Patch Shape Research Articles

Dynamic Changes of Air Particle Pollutants and Scale Regulation of Forest Landscape in a Typical High-Latitude City

Particulate pollutants, particularly PM2.5 and PM10, pose serious threats to human health and environmental quality. Therefore, effectively mitigating and reducing the concentrations of these pollutants is crucial for human survival and development. In this study, we analyzed the distribution characteristics of air particulate pollutants in a typical high-latitude city, extracted urban forest areas from high-resolution remote sensing images, and examined the changing characteristics of PM concentration and the relationship between landscape pattern indexes and PM at different scales. The results showed that the concentrations of PM2.5 and PM10 were highest in winter and lowest in summer. At the small scales of 0.5 km × 0.5 km to 1.5 km × 1.5 km, PM concentration decreased with the decrease in PARA (Perimeter–Area Ratio). At the mesoscales of 2 km × 2 km to 2.5 km × 2.5 km, both PARA and CIRCLE (Related Circumscribing Circle) were highly significant (p < 0.001) correlated with PM concentration. At the large scales of 3 km × 3 km to 4 km × 4 km, PARA and PAFRAC (Perimeter–Area Fractal Dimension) were positively correlated with PM concentration. Our study indicates that reducing the complexity of forest patches in small-scale planning can help mitigate particulate air pollution. In the medium scale of urban forest planning, the more regular the forest patch shape and the more similar the patch shape to the strip, the better PM can be alleviated, while in large-scale planning, increasing the forest area and making the patches more normalized and simplified can reduce PM concentration. Moreover, reducing the complexity of forest patches can significantly mitigate PM pollution at all scales. The results of this research provide theoretical support and guidance for improving air quality in urban forest planning at different scales.

How Emergent Vegetation Patch Shapes Affect Flow Structure in Open Channel Environments

ABSTRACTVegetation patches, which naturally occur in a variety of patterns, have an impact on the flow dynamics and geometry of rivers. There have been prior studies on vegetation patches, but none have examined the impact of differently shaped vegetation patch, i.e., circle, square and rectangle, and the comparison of these varying patch shapes from an ecological point of view. Hence, a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) technique using FLUENT has been employed in the present research to evaluate the flow dynamics and turbulence characteristics around emergent vegetation patches of various forms in an open channel. The results show that the shape of vegetation patches had a significant impact on the approaching flow, with circular patch offering the highest flow resistance among all other configurations. Flow shedding behaviour behind the patch was also prominent in the case of circular patch shape with a formation of large Kármán vortex street with vortex sizes up to 1.5 times the patch diameter. In the downstream region of vegetation patch, a reduction of 25%–30% in the mean streamwise velocity was observed for circular patch, whereas a 15% decrease was observed for rectangular and square patches. The outcomes of this study found that flow turbulence and stability in the open channel are significantly influenced by vegetation patch shape. This research reveals that the shape of vegetation patches, particularly circular configuration, significantly influences flow dynamics, thereby enhancing habitat complexity in riverine ecosystems. These findings are vital for developing informed river restoration and management strategies that support biodiversity and promote ecological resilience.

Analysis and Visualization of Inter-/Intra-surgeon Variability Using Surgical Simulation for Partial Anomalous Pulmonary Venous Connection Repair.

There may be inter-/intra-surgeon variability in the repair of congenital heart defects. The objective was to analyze and visualize inter-/intra-surgeon variability in the level of patch suture lines and in the shape and size of patches developed through surgical simulation for partial anomalous pulmonary venous connection (PAPVC) repair using a patient-specific 3D-printed heart model. A patient with PAPVC and preoperative computed tomography data were selected, and a patient-specific heart model was obtained. Two different exposures on the model were tested. Two surgeons were enrolled. Both surgeons performed a single-patch repair on four heart models with one exposure and four models with the other. On the potential suture line, 20 points common in each model were allocated. The level of patch suture lines was represented as a deviation from the 20 points. The shape and size of the patches were analyzed and visualized using geometric morphometrics approaches, using the 20 points as landmarks to represent the patches. There was inter-surgeon variability in the level of patch suture lines, and the variability was higher in particular locations. There was inter-surgeon variability in the shape and size of patches, which was not affected by the exposures. The inter-surgeon variability in the shape of patches was higher in particular locations. There was intra-surgeon variability in the shape of patches. Inter-/intra-surgeon variability was analyzed and visualized by the surgical simulation using geometric morphometrics approaches. Further studies are needed to scrutinize whether the variability affects postoperative hemodynamics in actual surgery.

Unlocking Urban Breathability: Investigating the Synergistic Mitigation of PM2.5 and CO2 by Community Park Green Space in the Built Environment Using Simulation

Reducing carbon emissions and controlling air pollution is a dual challenge for China in addressing climate change. Analyzing the synergistic relationship between PM2.5 and CO2 in urban green spaces has become an important part of promoting pollution control. The study investigated the influence and synergistic relationship between the spatial pattern of community parks on PM2.5 and CO2 in Xi’an City, Shaanxi Province, through practical measurement and ENVI-met/Open Studio simulation calculations. The results showed that: (1) Within the sphere of influence, community parks exhibit a positive synergy varying with distance, peaking at 400 m and declining as 300 m > 500 m > 200 m > 100 m. (2) The green space rate, total edge (TE), and mean patch shape index (SHAPE_MN) positively influence the synergistic mitigation of PM2.5 and CO2, with a defined maximum impact boundary. The strongest synergistic reduction of PM2.5 and CO2 occurs at a green space rate of 85%, TE1200, and SHAPE1.2, with optimal influence boundaries of 300 m, 200 m, and 100 m, respectively. This conclusion demonstrates the key role of green space in community parks in the synergistic abatement and provides a scientific basis and practical guidance for the planning and design of urban green space under the goal of “dual-carbon”.

Cultivated Land Information Extraction and Spatial Pattern Analysis in Beijing Based on Deep Learning

Abstract. Cultivated land is the basic resource and material condition for human survival, providing the necessary material basis for agricultural development and agricultural modernization (Tian and Shi, 2024). For this reason, this paper takes Beijing as an experimental area to study the cultivated land extraction method and analyze the distribution pattern of cultivated land and the degree of fragmentation. The results show that (1) the extraction results are evaluated by using confusion matrix and Kappa coefficient, and the Kappa coefficient is obtained to be 0.8358.(2) The cultivated land in Beijing is mainly distributed in the southeast as well as the northwest of the local area of gentle terrain, and the The range of the extremely high value of cultivated land kernel density in 2017–2022 is significantly reduced, the slope of the area with the smallest reduction in the proportion of cultivated land is less than 5°, the reduction in the area of cultivated land in water resource-rich areas is small, and the reduction in the proportion of cultivated land in road-intensive areas is large. (3) Due to various natural factors and human activities, the degree of cultivated land fragmentation in Beijing is increasing, the boundary shape of cultivated land patches tends to be irregular.

The energy shear of protohaloes

As it collapses to form a halo, the shape of a protohalo patch is deformed by the initial shear field. This deformation is often modeled using the ‘deformation’ tensor, constructed from second derivatives of the gravitational potential, whose trace gives the initial overdensity. However, especially for lower mass protohaloes, this matrix is not always positive definite: one of its eigenvalues has a different sign from the others. We argue that the evolution of a patch is better described by the ‘energy shear’ tensor, which is actually positive definite and plays a direct role in the evolution, and test our analytical result against N-body simulations. We discuss the implications of this positive-definiteness for analytical models of halo abundances, assembly and of the cosmic web.

Surface coal mining in drylands: A multiscale comparison of spatiotemporal patterns and environmental impacts between Inner Mongolia and Mongolia

Surface coal mining (SCM) poses a great threat to the environment. Previous studies have explored the speed and scale of SCM in the Mongolian Plateau, but landscape-based analysis is needed for creating actionable knowledge required for environmental policy-making. Thus, taking a landscape ecological approach, here we compared the spatiotemporal patterns and major environmental impacts of SCM between Inner Mongolia of China and Mongolia during 1975–2015 at multiple administrative levels. We found that the SCM area increased by nearly 40 times in Inner Mongolia and 11 times in Mongolia during the 40 years. The annual increase rate in terms of both area and number was greater in Inner Mongolia than in Mongolia during 1975–2010, but the order was reversed during 2010–2015. At the prefectural or aimag level, the SCM distribution exhibited considerable variations. In 2015, 44 % of the total SCM area was located in Baotou, Wuhai, and Ordos of Inner Mongolia and Ömnögovi of Mongolia in 2015. The spatiotemporal patterns of SCM were characterized by increases in patch size, shape complexity, clustering, and landscape fragmentation. We estimated that the surrounding ecosystems disturbed by mining were 14.72 times larger than the SCM sites themselves in Inner Mongolia and 21.10 times in Mongolia. More threatened species were potentially affected by SCM in Inner Mongolia than in Mongolia. The variations in the scope and speed of SCM between Inner Mongolia and Mongolia may be attributable to multiple factors, including the distribution of coal mines themselves, economic investments, and national and local policies. Our study provides scientific support for promoting China-Mongolia bilateral collaboration for curbing SCM expansion and mitigating its environmental impacts on the plateau.

The Landscape Ecological Quality of Two Different Farm Management Models: Polyculture Agroforestry vs. Conventional

Low-intensity, diversified agricultural land use is needed to counteract the current decline in agrobiodiversity. Landscape ecology tools can support agrobiodiversity assessment efforts by investigating biodiversity-related ecological functions (pattern–process paradigm). In this study, we test a toolkit of landscape ecology analyses to compare different farm management models: polyculture agroforestry (POLY) vs. conventional monoculture crop management (CV). Farm-scale analyses are applied on temperate alluvial sites (Po Plain, Northern Italy), as part of a broader multi-scale analytical approach. We analyze the landscape ecological quality through landscape matrix composition, patch shape complexity, diversity, metastability, and connectivity indices. We assess farm differences through multivariate analyses and t-tests and test a farm classification tool, namely, a scoring system based on the relative contributions of POLY farms, considering their deviation from a local CV baseline. The results showed a separate ecological behavior of the two models. The POLY model showed better performance, with significant positive contributions to the forest and semi-natural component equipment and diversity; agricultural component diversity, metastability; total farm diversity, metastability, connectivity, and circuitry. A reference matrix for the ecological interpretation of the results is provided. Farm classification provides a quick synthesis of such contributions, facilitating farm comparisons. The methodology has a low cost and quickly provides information on ongoing ecological processes resulting from specific farm management practices; it is intended to complement field-scale assessments and could help to meet the need for a partially outcome-based assessment of good farm practice.

Soil organic carbon sequestration can be promoted through the improvement of landscape configuration heterogeneity in typical agricultural regions of northeast China

Landscape heterogeneity is considered a promising option for building resilient and sustainable agroecosystems. Understanding the relationships between farmland soil organic carbon (SOC) and landscape heterogeneity can support soil carbon sequestration and better serve food security and climate change. However, the influence extent and optimal scale of farmland landscape heterogeneity (i.e. landscape composition and landscape configuration heterogeneity) on SOC remains unclear. In this study, we established the relationships between multi-scale landscape heterogeneity and SOC in a typical grain-production county of northeast China. Stepwise regression results showed that when the buffer radius was 2000 m, the interpretation of SOC by landscape heterogeneity was the largest. The effects of landscape composition and landscape configuration on SOC were further decomposed by Variance Partitioning Analysis, and we found that independent interpretation ability of landscape configuration (8%) exceeded landscape composition (7%). The result of soil mapping combined with landscape indexes also showed that landscape configuration contributed more to the increased accuracy. Moreover, we found that correlation between configuration indexes and SOC at the class level was less related than that at the landscape level, among which the two most important indexes were Mean Fractal Dimension Index (FRAC_MN) and Number of Patches (NP). FRAC_MN was even more important than natural factors, indicating the validity of landscape as an indicator of human activities should not be ignored when considering farmland SOC. Overall, the results of this study revealed that the negative effects of agricultural intensification on SOC can be buffered to a certain extent by increasing the complexity of patch shape and reducing the degree of landscape fragmentation at the landscape level, providing hope for the sustainable development in intensive agricultural areas. In addition, due to the scale effect of landscape heterogeneity on farmland SOC, we suggest that decision makers should consider the spatial scale in landscape allocation and planning. This study provides a scientific reference for realizing the balance between grain production and ecological function in intensive agricultural areas.

Measuring Land Preservation Success: Applying Fragstats to Preserved Farmland in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania

Edge effects are traditionally discussed in biogeography and ecosystem protection. Yet preserved farmland can also experience challenging pressures at its perimeter, such as increased development pressure and conflicts between farms and nonfarm neighbors. Academic assessments of the most common farmland preservation goal—large, contiguous blocks—have focused on the area and connectivity of preserved parcels and largely overlooked the block or shape component, which relates most strongly to these types of pressures. This study fills that gap, applying the edge-effects concept to preserved farmland for the first time and tracking the shape of preserved farmland patches in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, a leading agricultural county in the United States. The study uses the spatial pattern analysis program Fragstats to examine preserved farmland patch size, shape, and area in Lancaster County between 2000 and 2023. Results show that although land preservation organizations in Lancaster County had success at increasing the area and contiguity of preserved land, the perimeter of farmland patches increased even more significantly, even when accounting for differences in area. Farmland patches became increasingly irregular over the study period, with meandering shapes that maximize edge. The outcome suggests that tracking edge separately from area and contiguity is important because success in one does not mean success in the others. Information on edge and shape can help land preservation organizations prioritize parcels that reduce the edge effects that make it more expensive to purchase easements and more challenging for farmers to keep farming.

Fractal contact and asperities coalescence of rock joints under normal loading: Insights from pressure-sensitive film measurement

Direct measurement of the real contact area of rock joints under normal loading is crucial for comprehending the subsurface geological processes. However, measuring this phenomenon quantitatively at site-scale or laboratory-scale is challenging. Here, we investigate the evolution mechanism of the real contact area in rock joints by conducting closure tests on artificial and saw-cut sandstone joints under normal stresses up to 50 MPa. Geometrical shapes of contact patches are quantified by the pressure-sensitive film using the adaptive threshold method. An extensive range of contact stress within contact patches is innovatively measured by integrating the results from multi-type pressure-sensitive films. Experimental results demonstrate that the real contact area increases with the increasing normal stress hyperbolically. Such a nonlinear contact evolution behavior can be attributed to the coalescence of adjacent contact patches. The fractal dimension of composite surface governs the geometrical shapes of contact patches and the distribution of contact stress. The relationship between patch areas and bearing loads follows the Hertzian theory when the patches are small, while it gradually becomes linear with the increasing patch size. A power model with exponential cut-off is proposed to predict the size distribution of contact patches. This work can provide new insights for estimating the patch-dependent seismic nucleation length and slip stability of subsurface joints.

Patch shape, connectivity and functional groups moderate the responses of bird diversity to agricultural diversification — A meta-analysis

Agricultural expansion and intensification pose significant threats to global biodiversity. However, the conservation of agricultural biodiversity is essential for harmonizing agricultural production with ecological sustainability. Agricultural diversification can mitigate the negative impacts of agriculture on ecosystem functioning and biodiversity. Characteristics of the broader landscape may also play an important moderating role in diversified agricultural landscapes, but are not fully solved. To bridge this gap, we conducted a meta-analysis of peer-reviewed studies to compare bird abundance and species richness in diversified agricultural landscapes compared to those in simplified farmlands and natural landscapes. We also explored the moderating role of species functional groups and 11 metrics of landscape composition, configuration and heterogeneity. We found a generally positive effect of perimeter-to-area ratio of farmland patches, connectivity within farmland patches, and connectivity within patches of natural and semi-natural habitats on bird abundance and species richness. Responses to other landscape metrics were less consistent. For pollinators, the abundance was higher in diversified agricultural landscapes compared to control groups, and particularly when compared to natural landscapes. For natural enemies, the species richness was significantly lower in diversified agricultural landscapes than in natural landscapes, while their abundance was not. The overall abundance and species richness of granivores and frugivores in diversified agricultural landscapes were comparable to those in control landscapes. These results indicated landscape type of control groups, species functional groups, and their interactions had consistent impacts on the responses of bird diversity. We found a vital role of farmland patch shape and connectivity within farmland and habitat patches for bird conservation in diversified agricultural landscapes, which has been rarely reported in previous studies. These insights underscore the need for policymakers and managers to develop farmland management and planning strategies at multiple scales to fulfill growing human demands while achieving biodiversity conservation objectives.

RAPID: Robust multi-pAtch masker using channel-wise Pooled varIance with two-stage patch Detection

Recently, adversarial patches have become frequently used in adversarial attacks in real-world settings, evolving into various shapes and numbers. However, existing defense methods often exhibit limitations in addressing specific attacks, datasets, or conditions. This underscores the demand for versatile and robust defenses capable of operating across diverse scenarios. In this paper, we propose the RAPID (Robust multi-pAtch masker using channel-wise Pooled varIance with two-stage patch Detection) framework, a stable solution to restore detection efficacy in the presence of multiple patches. The RAPID framework excels in defending against attacks regardless of patch number or shape, offering a versatile defense adaptable to diverse adversarial scenarios. RAPID employs a two-stage strategy to identify and mask coordinates associated with patch attacks. In the first stage, we propose the ‘channel-wise pooled variance’ to detect candidate patch regions. In the second step, upon detecting these regions, we identify dense areas as patches and mask them accordingly. This framework easily integrates into the preprocessing stage of any object detection model due to its independent structure, requiring no modifications to the model itself. Evaluation indicates that RAPID enhances robustness by up to 60% compared to other defenses. RAPID achieves mAP50 and mAP@50-95 values of 0.696 and 0.479, respectively.

A Reconfigurable Proangiogenic Hydrogel Patch Enabling Minimally Invasive Drug Delivery.

Hydrogel is widely used for the sustained delivery of bioactive molecules that can treat various injuries, diseases, and tissue defects. However, inserting hydrogel implants without disrupting their functionality and microstructure often requires a large incision, leading to potential complications, such as infection, scarring, and pain. The gel implant is often manually rolled and inserted through a catheter for a minimally invasive delivery. However, success heavily depends on the user's skills, which can inadvertently damage the implant. To address this issue, we developed a reconfigurable hydrogel patch that can self-fold into a small tube and unfold spontaneously after implantation through a catheter. The hydrogel path was assembled by layering a drug-releasing poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA) hydrogel sheet onto a PEGDA and polyethylenimine (PEI) hydrogel sheet, which rapidly swells and degrades homogeneously at controlled rates. The dynamics of the self-folding and unfolding process could be controlled by differences in the expansion ratio and elastic modulus between the two gel layers according to a mathematical model that closely matched experimental results. The unfolding process triggered a sustained release of the protein cargo. Specifically, the reconfigurable gel loaded with angiopoietin 1 significantly enhanced neovascularization, nearly doubling the vascular density compared to the control group following implantation through a tube with 15% smaller diameter than the original shape of the gel patch. This gel biopatch will be broadly useful for the minimally invasive delivery of a wide array of therapeutic molecules, potentially enhancing therapeutic outcomes.

Exploring the relationship between preferred routes for walking exercise and green space layout in a dense urban area: a series of poisson regression models

ABSTRACT The literature considers urban green spaces as a key to promoting physical activity and health. Despite the increasingly recognized walking exercise promotion benefits of urban green spaces, the relationship between walking exercise preferences and green space layout remains unclear. We extracted preferred routes for walking exercise and measured the route heat using a one-year shared data of walking exercise from a mobile outdoor assistant app in the old city of Fuzhou, China. We then evaluated green space layout features within a 500-m buffer zone along the preferred routes in dimensions of scale, form, and function. The relationship between the route heat and green space layout features was analyzed using a series of poisson regression models, with the influence of urban morphology and the built environment allocation being controlled. Results showed that there existed a significant association between preferred routes for walking exercise and the combination of green space layout, urban morphology, and the built environment allocation; the route heat had positive associations with NDVI and comprehensive park area density, and showed negative associations with patch shape index and patch density. This study illustrates the necessity for targeted intervention strategies to promote the development of walkable and healthy urban areas.

Influence of reinforcement on vibration control in adhesively bonded single lap joints: a numerical and experimental validation

In this growing world, it is imperative to employ innovative techniques that effectively manage the structural response of materials without inducing adverse effects on the original structure. This can be achieved mainly by changing the material and geometrical features of the adhesive. In this work, an attempt has been made to control the eigenvalues of adhesively bonded single-lap joints (SLJs) by reinforcing them with polymer patches. Numerical techniques were utilized to adhere the polymer patches to the single-lap bonded joints using ABAQUS software. Subsequently, the eigenvalue responses of SLJs, both with and without patches, were experimentally well agreed with the numerical predictions. The validated numerical model was then used to investigate its structural response by modifying the parameters such as patch shape, patch position, and adhesive geometry. Additionally, it has been observed that a square-shaped polymer patch at the overlapping edge is more effective in reducing the eigenvalues compared to patches of different shapes and positions. The eigenvalue response follows a declining trend as the adhesive thickness increases, forming thicker bonds.

Unveiling the threshold in forest patch shapes to soil retention ecosystem services

Soil erosion is a critical process that leads to landscape degradation, compromising soil fertility and ecosystem functions. Forest ecosystems, with their intricate characteristics, play a pivotal role in mitigating soil erosion and providing soil retention ecosystem services (SRES). This study explores the impact of forest patch thresholds and critical points on soil erosion rates, focusing on 401 catchments in Poland using generalised additive models to identify thresholds and critical points in forest patches.Landscape metrics were applied to measure landscape structure, including shape, fractal dimension, contiguity, related circumscribing circles, and perimeter-area ratio indexes. These metrics, along with slope, rainfall, organic carbon content, water content, and clay ratio variables, were considered dependent variables in the models. The developed models have demonstrated reliable performance in estimating soil erosion rates, with a significant deviation explained from 80.5 to 81.1 for coniferous forest patches, 79.1 to 80.1 for broad-leave forest patches, and 80.9 to 81.4 for mixed forest patches at p < 0.05.In broad-leaved forests, three thresholds are identified in the shape index, which influence soil erosion rates in a complex manner. For coniferous forests, thresholds in the perimeter area ratio, related circumscribing circles, and contiguity indexes exhibit nonlinear relationships with soil erosion rates. Mixed forests show two thresholds in the related circumscribing circle and one in the fractal dimension index, affecting soil erosion rates differently.This research contributes significantly to understanding the interplay between forest patch shapes and soil erosion rates, providing decision support for land use planning. The identified thresholds and critical points offer valuable tools to enhance sustainable landscape functionality, emphasizing the importance of considering forest landscape structure in preserving soil retention ecosystem services.

Competition and edge effect in wildlife zoonotic agents

The Land-use change emerges as a fundamental factor in the increase in zoonotic diseases, affecting both ecosystems and human populations. The edge effect between forested areas and their surrounding environments, modifies species distribution, and consequently the dynamics zoonotic wildlife. Patches with high perimeter-to-area ratios may experience a more pronounced edge effect, justifying the relevance of studying patch shape in a disease dynamics. In addition, competition between species, especially between those that act as reservoirs and those that do not, plays a crucial role in eco-epidemiological dynamics. In this context, our study addresses competition dynamics between two species employ the Lotka–Volterra model. We introduce an internal classification in the host species with two compartments, susceptible and infected, and model the disease transmission rate using a function linked to parameters associated with the edge effect. Specifically, the transmission rate differentiates interactions between susceptible and infected individuals in the core area and the edge of the patch, being a function dependent on the shape index of the patch, and is of the edge effect and host density. We predicted that, although competition can decrease the spread of the disease among hosts, the edge effect can paradoxically increase it.

Spatiotemporal analysis of landscape dynamics and their use as input for the design of a habitat suitability index: A case study of Oryctolagus cuniculus in a Mediterranean region

The connectivity of landscapes is increasingly threatened by urban sprawl, which leads to the fragmentation of habitats and thus endangers the species that live there. To address this situation, landscape dynamics in the literature have mostly been analyzed using predefined land cover classes, which were then not used to assess habitat suitability, but instead relied on physical variables. As a bridge between both aspects, this study aimed to model the spatiotemporal patterns of landscape fragmentation by analyzing the landscape metrics associated with four land cover groups classified according to their naturalness. Landscape metrics were then combined with a range of terrain, climate and proximity variables to develop a Habitat Suitability Index (HSI) for terrestrial animal species. The proposed methodology was tested using a case study in the Mediterranean region of the Valencian Community (Spain): landscape dynamics were assessed over the period 1992–2015, while the HSI was tested with the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) as the target species. The results obtained in terms of landscape dynamics showed a growing presence of artificial surfaces at the expense of fewer transformed areas, which became progressively fragmented over time. Moreover, the results of the developed HSI were highly concordant with observations of rabbit abundance in the region, based in particular on variables related to the temperature in the area and the patch shape in the preferred habitats of this species. These outputs can be used to support the implementation of habitat restoration strategies aimed at increasing ecological connectivity through measures such as wildlife crossings.

Assessing the effects of urban green spaces metrics and spatial structure on LST and carbon sinks in Harbin, a cold region city in China

In the face of accelerated urbanization, urban green spaces (UGSs) are crucial in alleviating urban heat island effects. This study investigates the link between UGS landscape patterns, plant community characteristics, Land surface temperature (LST), and Annual carbon sequestration of plant community (ACSPC) across different seasons and scales in Harbin by remote sensing and field measurements. The results show that (1) The LST in urban built-up areas shows an increasing trend, and its correlation with UGS exhibits seasonal fluctuations. (2) Landscape pattern metrics significantly relate to LST, particularly at 1500 and 1260 m window scales. (3) In summer and winter, Aggregation index (AI) , Mean patch area (AREA_MN), Edge density (ED), Percentage of landscape (PLAND), Mean patch shape index (SHAPE_MN), Mean diameter at breast height (MDBH), Mean canopy diameter (MCD), Average carbon sequestration capacity(ACSC), and Leaf area index (LAI) are positively correlated, whereas Sky view factor (SVF) is negatively correlated with ACSPC. (4) LAI, SVF and MCD (winter) significantly affect LST. MDBH, MCD, and SVF in summer significantly influence ACSPC. This research elucidates the effect of UGS landscape patterns and plant community characteristics on urban heat islands and carbon sinks, providing vital insights for urban ecological improvement.