Though global-coverage urban perception datasets have been recently created using machine learning, their efficacy in accurately assessing local urban perceptions for other countries and regions remains a problem. Here we describe a human-machine adversarial scoring framework using a methodology that incorporates deep learning and iterative feedback with recommendation scores, which allows for the rapid and cost-effective assessment of the local urban perceptions for Chinese cities. Using the state-of-the-art Fully Convolutional Network (FCN) and Random Forest (RF) algorithms, the proposed method provides perception estimations with errors less than 10%. The driving factor analysis from both the visual and urban functional aspects demonstrated its feasibility in facilitating local urban perception derivations. With high-throughput and high-accuracy scorings, the proposed human-machine adversarial framework offers an affordable and rapid solution for urban planners and researchers to conduct local urban perception assessments.

How expected increases in climate variability will affect species diversity depends on the role of such variability in regulating the coexistence of competing species. Despite theory linking temporal environmental fluctuations with the maintenance of diversity, the importance of climate variability for stabilizing coexistence remains unknown because of a lack of appropriate long-term observations. Here, we analyze three decades of demographic data from a Kansas prairie to demonstrate that interannual climate variability promotes the coexistence of three common grass species. Specifically, we show that (i) the dynamics of the three species satisfy all requirements of “storage effect” theory based on recruitment variability with overlapping generations, (ii) climate variables are correlated with interannual variation in species performance, and (iii) temporal variability increases low-density growth rates, buffering these species against competitive exclusion. Given that environmental fluctuations are ubiquitous in natural systems, our results suggest that coexistence based on the storage effect may be underappreciated and could provide an important alternative to recent neutral theories of diversity. Field evidence for positive effects of variability on coexistence also emphasizes the need to consider changes in both climate means and variances when forecasting the effects of global change on species diversity.

Exploring land use structure and dynamics is critical for urban planning and management. This study attempts to understand the Wuhan development mode since the beginning of the 21st century by profoundly investigating the spatio-temporal patterns of land use/land cover (LULC) change under urbanization in Wuhan, China, from 2000 to 2019, based on continuous time series mapping using Landsat observations with a support vector machine. The results indicated rapid urbanization, with large LULC changes triggered. The built-up area increased by 982.66 km² (228%) at the expense of a reduction of 717.14 km² (12%) for cropland, which threatens food security to some degree. In addition, the natural habitat shrank to some extent, with reductions of 182.52 km², 23.92 km² and 64.95 km² for water, forest and grassland, respectively. Generally, Wuhan experienced a typical urbanization course that first sped up, then slowed down and then accelerated again, with an obvious internal imbalance between the 13 administrative districts. Hanyang, Hongshan and Dongxihu specifically presented more significant land dynamicity, with Hanyang being the active center. Over the past 19 years, Wuhan mainly developed toward the east and south, with the urban gravity center transferred from the northwest to the southeast of Jiang’an district. Lastly, based on the predicted land allocation of Wuhan in 2029 by the patch-generating land use simulation (PLUS) model, the future landscape dynamic pattern was further explored, and the result shows a rise in the northern suburbs, which provides meaningful guidance for urban planners and managers to promote urban sustainability.