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[Display omitted] • Integrated dataset of major ions and trace elements for Nepal Himalayan rivers basin. • Rock weathering is the primary factor controlling ion concentrations. • Anthropogenic impacts become significant in densely populated lowland basins. • Water in most rivers is safe for drinking, except for densely polluted urban Bagmati. • A uniform and comparable Himalayan Water Quality Index is proposed. Rivers originating from the Himalayas play a crucial role as primary water sources for a significant proportion of the population in Asia downstream. This paper presents a comprehensive synthesis of hydrogeochemical data, incorporating major ions and trace elements from 153 papers spanning 2000 to 2023, with a detailed analysis of 20 papers specific to Nepal Himalayan rivers. To bridge the research gap due to sparse data, we aimed to enhance inclusivity by amalgamating both seasonal and one-time datasets, computing mean values for singular instances, and employing grand means for multiple seasonal data points. Our findings highlight varied research attention across different river basins, with the eastern Koshi Basin receiving extensive attention, while the middle Gandaki and Bagmati Basins garner moderate attention, and data scarcity observed in the western Karnali Basin. Predominant ionic composition, notably Ca2+ and HCO 3 –, reflect lithological influences, primarily driven by rock weathering. Although anthropogenic impacts remain minimal in most basins, certain lowland areas with higher population densities exhibit increasing significance. Trace element contamination, notably Cd, Cu, Sr, and Zn, poses ongoing threats, both from natural and anthropogenic sources. Water quality assessments conducted for agricultural and drinking suitability indicated good status, except in the densely polluted urban Bagmati stem. Health and ecological risks are low, as determined by pollution indices such as Pi, NPI, HI, and CI. The Bagmati River's middle segment, with high population density and moderate agricultural activity, shows pronounced anthropogenic footprints, while downstream areas exhibited greater impacts. Additionally, this article proposes the potential use of a Water Quality Index tool to comprehensively assess water quality across all parameters in Himalayan water bodies, providing a roadmap for future environmental conservation in the Himalayas. This pioneering review represents a significant effort to understand Himalayan rivers geochemistry on a large geographical scale and emphasizes the need for integrated observation and consideration of river water quality across the entire Himalayan region, from high mountains to lowlands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• An innovative framework for ecological conservation in coastal urban areas. • Apply the circuit theory to extract ecological corridors. • Constructing the ESP from the perspective of "surfaces-lines-points". The accelerated urbanization process has led to the deterioration of the originally fragile coastal ecosystem, whose slight changes in ecological environment may destroy the original coastal urban ecosystem. The construction of the ecological security pattern can effectively balance the development of coastal urban areas and the protection of ecological environment. This study proposes a new framework for constructing ESP in coastal urban areas: surfaces (ecological sources) - lines (ecological networks) - points (pinch points, barrier points). The ecological sources were identified by morphospatial pattern analysis and landscape connectivity. Then, the ecological network and ESP were constructed by the circuit theory. Take Qingdao, a typical coastal urban area with a very fragile ecological environment, as the subject of the study. The results indicate that: (1) the landscape connectivity of ecological source sites identified in 2017 and 2021 has decreased significantly; (2) the total length of extracted ecological corridors has decreased dramatically; (3) the ESP of Qingdao was constructed from the perspective of surfaces - lines - points. The results of this paper can provide scientific planning guidance for the conservation and protection of ecological security in Qingdao. The research framework proposed in this paper provides some reference for the conservation of the ecological environment in coastal urban areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The ecological security pattern (ESP) of the basin is constructed by MSPA-MCR models. • The ESP is constructed and improved combined with the ecological protection red line. • The ESP of one axis, two belts and five zones in Dawen River Basin is constructed. • The study provides specific reference for the sustainable development of the basin. Building an ecological security pattern (ESP) can safeguard and improve the structure, functions and services of regional ecosystems. Furthermore, it is also one of the significant spatial methods to mitigate the conflict between ecological conservation and economic growth. Most previous researches on the construction of ESP have directly utilized extensive regions of forestland, grassland, water area or nature reserves as ecological sources (ESs) without weighing the habitat quality (HQ) and ecological protection red line (EPRL). The ES of the Dawen River basin (DRB) was identified through morphological spatial pattern analysis (MSPA) and landscape connectivity index. By employing the minimum cumulative resistance model (MCR), the potential ecological corridor (EC) was identified, and its importance was evaluated by gravity model. Simultaneously, the spatial properties of HQ and ecological resistance (ER) were analyzed. Finally, this paper proposed an optimization strategy for ESP in accordance with the EPRL. The results indicate that: (1) The DRB contained 15 important ESs, mainly concentrated in water and mountain forest areas. (2) 105 ECs were extracted by MCR and gravity model, including 35 level 1 corridors and 70 level 2 corridors, which were primarily concentrated in the eastern region of the basin. (3) Based on the spatial characteristics of HQ and ER, as well as the EPRL in the research, the ESP of "one axis, two belts and five zones" in the DRB was constructed and control strategies were proposed. This research offers some reference for ecological environment protection and restoration and regional sustainable development in the Yellow River basin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• China's sustainable development relies on agricultural trade and carbon emissions. • Carbon emission transfer index in agricultural trade is measured. • Decoupling-recoupling model and integrated prediction model are constructed. • A unified framework for trade, environment and technology is established. Under the new development pattern of domestic and international "dual circulation" in China, studying the relationship among green technology innovation, agricultural trade deficit (ATD) and carbon emission transfer embodied in agricultural trade (ATCT) becomes crucial for achieving coordinated and unified high-quality economic development and efficient environmental protection. Based on this, the paper uses environmental input–output model, "two-stage" decoupling and recoupling model, panel vector auto-regressive model, spatial econometric model and "rolling" Grey-BP neural network prediction model to explore present status of ATD, ATCT and their relationship, driving role of green technology innovation, as well as whether that relationship will be improving in the future. The results reveal the following: (1) China's ATD and ATCT show an increasing trend year by year, and their inter-provincial differences are gradually significant over time. The overall relationship between ATD and ATCT does not display ideally, which makes it necessary to quickly transform that relationship into reasonable and ideal state. (2) Green technology innovation has significant positive "U-shaped" and inverted "U-shaped" local effects on ATD and ATCT respectively, with a reasonable range of ATD reduction while ATCT increase valuing from 0 to 0.290, and has significant positive "U-shaped" spatial spillover effect on both without any reasonable range. The short-term effect of green technology innovation on coordinated promotion between ATD and ATCT is superior to the long-term one. (3) Green technology innovation has a significant regional heterogeneity. Regional differences must be taken into consideration seriously, and the measures adapted to local conditions are crucial. The role of fundamental and progressive green technology innovation has heterogeneity, which means that targeted development and utilization of green technology products are important. (4) Regardless of the time horizon, the relationship between ATD and ATCT will improve, which can provide a key step for coordinated development of economy and environment in agricultural trade. Therefore, in order for China to implement and promote further opening-up, reduce agricultural trade dependence, ensure food security and important agricultural product supply, as well as achieve the unity of high-quality economic development and ecological efficient protection, it is necessary to reasonably reverse trade deficit and increase carbon emission transfer in agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A conceptual framework and model of microagroecosystems were constructed. • Assessed the degree of landscape ecological risk in microagroecosystems. • The human activity gravity of microagroecosystems shifted to lower altitudes. • The ecological vitality of microagroecosystems is increasing. • Clarified micro-spatial human-land relations and development directions. Micro-spatial agroecosystem (AES) changes in karst mountain areas are a response to the human-land relationship of the human activity center. However, the changes and linkages between AESs and landscape ecological risks (LER) from a micro perspective in karst mountain areas (KMA) have not yet attracted in-depth attention from the academic community. This paper proposes the concept of microagroecosystems (MAESs) and constructs the MAES model based on the landscape development intensity (LDI) to evaluate the systematic landscape evolution rules and the LER intensity, which reflects the human-land relationship in KMA. We used the buffer ring with a 200 m cultivation range interval to categorize the MAES model into six models, namely, High-Mid-Low, High-Low-Medium, Medium-High-Low, Medium-Low-High, Medium-High-High, Low-Medium-High and Low-Medium-High, and the different models not only reflect the regional conditions but also represent the different stages of the evolution of AESs in KMAs. We found that AESs in karst mountainous areas are transforming from traditional food crop systems to economic fruit forest ecosystems, and at the same time, the gravity center of human activities is migrating from high to low altitude areas, and the ecological vitality of MAESs is showing a trend of enhancement. In addition, the regions with high altitudes and steep slopes in karst mountainous areas have a single landscape structure and are dominated by traditional food cultivation, while the regions with low altitudes and gentle slopes have a diverse landscape structure and are dominated by modern and sustainable agricultural development. Finally, we reveal that the LER in KMAs shows a trend of initial increase followed by subsequent decrease, the influence of the human-land relationship on the LER in the micro perspective is significant, and the coordination and trade-off between agricultural development and environmental protection is the key direction of development in the future. The study results can provide a reference for the rational allocation of landscape, ecological environment restoration, and optimization of regional human-land relationships in KMAs worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A multi-tiered mechanism was proposed to identify tourism networks. • Quantified the tourism potential and ecological sensitivity of the Taihang Mountains (THM). • Detected the spatial mismatch between demand and potential for tourism in THM. • Identified 34 tourism sources and 51 tourism corridors in THM. • Proposed diversified management strategies for multi-tiered tourism networks. One of the challenges facing ecological functional zones (EFZs) is achieving a balance between economic growth and environmental protection (management). Tourism presents an important avenue to tackle this challenge. However, research inadequately addresses the identification of tourism networks. Combining geo-referenced social media data analysis, the three-step floating catchment area method, and the minimum cumulative resistance model, this paper developed a multi-tiered mechanism for identifying tourism networks using scenic spots as nodes. This approach involved indicators like tourism potential (supply), tourists' emotional appeal (demand), and ecological sensitivity. We employed the Taihang Mountains (THM), a representative EFZ, as an application case. Results indicate spatial heterogeneity in THM's tourism potential, with higher tourism potential and relatively greater ecological sensitivity in the South and East THM. Furthermore, a substantial spatial mismatch in tourism demand and supply is evident, with South THM leading with a match of 0.29, while East THM recording the lowest match at 0.16. Based on this, this study identified a multi-level tourism development network having 34 tourism sources (9 primary sources, 13 secondary sources and 12 tertiary sources) and 51 corridors (11 primary corridors, 21 secondary corridors, and 19 tertiary corridors) consisted of a total length of 5,263 km, with an average length of 67 km. Our tourism networks have been tested to not only protect ecologically sensitive areas but also connect areas with economic advantages in tourism (i.e., South and East THM), which is conducive to achieving mutual benefits between tourism development and environmental protection. Our findings are conducive to improving the efficiency of tourism planning and management and provide a new path for coordinating EFZs' conservation and development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A comprehensive methodology for calculating EWR in small coastal rivers was proposed. • The environmental capacity of the estuarine in the eastern Xiamen was calculated. • EWR ranges for small coastal rivers in the eastern Xiamen were calculated. • EWR based on the environmental capacity of the estuary makes applicability stronger. In response to the issues of severe coastal pollution and exacerbated eutrophication, it is crucial to consider characteristics such as small flow in small coastal urban watersheds and water of low quality when implementing water replenishment measures. The selection of appropriate constraints and methods for calculating the ecological water replenishment (EWR) is the top priority. Here we present a calculation model appropriate for pin down the range of EWR in small coastal watersheds. Taking four of the eastern regions of Xiamen City as examples, the minimum and maximum EWR are independently computed based on the envelope curve and the restriction of the estuarine area's environmental capacity. Rational results are achieved with the approaches of Tennant as well as landscape water requirement, and it shows that the range of EWR for the four watersheds is 1.77×106 – 12.41×106 m3. The calculation model proposed in this paper has greater environmental feasibility from the perspective of the river channel demand and coastal environmental protection. Additionally, it also can provide a reference for EWR plans for urban rivers in coastal regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The main objective of this paper is to present an assessment approach for ecosystem services in an urban context covering the local and the regional scale. It was applied to different European cities. A set of indicators representing important urban ecosystem goods and services – local climate regulation, air cooling and recreation – was tested using spatial data along an urban–rural gradient. The results show that there is neither a typical rural–urban gradient in terms of urban ecosystem service provisioning nor a uniform urban spatial pattern of service provisioning that can serve as a generic model for cities. The results demonstrate that (1) core cities do not necessarily provide fewer ecosystem services compared to their regions and (2) there were no patches found within the four case study cities where all of the indicators report very high performance values. The analysis further shows that a high degree of imperviousness does not necessarily entail low ecosystem service provisioning if an urban structure contains a considerable amount of mature trees which support carbon storage and biodiversity. The results of the present paper provide insights into potentials and trade-offs between different urban ecosystem services that should be considered during urban planning when setting targets and establishing thresholds to protect environmental resources, ecosystem services and biodiversity for residents. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The sustainability of Chinese economy has attracted attentions from all over the world since China''s reform & opening up policy. This paper attempted to evaluate the relationships among Chinese economy, energy and its impact of emissions during 1991–2009 using several novel indicators based on emergy, energy and monetary units. The results show that NH3-N in wastewater has taken main responsibility for impact of emissions, the hidden environmental cost per unit economic output has been continuously reduced, education and R & D investment has cut pollutants generating intensity since 1997, and environmental protection investment has cut emission intensity since 1996. Generally speaking, the coordination degree of structure and scale of China''s economy has been improved to different degree from 1991 to 2009. However, the growth of education and R & D investment and environmental protection investment has not prevented impact of emissions from increase caused by economic aggregate growth, and the turning point has not appeared in this period. Finally, this paper discusses some related issues and puts forward the corresponding suggestions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The commercial cultivation of genetically modified (GM) crops in the European Union (EU) necessitates, according to EU legislation, the setting up of a General Surveillance (GS) system that should be able to detect unanticipated effects of GM crops on the environment. Although the applicant is responsible for setting up GS as well as for reporting the results, EU Member States may implement additional supporting surveillance programmes. Devising a GS system to detect unanticipated effects is not straightforward and requires clearly defined protection goals, suitable indicators that are linked to measurable parameters and an objective system for assessing the data. This paper describes a number of recommendations for the development of a General Surveillance system of the soil ecosystem specifically focussed on the situation in the Netherlands. The overarching protection goal of General Surveillance is ‘soil quality’, which is translated into more practical terms of ecosystem services that are relevant for soil quality, and that can be used to select measurable parameters and thus make a link with actual measurements. Ultimately, if and when effects on ecosystem services are detected, decision makers will have to decide whether these effects are acceptable or not. As a support for these decision-making processes, this paper discusses the modalities for the development of a stakeholder participation model. The model involves three groups of persons: the land users, the soil scientists and the decision makers. For reasons of cost effectiveness, a GS system of the soil ecosystem will have to make use of existing networks. The Dutch Soil Quality Network (DSQN) offers an existing infrastructure for soil sampling for GS. Finally, the GS system may be extended to contain data from the Dutch Ecological Monitoring Network, earth observation systems as well as other data resources such as farmers questionnaires or reports form organisations involved in nature conservation. Ideally these data are compiled by a Central Reporting Office (CRO) and maintained in a Geographic Information System (GIS) based database. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Highlights • A Super-SBM with undesirable output model is applied. • The environmental efficiency of 283 Chinese cities during 2003–2016 is analyzed. • The overall environmental efficiency performance across the Chinese cities is low. • China has achieved significant improvement in environmental efficiency across survey period. Abstract In the past decades, unprecedented dramatic economic development in the Chinese cities has also brought serious environmental problems. In line with this, the Chinese government has been investing great efforts and resources in addressing environmental problems. However, little previous studies have been conducted in examining whether this development is efficient from a win-win perspective balance between economic growth and environmental protection. This paper presents a comprehensive analysis on the environmental efficiency (EE) in the process of dramatic economic development in the Chinese cities. The Super-slack-based measure (Super-SBM) model is adopted to analyze the EE performance. Data used for analysis are collected from 283 sample cities in China. The research results indicate that the overall EE performance across the Chinese cities is relatively low, and the differences in EE performance among the 283 cities are significant. The top three EE performers are Shenzhen, Sanya and Erdos, and Baiyin, Xinzhou and Liupanshui are the bottom three performers. The results also suggest that the EE performance in the Eastern area, where most first-tier cities are located in, is significantly higher than that in the Central and Western areas (aggregated with fourth and fifth tier-cities). From the dynamic perspective, the results show that China has achieved significant improvement in environmental efficiency across the surveyed period of 2003–2016. The research findings provide valuable references not only for the Chinese policy-makers and practitioners to adopt measures for promoting a win-win balance between environmental protection and economic development in the Chinese context, but also for further studies on environmental efficiency in the international context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Game theory is used to explain why China choose strategy of cooperation rather than competition in international affairs. • Cooperation strategy on development assistance to Africa is more likely a rational choice for both China and Japan. • This analytical framework can be applied to other international affairs involving China and other countries. Abstract Still influenced by the cold war thinking, many countries – especially looking to new rising powers – might interact in the international scenario through competition, instead than cooperation. However, China has seen more opportunities in cooperation than challenges in competition. Since 2013, Chinese president Xi Jinping pointed out clearly in various public occasions that this world has become a community of common destiny. In this paper, we used an asymmetric dynamic evolution game model, adding the hypothesis of win-win game, to analyze why China would like to choose the strategy of cooperation, rather than competition, in international affairs. We applied this analytical framework to the case study of Chinese and Japanese environmental assistance programs to Africa. We found that, based on the traditional game theory, under the hypothesis of the cold war mentality, China and Japan may act as mutual rivals. Under this circumstance, China, as an emerging developing country, will more likely choose the strategy of competition, rather than cooperating with other countries. Instead, Japan, as a traditional developed country, will more likely choose to cooperate, rather than competing with China, especially if the expected cost of the failure of the competition is high. However, in the new hypothesis of win-win game analysis, we found that cooperation strategy on development assistance to Africa is more likely a rational choice for both China and Japan. Thus, we suggest that China might keep practicing its win-win strategy and do not use the outdated zero-sum game and winner-take-all strategy as some of its counterparts may probably do. This analytical framework can be applied to other international affairs involving China and other countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper explores the conceptual common ground between visual and ecological landscape indicators. Indicators can be used to summarise complex information about landscape functions and the ability to extract a common set of indicators for analysing different landscape functions may provide valuable support for multiple-use planning. The development of landscape ecological indicators has been a very active research field that has resulted in a wide range of landscape metrics and composite indices with a strong conceptual base in landscape ecological principles. For the visual aspects of landscapes, however, this conceptual base is often missing and thus hindering progress in the development of indicators. This paper presents the results of an analysis of the correspondence between ecological indicators and visual indicators in order to explore whether there is common ground in both concept and operation. The conceptual level is presented for both ecological and visual indicators, as it is the concepts that define their aim and scope. We feel that transparency over this issue is crucial to the development and use of environmental indicators. The approach identified a candidate set of indicators that capture important aspects of both ecological and visual quality. The strength of the approach is that it forces us to focus on the identification of what we wish to indicate by means of landscape theory and assessment that are relevant to a specific landscape context. We believe that the approach presented here forms the basis for development of new methods for understanding the impact of landscape change in a management and planning context. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

[Display omitted] • Intelligent water quality monitoring based on UAV multi-spectral data. • The GA_XGBoost inversion model has high accuracy and strong generalization. • Obtained the spatial distribution characteristics of Chla, TP, TN, NH3-N and TUB. • Analyzed the influencing factors of urban water pollution. Urban rivers play an essential role in the human environment and urban development; because of their narrow and long characteristics, challenging for general remote sensing data sources to meet the monitoring requirements. In order to solve the problem of insufficient application of remote sensing water quality monitoring in urban rivers. In this paper, based on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) images and measured water quality data, the genetic algorithm_extreme gradient boosting (GA_XGBoost) algorithm is used to model water quality parameters in the study area, combined with its characteristics of supporting urban river polymorphism learning and semantic feature analysis. The results show that the coefficient of determination (R2) of GA_XGBoost algorithm for chlorophyll a (Chla), total phosphorous (TP), total nitrogen (TN), ammonia–nitrogen (NH 3 -N) and turbidity (TUB) is 0.855, 0.699, 0.787, 0.694, and 0.597, respectively, indicating a high precision and the predicted results are consistent with the measured data. Meanwhile, this paper compares the GA_XGBoost model with other algorithms: Deep Neural Network (DNN), Random Forest, genetic algorithm_RandomForest (GA_RandomForest), adaptive boosting (AdaBoost) and genetic algorithm_adaptive boosting (GA_AdaBoost), and the performance of the GA_XGBoost model is better. At the same time, data from different periods have been added to verify the model's applicability. Moreover, based on the inversion results, analyze from the point of view of point source pollution, non-point source pollution, etc., to further investigate the influencing factors that cause urban river pollution. The current method has important practical significance for promoting the intelligent and automatic level of water environment monitoring technology in ecological environmental protection and urban water resources protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Public environmental concerns inhibit the market entry of polluting enterprises. • Public environmental concerns affect enterprise entry with heterogeneity. • Environmental regulation, investment and innovation are internal mechanisms. • Public environmental concerns can reduce the emission intensity of new enterprises. • Public environmental concern can encourage new enterprises to layout boundary. When constructing a multigovernance environment system, it is important to systematically study the impact of the public's environmental concern on the behavior of polluting firms. In relation to the market entry of polluting firms, this paper explores whether public concern for the environment can effectively reduce the likelihood of such firms entering the market to achieve control of pollution emissions at the source. Benchmark analysis shows that an increase in public environmental concern can inhibit the market entry of polluting firms in the region. Heterogeneity analysis shows that public environmental concerns exert a stronger effect on preventing the market entry of nonstate-owned firms and firms in developed regions than on other firm types. Mechanism analysis shows that improving the severity of environmental regulations, encouraging firms to make greater investments in environmental protection, and inducing firms to pursue additional environmental R&D innovation are effective mechanisms by which public environmental concern restrains the market entry of polluting firms in the region. Expansion analysis demonstrates that public concern about the environment can lessen the pollution emission intensity of new firms and promote certain new firms to carry out boundary layout. This research offers a scientific basis and policy reference that can serve to guide the public in actively participating in environmental governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• System GMM model was applied to test the mechanism of environmental regulation on the pollution-intensive industry transfer. • The transfer shows a general trend from the east to the central and western in China. • The central and the western have become "pollution paradise" for pollution-intensive industries. The pollution associated has intensified the environmental pressure within industrial transfer between the central and the western region in China. It's the key issue that how to use environmental regulations to promote the orderly pollution-intensive industries transfer and the optimization of industrial structure to realize the construction of ecological civilization during the transformation and upgrading of economic. By constructing the index of environmental regulation and industry transfer, this paper analyzed the spatial-temporal change of pollution-intensive industry transfer. We collected panel data of 30 provinces in China from 2004 to 2016 and studied the spatial differences of pollution-intensive industry transfer from the perspective of environmental regulation. This paper studied the path and mechanism of environmental regulation on the pollution-intensive industry transfer theoretically and empirically with System Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) model. The conclusions are as follows: Firstly, the pollution-intensive industry transfer in China shows a general trend from the east to the central and western regions. Secondly, there are obvious differences in environmental regulation between different regions. Thirdly, there are some differences in the impact of environmental regulation on industrial transfer. Therefore, the central and western regions should coordinate economic development and environmental protection when undertaking industrial transfer from the east, to optimize and upgrade industrial structure, and promote long-term economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We analysed the influencing factors of urban eco-efficiency in Western China. • The US-SBM model and spatial econometric models were used for 84 cities' data. • Urban eco-efficiency showed a fluctuating upward trend during 2004–2017. • Economic development and urbanization had U-shaped impact on urban eco-efficiency. • Four explanatory variables showed a positive impact on urban eco-efficiency. Improving eco-efficiency can promote sustainable development. This study first evaluated the urban eco-efficiency of 84 cities in Western China from 2004 to 2017 by the undesirable-super-slack-based measure (US-SBM) and analysed their spatiotemporal characteristics, and then investigated its influencing factors using spatial econometric models. The results indicated that the urban eco-efficiency in Western China was at a relatively low level and showed a fluctuating upward trend with the highest average value of 0.65; however, capital cities of Western China have improved their eco-efficiency rapidly. Furthermore, there were obvious spatial spill-over impacts of the urban eco-efficiency in Western China. This paper also found that both the economic development level and urbanization level have "U" shaped impacts on Western China's urban eco-efficiency, which decreases at first and then rises. Similarly, increasing the proportion of secondary industry promotes urban eco-efficiency, and FDI, trade activities, improved environmental regulations as well as technological innovation capabilities have a positive impact on urban eco-efficiency in Western China. This paper also put forward corresponding policy suggestions to promote Western China's urban eco-efficiency. The present study may be helpful for policy-makers to balance economic development and environmental protection in Western China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The spatiotemporal dynamics of land use and ESV in China National Nature Reserve—Shennongjia Forest Region are assessed from the perspective of "past-present-future" • Vulnerability analysis of ecosystem services was carried out. • ESV and vulnerability under the ecological protection scenario are improved, compared with the natural development scenario. • The ecological protection policy of Shennongjia Forest Region was proposed. Accurate assessment of the ecosystem service value (ESV) of China National Nature Reserves is of great significance to the protection of regional ecological environment. In this paper, taking Shennongjia Forest Region as an example, based on the land use data of three phases in 2000, 2010 and 2020, we quantitatively evaluate the spatiotemporal evolution characteristics of the regional ESV, and use the FLUS model to simulate the land use layouts and the spatial distribution characteristics of the ESV under the two scenarios in 2035, and carry out the vulnerability analysis of the regional ecosystem services.. The conclusions are as follows: (1) From 2000 to 2020, the overall ESV in Shennongjia Forest Region decreased by 15.48 million yuan, and support services and regulation services always played a decisive role in the overall ESV. (2) The area of cultivated land and grassland continued to shrink from 2000 to 2020, resulting in the reduction of ESV by 2.6 million yuan and 3.67 million yuan respectively. The contribution of woodland to the ESV was the largest, accounting for more than 95% in the three periods. (3) Under the natural development scenario, cultivated land, woodland and grassland continue to decline. Under the ecological protection scenario, the area of cultivated land decreases even more, but the area of woodland and grassland increases, and the layouts of construction land are more compact. The potential impact (PI) indexes of the region in 2000–2010 and 2010–2020 were negative, while that in 2020-2035Q1 is −2.01, which further worsens the vulnerability of ecosystem services. However, the PI index in 2020-2035Q2 turns positive, which is 2.29, indicating that the goal of the regional government to protect the ecological space under this scenario is basically realized. The research results can provide some reference for Shennongjia Forest Region and other National Nature Reserves to give consideration to both ecological environment protection and high-quality development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The intensification of agricultural land use and urbanisation has increased nutrient loads in aquatic ecosystems. Nitrogen loads can alter ecosystem structure and functioning, resulting in increased algal productivity, algal blooms and eutrophication. The principal aim of the present paper is to extend the use of epilithic δ 15 N signatures to a lake ecosystem in order to evaluate the potential impact of anthropogenic nitrogen discharges (organic and inorganic) that can also reach coastal waters. Epilithic associations were collected from volcanic rocks in different seasons in shallow water along the entire perimeter of Lake Bracciano and analysed for their nitrogen stable isotope signatures. Furthermore, some stones were moved from an unpolluted site to a polluted one in order to verify the effect on the nitrogen signature of the epilithic association. The epilithon’s δ 15 N signatures provided strong evidence of the space-time variability of N inputs. The differing quality of nitrogen loads was reflected in high isotopic variation within the lake, especially at the beginning of summer (1.7‰ ≤ δ 15 N ≤ 13.3‰), while in winter, when anthropogenic pressure was lowest, the δ 15 N signature variation was less accentuated (3.1‰ ≤ δ 15 N ≤ 7.6‰). At all sampling times, spatial variability was found to be related to the various human activities along the lake shore (especially tourism and agriculture), while seasonal variation at all sampling sites was related to the intensity of anthropogenic pressures (higher in summer and lower in winter). Our results showed that epilithic algal associations and the physicochemical properties of the water did not influence the δ 15 N signature, which in contrast was strongly related to the site-specific effect of human activities around the lake. Thus, the distribution of δ 15 N across space and time can be used to direct nutrient reduction strategies in the region and can assist in monitoring the effectiveness of environmental protection measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The number of protected areas (PAs) has steadily increased in the past 20 years, but their effectiveness to meet conservation targets is consistently questioned. Most conservation impact evaluations of protected areas assume that formal designations, like that of IUCN categories, reflect site-specific conservation rules, but this is not always true. In this paper we illustrate how conservation rules could be empirically assessed by use of content analysis combined with optimal scaling. This flexible methodology allows us to quantitatively assess strictness levels for use in conservation impact evaluations. The strictness measures could also indicate whether conservation rules are consistently applied in the different IUCN categories thereby providing guidance for future assignment of PAs to the IUCN protected area management categories. We illustrate how policy indicators based on conservation rules could be developed in two contrasting mountain protected area networks in Norway and in British Columbia (BC), including a total of 48 PAs in Norway and 51 in BC. Conservation rules for recreational use, motorized access and resource use were quantitatively assessed, thus providing a measure of how strictly PAs regulate the different human activities. Our results show that the main differences in strictness are between the two countries, followed by the contrast between national parks and provincial parks in BC. Overall, Norway has a more liberal conservation policy than BC and older national parks in BC have a much stricter conservation policy than most of the other PAs in this study. Overarching conservation objectives did not reflect the level of strictness (the conservation rules) that guide the daily management of individual PAs. This applies to both countries. We recommend to empirically investigate site-specific conservation rules to include de facto management of human activities in conservation policy impact evaluations. The methodology is also useful for monitoring downgrading of the protected area status, which is a result of authorizing human activities that are not consistent with conservation objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Soil Cd pollution assessment using soil active state as a tool. • Dynamic processes of soil absorption and desorption. • The coupled adsorption–desorption model is an optimized and corrected method for assessing total soil Cd contamination. The transfer rate and extent of cadmium (Cd) to groundwater and plants were controlled by soil adsorption and desorption processes, which directly affect agro-environment safety. Cd mobility shift is critical for the correct assessment of pollution vulnerability in different soil types. But the existing experimental methods and traditional quantitative prediction models are time-consuming and have a small scope of adaptation. In this paper, a coupling model of soil Cd adsorption and desorption was developed based on quantitative retention factors to explore the sensitivity of soil environmental factors for Cd pollution and quantify the spatial distribution pattern of Cd pollution vulnerability in highly heterogeneous soils in China. Results showed that: (1) The type of background electrolyte affected Cd adsorption and desorption capacity in soil solution. The performances of the single background electrolyte models (NaNO 3 , CaCl 2 , NaCl, KNO 3) are better than the mixed background electrolyte model. (2) The contribution values of adsorption and desorption models were compared by sensitivity analysis. (3) Vulnerable areas of soil Cd pollution with higher risk than expected were selected by using the adsorption–desorption coupling model in China, including Tibet Autonomous Region, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, northwestern Sichuan Province, southeastern Qinghai Province, Guangdong Province, Guangxi Province, and Yunnan Province. Our adsorption–desorption coupling model can be used as an assessment tool expressing the soil Cd pollution vulnerability based on the available state of Cd, which is expected to provide the quantitative scientific basis for the formulation of Cd quality standard systems and soil remediation measures for regional soil environment protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building construction is one of the largest final consumers of environmental resources as well as one of the largest emitters of greenhouse gas and other pollution. This paper aims to propose ecological indicators for green building construction by applying a slack-based data envelop analysis approach, in which resource conservation and environmental protection are both incorporated. We conduct an empirical analysis of ecological indicators for green building construction using China's regional panel dataset during 1995–2012, and use the analysis to further discuss the technological gaps across the regions. The findings show that: (i) half of China's provinces have a substantial potential increase of more than 60% in ecological performance for green building construction; (ii) the developed areas perform better than the developing areas; (iii) the 11th five-year plan period is a turning point for China's green building construction and development as the policies for green construction have significant effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The annual growth of hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico is largely attributed to agricultural nutrient loadings that originate from the Mississippi/Atchafalaya River Basin (MARB). To effectively target conservation efforts throughout the entire MARB in order to reduce Gulf hypoxia, strategies to rank areas according to their impact on both agricultural production and ecosystem services are extremely important. In this paper, we utilize an Environmental Performance Index (EPI) to rank regions within the MARB according to their environmental performance, that is, their ability to produce agricultural outputs while minimizing nutrient loadings to the Gulf of Mexico. We compare our index rankings to previously used rankings of delivered yields alone and find the spatial distribution of rankings changes considerably when accounting for agricultural productivity. For example, the Corn Belt regions of central Iowa and northern Illinois no longer make up the lowest performing regions of the MARB after accounting for their high levels of agricultural production. Instead, regions along the Missouri river including central Missouri, western Iowa, and southeastern South Dakota as well as areas near the Ohio river including southern Illinois, western Kentucky, and southern Ohio now count among the lowest performing regions using the EPI ranking scheme. We suggest that incorporation of economic production value into large-scale prioritization of agricultural conservation within the MARB is essential to effectively reduce Gulf hypoxia while maintaining food security from efficient farm production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Landscape similarity search involves finding landscapes from among a large collection that are similar to a query landscape. An example of such collection is a large land cover map subdivided into a grid of smaller local landscapes, a query is a local landscape of interest, and the task is to find other local landscapes within a map which are perceptually similar to the query. Landscape search and the related task of pattern-based regionalization, requires a measure of similarity – a function which quantifies the level of likeness between two landscapes. The standard approach is to use the Euclidean distance between vectors of landscape metrics derived from the two landscapes, but no in-depth analysis of this approach has been conducted. In this paper we investigate the performance of different implementations of the standard similarity measure. Five different implementations are tested against each other and against a control similarity measure based on histograms of class co-occurrence features and the Jensen–Shannon divergence. Testing consists of a series of numerical experiments combined with visual assessments on a set of 400 3 km-scale landscapes. Based on the cases where visual assessment provides definitive answer, we have determined that the standard similarity measure is sensitive to the way landscape metrics are normalized and, additionally, to whether weights aimed at controlling the relative contribution of landscape composition vs. configuration are used. The standard measure achieves the best performance when metrics are normalized using their extreme values extracted from all possible landscapes, not just the landscapes in the given collection, and when weights are assigned so the combined influence of composition metrics on the similarity value equals the combined influence of configuration metrics. We have also determined that the control similarity measure outperforms all implementations of the standard measure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last decades, sustainable development has been one of the key guiding principles in the European Union policies. It is based on a three-pillar framework – economic development, social development and environmental protection – that are interdependent and mutually reinforcing. As energy appears to be the cornerstone of economic growth, Europe 2020 strategy emphasizes the importance to make European Union more sustainable by means of the establishment of a long-term approach with a clear guidance to climate change. However, empirical literature about methods to elaborate SD indexes is scarce. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to obtain a Synthetic Index of Energy Sustainable Development for EU-15. Based on 33 variables, three indexes are calculated related to energy security of supply, competitive energy market and environmental protection dimensions which are later aggregated into a Synthetic Index. Our results show that Denmark, the Netherlands, France, Portugal and UK have the better scores. The success of these member states is given by the development of a suitable management in their energy policies regarding the reduction of their energy dependency, the increase of competitiveness in their energy markets and the establishment of measures to increase climate change protection. New reinforcing policies are necessary in intermediate member states based on new energy saving actions (in the cases of Sweden, Austria and Finland), the introduction of more competition in its energy market (in the case of Italy) and environment protection actions (in the case of Germany). Greater efforts are necessary in member states that have the worst results (Spain, Ireland, Greece, Belgium and Luxembourg). EU's budget support should be available for these member states in order to develop new and more effective actions that allow them to secure access to importations of energy sources under the best possible conditions while supplying energy at competitive prices and protecting the environment. It requires better coordination of national energy policies and greater cooperation between member states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Spatiotemporal variation in vegetation on the Loess Plateau was investigated. • Precipitation was the greatest driving factor. • There was a bivariate or nonlinear enhancement between all factors. • Key factors' adaptation range or type suitable for vegetation cover was identified. Vegetation, being a core component of ecosystems, is known to be influenced by natural and anthropogenic factors. Studying vegetation cover dynamics variation and its drivers is critical to understanding the interactions between vegetation and ecosystems. The Loess Plateau (LP) is located in a semi-arid and semi-humid region with severe soil erosion and fragile ecology. This paper used the annual maximum Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI ymax) and growing season mean NDVI (NDVI gsmean) as the vegetation cover indicator. The vegetation cover variation of LP from 2000 to 2020 was analyzed using Sen's slope and Mann-Kendall test. Then the influence of natural and anthropogenic factors on the driving mechanisms of spatial vegetation differentiation was explored by the Geodetector model. The results revealed that the growth trends of NDVI ymax and NDVI gsmean were 0.075/10 years and 0.038/10 years, respectively, and the areas with improved vegetation cover accounted for 92.67 % and 88.58 % of the total area. The vegetation cover of the southeastern and northern parts of the LP decreased significantly; however, the central, southwestern, and northeastern parts exhibited a remarkable improvement. Precipitation, vegetation type, soil type, temperature, and land use type were the key driving forces, ranked differently on NDVI ymax and NDVI gsmean. However, precipitation was the most critical factor both on NDVI ymax and NDVI gsmean. The interaction detection showed non-linear and mutual enhancement, with no independent factor. The findings of our study can assist in identifying the vegetation cover status of the LP, as well as the driving forces, which can provide theoretical support for the formulation of environmental conservation policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A regional green development index system is established based on the "driver-pressure-state-impact-response" model. • The level of regional green development in Hubei, China, is rising, and the gap between regions is narrowing. • The inter-regional spillover effect of green development is greater than the intra-regional spillover effect. • Technological innovation and the living environment have a positive spillover effect on green development. Green development strives to harmonize economic and social development with environmental protection. It is an innovative development model for people to follow in response to global climate change. This paper first combines the "driver-pressure-state-impact-response" (DPSIR) model with the entropy weighting method to measure the level of green development in Hubei Province from 2010 to 2018. Then, the spatial Durbin model (SDM) is used to analyse in depth the spatiotemporal evolutionary pattern and spatial spillover effects. The results indicate that after 2014, the levels of green development increased significantly and that regional differences gradually shrank. ρ = 0.409 indicates that the green development level has a positive spatial spillover effect, and the spillover effect between regions is greater than that within a region. The spatial spillover effects of the industrial structure and growth efficiency are −2.17 and −8.64, respectively, while the spatial spillover effects of technological innovation and the living environment are 7.35 and 0.32, respectively. Based on our findings, we provide several policy recommendations for developing countries to achieve green, coordinated and sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The maintenance of High Nature Value (HNV) farming is a priority for reaching the target of halting biodiversity loss in the European Union by 2020. Nevertheless, since the introduction of the HNV farming concept in the early 1990s and the first call for HNV farmland indicators in 2000, farmland biodiversity has continued to decline in many parts of Europe. The main processes behind this decline are agricultural intensification and abandonment. Past and current agricultural subsidies and conservation measures have mainly failed to safeguard HNV farmland and the respective farming systems. In this paper, we revise current approaches for localizing and characterizing HNV farming, identify shortcomings and describe the next generation of HNV farming indicators; show how HNV farming is related to existing concepts aimed at biodiversity conservation; and provide an overview of EU policy instruments that could help preserve HNV farming. We finish by outlining which steps should be taken so that HNV farming remains a part of our modern agricultural landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The extensive input of chemical insecticides for pest control is considered as a serious risk to the environment, and the ecological disturbance of chemical insecticides has both positive and negative effects on complex agro-ecosystems. This paper proposed an indicator based on ecological two-sidedness theory and Shannon entropy, which is intended for analyzing informational complexity in a decision network of the chemical insecticide pollution management. The results indicated that the order of the value of R CC/CP index (where the R CC/CP index matrix W CC/CP is defined as the index optimization matrix of comprehensive cost divided by the index optimization matrix of comprehensive profit) for three insect pest-controlling strategies in scallion fields was “applying frequency vibration lamps and environment-friendly insecticides 8 times” (0.8714) < “applying trap devices and environment-friendly insecticides 9 times” (0.8858) < “applying common insecticides 15 times” (0.9077). The treatment “applying frequency vibration lamps and environment-friendly insecticides 8 times” was recognized as the optimal strategy for chemical insecticide pollution management in scallion fields in Shanghai, China. The results demonstrate that our proposed ecological indicator might arouse the interest of policy makers and eco-environmentalists who seek to minimize the use of chemicals, and the farmers who hope to optimize pest-controlling strategies in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a main method for achieving environmental protection, improvement of environmental efficiency is vitally important for reducing environmental risk and level of ecological scarcity. Thus, quantitative analysis of environmental efficiency is not only an important premise for understanding the situation of regional environmental protection, but also a prerequisite for designing and adjusting relevant policies. In this paper, we treat the undesirable output in an economic activity by a linear monotonic decreasing transformation approach. We employ data envelopment analysis (DEA) technique to evaluate environmental efficiency in 30 provinces of China during the period 2001–2010, and conduct hypothesis tests on these environmental efficiencies. Furthermore, we investigate the horizontal differences of environmental efficiency in six regions of China and the vertical differences among different years. The results show that our empirical tests have a high statistical reliability that provides support for prompting environmental policies in different parts of China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The conflict between cultivated land protection and economic development has become increasingly acute in recent years. Despite, intensive researches made on this conflict, little attention has been paid to the spatial correlation of variables. In view of this, the paper introduces the spatial panel regression model to estimate, and test whether the relationship between economic growth and cultivated land conversion conforms to Kuznets curve. Research results show that the area of converted cultivated land in China exhibits strong spatial auto-correlation; the spatial panel model with time effect and fixed effect is more stable and significant than conventional panel mode, and that the relationship between economic growth and cultivated land conversion agrees with the inverted U-shape of Kuznets curve, with inflection point occurring when average per capita GDP reaches ¥31330.93 (calculated at comparable price of 1999). On the basis of analysis, it is suggested that the government, with a view to developing economy alongside protecting cultivated land, should attach more importance to land use and planning in the future, pay more attention to the spatial correlation of cultivated land planning in adjacent areas and make greater efforts to increase the input–output ratio of land. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the decision analysis of heterogeneous enterprise between green technology innovation and rent-seeking, this paper formulates the Hybrid-Luenberger index considering undesirable outputs and studies difference in the response of regional industrial green productivity to civil environmental protection. Empirical study on China's regional industrial data from 1997 to 2011 shows that: (1) Compared with the intensity of environmental pollution and other passive environmental protection incentives, the public are more sensitive to per capita income level, education quality, health concern and other rational environmental protection incentives. (2) The increase in the civil environmental protection effect promotes the industrial green technology innovation, while the rent-seeking activities have a significant negative effect on green productivity. (3) The civil environmental protection of the eastern coastal area has more significant effect on the industrial green productivity compared with that of the central and western inland area. (4) As the quantile of the industrial green productivity increases from the low point to high level, the positive effects of the civil environmental protection on the industrial green productivity turn to be more significant, and the rational environmental protection have positive and negative effects on high and low quantile of the industrial green productivity, respectively, which proves that the “Potter Hypothesis” can only be established on the condition that producers are approaching to the technology frontier. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The company's environmental management behaviors can improve the relationship between the company stakeholders, help companies to sustainably develop. But it is more seen as an obligation and cost of the company's environmental protection in developing countries. So what kind of impact the environmental protection have on the value of the company? Taking Chinese listing Corporation as a sample. This paper analyzes the impact of enterprises’ environmental management and its disclosure on corporate value. We conclude that environmental management excluding independent environment report can improve corporate value. In specific environmental management measures, producing environmental friendly products can help environmental friendly products gain recognition and improve corporate value significantly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of a regional or national economy is always accompanied by a variety of environmental problems. Using meta-frontier and data envelopment analysis (DEA), this paper investigates the environmental protection mechanisms and economic development of 211 cities in China from the perspective of environmental efficiency. The major conclusions are: (1) the overall environmental efficiency of Chinese cities is low when the most advanced production technology is selected as the reference. Only 10% of cities have achieved a win–win, defined as an effective balance between environmental protection and economic growth. It is possible to increase economy and reduce pollutant emissions at the same time for most of cities. (2) The environmental efficiencies and production technologies of cities in five different groups (based on a widely accepted business index) present significant differences. First-tier cities possess more advanced technology, higher environmental efficiency and, therefore, a higher overall win–win balance between economic development and environmental protection; while the fourth-tier and fifth-tier cities have a relatively large gap between development and protection. (3) To achieve a win–win balance between environmental protection and economic development, the local government of different cities should develop appropriate policies that maximize the use of technology and management practices that enhance both growth and protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The aim of this paper is to compare different maintenance costs of ecosystem service arising from a hypothetical case of environmental damage in order to help to understand how the different ecosystem services are considered in decision making processes. Compensatory measures are aimed precisely at maintaining the level of supply of ecosystem services. According to the literature, compensatory measures like restoration are usually applied to specific ecosystem services. We used the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA) categories of ecosystem service. For each MEA category, several ecological indicators are selected, and the cost of the compensatory measures required to fulfill the goal of no net loss is assessed using the Habitat Equivalency Analysis (HEA). The results of this analysis highlight differences between compensatory measures and their associated costs depending on the category of ecosystem services targeted. Maintenance costs are high for regulating services, low for provisioning services, and more difficult to determine for cultural services (high or low depending on the indicator selected). We discuss the implications of this result, noting that it is more rational for project developers to focus their attention on provisioning services if the legal regulation of compensation is lax or if indicators relative to cultural and regulating services are not precise enough. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Considering the traditional indicator of Green GDP and EDP, which ignored the ecological content when used to assess the regional sustainable development level, we proposed a new indicator, “EcoDP”, which consists of five sub-indicators: eco-service domestic product, eco-disaster domestic product, eco-construction domestic product, eco-threat domestic product, and eco-protection cost input, to distinguish the traditional EDP; we also suggest that the “EcoDP” should rather be divided into two main types: the “EcoDP value-stocked” and the “EcoDP value-added”. An analysis is carried out of China''s “EcoDP” change from 1999 to 2008, providing the following figures for the past 10 years: eco-service domestic product rose by 0.11 trillion yuan; eco-disaster domestic product increased by ¥1.03 trillion; eco-construction domestic product dropped by ¥9.8 billion; eco-threat domestic product rose by ¥114.4 billion; eco-protection cost input grew by ¥431.1 billion; and then we discussed the reasons for this change in China''s “EcoDP” from the perspectives of ecosystem, environment, resources and energies. Finally, based on various uncertainties regarding the research methodology adopted, the paper considers how to conduct quantified research and assessment for regional sustainable development in a comprehensive way in the future, in terms of GDP, EDP and social domestic product, like HDI. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Building manufacturing creates product value like building space, and induces severe environmental influence at the same time. The idea of eco-efficiency (EE) can link a product or service value and the corresponding environmental influence together, but there has been little research that implements such idea on building manufacturing, such as the green building rating system of the comprehensive assessment system for building environmental efficiency (CASBEE) in Japan and the EcoEffect in Sweden. This paper proposes an emergy (spelled with an “m”) analysis-based methodology for EE evaluation of building manufacturing, where the building space (in cubic size) and the emergy amount of building manufacturing are selected as the indicators of product value and the environmental influence, respectively. Six residential buildings that include multi-storeys, moderate high-rises and high rises are selected averagely from two Chinese famous cities, namely Beijing and Shanghai. The evaluation results can provide directions to assess environmental influence and thus to heighten the EE of building manufacturing. The EE evaluation result can even be used as the base of a new green building (or eco-building) rating system. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The paper presents the use of indicators in a site-specific assessment method for strategic environmental assessment in regional land use planning (here: SEA-REP). It is explained with the example of the state of environment indicator ‘LUCCA 4—Urban Areas at Risk of Flooding’, how SEA as a decision-aiding instrument can contribute to the prevention of conflicts with policy for adaptation to climate change. The method begins with the determination of impact factors for SEA. In the presented study, the physical impact factors of land consumption, land use change, and directed flooding were recognised. A core problem during the selection of indicators for land uses for the adaptation to climate change (here: LUCCA) and the derivation of assessment thresholds was a lack of region-wide policy objectives for the protection of land and resources. Therefore, in a second step, regional environmental orientation objectives were derived from national and EU environmental policy. A standard method for the selection of LUCCA indicators and the derivation of assessment thresholds for conflict analysis is described. Three classes of conflict classification for regional plan designations on the individual site are proposed. It is recommended that future adaptation measures of regional land use planning should be designations of specific land uses as priority areas for urban areas prone to flood risk. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Within the past two decades sustainability has become a key term in emphasizing and understanding relationships between economic progress and the protection of the environment. One key difficulty is in the definition of sustainability indicators based on information at different spatial and temporal scales. In this paper we formalize statistical models for the assessment of sustainability impact indicators using a public data source provided by the Austrian government. Our application example is the Eisenwurzen region in Austria, an old and famous mining area within the Alps. The total area covers 5.743km2 and includes 99 municipalities. In our study we define 15 impact indicators covering economic, social and environmental impacts. For each of the impact indicators we develop response functions using the available public data sources. The results suggest that the available data are an important source for deriving sustainable impact indicators within specific regions. The presented approach may serve as diagnostic tool to provide insights into the regional drivers for assessing sustainability indicators. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

[Display omitted] • The relation between urbanization and water environment in Hanjiang Basin was studied. • Coupling coordination degree model between UAWE of Hanjiang Basin was established. • The positive interaction effect of UAWE is mainly focused on the middle and lower reaches of the Hanjiang River. • Put forward feasible measures to realize the sustainable development of UAWE. The urbanization process of the Hanjiang Basin is speeding up and facing many challenges. It is necessary to take active actions to realize the balance between urbanization development and water environment protection. This paper aims to establish a comprehensive evaluation model of urbanization and water environment (UAWE) and explore the development of UAWE in the Hanjiang Basin in China from 2010 to 2018. In terms of methodology, these evaluation models are combined with the Coupling coordination degree model (CCDM), Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis (ESDA), and Geographically and Temporally Weighted Regression (GTWR) to measure and analyze the coupling degree (CD) and spatiotemporal heterogeneity of UAWE. Our findings include the following: (1) From 2010 to 2018, in all regions of the Hanjiang Basin, urbanization showed a gradual upward trend. Among Them, the comprehensive urbanization index (CUI) of Xiangyang increased by 25.37%. (2) The comprehensive water environment index (CWEI) presents a fluctuating growth, with the rate of increase in Jingmen's reaching 17.44%. (3) There is heterogeneity in time and space between cities in the Hanjiang Basin, and the positive interaction effect of UAWE is mainly focused on the middle and lower reaches of the Hanjiang River. (4) Coupling coordination degree (CCD) in the basin shows an increasing trend, and the areas with high CCD are mainly concentrated in Xiangyang and Xiantao. (5) ESDA shows that the CCD among cities in the basin has spatial correlation and heterogeneity, and the regions with similar CCD tend to be distributed centrally in space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • An integrative framework was proposed from view of strong sustainability. • The framework can coordinate socio-economic and environmental dimensions well. • Large differences were found among socio-economic and environmental dimensions. Sustainability is related to the coordination of a complex system that constitutes by society, economy, and environment. In particular, environmental factor is frequently considered irreplaceable among them. This paper proposed a framework for regional sustainability assessment by coupling environmental factor and an improved Human Development Index (HDI). The performance of the framework was then analyzed using the 66 counties in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) in China as a case study. On this basis, spatio-temporal assessment on the regional sustainability was assessed from the dimensions of society, economy, and environment. Results showed that the proposed framework could capture both socio-economic and environmental dimensions well to reflect the regional sustainability in the YRD. Specifically, it showed that sustainability was continuously improved in the YRD from 2000 to 2015. However, the sustainability revealed large differences among distinct dimensions. For instances, socio-economic sustainability was improved in 78.79% of the counties in the YRD from 2000 to 2015, but their environmental sustainability was declining in the same period. Spatially, the overall sustainability of the YRD showed autocorrelations and diverse aggregation characteristics among counties from 2000 to 2015. It is therefore essential to coordinate environment protection and economic development according to each city's characteristic to realize sustainable development in future decades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In the face of global change, declines in environmental quality are of increasing concern, especially in shallow coastal areas, densely populated and commonly affected by nutrient enrichment. The warm temperate Mondego estuary (Western Portugal), in common with many other shallow estuarine areas, is exhibiting increased macroalgal growth due to nutrient enrichment. The increase of macroalgal biomass and possible shift of other primary producers resulting from eutrophication, may have profound effects on estuarine trophic chain. The present paper examined the performance of a holistic Stochastic Dynamic Methodology (SDM) in predicting the tendencies of three representative trophic levels as a response to the increase of nutrient concentrations. Therefore, the proposed methodology has been developed by focusing on the interactions between conceptually isolated key-components, such as primary producers (macroalgae and seagrass), some relevant benthic macroinvertebrates, wading birds and changes in local physicochemical conditions. The dynamic model developed was preceded by a conventional multivariate statistical procedure (stepwise multiple regression analysis) performed to discriminate the significant relationships between prevailing biological and environmental variables. Since this statistical analysis is static, the dataset recorded from the field included true gradients of habitat changes. The data used in the model construction was sampled between January 1993 and September 1995 in three areas of the estuary mudflats for benthic macroinvertebrates, macroalgae, environmental and physicochemical factors and from October 1993 to October 1994 for wading birds. The model validation was based on independent data collected in two different periods, from January 1996 to January 1997 and from February 1999 to April 2000 for all the variables selected. Overall, the simulation results are encouraging since they seem to demonstrate the model reliability in capturing the trophic dynamics of the studied estuary by predicting the behavioural pattern for the most part of the components selected under a very complex and variable environmental scenario. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• SO 2 emissions in China have been found to exhibit spatial heterogeneity. • A random effect eigenvector spatial filtering (RE-ESF) approach is suggested to deal with spatial dependence in empirical studies. • The global and local relationships between factors and SO 2 emissions can be captured. • Centralized and province-specific policies for reducing SO 2 emissions can be developed. Sulfur dioxide (SO 2) emissions have been a great challenge in China over the last few decades due to their serious impact on the environment and human health. In this paper, a random effect eigenvector spatial filtering (RE-ESF) approach without and with non-spatially varying coefficients (SNVC) is identified to examine spatial heterogeneity and economic driving factors of SO 2 emissions in China from 2011 to 2017. Using the Moran eigenvectors to extract information on spatial dependence, the main findings of the RE-ESF approach are as follows: First, after comparing different approaches for dealing with spatial dependence, it is found that the RE-ESF approach demonstrates the best fit to the dataset. Second, the global investigation shows that SO 2 emissions are negatively determined by economic growth and government expenditure for environment protection, but are positively determined by road freight transport, coal consumption and oil consumption. Third, the local investigation indicates that the spatially varying coefficients of economic growth and coal consumption range from 0.1401 to 0.2732 with the median value of 0.2478 and from 0.2406 to 0.3611 with the median value of 0.3210, respectively, revealing significant spatial heterogeneity of SO 2 emissions driven by economic growth and coal consumption. These findings provide meaningful insights into centralized and province-specific policies for reducing SO 2 emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Eco-efficiency is evaluated from manufacturing and environmental protection stage. • Eco-efficiencies of two stages in most China's provinces are at a low level. • There are differences in two-stage eco-efficiency among China's provinces. • The effects of "Belt and Road" on the eco-efficiency of two stages are opposite. This paper divides the industrial eco-economic system into manufacturing stage and environmental protection stage, uses the improved metabolic GM(1,1) model and TOPSIS-DEA cross-efficiency model to evaluate the two-stage eco-efficiency of China's provinces from 2005 to 2020. On this basis, regression discontinuity is utilized to analyze the heterogeneous impact of "Belt and Road" initiative (BRI) on the eco-efficiency of industrial eco-economic system and two stages. The results show that: the eco-efficiency of industrial eco-economic system (EIES) and the eco-efficiency of manufacturing stage (EMS) have been at a relatively high level, while the eco-efficiency of environmental protection stage (EEPS) is still at a low level so far. The EIES and EMS of the provinces in eastern region are higher than those of the central, western and northeastern regions, while the EEPS of the western region is higher than that of the other three regions. The impacts of BRI on EIES and EEPS are significantly positive, while the BRI has a negative effect on EMS. In addition, there is a significant positive relationship between economic development level and EIES, EMS, and EEPS, industrial structure can promote EIES and EMS, and technological innovation has a significant positive correlation with EMS, a significant negative correlation with EEPS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The construction land and farmland in Jinghe County has changed dramatically. • The farmland increased significantly and expanded along with a "triangle" three sides. • The biodiversity of farmland decreased, while the fragmentation degree of forest land increased. • Human factors are the main driving force of landscape pattern change in Jinghe County. The eco-environment of the arid area is constantly fragile global-wide. The study on the spatial and temporal variation of its landscape pattern can quickly identify the driving factors, which is an effective analysis method of ecological conservation in the arid area. In this study, Jinghe County, Xinjiang, in Northwestern China, is chosen as a case study of understanding the major driving force of the oasis landscape. Landsat satellite images of 1994, 2007, and 2017 are used as the basic data sources for analysis. The moving window method, transition matrix, and factor analysis are selected as the main technical means for this paper to reveal the temporal and spatial variation of landscape pattern in Jinghe County, and to quantitatively describe its driving factors. The results of the analysis show that: (1) The landscape pattern of Jinghe County has changed dramatically, especially the construction land and farmland. Both show an increase of 351.29% and 269.01% respectively between 1994 and 2017. Farmland increased the most, with the proportion of 6.45% in Jinghe County, and expanded along with the "triangle" three sides. The area of forest land increased slightly, the area of grassland and unused land decreased, and the area of water did not change significantly. (2) The dominant obvious regional differences of landscape types in Jinghe County are mainly manifested in farmland and forest land. Taking the unused land as the boundary, the biodiversity of farmland decreased, and the aggregation degree deepened, while the fragmentation degree of forest land increased. (3) The spatial–temporal variation of landscape patterns in Jinghe County is the result of the combination of natural and human factors, but the correlation between human factors and the change of landscape area is significantly greater than that of natural factors. Thus, human factors are the main driving force of landscape pattern change in Jinghe County. The scientific management and planning of the intensity of human activities in Jinghe County should be the focus of ecological environment restoration and protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A multitude of rural areas is facing increasing conflicts with regard to rural development and nature conservation because of the rapid commercialization of farming and the building and improvement of roads. In Xishuangbanna, Yunnan, South West China, this development results in strong land use changes. An analysis of these changes demands an integrated approach addressing their ecological, social, and economic dimensions. Using a combined modelling system, the NabanFrame Modeling Framework, the interdisciplinary research project LILAC was able to provide the calculation of scenarios based on the current state of land use and economic and ecological effects. The papers in the special issue combine description of the different components of the framework with some examples of scenarios calculated with the framework. Furthermore, frame conditions for better implementation of environmentally friendly land use options are explored. The role of interdisciplinary research in the development of site-adapted and integrated land use solutions is described. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• The index of Urban Water Ecological Civilization (UWEC) has been introduced. • Index system and evaluation method for the UWEC level have been established. • UWEC level of three urban agglomerations increases along the Yangtze River from west to east. • Factors restricting the UWEC level of Yangtze River Economic Belt are identified. Urbanization and economic development pose a challenge to the water ecological environment of cities. "Ecological Civilization" is a term that demonstrates the strategy to achieve the win-win goal of economic development and eco-environment protection. "Water Ecological Civilization" is a vital part of "Ecological Civilization". This paper introduced a composite index to characterize the Urban Water Ecological Civilization (UWEC) and established an evaluation index system for UWEC based on a multicriteria analytical framework. The evaluation system contains 20 indicators selected from six criterion layers: water resources utilization (A, evaluating the efficiency of industrial, agricultural, domestic and public water use), water security assurance (B, evaluating the flood control, drainage and drinking water safety), water environmental protection (C, evaluating the water environment quality and water pollution prevention), water ecological restoration (D, evaluating the health of regional water ecosystem), water culture system (E, evaluating the inheritance of water culture and the popularization of UWEC awareness) and water management institution (F, evaluating the implementation of management systems). In our research, three major urban agglomerations (UAs) in Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB) were chosen to be the study area. The results presented that the UWEC level of UAs gradually increased along the Yangtze River from west to east, showing obvious spatial differences. The main criteria restricting the UWEC level of UAs in the Yangtze River Delta were D and E, while E and F were the main restricting criteria for the UWEC level of UAs in the Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River and Cheng-Yu District. The indicator of "drainage compliance rate" got the lowest score among all indicators for three UAs. In addition, targeted measures for improving the UWEC level of UAs in YREB were proposed. Our study is supposed to provide a scientific reference to the improvement of UWEC level for UAs in YREB and trigger further research in the field of water ecological civilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Constructed the environmental sensitivity index (ESI) system. • Providing a simple and convenient method to calculate the ESI based on Euclidean distance. • Classified protection categories into four regions and proposed environmental management measures according to the sensitivity. Identifying environmentally sensitivity regions and levels is an important aspect of resource management, especially in large arid ecosystems that exhibit sensitivity to climate change. This paper selected northwest China with complex and diverse environmental problems as the study area, and constructed the environmental sensitivity index (ESI) system including human intervention, disaster risk, land environment, biological and climate indicators, which were composed of thirteen factors. Then the environmental sensitivity was analyzed through using geographic information system (GIS) technology and spatial distance index (SDI) method. The temporal and spatial evolution characteristics of environmental sensitivity in Northwest China in the past 16 years were discussed. The results showed that: (1) the environmental sensitivity in the study area was in the medium level and its spatial heterogeneity was significant. The high and extremely sensitivity were mainly concentrated in the western and central areas, while the normal and low sensitivity were mainly distributed in the southeast of northwest China. (2) The ESI value decreased from 0.477 in 1987 to 0.429 in 2016, which reflected that the environmental conditions in northwest China have improved in the past 17 years, but not obviously. The regional sensitivity was still unstable, and the fluctuation change area was 232,136.28 km2, accounts for7.71% of the total area. This showed that local government had made some progress in environmental protection, but it still has a long way to go because of the deterioration of the regional environment in northwest China. (3) The SDI method can simply and directly inflect the environmental sensitivity distribution and change patterns, which provided management partitions with well-founded and more viable for planning and implementing effective environmental management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Economic agglomeration (EA) was quantified based on nighttime light data. • All provinces are facing ecological overload excluding Qinghai. • A positive correlation between EA and ecological efficiency (EE) was found. As natural resources are becoming one of the factors hindering economic development, the utilization efficiency of natural resources should be improved and ecological stress should be reduced to ensure sustainable economic development. In this study, the ecological stress index and ecological efficiency were quantified using the ecological footprint model to describe the current status of sustainability and utilization efficiency of natural resources. The economic agglomeration was determined by conducting global spatial autocorrelation analysis using Defense Meteorological Program/Operational Line-Scan System (DMSP/OLS) nighttime light data. The relationship between economic agglomeration and ecological efficiency of China was then illustrated in a four-partite graph, and the results show that (1) the per-capita ecological footprints vary between the different provinces; however, the composition of the ecological footprint is similar between the provinces, and demonstrates the demand for fossil energy land is highest, while that for fishing ground is lowest. (2) All provinces are facing ecological overload, excluding Qinghai, and Shanghai, Tianjin, and Beijing are enduring the most severe ecological overload. (3) The ecological efficiency differs greatly between the different provinces of China, and the ecological efficiency values tend to decrease from the eastern coast to the inland region. (4) The economic activities in every province of China are spatially agglomerated, and the degree of agglomeration differs significantly. (5) There is a positive correlation between economic agglomeration and ecological efficiency, indicating that promoting economic agglomeration is an effective method of improving the utilization efficiency of natural resources. The relationship between economic agglomeration and ecological efficiency observed in this paper will provide a reference for optimizing the spatial distribution of economic activities and a theoretical basis for synchronizing environmental protection with economic development in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Calculated Ecological Environment Quality Index by principal component analysis. • Analyzed the spatial auto-correlation of Ecological Environment Quality Index. • Explored the relation of Ecological Environment Quality Index and four indicators (greenness, wetness, heat, and dryness). Remote sensing technology can objectively and quantitatively evaluate spatial-temporal change of ecological environmental quality. This paper uses images from Landsat5 Thematic Mapper (TM) in 2007 and Landsat8 operational land imager (OLI) in 2013 and 2016 to extract indicators such as greenness, wetness, heat, and dryness that reflect the ecological environment quality of arid area. The principal component analysis (PCA) used the evaluating ecological environment quality of the Ebinur Lake Wetland National Nature Reserve to explore the characteristics of spatial differentiation for ecological quality in environment as indicated in the remote sensing ecological index (RSEI). The results showed that the greenness and wetness have positive effects on the ecological environment while the heat and dryness have negative effects. Wetness has a greater impact on the ecological environment than the other three indicators. The proportion of RSEI of degeneration, invariability, and improvement were 20.57%, 42.98%, 36.44%. Thus, the ecological environment had improved. The improved area in 2016 was once located in bad level in 2007. The ecological environment had degraded in the southern part of the lake. The value of Moran's I showed an increased trend first and then decreased. The value of Moran's I increased in 2013, in comparison with 2007, indicating a strong positive correlation and certain internal connection between the ecological environment qualities in the study area. The spatial distribution was clustered rather than random. In comparison with 2013, the auto-correlation in 2016 was relatively weak, an indication that the spatial distribution was random and disperse. The area of High-High (HH) mostly reached to the significant level of 0.05 in 2007 and then to 0.01 in 2013 and 2016. This study offered important results and information for ecological environment protection and region planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]