coastal regions. These influences were modulated by ENSO. In neutral years, the frequency and magnitude of TC-induced EPEs were greatest due to higher TC track density and frequency. Also, TC tracks shifted westward, increasing the likelihood of extreme TC flooding in neutral years. The southeast of the basin faced the highest risk of TC-related disasters, especially in neutral years. This paper highlights the need to strengthen monitoring and prevention for TC-induced disasters in inland regions.

Soil and Microbial Biomass Response to Land-Use Changes in the Loess Plateau

Vegetation restoration is a critical strategy for addressing ecosystem degradation globally. However, understanding the specific impacts of land-use changes, particularly the conversion of farmland to forestland and grassland, on soil nutrients and microbial biomass in the Loess Plateau remains limited and requires further evaluation. Therefore, this study was conducted to explore how these conversions affect soil organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), and microbial biomass components under various land-use patterns. We studied the SOC, TN, TP, soil microbial biomass carbon (MBC), microbial biomass nitrogen (MBN), microbial biomass phosphorus (MBP) content and their ratios under six land-use patterns (Farmland (FL), Abandoned cropland (ACL), Natural grassland (NG), Alfalfa grassland (Medicago sativa L. (MS)), Spruce forestland (Picea asperata Mast. (PA)) and Cypress forestland (Platycladus orientalis (L.) Franco (PO))). The conversion of FL to grassland and forestland significantly increased C:N and C:P by 9.82~64.12%, 10.57~126.05%, and 51.44~113.40%, 22.10~116.09%, respectively. The conversion of FL to ACL reduced the C:N and C:P by 5.34~13.57% and 1.51~7.55%, respectively. The conversion of FL to NG can increase soil N:P. The conversion of FL to grassland and forestland increased soil MBC, MBN, and MBP by −31.54~84.48%, −48.39~1533.93%, −46.55~173.85%, and −34.96~17.13%, 68.72~432.14%, −38.39~318.46%, respectively. However, the MBC, MBN, and MBP contents in the soil converted from FL to ACL varied from −28.21~11.95%, 11.17~531.25%, and −82.64~70.77%, respectively. Soil SOC, TN, TP, available potassium (AK), pH, and soil bulk density (BD) are the main factors causing microbial biomass differences. These results indicate that converting farmland into forestland and grassland can improve soil nutrient structure and increase soil microbial biomass and carbon accumulation. The results of this study provide theoretical support for the scientific management of regional land.

Improved estimates of net ecosystem exchanges in mega-countries using GOSAT and OCO-2 observations

Accurate national terrestrial net ecosystem exchange estimates are crucial for the global stocktake. Net ecosystem exchange estimates from different inversion models vary greatly at national scale, and the relative impacts of prior fluxes and observations on these inversions remain unclear. Here we estimate the net ecosystem exchange of 51 land regions for the 2017-2019 period, focusing on the 10 largest countries, using prior fluxes from 12 terrestrial biosphere models and XCO2 retrievals from GOSAT and OCO-2 satellites as constraints. The average uncertainty reduction for the 10 countries increases from 37% with GOSAT and 45% with OCO-2 to 50% with combined observations, indicating a trend towards robust estimates. At finer spatial scales, even with combined observations, the uncertainty reduction is only 33%, i.e., the prior flux dominates the estimates. This finding underscores the critical importance of integrating multi-source observations and refining prior fluxes to improve the accuracy of carbon flux estimates.

Optimizing arable land suitability evaluation using improved suitability functions in the Anning River Basin

Conducting arable land suitability evaluation (ALSE) is essential for identifying agricultural development opportunities and ensuring sustainable production and food security. Traditional ALSE methods, relying on suitability proportion functions, often encounter constraints due to land use structures. Therefore, it is necessary to develop new function methods to avoid the constraints imposed by land use structures, thus making ALSE more convenient. This study aims to propose a novel set of rules for constructing proportion functions, aiming to enhance the applicability of suitability functions in arable land suitability evaluation. The study findings reveal that: (1) In the Anning River Basin, the highly Suitable, Moderately Suitable, and Marginally Suitable current arable land (CAL) respectively account for 45.3%, 29.8%, and 18.9% of the arable land (AL). The proportion of areas deemed Temporarily Unsuitable and Permanently Unsuitable is only 6%. The distribution of suitability levels for the potential arable land (PAL) is relatively uniform, with a proportion of suitable areas reaching 66.1%, indicating substantial development potential. (2) The agricultural production conditions in the arid and warm river valley area of the Anning River Basin are exceptional. Highly Suitable CAL and Highly Suitable PAL cover 93.14% and 82.97% of this region, respectively, making it a focal point for regional agricultural development. (3) The spatial distribution patterns of ALSE results based on the original function and the improved function are essentially consistent. However, there are significant differences among the suitability levels. The correlation analysis results indicate that the evaluation results based on the improved function are closer to reality. This study enhanced the accuracy of ALSE results based on the suitability function. It provided a new approach for evaluating the suitability of AL and offers a beneficial reference for regional arable land resource utilization and sustainable agricultural development.

Impacts of climate trends on the heavy precipitation event associated with Typhoon Doksuri in Northern China

The remnant inland circulation of Typhoon Doksuri induced catastrophic heavy precipitation in July 2023 in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area of China. The role of climate trends in this event is investigated using the pseudo-global warming approach. The control experiment driven by the ERA5 reanalysis captures the intensity and spatial distribution of the heavy precipitation reasonably well. The effects of climate trends are investigated by removing climate trends in various variables from the boundary and initial conditions of the sensitivity experiments. The warming trend of sea surface temperature is found to enhance extreme precipitation intensity, while the specific humidity trend, which is positive over the ocean but negative in some inland regions, has negligible impacts on inland extreme precipitation. The impacts of atmospheric dynamic trends are found to be predominant, which alter the track of the remnant circulation, reduce precipitation intensity, and substantially change the spatial distribution of precipitation. This study highlights the importance of considering atmospheric dynamic trends when assessing the impacts of climate trends on typhoon remnant circulations over land, which may lead to extreme precipitation in regions that have rarely experienced such extremes before.

Desertification sensitivity and its impacts on land use change in the Tarim Basin, Northwest China

Desertification poses a major challenge in the northwestern arid areas of China. Land use activities are increasingly endangered by desertification, including direct impact (e.g., farmland abandonment) and indirect impact (e.g., farmland area control). However, previous studies have primarily focused on the impact of land use on desertification processes, while there has been limited research on the direct and indirect impacts of desertification on land use. Based on the Mediterranean Desertification and Land Use (MEDALUS) and Future Land Use Simulation (FLUS) models, we identify the spatiotemporal distribution of desertification sensitivity and analyze the direct and indirect impacts of desertification on land use in the Tarim Basin from 2000 to 2020. The results showed that the desertification sensitivity areas were primarily concentrated in the critical areas (proportion > 50 %), followed by the fragile and potential areas. In terms of the direct impact, the areas of abandoned farmland due to desertification were 68.25 km2 and 1444.25 km2 during the periods of 2000–2010 and 2010–2020, respectively. Additionally, 3893.25 km2 of farmland was at risk of abandonment. After being abandoned, the farmland was primarily converted into grassland. In terms of the indirect impact, the differences between predicted (simulations without farmland area control) and observed farmland area, serving as an indicator of farmland area control to reduce desertification risks, were 1065.75 km2 in 2010 and 4614.00 km2 in 2020. Our paper provides new insights into the direct and indirect impacts of desertification on land use, providing references for formulating desertification control policies and regional land use planning.

How does ICT capital stock affect high-quality economic growth? Evidence from China

As an essential driving force to promote industrial upgrading and technological innovation, ICT has gradually become the technological support for high-quality economic growth. This paper adopts the improved perpetual inventory method and entropy weight TOPSIS method to measure China’s ICT capital stock and economic high-quality growth index, respectively, and experimentally examines the effect of the former on the latter. The findings show that the south has a more extensive ICT capital stock than the north, and the coastal region has a better high-quality growth index than the inland region. Meanwhile, high-quality economic growth, which has increased since 2009 and is incredibly robust in the south, positively correlates with ICT capital stock. Further research finds that ICT capital stock can boost high-quality economic growth by raising marketization and human capital. The results provide policy recommendations for enhancing high-quality economic growth.

Identification of Agricultural Areas to Restore Through Nature-Based Solutions (NbS)

This study aims to present a methodological approach based on the objectives of the Nature Restoration Law and the concept of Forest Landscape Restoration to identify areas that are best suited for the implementation of Nature-based Solutions for the improvement of landscape and habitat status in the city of Campobasso (1028.64 km2). Using open data (ISPRA ecosystem services and regional land use capability), an expert based approach (questionnaire), and a multicriteria analysis (Analytical Hierarchy Process), the Total Ecosystem Services Value index was determined as a weighted additive sum of the criteria considered. The index was then classified into eight clusters, and the land use “Cropland” was extracted. Cluster 1 croplands (740.09 Ha) were identified as the areas to be allocated to Nature-based Solutions since they were those characterized by fewer ecosystem services provisioning, while Cluster 8 croplands (482.88 Ha) were identified as valuable areas to be preserved. It was then possible to compare the “Forest” areas currently present in the study area with those of a possible future scenario, represented by the areas occupied today by forest with the addition of Cluster 1 croplands. A landscape analysis was conducted; it showed greater dispersion and fragmentation of forest patches in the future scenario, but also greater connectivity and thus greater ecological functionality of the patches.