Skyrmions are topological magnetic textures that can arise in noncentrosymmetric ferromagnetic materials. In most systems experimentally investigated to date, skyrmions emerge as classical objects. However, the discovery of skyrmions with nanometer length scales has sparked interest in their quantum properties. Here, we simulate the ground states of two-dimensional spin-$1/2$ Heisenberg lattices with Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions and discover a broad region in the zero-temperature phase diagram which hosts quantum skyrmion lattices. We argue that the quantum skyrmion lattice phase can be detected experimentally in the magnetization profile via local magnetic polarization measurements as well as in the spin structure factor measurable via neutron scattering experiments. Finally, we explore the resulting quantum skyrmion state, analyze its real-space polarization profile and show that it is a nonclassical state featuring entanglement between quasiparticle and environment mainly localized near the boundary spins of the skyrmion.

• A set of 20 perceptions toward rural–urban land change is inductively determined. • Six major impacts of urbanization on peri-urban smallholders are identified. • Service and infrastructure improvements are highlighted by more modernist groups. • Urbanization is negatively perceived by traditionalist smallholder communities. • Perceived income insecurity leads to adaptation of land use on steep slopes.

Climate change and the call for reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, the efficient use of (renewable) energy, and more resilient winter tourism regions, forces ski resorts across the European Alps to look for “smart” approaches to transition towards a sustainable, low-carbon economy. Drawing on the smart-city concept and considering the different historical developments of Alpine resorts, the Smart Altitude Decision-Making Toolkit was developed using a combination of an energy audit tool, a WebGIS, and collaborative and innovative living labs installed in Les Orres (France), Madonna di Campiglio (Italy), Krvavec (Slovenia), and Verbier (Switzerland). This step-by-step Decision-Making Toolkit enables ski resorts to get feedback on their energy demand, an overview of the locally available sources of renewable energy, and insights regarding their potential for improving their energy efficiency by low-carbon interventions. The Decision-Making Toolkit is suitable for knowledge transfer between stakeholders within living labs and moreover provides the flexibility for tailor-made low-carbon strategies adapting to the unique assets and situatedness of ski resorts.

Due to agricultural abandonment and the urban preference for ‘wilderness’ over ‘rural’ areas, abandoned settlements and rewilding grasslands are often the last traces of agriculture in today’s protected areas of the Northern Apennines. However, since the late 1990s, an increasing number of policy makers have appreciated these spatial manifestations of the nature/culture gestalt and developed projects to conserve the last grasslands in rewilding protected areas. Does the land cover reflect these changing attitudes? Using the Foreste Casentinesi National Park as our case in point, we aim to (1) detect land cover changes during 1990–2001 and 2001–2010; (2) analyse change trajectories; and (3) reveal potential discrepancies between the conservation of biodiversity and rural built heritage. Our results show that grassland loss dominated 1990–2001, whereas grassland maintenance/restoration can be observed for 2001–2010. However, the decadence of the rural built heritage seems to continue.