Geography, Physical

Article Ecology

Applying production-possibility frontier based ecosystem services trade-off to identify optimal scenarios of Grain-for-Green Program

Jian Peng, Xiaoyu Wang, Huining Zheng, Zihan Xu

Summary: This study developed an index system to evaluate the trade-off between grain production service and water purification service in the Dongting Lake Basin. The results showed that converting cropland with high nitrogen output into forest land can minimize this trade-off.

LANDSCAPE AND URBAN PLANNING (2024)

Article Ecology

Global Street Experiment: A Geospatial Database of Pandemic-induced Street Transitions

Jianting Zhao, Guibo Sun, Chris Webster

Summary: This study developed a geospatial database to document the locations and urban environments of pandemic-induced street experiments on a global scale, and conducted quantitative analysis based on spatial and temporal visualizations. The study aims to enhance comparability of built environment indicators between cities and provide a robust foundation for future research on tactical urbanism.

LANDSCAPE AND URBAN PLANNING (2024)

Article Forestry

Establishment and characterization of a muscle cell line from golden pompano (Trachinotus ovatus) and its application in viral susceptibility

Lu-Ke Zhang, Ke-Cheng Zhu, Hua-Yang Guo, Bao-Suo Liu, Bo Liu, Nan Zhang, Dian-Chang Zhang

Summary: A new cell line derived from the muscle tissue of the golden pompano, called golden pompano muscle (GPM), has been successfully developed and characterized in this study. GPM cells exhibit fibroblast-like morphology and have a high proliferation rate in Leibovitz's L-15 medium supplemented with fetal bovine serum. The GPM cell line has been stable for over 80 generations and can be cryopreserved. It has been confirmed that the GPM cells used in this study are from the golden pompano based on molecular characterization and chromosome analysis. In addition, GPM cells are susceptible to red-spotted grouper nervous necrosis virus (RGNNV) and can be used for gene expression studies and viral pathogenesis research. The interaction between host and virus can also be investigated using this cell line.

DENDROCHRONOLOGIA (2024)

Article Ecology

The role of fuel treatments in mitigating wildfire risk

Xuezheng Zong, Xiaorui Tian, Xianli Wang

Summary: Climate change has caused longer fire seasons and more intense wildfires worldwide, leading to significant economic and environmental impacts. A study conducted in Southwest China evaluated the effectiveness of different fuel treatment designs in mitigating wildfire risk under varying fire severity conditions. The results showed that fuel treatments were effective in reducing risk under low and normal fire severity scenarios, but their effectiveness was limited under high fire severity conditions.

LANDSCAPE AND URBAN PLANNING (2024)

Article Ecology

Association between greenspace morphology and prevalence of non-communicable diseases mediated by air pollution and physical activity

Huaqing Wang, Louis G. Tassinary

Summary: This study investigated the influence of urban greenspace spatial morphology on non-communicable diseases and found that neighborhoods with more connected, aggregated, coherent, and complex-shaped greenspace had a lower prevalence of these diseases. Such associations were mediated by air pollution and physical inactivity. The results suggest that the spatial morphology of designed urban greenspace plays a significant role in neighborhood health.

LANDSCAPE AND URBAN PLANNING (2024)

Article Ecology

Evaluation of sense of safety and privacy in parks in relation to the topography, the presence of dense vegetation and other people in the area

Aleksandra Lis, Karolina Zalewska, Pawel Iwankowski, Katarzyna Betkier, Paulina Bilska, Viktoriia Dudar, Aleksandra L. Lagiewka

Summary: Appleton's prospect-refuge theory suggests that the presence of dense vegetation, topography, and people in a park can influence the safety and privacy felt by visitors in different ways. This study aimed to understand the relationship between observation point height, vegetation location, presence of other people, and perceived privacy and safety. The results showed that flat or lower ground without the presence of others was considered the safest, while landscapes higher up with dense vegetation and no other people were rated highest in terms of privacy. The findings have practical implications in terms of providing privacy without compromising safety.

LANDSCAPE AND URBAN PLANNING (2024)

Article Ecology

How do urban green space designs shape avian communities? Testing the area-heterogeneity trade-off

Francois Chiron, Romain Lorrilliere, Carmen Bessa-Gomes, Piotr Tryjanowski, Joan Casanelles-Abella, Lauri Laanisto, Ana Leal, Anskje Van Mensel, Marco Moretti, Babette Muyshondt, Ulo Niinemets, Marta Alos Orti, Pedro Pinho, Roeland Samson, Nicolas Deguines

Summary: In cities, green areas play a crucial role in biodiversity conservation, and the heterogeneity of land cover is an important factor. The relationship between area and heterogeneity affects the richness of bird species in urban green areas, with urban avoider species benefiting from large and heterogeneous patches.

LANDSCAPE AND URBAN PLANNING (2024)

Review Ecology

Policy instruments for green infrastructure

Astrid Zabel, Mara-Magdalena Hausler

Summary: Developing a green infrastructure is an important environmental policy goal in many countries around the world. Different countries have different requirements on the spatial allocation of conservation sites for green infrastructure. Price-type and procedural instruments are commonly used, but the utilization of incentive mechanisms that internalize the benefit of clustering is relatively low. There is a need for more studies on incentive mechanisms and green infrastructure policies in the global South.

LANDSCAPE AND URBAN PLANNING (2024)

Article Geography, Physical

Quantifying drainage divide migration in active orogens: Insights from the eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau

Xinbo Yao, Yuntao Tian

Summary: By studying the Longmenshan-Minshan drainage divide, we found that it has reached a dynamic steady state, indicating a balance between erosion and rock uplift. This study also reveals the process of formation and evolution of the divide and raises questions about the effectiveness of divide migration metrics.

GEOMORPHOLOGY (2024)

Article Geography, Physical

Phosphorus cycling during the Hirnantian glaciation

Johann Mueller, Michael M. Joachimski, Oliver Lehnert, Peep Mannik, Yadong Sun

Summary: The Late Ordovician mass extinction occurred during an ice age, with maximum ice coverage and a substantial drop in global sea level. This led to the exposure or shallowing of shallow tropical shelf environments. The study suggests that the burial rate of nutrient phosphorus (P) on shelves was minimal during this glacial period, leading to excess bioavailable P entering the open ocean and stimulating phytoplankton production, which in turn lowered oxygen concentrations.

PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY (2024)

Article Geography, Physical

The lasting legacy of glacial landscape dynamics: Capturing the transport of boulder armor and hillslope retreat with geochronology in the Flint Hills of Kansas

Nicholas Reilly Mccarroll, Arnaud Temme

Summary: New geochronological data from hillslope boulder armor in the Flint Hills reveal the rates and timing of lateral retreat in the landscape. Surfaces of limestone boulders dating back to the Pleistocene era were found, and the ages of the hillslope armor increased with distance from the limestone bench. The estimated rate of lateral retreat in this landscape is 0.02 mm/yr.

GEOMORPHOLOGY (2024)

Article Geography, Physical

Subsurface structures and nature of seafloor mounds in the northern South China Sea margin: Implications for Mesozoic hydrocarbon exploration

Junhui Yu, Pin Yan, Yanlin Wang, Guangjian Zhong, Changliang Chen

Summary: The seafloor mounds in the Chaoshan Depression of the South China Sea are identified as mud volcanoes, with fluids coming from underlying mud-fluid diapirs. The hydrocarbon gases feeding the mud volcanoes and diapirs are reasoned to originate from deep Mesozoic source rocks, indicating significant Mesozoic hydrocarbon potential in the Chaoshan Depression.

GEOMORPHOLOGY (2024)

Article Geography, Physical

Sabretooths, giant hyenas, and hominins: Shifts in the niche of Early Pleistocene scavengers in Iberia at the Epivillafranchian-Galerian transition

Ana Mateos, Ericson Hoelzchen, Jesus Rodriguez

Summary: The Epivillafranchian and the transition to the Galerian was a period of environmental fluctuations and faunal turnover. Hominins and giant hyenas could coexist during the Epivillafranchian, but the transition to the Galerian led to a disruption of the scavenging niche, coinciding with the extinction of P. brevirostris.

PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY (2024)

Article Geography, Physical

Barnacle-rich facies as a tool for palaeoenvironmental reconstructions

Giovanni Coletti, Giulia Bosio, Alberto Collareta, Or Mordecai Bialik, Eleonora Regattieri, Irene Cornacchia, Gianni Insacco, John Buckeridge

Summary: This paper argues that sessile barnacles are an excellent proxy for palaeoenvironmental reconstructions. The shells of barnacles consist of diagenetically stable low-magnesium calcite and record short-term variations. Analyses of several Western Mediterranean barnacle-rich deposits demonstrate the utility of barnacles as proxies for water depth, distance from the coastline, and hydrodynamic conditions. Moreover, the stable isotope ratios of barnacle shells can provide detailed palaeoenvironmental information.

PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY (2024)

Article Geography, Physical

Simulating tectonically controlled fractal landscape evolution in the Three Rivers Region (SE Tibetan Plateau margin)

Zhenzhen Yan, Yaolin Shi, Lili Kang, Xiangtao Fan

Summary: This study proposes a quantitative regional deformation model based on global positioning system (GPS) data to quantitatively analyze the morphological evolution of rivers in the Three Rivers Region. It finds that tectonic deformation phases significantly control regional landscape development and drainage features.

GEOMORPHOLOGY (2024)

Article Geography, Physical

Climate-induced surface water variability at Monte San Nicola type-section (Sicily, southern Italy): New data across the Gelasian GSSP

Marina Addante, Patrizia Maiorano, Giovanna Scopelliti, Angela Girone, Maria Marino, Samanta Trotta, Antonio Caruso

Summary: This study presents the first high-resolution results on planktonic foraminiferal stable oxygen isotopes and calcareous plankton assemblages, providing insights into the glacial-interglacial variability and North Atlantic climate variability. The research also reveals evidence of the first significant southward migration of the Subarctic Front in the mid-latitudes.

PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY (2024)

Article Geography, Physical

Sedimentary evidence for the diversion of the Yellow River onto the North China Plain 3000-2600 years ago

Tianyu Du, Wensheng Zhang, Bing Li, Linjing Liu, Yuecong Li, Yawen Ge, Shiyong Yu

Summary: This article presents sedimentary evidence for a dramatic channel displacement of the lower Yellow River about 3000-2600 years ago, and explains the impact of this displacement on the geomorphology and human migration.

PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY (2024)

Article Geography, Physical

Quaternary evolution of the Meiji Atoll (Mischief Reef) in the southern South China Sea

Feng Wu, Xinong Xie, Wen Yan, Youhua Zhu, Beichen Chen, Jianuo Chen, Mo Zhou

Summary: This paper describes the Quaternary evolution of Meiji Atoll in the southern South China Sea. The findings show how variations in sea surface temperature, eustatic sea level, and tectonics have influenced the development of the atoll. These findings have broader implications for understanding the Quaternary evolution of similar tropical carbonate atolls in the region.

PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY (2024)

Article Geography, Physical

Recurrent E - W oscillations of the ice flow confluence of the East and West Antarctic ice sheets in the central Ross Sea, Antarctica, from the Middle Miocene to the present day

Maria Laura Balestrieri, Valerio Olivetti, David Chew, Luca Zurli, Massimiliano Zattin, Foteini Drakou, Gianluca Cornamusini, Matteo Perotti

Summary: This study presents a multidisciplinary provenance study on legacy cores drilled in the central Ross Sea, Antarctica, providing insights into the oscillation of ice flows and advance and retreat phases of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet.

PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY (2024)

Article Geography, Physical

Chronological features of Heinrich Stadial 2 based on a high-resolution analysis of 818O stalagmite records from China, and possible links to changes in Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation

Yingfang Cui, Hao Xu, Yijia Liang, Kan Zhao, Jianshun Chen, Yongjin Wang, Jiaqi Cong, Hai Cheng, Liangcheng Tan

Summary: In this study, an absolutely-dated and high-resolution calcite 818O record from Shima Cave, China was analyzed to determine the timing and duration of the Heinrich Stadial 2 (HS2) event. The results show that the HS2a phase started at -24.4 +/- 0.1 ka BP and ended at -23.6 +/- 0.1 ka BP, lasting approximately 0.8 +/- 0.3 ka. The study also reveals similarities between Chinese cave records and marine sediment cores, particularly in terms of the two-fold structure observed during the HS2a and HS2b phases, which may be related to weakening episodes in the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation.

PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY (2024)