Landscape Transition Research Articles

Impact of Land Transition on Landscape and Ecosystem Service Value in Northeast Region of China from 2000–2020

Drastic land pattern change has taken place in the northeast region of China, which may have a significant impact on landscape and ecosystem service. Up to now, insufficient renewal of land use patterns may limit the latest assessment of landscape transition and ecosystem service value. Meanwhile, the adaptive ecosystem service value improvement method should be established. To solve this issue, the integrated methodology of land-use change monitoring—landscape analysis—the promoted ecosystem service measurement is established. Results show that: (1) New evidence is observed that the cultivated land in Northeast China has been reduced, with 309,610.33 km2 in 2010 and 309,417.52 km2 in 2020, showing a net change area of −192.82 km2. This is the opposite of the increase of cultivated land compared to the past. (2) Shannon’s diversity index displays an upward trend, with the richer landscape types and higher fragmentation in the whole region. In addition, the contagion index reduced, with a total decrease of 1.93, indicating that the patches distribute intermittently and the agglomeration degree of these patches is weakened. (3) More precise ecosystem service value is assessed, from 2868.39 billion yuan in 2000 to 2814.06 billion yuan in 2020, and the hydrological regulation, climate regulation, and soil conservation play a dominant role in these functions in 2020. The spatial pattern of ecosystem service value is high-rank in the Northwest and Southeast, and low-rank in other directions. This study provides the new results on land change and landscape pattern and creates an improved ecosystem service value assessment method in Northeast China, to provide a more suitable ecosystem assessment application for Northeast China.

Landscape in transition in the shadow of 2022 Russia’s invasion in Ukraine – notes from Hungary

This research note focuses on two phenomena: the transformations in the landscape in Hungary as an effect of Russia’s invasion in Ukraine and the welcome/help centers that were established to channel mobility and provide a temporary safe space. I suggest that liminality (which serves as a main explanatory category) is characteristic of both. It is stated that in this context that the bodies of refugees are reminders of the existence of the (state) border, which gets reaffirmed by the process of welcoming and hosting and is also reflected in the visual reminders in the landscape. I also divide the management of the refugee crisis into three phases: spontaneous action, institutionalization, and sanitization. With the phase of sanitization (removing the physically existing “indicators” of the war, including refugees, volunteers, signs, and queues) the reality and severity of the war can be concealed, and the “normality” can be reinstated. Research is based on field observations and interviews taken in March 2022 in Budapest, Kisvárda, Vásárosnamény, Barabás, and Beregsurány in Hungary.

Analysis of wind to hydrogen production and carbon capture utilisation and storage systems for novel production of chemical energy carriers

As the offshore energy landscape transitions to renewable energy useful decommissioned or abandoned oil and gas infrastructure can be repurposed in the context of the circular economy. Oil and gas platforms, for example, offer opportunity for hydrogen (H2) production by desalination and electrolysis of sea water using offshore wind power. However, as H2 storage and transport may prove challenging this study proposes to react this H2 with the carbon dioxide (CO2) stored in depleted reservoirs. Thus, producing a more transportable energy carriers like methane or methanol in the reservoir. This paper presents a novel thermodynamic analysis of the Goldeneye reservoir in the North Sea in Aspen Plus. For Goldeneye, which can store 30 Mt of CO2 at full capacity, if connected to a 4.45 GW wind farm, it has the potential to produce 2.10 Mt of methane annually and abate 4.51 Mt of CO2 from wind energy in the grid.

The changing landscape of deep transitions: Sociotechnical imprinting and chemical warfare

This paper addresses a major gap in sustainability transitions research: the role of shocks in shaping transition dynamics. The papers focuses on shocks with traumatic consequences, in particular World War I and II. The paper revisits discussions on the sociotechnical landscape in the Multi-Level Perspective (MLP) and Deep Transition framework, offering refined versions of the concepts of systemic and landscape imprinting. It proceeds with a case-study analysis focusing on niche developments during WWI in relation to chemicals and the emergence of chemical warfare, and the lasting impact this shock had on interwar developments, WWII and the post-WWII context. The collective memories of the use of chemical weapons during war and expectations around future use of chemical weapons formed a new backdrop that influenced developments in the food system. Here, food became more tightly intertwined with military imperatives related to preparations regarding the use of chemical and biological weapons. This paper contributes to emerging understandings of how landscape shocks influence sociotechnical change, in particular how these shocks can lead to long lasting tight couplings between socio-technical systems. Two broader research recommendations follow from it. First, more work is needed on the neglected role of war and the military in sociotechnical transitions. Second, in terms of contemporary sustainability challenges, research could consider how landscape events - including the coronavirus pandemic, events related to dramatic biodiversity losses and the climate crisis as well as the traumatic experience of poverty traps and steep rising inequality - may produce trauma and new forms of shared meaning and expectations that impinge on sociotechnical change.

Shaping effects of sand flow channels on aeolian geomorphology – a case study of the Badain Jaran, Tengger, and Ulan Buh Deserts, northern China

Based on the interactions between mountains, we identified three sand flow channels in the Badain Jaran, Tengger, and Ulan Buh Deserts, northern China. We found that the height difference of the terrain in these areas provided favorable conditions for the transportation of sand. Owing to the venturi effect of their geomorphologies, airflow was compressed in these channels, and their wind regimes were strong and unimodal. Compared with the interior of the desert, the sand transport potential was relatively large in these areas, and westerly and northwest winds prevailed. We found that the wind accelerated in the sand flow channels, resulting in faster-moving dunes. The dune types that developed in these channels were relatively simple owing to the unimodal wind regimes; they mainly comprised barchan and transverse dunes. We also identified a transition landscape from barchan dunes to transverse, or complex dunes. Based on their sediment characteristics and the prevailing wind directions, we found that the sand flow channels provided a direct sand supply between the three deserts. The sand flow channels connected these independent deserts to an entire desert system. Similar sand flow channels can also be found in other deserts globally. Collectively, these sand flow channels reflect interactions between deserts.

Spatial conflict simulation of land-use based on human-land-landscape elements intercoordination: a case study in Tianjin, China.

The evolution of land-use spatial conflict is a comprehensive reflection of regional development and a common phenomenon in urbanization. The research on land-use spatial conflicts can provide theoretical basis and practical support for spatial control. The present study employs Tianjin as the research object, and ecological risk assessment model was improved based on landscape pattern analysis by selecting appropriate indicators that may bring conflict risk problems. The spatial conflict measurement model of land-use based on the coordination of human-land-landscape elements was preliminarily constructed. The spatial and temporal evolution of land-use spatial conflict degree, and spatial autocorrelation from 2000 to 2020 was preliminarily analyzed. Results showed that (1) the conflict measurement level of the model was verified by Google Earth remote sensing image platform and field survey, and the results were relatively consistent with the actual situation, which proves that this method was feasible. (2) The areas with low intensity of land-use conflict were mainly distributed in remote mountainous areas with less human activities, while the areas with high comprehensive conflict index were mainly distributed in the central urban area with more active human activities and urbanization, the urban fringe area, the water-land ecotone, and some landscape transition areas. (3) There was a close relationship between land use spatial conflict and land-use change. Areas with severe and frequent land-use changes were often areas with noticeable land-use conflict changes. In the period of high land-use change intensity and frequent land-use mode conversion, it was also a period of a large area where regional land-use conflict was enhanced. (4) The overall level of conflict showed an average trend year by year, and the high conflict fluctuates greatly with first rising and then falling, but the change range was small. Moderate conflict mainly showed a decreasing trend, with an extensive change range. The early stage of the mild conflict was relatively stable, and the later stage changed significantly.

Bistability of Dielectrically Anisotropic Nematic Crystals and the Adaptation of Endothelial Collectives to Stress Fields.

Endothelial monolayers physiologically adapt to flow and flow‐induced wall shear stress, attaining ordered configurations in which elongation, orientation, and polarization are coherently organized over many cells. Here, with the flow direction unchanged, a peculiar bi‐stable (along the flow direction or perpendicular to it) cell alignment is observed, emerging as a function of the flow intensity alone, while cell polarization is purely instructed by flow directionality. Driven by the experimental findings, the parallelism between endothelia is delineated under a flow field and the transition of dual‐frequency nematic liquid crystals under an external oscillatory electric field. The resulting physical model reproduces the two stable configurations and the energy landscape of the corresponding system transitions. In addition, it reveals the existence of a disordered, metastable state emerging upon system perturbation. This intermediate state, experimentally demonstrated in endothelial monolayers, is shown to expose the cellular system to a weakening of cell‐to‐cell junctions to the detriment of the monolayer integrity. The flow‐adaptation of monolayers composed of healthy and senescent endothelia is successfully predicted by the model with adjustable nematic parameters. These results may help to understand the maladaptive response of in vivo endothelial tissues to disturbed hemodynamics and the progressive functional decay of senescent endothelia.

Wetland degradation diagnosis and zoning based on the integrated degradation index method

With the immense disturbance of human activities, the wetlands all over the world have been degrading. It is urgent to evaluate the degree of degradation and determinate the degraded areas. This paper used satellite images of the Yellow River Delta in 1976, 1996, and 2016, and the kilometer grid was used as the research unit. From the landscape transition matrix, landscape connectivity, and hydrological connectivity three aspects, the wetland degradation diagnosis index system was constructed by selecting the seven indices. Wetland degradation diagnosis and zoning were studied by the integrated degradation index and Global autocorrelation. The study found the degree of degeneration has increased for 40 years. The degraded areas were classified into 5 levels according to the degree of degradation: undegraded, light, moderate, severe, and extreme. The degraded areas were positively clustered in space. From 1976 to 2016, the extremely degraded areas were concentrated in coastal areas and the severely degraded areas tended to expand from inland to sea. In 1996, the global Moran Index was 0.90, and the severely degraded areas were mainly concentrated in the central region, accounting for 13.31%. In 2016, the global Moran Index was 0.88, and the severely degraded areas were mainly concentrated in the central region, accounting for 21.64%. The main focus of the moderately degraded areas was the new estuary, accounting for 15.44%. In the future, management departments need to strengthen the management of the new estuary and coastal areas to prevent further degradation.

Checklist of the dipterofauna (Insecta) from Roraima, Brazil, with special reference to the Brazilian Ecological Station of Maracá

Roraima is a Brazilian state located in the northern portion of the Amazon basin, with few studies regarding its biodiversity. The Ecological Station of Maracá (Brazil, state of Roraima) harbors the third largest Brazilian pluvial island and is composed of a transitional landscape of savanna and Amazon rainforest components. Despite its ecological importance and strategic localization, few studies covered the dipterofauna of this locality. An updated checklist addressing 41 families of true flies (Diptera) occurring in Roraima is presented based on the literature and the specimens collected during a field expedition that occurred in 2015. This checklist brings several improvements such as new records of 165 taxa to the state of Roraima, 29 taxa to Brazil, and 259 morphotypes, mostly likely representing undescribed species.

Legacies of Indigenous land use and cultural burning in the Bolivian Amazon rainforest ecotone.

The southwestern Amazon Rainforest Ecotone (ARE) is the transitional landscape between the tropical forest and seasonally flooded savannahs of the Bolivian Llanos de Moxos. These heterogeneous landscapes harbour high levels of biodiversity and some of the earliest records of human occupation and plant domestication in Amazonia. While persistent Indigenous legacies have been demonstrated elsewhere in the Amazon, it is unclear how past human-environment interactions may have shaped vegetation composition and structure in the ARE. Here, we examine 6000 years of archaeological and palaeoecological data from Laguna Versalles (LV), Bolivia. LV was dominated by stable rainforest vegetation throughout the Holocene. Maize cultivation and cultural burning are present after ca 5700 cal yr BP. Polyculture cultivation of maize, manioc and leren after ca 3400 cal yr BP predates the formation of Amazonian Dark/Brown Earth (ADE/ABE) soils (approx. 2400 cal yr BP). ADE/ABE formation is associated with agroforestry indicated by increased edible palms, including Mauritia flexuosa and Attalea sp., and record levels of burning, suggesting that fire played an important role in agroforestry practices. The frequent use of fire altered ADE/ABD forest composition and structure by controlling ignitions, decreasing fuel loads and increasing the abundance of plants preferred by humans. Cultural burning and polyculture agroforestry provided a stable subsistence strategy that persisted despite pronounced climate change and cultural transformations and has an enduring legacy in ADE/ABE forests in the ARE. This article is part of the theme issue 'Tropical forests in the deep human past'.

A Value Chain Approach to Forest Landscape Restoration: Insights from Vietnam’s Production-Driven Forest Restoration

According to FAO figures, over 129 million hectares of forests have been lost globally since the 1990s, mainly in the tropical Global South, where agriculture acts as the main driver of forest conversion. International commitments, such as the Bonn Challenge, aim to reverse this trend through the application of forest landscape restoration (FLR) as an integrated and inclusive restoration approach. Beyond the discourse level, however, FLR implementation lags behind expectations due to insufficient funding and a disconnection with local implementation. We argue that, instead of relying on public resources for conservation-driven restoration, increased private sector engagement may point the way out of the funding impasse. However, this requires a shift towards production-driven FLR, which includes the livelihood needs of communities and smallholders as agents of landscape transition. For achieving the dual purpose of connecting landscapes with markets and promoting sustainable landscape restoration, we ascribe value chains and their economic, social and ecological configurations a key role in production-driven FLR. Drawing on Vietnam’s forest restoration pathway as an illustrative case, we examine how production-driven forest restoration, smallholder engagement and value chain upgrading can stimulate positive landscape transitions. We conclude that, depending on their configuration, value chains can have negative or positive social and ecological impacts at the landscape level. Furthermore, regulated, progressive and high-value commodity chains may perform better in the areas of integrated FLR objectives landscape integrity, ecological functionality and human well-being.

A comparative analysis of bioeconomy visions and pathways based on stakeholder dialogues in Colombia, Rwanda, Sweden, and Thailand

ABSTRACT The bioeconomy offers a cross-cutting perspective on the societal transformation towards long-term sustainability and the transition away from the non-renewable economy. Identification of future pathways towards a sustainable bioeconomy can be related to different ‘visions’ of the bioeconomy, including an ecological vision, a bioresource development vision and a biotechnology vision. This paper synthesises empirical work from stakeholder dialogues conducted in Colombia, Rwanda, Sweden, and Thailand. The dialogues were structured around elaboration of bioeconomy pathways arising from different visions. The dialogues considered key driving factors and enabling conditions for different institutional levels ranging from local to regional. By conducting analysis across multiple countries and regions, we aimed to look across different economic development levels, different sectoral perspectives, and different innovation and bioresource strategies. Key components for bioeconomy pathways were identified with respect to bio-based products and resources, sectoral alignment, innovation clusters or hubs, and landscape transitions. The choice of different bioeconomy pathways is characterised by tensions between sector-based development and cross-cutting approaches, which in turn reflect differences between the bioresource and ecological visions, whereas the biotechnology vision tends to be viewed more as a means of implementation. The comparative analysis suggests some future lines of research on governing bioeconomy pathways.

Electrocatalysis in Alkaline Media and Alkaline Membrane-Based Energy Technologies.

Hydrogen energy-based electrochemical energy conversion technologies offer the promise of enabling a transition of the global energy landscape from fossil fuels to renewable energy. Here, we present a comprehensive review of the fundamentals of electrocatalysis in alkaline media and applications in alkaline-based energy technologies, particularly alkaline fuel cells and water electrolyzers. Anion exchange (alkaline) membrane fuel cells (AEMFCs) enable the use of nonprecious electrocatalysts for the sluggish oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), relative to proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), which require Pt-based electrocatalysts. However, the hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR) kinetics is significantly slower in alkaline media than in acidic media. Understanding these phenomena requires applying theoretical and experimental methods to unravel molecular-level thermodynamics and kinetics of hydrogen and oxygen electrocatalysis and, particularly, the proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET) process that takes place in a proton-deficient alkaline media. Extensive electrochemical and spectroscopic studies, on single-crystal Pt and metal oxides, have contributed to the development of activity descriptors, as well as the identification of the nature of active sites, and the rate-determining steps of the HOR and ORR. Among these, the structure and reactivity of interfacial water serve as key potential and pH-dependent kinetic factors that are helping elucidate the origins of the HOR and ORR activity differences in acids and bases. Additionally, deliberately modulating and controlling catalyst-support interactions have provided valuable insights for enhancing catalyst accessibility and durability during operation. The design and synthesis of highly conductive and durable alkaline membranes/ionomers have enabled AEMFCs to reach initial performance metrics equal to or higher than those of PEMFCs. We emphasize the importance of using membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) to integrate the often separately pursued/optimized electrocatalyst/support and membranes/ionomer components. Operando/in situ methods, at multiscales, and ab initio simulations provide a mechanistic understanding of electron, ion, and mass transport at catalyst/ionomer/membrane interfaces and the necessary guidance to achieve fuel cell operation in air over thousands of hours. We hope that this Review will serve as a roadmap for advancing the scientific understanding of the fundamental factors governing electrochemical energy conversion in alkaline media with the ultimate goal of achieving ultralow Pt or precious-metal-free high-performance and durable alkaline fuel cells and related technologies.

A Comprehensive Evaluation of Electricity Planning Models in Egypt: Optimization versus Agent-Based Approaches

A rational assessment of electricity generation technologies constitutes a cornerstone to attain a sustainable and secure electricity plan. The Egyptian government is struggling with the accelerated growth of the national electricity demand through setting up and examining different future electricity scenarios and through the implementation of energy models to secure the provision of affordable and clean energy as part of the United Nations 2030 agenda of achieving the 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs). However, conventional techno-economic models still represent for many countries an attractive tool for energy planning. We investigate in this article the added values of applying a dynamic multi-criteria spatial-agent model that covers several sustainability dimensions versus an optimization techno-economic model for future energy planning in Egypt. Moreover, we report on the historical development of electricity supply since 2009 in Egypt. The study reveals predominant advantages of applying the agent-based modeling approach, which simulates the evolution of an energy transition landscape through the interactive and adaptive dynamic decision behavior of different societal groups (agents) in response to changes in the whole system. The study advocates the implementation of a dynamic agent-based bottom-up approach for the planning of a future sustainable electricity mix in Egypt.

Intangibile, Emergente, Esplicito. Il progetto di paesaggio per la transizione ecologica


 
 
 
 The result of the ecological transition process today is nothing more than an intangible landscape. Still utopian, it is thought of as the custodian of our desires, the communitarian expression of a democratic technology, a flexible dimension that will finally welcome a reformed society. As still potential and strictly dependent on our present action, the intangible landscape of ecological transition also has its Yang: the landscape of global warming of 2° C, in the scenario hypothesized by the latest report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). In balance between catharsis and catastrophe there is now a need for effective strategies to make the objective of transition concrete and the landscape, more than a mere destination, can today be understood as the main actor on the urban scene. Having cleared the field of misunderstandings and mystifications, the essay explores the potential of the landscape project as a political project of a solidary as well as ecological transition.
 
 
 

Agricultural Transformation and Its Impact on Ecosystem Services and Human Well-Being in Peri-Urban Areas: The Case of Xi’an, China

There is a gap in understanding the relationships between the transformation of agricultural landscapes, ecosystem services and human well-being in the peri-urban fringe of major cities worldwide. In this paper, we use semi-structured interviews, perception surveys, social surveys and field mapping to examine linkages between agricultural and landscape transition, ecosystem services and human well-being in five sample villages in Xi’an metropolitan zone, China. The results indicate that: (1) Agricultural change has increased landscape fragmentation, with a shift from grain to more profitable horticulture and nursery production. The farming system is more diversified and exhibits a multifunctional character. (2) This transformation has had a significant impact on the character of the agroecosystem. (3) The agricultural transformation towards greater multifunctionality has increased the supply of ecosystem services, including tourism-related activities, potentially improving human well-being. (4) Different combinations of activities in the sample villages were evaluated with respect to a well-being index, indicating the importance of combining horticulture and tourism. (5) Linkages identified between agricultural transformation, ecosystem services and human well-being may have significant implications for potential approaches within future studies.

Woody perennial polycultures in the U.S. Midwest enhance biodiversity and ecosystem functions

AbstractGiven the massive and growing environmental impacts of conventional agriculture, humanity needs new methods for growing food that not only meet dietary needs but also provide for multiple ecosystem functions with potential benefits to people and biodiversity. Concepts from ecology and complex adaptive systems suggest that persistent structural heterogeneity and functional diversity are key for supporting biodiversity, ecosystem services, and resilience, but these concepts have not been extensively applied in agriculture, which is still dominated by annual monocropping systems. Perennial agriculture seems to embody these ecological concepts—particularly perennial polycultures that combine a variety of long‐lived woody perennial food crops with continuous ground cover. However, our understanding of the benefits and trade‐offs of such systems compared to conventional agriculture is limited, especially in temperate climates. Here, we provide a systematic and comprehensive study of the ecological attributes of 14 woody perennial polyculture farm fields to conventional annual and hay fields in the U.S. Midwest, one of the most industrialized food‐producing regions in the world. We found that perennial fields had (1) more diverse soil fungal, invertebrate, plant, and bird communities but found no difference in soil bacterial communities; (2) less compacted soil; (3) denser ground cover; (4) more active carbon, organic carbon, and nitrogen and the same available phosphorus in the top layer of soil; and (5) more species of predatory, detritivorous, and herbivorous insects, and approximately fourfold higher abundance of herbivorous insects. Food production from the oldest half of perennial fields was only 14.7% of a regional corn/soy rotation by weight, but increased with the age of the perennial field and had high nutritional diversity. Together, these findings indicate that woody perennial polyculture fields in the U.S. Midwest are characterized by higher biodiversity and ecosystem functions than adjacent conventional fields. Woody perennial polycultures in the temperate north might play a role in the transition of agricultural landscapes toward sustaining both people and nature over the long term.

Urban Social Landscape Transitions between 1990 and 2010: Case study of Wuhan, China

Urban social development interacts with physical ecological dynamics. China’s urban social landscape study attracted attentions within recent decades, but the research mainly focused on the first tier cities. This paper aimed to reveal China’s urbanization since the 1980s from the perspectives of social dynamic and second tier cities, through the study of Wuhan one of the largest city in central China. The analysis was based on the population census data in Wuhan in 1990, 2000, and 2010. Variables referred to demography, migration, age composition, marital status, household type, education, employment, and housing status. Factorial analysis was employed to find the dominant urban social dimensions. A principal component analysis was conducted to extract the principal factors while a varimax algorithm was used for rotation. Further, the comprehensive urban social structures were mapped based on the cluster analysis of the selected factors. To conceptualize the urban social structure, dummy variable linear regression models were conducted. The results showed that Wuhan urban social dimensions diversified definitely during the recent decades, which were mainly reflected as increasing concerns of the tertiary industry employment, highly educated population unemployed, elders, incoming migrants, and housing improvement. The predominant urban social structure was conceptualized as “three central towns, two wings, and one axis”. The author concluded that urban social landscape study should be introduced in sustainable urban planning, with the concerns of challenges in an aging society, social equity between local residents and incoming migrants, as well as between rural and urban population, social impacts on physical ecological degradation, and so on.

TENDENCJE W KSZTAŁTOWANIU OSADNICTWA W ŚWIETLE IDEI „WSI W KRAJOBRAZIE PARKOWYM" NA TERENACH GMINY OGRODZIENIEC

This paper discusses the planning and spatial transformation of the municipality of Ogrodzieniec in the context of the idea of ‘a village in a park space’. The rural area of the Ogrodzieniec municipality has undergone significant landscape transitions over the past several decades. The dynamic development of single-family housing has generated the greatest amount of functio-spatial and compositional and landscape problems. The idea of ‘a village in a park space’ is to counter these negative development trajectories. It defines general perspectives of rural area development in a spirit of sustainable development.

Free energy landscape and kinetics of phase transition in two coupled SYK models and the corresponding wormhole-two black hole switching

We propose that the thermodynamics and the kinetics of the phase transition between wormhole and two black hole described by the two coupled SYK model can be investigated in terms of the stochastic dynamics on the underlying free energy landscape. We assume that the phase transition is a stochastic process under the thermal fluctuations. By quantifying the underlying free energy landscape, we study the phase diagram, the kinetic time and its fluctuations in details, which reveal the underlying thermodynamics and kinetics. It is shown that the first order phase transition between wormhole and two black hole described by two coupled SYK model is analogous to the Van der Waals phase transition. Therefore, the emergence of wormhole and two black hole phases, the phase transition and associated kinetics can be quantitatively addressed in our free energy landscape and kinetic framework through the dependence on the barrier height and the temperature.