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This paper aims to propose a prediction method based on Deep Learning (DL) and Internet of Things (IoT) technology, focusing on the ecological security and tourist satisfaction of Ice-and-Snow Tourism (IST) to solve practical problems in this field. Accurate predictions of ecological security and tourist satisfaction in IST have been achieved by collecting and analyzing environment and tourist behavior data and combining with DL models, such as convolutional and recurrent neural networks. The experimental results show that the proposed method has significant advantages in performance indicators, such as accuracy, F1 score, Mean Squared Error (MSE), and correlation coefficient. Compared to other similar methods, the method proposed improves accuracy by 3.2%, F1 score by 0.03, MSE by 0.006, and correlation coefficient by 0.06. These results emphasize the important role of combining DL with IoT technology in predicting ecological security and tourist satisfaction in IST. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecological security is an important guarantee of human security and survival, closely related to sustainable development. However, the ecological security evaluation and driving force analysis of oases in arid areas is still insufficient. Ejina Oasis's ecological security has experienced significant shifts following the centralized management of the Heihe River's water allocation. Understanding the shifts in ecological security in the Ejina region is paramount for the oasis's long-term sustainability. This paper employed the Pressure–State–Response (P–S–R) model to select socioeconomic and ecological indicators, establish a comprehensive ecological security evaluation index system, and then analyze the evolving ecological security in the region. Additionally, this paper explored the relationship between changes in the water area, oasis area, and ecological security by using the gray correlation degree to quantify the influence of Land Use Changes (LUCCs) on the overall ecological security. From 2000 to 2012, the ecological security index of Ejina Oasis remained relatively stable at around 0.4. However, a noticeable upward trend in the ecological security index emerged from 2012 to 2020, indicating a shift toward improved ecological security in the region. Critical determinants of this change included the habitat degradation degree, total population, habitat quality, carbon stock, fractional vegetation cover (FVC), the proportion of tertiary industry, and the volume of water discharged from Wolf Heart Mountain. The degree of habitat degradation, fractional vegetation cover (FVC), and the proportion of tertiary industry had the greatest impact on the change in ecological security. The pressure index was dominant in influencing ecological security before 2012 but gradually transitioned to the state index. This study offers a valuable framework for assessing the intricate relationship between LUCCs and ecological security in water-scarce, arid-region oases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social progress and the improvement of living standards are often accompanied by the intensification of ecological crises. The long-term abuse of natural resources has led to the accumulation of ecological liabilities, which in turn seriously hinders economic development. This has prompted all sectors of society to recognize the importance of ecological carrying capacity (ECC) and ecological security (ES). Remarkable progress has been made in karst desertification control (KDC), which has helped reshape the ECC and ES pattern of forests. Currently, the research field of ECC and ES is experiencing rapid development. Further studies in these areas have immeasurable value in promoting regional sustainable development strategies and strengthening ecological civilization construction. The objective of this paper is to provide an overview of the current research status and potential challenges in the field of ECC and ES, with a view to optimizing the program of forest restoration and protection in KDC. This study systematically analyzed 350 relevant studies and found that (1) research on forest ECC and ES has shown a strong growth trend overall, especially after 2017, with a growth rate exceeding 75%; (2) the literature predominantly focuses on the assessment of forest ECC (40.58%) and the enhancement of forest ES (23.42%); and (3) geographically, research findings are heavily concentrated in Asia, representing 95.40% of the total. Notably, China emerges as the primary contributor to research in this field, accounting for a substantial 94.12%. Based on the above analysis, this review summarizes the significant advancements in forest ecosystems, ECC, and ES, while also delving into the key scientific issues that need to be addressed. Furthermore, it offers valuable insights from forest ecosystems in tackling KDC, with the goal of offering guidance and strategic recommendations for future research and practices in managing delicate ecological environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Is it possible to imagine the deployment of geoengineering in the service of ecological security? Ecological security––a concern with the resilience of ecosystems––appears to caution against forms of intervention that might serve to change and/or undermine the functionality of ecosystems. Yet ecosystem functionality is already challenged by processes associated with climate change, and some degree of climate change is already locked in. This paper examines this challenging but important issue. After defining ecological security and noting varied forms of geoengineering, the paper explores the opportunities for––and challenges of––imagining geoengineering in the service of ecological security, especially in the context of solar radiation management. While arguing that it is possible to conceive a role for geoengineering in the service of ecological security, this must be contingent on extensive research supporting deployment and must be tempered by restraint and a commitment to precaution, humility, reflexivity and dialogue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Qinghai–Xizang Plateau is one of the important units of the major project of ecosystem protection and restoration in China's "three zones and four belts"(2021–2035), and balancing its ecological security with rational regional development is the basis for ensuring China's ecological stability. In this paper, the coupling mechanism between regional development intensity and ecological security is explained, and a measurement system of the relationship is designed, from which the coordination degree and type division of the coupling between regional development intensity and ecological security on the Qinghai–Xizang Plateau from 2011 to 2020 is measured. The results show the following: (1) During the study period, the regional development intensity of the Qinghai–Xizang Plateau has been increasing, with Xining and Lhasa as the "core" that drives the development and expansion of the surrounding areas. The ecological security index has been also on the rise, showing a pattern of "belt-shaped depressions in the central and western parts of the Plateau, and vertical clusters in the eastern part of the Plateau". The depression moves toward the southern part of Xinjiang. (2) The degree of coupling and coordination between development intensity and ecological safety in each city (prefecture) on the Qinghai–Xizang Plateau has increased by different degrees, but many cities (prefectures) still show a lag in development intensity or ecological security. (3) The evolution of the pattern of coupling and coordination between regional development intensity and ecological security on the Qinghai–Xizang Plateau varies significantly, forming a pattern of "high in the east and low in the west, with multiple clusters side by side". To some extent, this paper reveals the correlation between the spatial and temporal distributions of regional development intensity and ecological security on the Qinghai–Xizang Plateau, which can provide a basis for the regulation of human activities in the construction of ecological security barriers at the city (prefecture) level on the Qinghai–Xizang Plateau. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With rapid urbanization, environmental problems such as soil erosion and resource shortages have emerged. Ecological environmental quality is decreasing, and ecological security issues are becoming increasingly prominent; thus, relevant research is particularly urgent. The ecological security issue is complex due to many influencing factors. The transformation of landscape type is the most important factor affecting ecological security. Therefore, there is an urgent need to optimize and screen for the indicator factors that affect ecological security, carry out a dynamic evaluation of ecological security based on landscape pattern analysis, and analyze the driving forces behind ecological security changes. Song County is located in the ecological core area of the Funiu Mountains in western Henan, with complex topography and geomorphology; large changes in landscape patterns in recent years; frequent geological disasters, which have posed a greater threat to people's life and property safety; and significant ecological security problems. This paper takes Song County as the research area, using the decision tree model to obtain the land use classification results of four periods in Song County in 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2020 based on remote sensing images. Landscape pattern analysis is conducted from two aspects: patch level and landscape level. On this basis, ecological security evaluation indicators are constructed from three levels: pressure, state, and response, and the comprehensive index model is used to obtain the results of four ecological security evaluations. Exploratory spatial data analysis (ESDA) is used to conduct research and prediction on spatiotemporal differentiation. Finally, the spatial heterogeneity relationship between the ecological security level and its driving factors in Song County is quantitatively analyzed using a geographic detector model. The results clearly show that the overall landscape form gradually tends to develop in the direction of complex irregularity. Due to frequent geological disasters and strong human engineering activities near the core areas of the Luhun Reservoir and Yi River basin, as well as Baihejie Village in Baihe Township and Che Village in Muzhijie Township, the landscape pattern is changing considerably. The self-restoration ability of the land's ecosystem is gradually weakening, and the degree of ecological damage is gradually accelerating. The ecological security level is unsafe, the area of unsafe security is gradually increasing, and the ecological security index (ESI) will continue to decrease in the future. To improve ecological security, we recommend paying attention to land conservation and rational utilization while pursuing economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In China, with the rapid development of economy and the advancement of urbanization, the deterioration of urban ecological environment is obvious. In order to obtain the quantitative state of urban ecological security, this paper contributes an integrated and coupled emergy ecological footprint framework and Beijing city was selected to verify methodology effect in this paper. The results demonstrate that: (1) from 2010 to 2019, the change range of EEFB is from 6.37 to 9.29%; meanwhile, EEFI is from 7.95 to 17.72%; EEFE is from 36.36 to 63.71%; EEFP is from 18.45% to 41.65%. Comparing the proportions of four subparts, the energy resource products (EEFE) and emissions (EEFP) are the main factors, far more significant than biological resources (EEFB) and industrial products (EEFI). (2) Compared to all ECCS data, there is a definite growing trend in Beijing city, from 2.68E + 4 hm2/cap in 2010 to 4.72E+4 hm2/cap in 2019, approximately 42.22% growth range. (3) Four sustainable indicators analysis: The changes of EEFT, EBI, and EEF are from 3.1, 2.46, and 1.02 in 2010 to 0.688, 9.29 and 1.14 in 2019, respectively. For EDI, total proportions of fossil land and built-up land are 85.25% to 90.43% of the entire EEF in Beijing city. These results reflect that Beijing city is suffering from a substantial ecological challenge due to remarkable ecological deficit, awfully high emergy ecological footprint intensity, and low cooperation level between ecological system and economic system. To identify key improvement factors, Pearson correlation analysis was conducted in this paper and revealed the most positive and negative elements, which are the unbalanced industrial structure and a large proportion heavy and polluting industries in Beijing city. Finally, based on the pivotal influencing factors, corresponding strategies and measures are proposed to improve and optimize the ecological security in Beijing city. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document is an editorial published in the journal Frontiers in Environmental Science. It discusses the challenges faced by water and environmental sustainability in watersheds due to climate change and human interference. The editorial emphasizes the need for interdisciplinary research to understand the dynamics of watershed hydrology, water quality, and ecology. It also highlights the importance of adaptive management approaches to address the complexity and uncertainty associated with environmental changes. The document concludes by presenting recent research papers that explore watershed environmental changes and sustainable management worldwide. [Extracted from the article]

Copyright of Arid Land Geography is the property of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology & Geography and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The desert–oasis interaction zone plays a crucial role in safeguarding oasis ecological security and maintaining stability within oases. This paper proposed a framework of EN-DSS, based on long-term remote sensing data and fundamental data, adopted morphological spatial pattern analysis (MSPA) and Linkage Mapper among other methods, and it took Lingwu City in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, which is located in the desert–oasis interaction zone in the upper reaches of the Yellow River, as a case study. The results indicate the following: since 1995, this desert–oasis system has exhibited the characteristics whereby the oasis is expanding eastward and the desert is significantly receding. The vegetation coverage has improved overall, forming an ecological security pattern characterized predominantly by shrub forests, which is referred to as the "one core, two corridors, three zones, and multiple clusters" pattern. This pattern has significantly reduced the risk of wind and sand erosion in the agricultural irrigation areas along the Yellow River. However, the construction of this ecological security pattern still faces challenges, including high construction and maintenance costs and the need to enhance the network's quality. In the future, it will be necessary to strengthen the integrated ecological network construction of ecological areas, agricultural areas, and urban areas to enhance the stability of this regional ecological network system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rural areas in Northwest China have always been the main concentration of poverty-stricken people in China. In 1986, China listed 665 poor counties (mostly in the northwest), and successively launched the actions of "Volunteer Teaching in Western China" and "Great Development of Western China" to help underdeveloped areas get rid of poverty. At present, the number of poor counties has been reduced to 52. In 2014, the Chinese government proposed to comprehensively improve the rural living environment by 2020. Through in-depth investigation and visit to 11 districts (counties) of Yulin City, Shaanxi Province, China, this study puts forward a set of index system suitable for evaluating the human settlements in underdeveloped rural areas and constructs a comprehensive evaluation model by using a variety of mathematical methods. Using the combination of accurate evaluation and fuzzy comprehensive evaluation, this paper makes a horizontal evaluation on the residential environment of each district (county) in Yulin City, and a dynamic evaluation on the overall development level of livable environment in Yulin City in recent 9 years. Finally, using qualitative and quantitative analysis methods, this paper discusses the shortcomings, available advantages and development prospects in the construction of human settlements in Yulin City, and concludes that the key to improving rural human settlements is to develop township enterprises. This study is an empirical analysis of the government's long-term poverty alleviation effect, summarizes experience and finds out existing problems, so as to provide basis and reference for the government's poverty alleviation in future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reasonable planning of the limited land resources can promote the coordinated development of social economic and ecological protection. It is very important to optimize the rational distribution of land resources in the arid inland river basin because of the scarce land. In this paper, the GIS technologies of spatial analysis, conversion of land use, and its effects at small regional extent (CLUE-S) and minimum cumulative resistance (MCR) model were used to optimize the land allocation. The ecological security pattern (ESP) was constructed through using MCR model, which included ecological source and resistance surface. The dynamics of land use and spatial optimizing allocation of Shiyang River Basin in 2025 and 2030 was simulated under three different optimization scenarios including farmland protection scenario (FPS), free development scenario (FDS), and ecological security pattern scenario (ESPS). It was found that under ESPS, farmland was reduced, but woodland, grassland, and water body were increased significantly. Under FPS, land for construction was controlled effectively, a large part of homestead was converted into farmland, and the potential of unused land was developed vigorously. Furthermore, the current FDS and macro policy guidance should be comprehensively considered. The ESPS was more suitable for the scientific development of Shiyang River Basin on a long view. The combination of CLUE-S and MCR can effectively improve the optimization methods under ecological process and ecological resistance of landscape elements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intensification of human activities is pushing our use of ecosystems beyond thresholds of resiliency. Given the accelerating global crisis of ecological sustainability, there has been enormous growth in research related to ecological security. However, differences in opinions on ecological security have hindered understanding and effective applications of this concept. To understand the development of research on ecological security, we reviewed its achievements and limitations over the past 30 years from three dimensions: definition, evaluation method, and approach to identify measures to improve the ecological security level. We used the Web of Science search engine to retrieve peer-reviewed journal articles published from 1990 to 2021 containing the keywords "ecological security" or "ecological safety". There are three main ethical perspectives among the definitions of ecological security: nature-centric, human-centric, and eclectic; the human-centric view, which focuses on human well-being, is predominant in the field. Most studies employed the following three evaluation methods: quantitative comparison, composite indicators, and spatial analysis. However, the results of ecological security analyses were difficult to compare. Three main approaches (causality, correlation, and landscape) were used to identify the drivers of ecological security and propose measures for ensuring or improving ecological security. Owing to the complexity and heterogeneity of ecosystems, universally effective measures to ensure ecological security rarely exist. For the definition and evaluation of ecological security, a broader, non-anthropocentric perspective that incorporates the intrinsic value of non-humans in the context of cost–benefit, security–efficiency evaluations is essential. When proposing evaluation methods, the comparability of evaluation results should be given priority. To improve ecological security level, identifying the key drivers and/or potential optimal patterns of ecological security may be a promising solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the era of sustainable development, the ecological impact of the development of the tourism industry has attracted extensive attention from all walks of life. Generally considered, tourism ecological security (TES) is an important link to realize the high-quality development of tourism destinations and promote the construction of ecological civilization. Based on keyword discrimination of TES, tourism ecological risk and tourism ecological health, and from the perspective of ecological civilization construction, this paper uses the databases of Web of Science and CNKI as data sources to systematically comb and analyze TES research from the aspects of development process, research methods and research content, and puts forward the prospects for future research on this basis. This analysis found that research in the TES field presents four main characteristics. (1) The phased characteristic of "germination - exploration - development" is significant, and a relatively standard research framework of "evaluation - influencing factors - early warning - regulation" has been formed. (2) The empirical orientation of the research methods is distinct. (3) The development trend is characterized by small-scale dominance and a large-scale surge. (4) The disciplinary integration and practical combination have been continuously strengthened. Combined with the development trends and hot spots of TES, this paper proposes that the direction and goal of deepening TES research in the future should be carried out from the aspects of strengthening research on thresholds, early warning and regulation, improving the application of big data, constructing the synergistic effect mechanisms between tourism and ecology, and realizing the longitudinal deepening and interconnection of scale research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How to measure the overall level of regional social economy, resources, and environment and how to grasp the coordinated development between them has become a hot issue. In this paper, the driving force-pressure-state-response (DPSR) model is used to build an ecological security index (ESI) system to measure the overall ecological security level of social economy, resources, and environment. In addition, dynamic nonlinear auto regressive (NAR) neural network is used to predict the ESI level to achieve the purpose of early warning. First, the results show that the weight of the employment rate, the proportion of students in colleges, and the per capita consumption level are relatively high, which play an important role for the ecological security level of Shaanxi Province. Second, Xi'an City has been the best level in ecological security level, the ecological security of Southwest Shaanxi is relatively good, which is related to its economic development and comparative advantage geographical conditions, while the ecological security level of Weinan and Shangluo are poor. Third, the ESI of most cities in Shaanxi Province is maintained at grade III. The ESI in Shaanxi has an upward trend from 2000 to 2006; however, the trend of this increase has not been maintained, and nearly half of the cities in Shaanxi have slightly decreased the ecological security level. Four, the ESI of Xi'an and Hanzhong will remain at a high level in the future, while the ecological security situation of Shangluo, Weinan, and Yulin probably become very poor in the next years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental security is the guarantee of human well-being. This paper discusses the dynamic change process of wetland landscape pattern in Shengjin Lake of Anhui Province and establishes the ecological security Press-state-response model of Shengjin Lake and its driving forces in order to provide a scientific basis for further research and restoration on wetland protection of Shengjin Lake. With the support of remote sensing and GIS technology, four TM images in 1986, 1995, 2008 and 2019 were used as the basic information sources for analysis. The landscape pattern in Shengjin Lake has changed greatly with the significant increasing area of woodland and reed beach as well as the remarkable increasing area of water area, paddy field and construction land. The diversity index show an upward trend whereas the dominance index is contrary. The fragmentation degree is intensifying and the plaque types showed a trend of diversity. The intensified degree of landscape fragmentation and the growing number of patches will make the fragmentation of wetland ecosystem increasingly serious and influence the storage capacity of wetland, it will also change the hydrological conditions of the whole wetland and weaken the ecological benefits of wetland. In addition, the wetland ecological security index under the change of landscape pattern is decreasing years by years, the wetland ecological security form is in a state of warning and the situation is not optimistic. Through Pearson correlation analysis, it was found that agricultural development and utilization have a great impact on the population of white-headed crane in Shengjin Lake. In recent years, the economy development, increasing human population and construction land, and the intensification of reclamation activities as well as the transformation of the study area caused by human activities all have relatively reduced the area of natural wetland and affected the habitat of organisms. The ecological function of Shengjin Lake wetland is also continuing to decline. Natural and human factors have become the main driving forces of wetland pattern change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To improve the analysis effect of the simulation and prediction of the expansion effect of urban construction land, this paper combines the digital sensing feature recognition and remote sensing analysis technology for the earth's surface, and uses Artificial-neural-network-based cellular automaton (ANN-CA) Markov model and Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) model to study and analyze the expansion effect and trend of urban construction land, and subdivides the spatial and temporal characteristics of land cover. In addition to that, multi-based sensing data is used to generate urban construction land expansion effect drivers. The multi-source sensing data and InVEST model are used to conduct spatial information analysis and ecological early-warning. The research shows that combining digital sensing feature identification and remote sensing analysis technology, using the analysis model of ANN-CA-Markov model and InVEST model can effectively improve the analysis effect of urban construction land expansion effect prediction, and carry out ecological early-warning of construction land expansion on this basis. Overall territorial spatial planning stage of Xuzhou city, the designated ecological space area accounts for 20% of the whole land area. There is a sharp contradiction between constructive land expansion and ecological security in the whole region, so it is appropriate to conduct precise intervention and efficient management of constructive land expansion according to ecological early-warning. • Improving the simulation of urban construction land expansion by sensing technology. • Using Digital sensing land cover feature recognition based on multi-source sensing data. • The erosion of plough was most affected by the driver factor. • ANN-CA-Markov model to improve the accuracy of simulation. • Measurement models combined with remote sensing technology for the earth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Important for promoting the integrated protection and systematic management of mountains, rivers, forests, farmlands, lakes, grasslands, and sandy areas, ecological networks form the backbone of the regional ecological security pattern. An improved morphological spatial pattern analysis coupled with a minimum cumulative resistance model (MSPA–MCR) based on multi-source data was used to study, on a provincial scale, the ecological security pattern of Ningxia, an ecologically fragile region in the upper reaches of the Yellow River in China. The results show the following: (1) A reasonable classification of ecological sources and ecological corridors is key to constructing hierarchical ecological networks. Classifying ecological sources by replacing patch areas with energy factors and identifying the importance of ecological corridors by modifying the gravity model with the energy factors proposed in this paper could improve the rationality of the hierarchical structure division of ecological networks. (2) Grassland as the substrate vegetation type is an important ecological source type in arid and semi-arid ecologically fragile areas, and forests and lake wetlands are the main ecological source types in mountainous areas and oasis areas, respectively. The study area was located in the arid–semi-arid transitional area, with a variety of ecological types, such as mountain, oasis, and desert. Therefore, the complex ecological source types of forest–grassland–wetland appear in some areas. (3) There are 45 ecological patch groups that can be classified as ecological sources in Ningxia, including 10 primary source groups. The number of primary source groups is small, and their spatial distribution is unbalanced. There are two categories of ecological corridors, the river corridor and the mountain corridor, and the network connectivity is poor. (4) The ecological network structure of Ningxia is presented as an ecological security structure consisting of one belt, three screens, three corridors, and five clusters, forming a hierarchical nested ecological network security structure system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Chinese Journal of Wildlife / Yesheng Dongwu Xuebao is the property of Chinese Journal of Wildlife Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Transactions of the Chinese Society of Agricultural Engineering is the property of Chinese Society of Agricultural Engineering and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Ecological security assessment can effectively reflect the ecological status of a region and reveal its level of sustainable development. In this paper, an ecological security-oriented evaluation system was constructed, and the ecological security level of the Dongjiangyuan region from 2000 to 2020 was evaluated based on catastrophe theory and GIS. The results were as follows: (1) As shown in the land use and cover maps, by 2020, the forestland area had decreased the most, and the artificial surface area had increased the most. (2) The ecological security index of the Dongjiangyuan region showed a low trend in the artificial surface area and its surrounding areas. The quite low values of the ecological security index in 2000 and 2010 were improved in 2020 due to the increase in ecological services capacity. The increased vegetation cover from 2000 to 2020 promoted the improved ecological service capacity. (3) The rapid urbanization process in the Dongjiangyuan region resulted in a lower ecological sensitivity index value. Notably, the ecological sensitivity index of the study area had a slightly decreasing trend. (4) The spatial autocorrelation showed that the proportion of hot and cold spots from 2000 to 2020 decreased by 2.96% and 6.91%, respectively. This study can provide a scientific basis and decision-making guidance for ecological management in the Dongjiangyuan region in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Social & Technical Research / Drustvena i tehnicka istrazivanja is the property of University College, CEPS - Center for Business Studies, Kiseljak and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Land ecological security is the material basis of the sustainable development of human society. The coordinated development of the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region is a major national strategy of China. Land ecological security is of great significance to the coordinated development of the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region and the maintenance of China's ecological security. In this paper, the pressure–state–response (PSR) model is used to construct an evaluation index system of land ecological security, an entropy-weight technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) method is used to calculate the land ecological security index in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region, and an obstacle degree model is used to reveal the obstacle factors. The results show that the overall level of land ecological security in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region was low, and that the security level presented a pattern of "high in the north and low in the south". The land ecological security level was mainly affected by the state subsystem and response subsystem, and the average index of the pressure subsystem was 0.543, which reached the safe state. The main obstacle factors are per capita grassland area, per capita forest area, green land rate of built-up area, urbanization rate, per capita cultivated land, etc. This study provides a theoretical basis for the construction of the land ecological security system, sustainable utilization of land resources and regional sustainable development in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region and promotes the formation of a benign circulation pattern of land ecosystem and effective prevention and control of land ecological and environmental risks in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The alpine regions of Tibet are biogeographically unique and highly biodiverse. As the political, economic, and cultural center of Tibet, the city of Lhasa's population growth and economic development have further weakened the region's already fragile ecological environment. Coordinating relationships between stable economic development, sustained population growth, rational resource use, and environmental protection has become an urgent issue. This paper establishes an ecological resistance surface based on the ecological resistance factor index to evaluate Lhasa's ecological security level. The obtained results show that the city's ecological security level is good, with high security level in the north, northwest, and northeast, and low-level in the south and the middle of city. High-level ecological security areas accounted for 34.5% of the city's total area, and low-level areas accounted for 9.0%. The overall Moran's I index of the city's ecological security was 0.518. According to a LISA clustering chart, Lhasa's ecological security grades are mainly high-high (HH) and low-low (LL). These two grades showed an apparent flaky spatial clustering in the city. We elected eight large-scale nature reserves in the city as ecological sources, constructed a resistance surface of the ecological accumulation of ecological sources, used the MCR (minimum cumulative resistance) model and gravity model to extract potential ecological corridors, and finally identified potentially important ecological corridors. A total of 51 ecological nodes and 80 potential ecological corridors were extracted, with a total length of about 3449.7 km. The length of the primary and secondary corridors accounted for 32.32% of the total length. Combining the development of Lhasa's ecological economy with tourism and cultural industry planning, a layout of ecological network model with one ring and three belts is proposed. An ecological space development strategy of agglomeration within the ring and axial drive should be implemented. This study provides a decision-making reference for the spatial layout of the ecological industry in Lhasa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A scientific ecological security assessment framework is critical to regional ecological security. This paper improves the emergy ecological footprint model which optimizes the traditional emergy ecological footprint by adding the water supply service, to assess ecological security, and quantitatively analyzed the factors affecting ecological security by partial least squares regression. Zhejiang Province, one of the most developed provinces in China, was selected as a case study. The results show that (1) the emergy carrying capacity (ECC) per capita suffered a reduction from 2004 to 2018. (2) The emergy ecological footprint (EEF) per capita presented a rising trend, with a growth rate of 70.13% from 2004 to 2018. (3) The emergy ecological footprint per capita of biologically productive land has increased except for grassland and waters. (4) There was an ecological surplus in the period of 2004–2009, but an ecological deficit appeared after 2009. (5) The ecological insecurity in Zhejiang Province was increasing, which transformed from a comparably safe state to a relatively unsafe state. (6) The dominant influencing factors affecting Zhejiang's ecological security were population density, urban built-up area per capita, secondary industry output value, etc. These findings could provide valuable decision support to policy makers in formatting policies on ecological management and sustainable regional development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Strategic Review / Przeglad Strategiczny is the property of Faculty of Political Science & Journalism, Adam Mickiewicz University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

With the large exploitation of mineral resources, a series of problems have appeared in the ecological environment of the mining area. Therefore, evaluating the ecological security of mining area is of great significance to promote its healthy development. In this paper, the evaluation index system of ecological security in mining area was constructed from three dimensions of nature, society and economy, combined with Pressure-State-Response framework model. Then network analytic hierarchy process and GRAY relational analysis method were used to evaluate the ecological security of the region, and the weighted correlation degree of ecological security was calculated through the index data of a coal mine from 2012 to 2016 in China. The results show that the ecological security in the coal mine area is on the rise as a whole, though it alternatively rose and dropped from 2012 to 2016. Among them, the ecological security of the study mining area is at the general security level from 2012 to 2015, and at a relatively safe level in 2016. It shows that the ecological environment of the study mining area can basically meet the requirement of the survival and development of the enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China’s arable land is facing the dual constraints of increasing “non-grain” and tightening ecological control. However, extreme emphasis on food production or excessive attention to ecological protection cannot effectively solve the practical problems of cultivated land utilization. In this paper, evaluation indexes were selected from the aspects of ecological service, landscape integrity, ecological sensitivity, etc., and ecological importance evaluation system for territory space was constructed. The ecological importance of territorial space was divided into three ecological functional areas, namely, the extremely important regions, the relatively important regions and the general regions. The morphological characteristics of cultivated land use in different ecological function areas were described systematically, and the main problems of cultivated land use in different regions were analyzed. On the basis of ensuring the ecological security of territorial space, this paper puts forward the regulation and control plan of cultivated land in different ecological functional areas aiming at food security, and makes an empirical study with Mengjin County as the case area. The results showed that: under the guidance of food security objectives, the implementation of different types of cultivated land remediation programs according to the problems existing in different ecological functional areas could guarantee food security to the greatest extent and amplify the ecological and environmental effects of land remediation. By means of land consolidation and ownership adjustment, the abandoned farmland in general and relatively important ecological regions can be restored for food use, which can not only enhance the food supply capacity, but also without causing damage to the ecological environment. There is a large area of arable land in the ecologically extremely important regions. Large-scale ecological conversion will have a certain impact on food security supply. Promoting ecological farming is an important way to resolve the contradiction between food safety production and ecological environment protection. This study can provide reference for decision making of arable land consolidation in the new period.

Objectives: The aim of this paper is to interpret some risks for the ecological and social security in the Danube region, such us: risks of fire in the forest areas, risks of floods, risks for the natural and cultural heritage, risk of economic and social disproportions in the cross-border areas, etc. Another aim of the study is to discuss the possible solution of risk coping within the frames of the new European agenda for the green transition and carbon-free economies. Prior Work: Theoretical and experimental research of the authors in the field. Approach: Secondary data analysis and overview of cross-border projects and their results focused on the risk overcoming in the Bulgarian-Romanian crossborder region along the Danube river. Results: There is sufficient European funding (Interreg VA Romania-Bulgaria program, Interreg Danube program, Horizon Europe), providing favourable conditions for risk overcoming in the Danube region. It is necessary to increase the capacity of the human resources in the region (public administrations, businesses, NGOs), to elaborate common strategic documents for the cross-border regions and to use the research and innovation potential of the universities within the region in benefit of the economic and social prosperity. Implications: The paper can stimulate a larger discussion in the scientific circles about the necessity of joint research on the new risks and their overcoming. Value: The study will contribute to the interdisciplinary interpretation of the risks in the contemporary societies and will outline the value of the cross-border projects with European funding for risk prevention and management.

Silver Beach is a typical sandy plain coast located in the southeastern city of Beihai in Guangxi province, China. Because of its obvious land-use changes and ecosystem deterioration in recent decades, a sustainable development management and environmental protection project should be urgently proposed. Therefore, the remote-sensing images of Landsat are adopted to analyze the land use evolution and to evaluate its ecological security during the past 35 years in Silver Beach of this paper. The results show: in the period of 1979a-2013a, the areas of constructive land and artificial wetland are considerably increased and mainly transformed from cultivated land and forest land. The areas of cultivated land and forest land are substantially reduced accordingly, but the areas of grassland, water area and intertidal zone have no great extent of variation. Its land use intensities are consistently increased, but its land use diversities are abundant before 2000a and then significant decreased. Overall, the land use evolution presents slow in development speed, strengthen in development intensity, down in ecological richness and fragment in spatial patterns. In terms of ecological security, although there has short-term rising of ecological service value and security in 2006a, the whole structure, stability and ecological service function in Silver Beach are declined, and its vulnerabilities are accordingly increased. As a matter of fact, these results are achieved by shortly to improve the utilization rate of the artificial wetland and the intertidal zone resources with the cost of ecosystem structure and stability destruction. The impact factors of leading to above results are not only climatic factors as air temperature, typhoon, tide, but also even more important human activity factors as urbanization, sea reclamation, fishing, tourism and planning management in the studied time period. In consequence, the research findings from this study should be able to help understand the interacting mechanism among above multiple factors and to quantify respective contribution to land use evolution and its ecological security, which would provide an importantly scientific instruction for the future development management protection in Silver Beach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As China's natural resource governance has turned to high-quality management, establishing reasonable and ecological land-use patterns is an effective means of promoting natural resource utilization and improving the quality of the ecological environment. Therefore, this study used ecological land as the expansion source to construct an ecological land-use pattern with the minimum cumulative resistance model in Haixing County, China, based on regional food security, ecological security, and construction land expansion patterns. This work also involved designing ecological corridors, radiation channels, strategic nodes, and other ecological components. The results demonstrate that (1) the ecological land source is 7976.93 hm2, accounting for 9.19% of the total area. It is mainly distributed in the southeast of the county, mainly in the river system and woodland; (2) the food security situation of Haixing County can be divided into four zones, most of which are agricultural adjustment areas, indicating that the ecological security of cultivated land in this area needs to be improved; (3) the ecological security level of Haixing County is divided into four areas, and the ideal safety zone accounts for the smallest area, indicating that the regional ecological situation is very unstable; (4) construction land expansion zone is divided into four parts. A suitable construction zone occupies the largest area and is mainly distributed around the current construction land; (5) the expansion of the ecological land-use pattern of Haixing County includes four zones, 15 ecological corridors, 12 radiation channels, and 35 strategic nodes, which is conducive to optimal land allocation from an ecological security perspective. This paper puts forward some suggestions for ecological protection and intensive urban development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Qinghai–Xizang Plateau is one of the important units of the major project of ecosystem protection and restoration in China’s “three zones and four belts”(2021–2035), and balancing its ecological security with rational regional development is the basis for ensuring China’s ecological stability. In this paper, the coupling mechanism between regional development intensity and ecological security is explained, and a measurement system of the relationship is designed, from which the coordination degree and type division of the coupling between regional development intensity and ecological security on the Qinghai–Xizang Plateau from 2011 to 2020 is measured. The results show the following: (1) During the study period, the regional development intensity of the Qinghai–Xizang Plateau has been increasing, with Xining and Lhasa as the “core” that drives the development and expansion of the surrounding areas. The ecological security index has been also on the rise, showing a pattern of “belt-shaped depressions in the central and western parts of the Plateau, and vertical clusters in the eastern part of the Plateau”. The depression moves toward the southern part of Xinjiang. (2) The degree of coupling and coordination between development intensity and ecological safety in each city (prefecture) on the Qinghai–Xizang Plateau has increased by different degrees, but many cities (prefectures) still show a lag in development intensity or ecological security. (3) The evolution of the pattern of coupling and coordination between regional development intensity and ecological security on the Qinghai–Xizang Plateau varies significantly, forming a pattern of “high in the east and low in the west, with multiple clusters side by side”. To some extent, this paper reveals the correlation between the spatial and temporal distributions of regional development intensity and ecological security on the Qinghai–Xizang Plateau, which can provide a basis for the regulation of human activities in the construction of ecological security barriers at the city (prefecture) level on the Qinghai–Xizang Plateau.

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Compared to issues related to the economy, politics, social or military concerns, attempts to preserve ecology and the natural environment have a relatively short history. Anthropogenic environmental changes in many cases have a direct impact on one's quality of life and the functioning of urban centers, states and communities. Pressure exerted by human economic activity on the environment is demonstrated, above all, by reductions in air, water, and soil quality, worse acoustic climate, and limited access to green spaces. The most detrimental undertakings have a negative impact on the level of ecological security in cities are transport, domestic heating of buildings, industrial activities, and heating processes. The main goal of this paper is to identify the perception of the ecological security of the residents of the biggest urban centers. Urban environment security is a very broad issue. It covers both natural phenomena, where human impact is minimal, levels of urban sustainable development and attitudes of the city dwellers. Recently, citizen awareness of the importance of environmental challenges in Polish cities' development has surged, including awareness of the desire to live in a cleaner environment and to breathe clean air. The topic is more and more often discussed in public debate, above all during periods of peak contaminant concentrations. The situation serves as a stimulus for citizens to mobilize, often through various social movements while local governments take actions oriented at changing methods of domestic heating, more eco-friendly mobility and the enhanced environmental education of society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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China is one of many countries seriously affected by invasive alien species that threaten food safety and ecological and economic, security. Recent research has revealed that 70% of invasive species recorded in China during the first 20 years of this century are pest insects that threaten China's economy and development. There has been a huge increase in the number of invasive insect pests recorded in China in recent years and the distribution of these pests has changed markedly due to accelerating global changes. This paper reviews the distribution and spread of invasive insects in China and discusses progress in basic and applied research on these species since 1949. We also analyze future challenges in managing invasive species and give valuable management advice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studied the impact of new industrial activities on ecological security in agricultural and animal husbandry interlaced areas, and provided reference for eco-environmental protection and sustainable development. A pressure-state-response (PSR) assessment model was established in the case of Yanchi County, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. The comprehensive weights of the indexes were determined by AHP and entropy weight, and the ecological security status of agricultural and animal husbandry interlaced areas was evaluated. The results show that the index of pressure system fluctuated and decreased, and went through the stage from "Safe" to "Unsafe"; The index of the state system showed a rising trend, from "Extremely unsafe" to "Relatively safe", which showed the sensitivity characteristic; The response system index had been increasing year by year, and had stabilized at a "Safe" level in 2019;The overall ecosystem security index showed a fairly good development trend, with significant improvement in ecosystem functions in 2019. On the basis of the stable state system, we should ease the pressure index in the ecological security system of Yanchi County, control the scale of tourists, reduce the damage of farming and animal husbandry to the cultivated layer, and stabilize the population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• States approach the security implications of climate change in different ways. • Different climate security 'discourses' have different implications in practice. • Ecological security represents the most progressive approach to climate security. • Ecological security is gaining in prominence and attention, even among states. • Climate crisis makes exploring ecological security's institutional prospects vital. It has become commonplace, almost a cliché, to begin an analysis of the relationship between climate change and security with the acknowledgement that this relationship looks very different depending on whose security is under consideration. In the academic literature on this relationship we have seen a steady shift away from an exclusive focus on the protection of existing institutions from the indirect effects of climate change, and towards a focus on the biosphere or the natural world itself. Such an orientation asks whether and how the natural world, and the ecosystems that compose it, are threatened by the immediate and direct effects of climate change. While this shift seems logical in response to the geological reality of the Anthropocene epoch and the unambiguous arrival of climate change, crucial questions remain about the prospects for pursuing 'ecological security' in practice: what would this look like, who would be agents of ecological security, and is increasing academic and think tank engagement with the concept matched in policy and practical developments? This paper analyses the institutional and practical prospects for this approach to the climate-security relationship, drawing on policy documents and interviews with policy makers in a range of states. It finds grounds for (cautious) optimism in increasing engagement with ecological security, including at the nation-state level, evident in growing recognition of the need for states to address the direct threat posed by climate change to the most vulnerable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid development of urbanization has led to population growth, increased resource consumption, and intensified environmental pollution. Consequently, urban ecological security has increasingly become a key factor constraining the sustainable development of socio-economic systems. This study constructed an urban ecological security evaluation system based on the Pressure-State-Response (PSR) model and used Xuzhou, a typical coal resource city, as a case study to apply and validate the model. Specifically, the analytic hierarchy process and entropy weight method were used to determine the index weights, and the ecological security index was used to evaluate the ecological security status of each system in Xuzhou from 2006 to 2022. Finally, the grey prediction GM (1,1) model was used to predict the ecological security status of Xuzhou in the next five years. The results show that the "disposal capacity of waste gas treatment facilities", "per capita disposable income", and "agricultural fertilizer application intensity" occupy a large weight in the whole evaluation system. The pressure index generally showed a fluctuating upward trend, and the state index fluctuated around 0.12. There is a simultaneous upward trend in the response index and the composite index. The ecological security level of the composite index has increased from "unsafe" in 2006 to "relatively safe" in 2022 and will continue to improve to "ideal security" in the future. This study provides a scientific basis for the formulation of sustainable development policies in Xuzhou and also provides a reference for the ecological safety management and assessment of other similar cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The acceleration of urbanization has resulted in varying degrees of impact on the stability and health of high-density urban ecosystems. Building urban ecological networks is crucial for safeguarding biodiversity and sustaining ecosystem vitality. In this study, the city of Foshan was selected as the study area, which is a prime representative of a high-density water network city. Additionally, a morphological spatial pattern analysis was employed to identify the ecological source. We built an ecological resistance surface using geographic, natural, and behavioral elements, adjusting it based on the density of the water network and the building height. Following this, the circuit theoretical model was utilized to create an ecological network by identifying ecological corridors. There were three key findings. First, the ecological network consisted of 30 ecological source sites and 53 ecological corridors, and 103 ecological "pinch points" and 193 ecological barrier points were identified. Second, the ecological sources were predominantly situated in the southwestern and northern parts of Foshan City. Meanwhile, the suburbs of Foshan City contained the primary ecological barrier points, mainly stemming from new construction sites, while the key ecological "pinch points" were concentrated at river junctions. The third outcome was the recommendations to (a) boost the connectivity of the ecological network in the suburbs, (b) improve the connection of the water network in urban areas, and (c) focus on enhancing landscape connectivity. The objective was to develop approaches for optimizing urban ecological networks, leading to better connectivity and improved ecological network quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The evaluation of land ecological security (LES) evaluates how human activity and land use affect land ecosystems. Its ultimate objective is to provide guidance and assistance for decision making in order to preserve and restore the efficacy and health of terrestrial ecosystems. The assessment model presented in this article is comprehensive and integrates the advantages of both subjective and objective weighting techniques. This study extends the "Pressure–State–Response" (PSR) model to "Driver–Pressure–State-Impact–Response" (DPSIR) and combines it with TOPSISI to determine the weights of each contributing component. Furthermore, the geographical and temporal distribution patterns of regional land ecological security levels were investigated using GIS geostatistical approaches. According to this study, (1) the Yangtze River Delta region's LES index, with a mean value in the fairly safe range, is generally safe. The year 2019 marks an inflection point for the index, with the highest level of ecological safety on land. The primary element is the modification of environmental policies that are enacted by the government. (2) The LES status is divided into two stages during the course of this study. The Yangtze River Delta region's LES quickly develops throughout the first stage (2012–2019), which sees a shift in the safety rating from IV to II. The second stage (2019–2023) sees a progressive improvement in the LES index and a shift in the safety category from Class II to Class I. (3) Important variables influencing the geographical distribution of LES in the Yangtze River Delta region include barrier elements, including soil and water erosion areas, flood disaster areas, grain planting areas, urban green covering areas, and effective irrigation areas of farmland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid development of population, society and economy, human activities have caused serious adverse impacts on the environment, ecosystems and landscape patterns over the long term. In order to address the series of impacts of human activities on the environment, territorial space and resource use, the study of Production–Living–Ecological Space (PLES) and ecological security have all become academic frontiers in the field of sustainable development. In this study, we applied multi‐source data and GIS technology to construct an ecological security evaluation model based on the results of PLES delineation and the Pressure‐State‐Response (PSR) framework, and carried out the three‐period PLES ecological security evaluation for 2000, 2010 and 2020 at the county and grid scales in Yunnan Province. The PLES pattern in Yunnan Province is dominated by ecological space, which accounts for 75%, followed by 23% of production space, with ecological space shrinking from 2000 to 2020. Ecological security in ecological space and living space shows an improving trend from 2000 to 2020. The ecological security of production space improved in 2010 compared to 2000 but then showed a decreasing trend in 2020. Ecological security in ecological space shows that north‐western and southern Yunnan is safer than central Yunnan, while ecological security in living space is safer in central Yunnan, and ecological security in production space is better in southern Yunnan than in northern Yunnan. Comparison with related research results shows that the ecological security evaluation results of PLES in Yunnan Province in this study are scientific and reasonable. The ecological security evaluation model of PLES constructed in this study solves the problem of complex and incomplete ecological security evaluation indexes in the past, and the results of the study are more refined and precise, which provides new ideas for the study of regional ecological security. Based on the functional attributes of land, the evaluation model of ecological security of Production–Living–Ecological space was constructed. Yunnan Province has the largest proportion of ecological space at 75%, but it has been shrinking in the last 20 years. In the past 20 years, the ecological security of ecological space and living space in Yunnan Province has shown an improvement trend, while production space has risen and then declined. This study analyses ecological security at different scales so that it can better reveal its spatial heterogeneity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]