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Background Damming disrupts rivers and destroys neighboring terrestrial ecosystems through inundation, resulting in profound and long-lasting impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem processes far beyond the river system itself. Archipelagos formed by damming are often considered ideal systems for studying habitat fragmentation. Methods Here we quantified the island attributes and landscape dynamics of the Thousand Island Lake (TIL) in China, which is one of the several long-term biodiversity/fragmentation research sites around the world. We also synthesized the major findings of relevant studies conducted in the region to further ecological understanding of damming and landscape fragmentation. Results Our results show that the vegetations on islands and the neighboring mainland were both recovering between 1985 and 2005 due to reforestation and natural succession, but the regeneration was partly interrupted after 2005 because of increasing human influences. While major changes in landscape composition occurred primarily in the lakefront areas and near-lakeshore islands, landscape patterns became structurally more complex and fragmented on both islands and mainland. About 80 studies from the TIL region show that the genetic, taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity on these islands were mainly influenced by island area at the patch scale, but fragmentation per se also affected species composition and related ecological processes at patch and landscape scales. In general, islands had lower species diversity but a steeper species-area relationship than the surrounding mainland. Fragmentation and edge effects substantially hindered ecological succession towards more densely vegetated forests on the islands. Environmental heterogeneity and filtering had a major impact on island biotic communities. We hypothesize that there are multiple mechanisms operating at different spatial scales that link landscape fragmentation and ecological dynamics in the TIL region, which beg for future studies. By focusing on an extensive spatiotemporal analysis of the island-mainland system and a synthesis of existing studies in the region, this study provides an important foundation and several promising directions for future studies.
Guang Hu; Maxwell Wilson; Bing-Bing Zhou; Chenwei Shang; Mingjian Yu; Jianguo Wu. Spatiotemporal patterns and ecological consequences of a fragmented landscape created by damming. PeerJ 2021, 9, e11416 .
AMA StyleGuang Hu, Maxwell Wilson, Bing-Bing Zhou, Chenwei Shang, Mingjian Yu, Jianguo Wu. Spatiotemporal patterns and ecological consequences of a fragmented landscape created by damming. PeerJ. 2021; 9 ():e11416.
Chicago/Turabian StyleGuang Hu; Maxwell Wilson; Bing-Bing Zhou; Chenwei Shang; Mingjian Yu; Jianguo Wu. 2021. "Spatiotemporal patterns and ecological consequences of a fragmented landscape created by damming." PeerJ 9, no. : e11416.
In regional sustainability evaluation and policy analysis, the paradigm of safe operating spaces (SOS) has been widely applied. Yet, SOS is not readily useful for informing policy interventions toward sustainability transition. This study reports on a methodological framework that operationalizes SOS at the regional scale for designing spatially targeted sustainability interventions. In particular, this framework accounts for teleology by integrating policy orientations of the place-variant “major function” of development, and provides early-warnings by integrating long-term social-environmental trends. The framework we proposed has been applied by the Chinese government in a coastal province (Liaoning) for a landscape sustainability project, which is introduced here step-by-step. The four main steps include: (1) Quantifying SOS status across multiple “what to sustain” dimensions, e.g., land scarcity, water scarcity, pollutant discharge, and ecosystem health for the inland, and coastal exploitation intensity, marine environmental quality, and marine ecosystem biodiversity for the sea. (2) Quantifying SOS status in terms of the place-variant “what to develop” dimensions, e.g., urbanization-oriented, agriculture-stock-oriented, versus conservation-oriented development. (3) Integrating the two as a composite indicator of three ordinal levels to classify the current SOS status. (4) Developing a multi-level sustainability early-warning system by cross-analysis of the SOS status and social-environmental interaction trends (e.g., changes in, e.g., resource utilization efficiency, pollutant discharge, and eco-environmental quality). The potential use of the framework is demonstrated through the case of Liaoning Province, China, which helps policy-makers to identify priority areas for sustainability interventions. Methodological robustness and future directions of applying this multi-level sustainability early-warning system are further discussed.
Wang Yafei; Fan Jie; Li Jiuyi; Zhou Bing-Bing; Wang Qiang. Methodological framework for identifying sustainability intervention priority areas on coastal landscapes and its application in China. Science of The Total Environment 2021, 766, 142603 .
AMA StyleWang Yafei, Fan Jie, Li Jiuyi, Zhou Bing-Bing, Wang Qiang. Methodological framework for identifying sustainability intervention priority areas on coastal landscapes and its application in China. Science of The Total Environment. 2021; 766 ():142603.
Chicago/Turabian StyleWang Yafei; Fan Jie; Li Jiuyi; Zhou Bing-Bing; Wang Qiang. 2021. "Methodological framework for identifying sustainability intervention priority areas on coastal landscapes and its application in China." Science of The Total Environment 766, no. : 142603.
Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES), a market-based policy instrument for the conservation and environmental management that aims to coordinate the interests of upstream and downstream ecosystem service (ES) stakeholders, has been adopted worldwide. However, the success of PES depends on the desirability of programs targeting rural communities and smallholders. In this article, an agent-based sustainability perspective on PES was proposed and applied to examine a PES case study of the Converting-Orchard-to-Forest (COF) project in Dongjiang Headwater Watershed (DHW). We used household interview-based information and associated secondary data to quantitatively assess the environmental consequences and livelihood impacts of the COF project. The findings show that: (1) the COF participants at the upstream suffered from substantial income loss due to decreased orchard area; (2) the participants’ chemical fertilizer and compound fertilizer consumption was larger than their nonparticipating counterparts; and (3) the COF participants and nonparticipants increased the material assets and reduced their fuelwood use and increased the liquefied petroleum gas. Our findings suggest that, because of the significant income loss experienced by the upstream participants, the COF program is unsustainable with the participants very likely to cultivate the orchard again once the COF project ends. The research provides insightful information regarding PES implementation and sustainability of similar PES schemes.
Zhenglei Xie; Bing-Bing Zhou; Hanzeyu Xu; Le Zhang; Jing Wang. An Agent-Based Sustainability Perspective on Payment for Ecosystem Services: Analytical Framework and Empirical Application. Sustainability 2020, 13, 253 .
AMA StyleZhenglei Xie, Bing-Bing Zhou, Hanzeyu Xu, Le Zhang, Jing Wang. An Agent-Based Sustainability Perspective on Payment for Ecosystem Services: Analytical Framework and Empirical Application. Sustainability. 2020; 13 (1):253.
Chicago/Turabian StyleZhenglei Xie; Bing-Bing Zhou; Hanzeyu Xu; Le Zhang; Jing Wang. 2020. "An Agent-Based Sustainability Perspective on Payment for Ecosystem Services: Analytical Framework and Empirical Application." Sustainability 13, no. 1: 253.
Dehua Mao; Qun Ma; Bingbing Zhou. Sustainability of human–environment systems through the lens of landscape. Landscape Ecology 2020, 35, 2375 -2379.
AMA StyleDehua Mao, Qun Ma, Bingbing Zhou. Sustainability of human–environment systems through the lens of landscape. Landscape Ecology. 2020; 35 (11):2375-2379.
Chicago/Turabian StyleDehua Mao; Qun Ma; Bingbing Zhou. 2020. "Sustainability of human–environment systems through the lens of landscape." Landscape Ecology 35, no. 11: 2375-2379.
Existing landscape sustainability studies mostly follow design-based, practical approaches, emphasizing “linking knowledge to action;” while the problem-driven, diagnostic approach that emphasizes “understanding human–environment interactions” remains underused. To apply the problem-driven, diagnostic approach to a widespread and controversial landscape-relevant problem: farmland loss associated with the long-term, global trend of urbanization. We comparatively analyzed the farmland loss and landscape dynamics in the core and peripheral areas of rapidly urbanizing Tongling City in China, by using 30 m-grid land use/cover data in 2000, 2005, 2010, and 2015. To understand the temporal trends and abnormalities of farmland loss, we identified probable regime shifts of socioeconomic and agrifood dynamics by changepoint detection using relevant data from 2000 to 2015. Changes of the whole landscape were dominated by persistent aggressive land gains of developed lands and increasing land losses of farmland and densely/moderately vegetated land. The ratio of farmland loss to total land conversion (8–77%) decreased in general during 2000–2015, with urban encroachment of farmland accounting for 14.72–74.36% of total farmland loss. Farmland had become smaller in patch size, less regular in patch shape, and more isolated between patches since 2005, indicating farmland deintensification. Three temporal abnormalities of farmland change were identified, which were associated with abrupt socioeconomic and agrifood dynamics affecting farmland demand–supply. Farmland loss is more of an economic issue than a resource issue, and focusing on urban expansion is often inadequate. Policy efforts are needed to address the real problem of social injustice in mandatory farmland preservation practices.
Bing-Bing Zhou; Ligang Lv. Understanding the dynamics of farmland loss in a rapidly urbanizing region: a problem-driven, diagnostic approach to landscape sustainability. Landscape Ecology 2020, 35, 2471 -2486.
AMA StyleBing-Bing Zhou, Ligang Lv. Understanding the dynamics of farmland loss in a rapidly urbanizing region: a problem-driven, diagnostic approach to landscape sustainability. Landscape Ecology. 2020; 35 (11):2471-2486.
Chicago/Turabian StyleBing-Bing Zhou; Ligang Lv. 2020. "Understanding the dynamics of farmland loss in a rapidly urbanizing region: a problem-driven, diagnostic approach to landscape sustainability." Landscape Ecology 35, no. 11: 2471-2486.
In China, large cities are often held to blame for the drastic loss of high-quality farmland. However, others propose that the development of large cities should be prioritized for their scale economy in saving farmland. A policy debate remains regarding which urbanization mode—developing a few large or many small cities—can minimize the impacts of urban expansion on farmland loss. The present study aims to clarify the controversy by quantifying the quantity and quality of urbanization-encroached farmland (UEF) in different sizes of cities. We proposed two indexes to quantify the UEF among different sizes of cities during 2000–2010: “the UEF area per urban population growth” and “the average potential yield of UEF”. Furthermore, we proposed a spatial prioritization matrix to facilitate place-based policy design for UEF management. The super large cities (SLC) consumed the least UEF area per urban population growth and also the lowest average potential yield of UEF. However, there were large variations within city categories in both the quality and quantity dimensions. Farmland loss to urban expansion is determined by a city’s biophysical and socio-political conditions. Our analyses show that urban growth of SLC consumed smaller quantity of farmland when accommodating a certain amount of urban population. Containing the development of large cities in the name of food security is ineffective, which will cause double failures in farmland preservation and urban development. As the impacts of urban expansion on farmland loss are highly place-variant and urban sustainability is more than just food security, place-based policies following the landscape sustainability perspective are needed to address urban encroachment of farmland.
Guohua Hu; Xia Li; Bing-Bing Zhou; Qun Ma; Xing Meng; Yilun Liu; Yimin Chen; Xiaoping Liu. How to minimize the impacts of urban expansion on farmland loss: developing a few large or many small cities? Landscape Ecology 2020, 35, 2487 -2499.
AMA StyleGuohua Hu, Xia Li, Bing-Bing Zhou, Qun Ma, Xing Meng, Yilun Liu, Yimin Chen, Xiaoping Liu. How to minimize the impacts of urban expansion on farmland loss: developing a few large or many small cities? Landscape Ecology. 2020; 35 (11):2487-2499.
Chicago/Turabian StyleGuohua Hu; Xia Li; Bing-Bing Zhou; Qun Ma; Xing Meng; Yilun Liu; Yimin Chen; Xiaoping Liu. 2020. "How to minimize the impacts of urban expansion on farmland loss: developing a few large or many small cities?" Landscape Ecology 35, no. 11: 2487-2499.
The debate on land-sparing versus land-sharing has continued for decades regarding which of the two approaches can optimize the yield-conservation tradeoff. Current opinions are mostly criticisms for the overly-narrow focus on specific biodiversity conservation and simplistic solution to the agri-environmental scheme. This study based on limitations in previous studies aims to advance the land-sparing versus land-sharing strategies from two perspectives. First,an extended framework highlighting the tradeoffs between built-up land and green space in urban regions was proposed. Second, the multi-functionality of natural land was characterized by various ecosystem services rather than merely biodiversity. To demonstrate the applicability of the framework, a practical case of green space sparing -the Ecological Red Line (ERL) policy currently implemented across China-was elaborated. Particularly, soil retention was selected as a proxy to compare the difference between green space and unprotected areas. It showed that (1) the soil retention difference between areas inside and outside the ERL continued steady before the implementing of the ERL and thereafter presented upward trend. (2) the aggregate pattern and scale of soil retention changed obvious after the implementing of the ERL. (3) environment factors underlying the spatial variation of soil retention varied in inner and outer areas of the ERL, and the ERL might ameliorate soil retention of different land use types by spill-over effect. These findings demonstrated the effectiveness of the ERL, and further supported that the green space sparing is a promising strategy for urban land management. The ERL case study provides empirical evidence to support applications of the extended land-sparing versus land-sharing framework in urban regions.
Tian Hu; Jian Peng; Yanxu Liu; Jiansheng Wu; Weifeng Li; Bingbing Zhou. Evidence of green space sparing to ecosystem service improvement in urban regions: A case study of China’s Ecological Red Line policy. Journal of Cleaner Production 2019, 251, 119678 .
AMA StyleTian Hu, Jian Peng, Yanxu Liu, Jiansheng Wu, Weifeng Li, Bingbing Zhou. Evidence of green space sparing to ecosystem service improvement in urban regions: A case study of China’s Ecological Red Line policy. Journal of Cleaner Production. 2019; 251 ():119678.
Chicago/Turabian StyleTian Hu; Jian Peng; Yanxu Liu; Jiansheng Wu; Weifeng Li; Bingbing Zhou. 2019. "Evidence of green space sparing to ecosystem service improvement in urban regions: A case study of China’s Ecological Red Line policy." Journal of Cleaner Production 251, no. : 119678.
Landscape scientists have increasingly studied sustainability during the past three decades, with a plurality of perspectives and methods. However, a comprehensive review of the relevant literature is still lacking. Two concepts capture the core of these studies: sustainable landscapes (SL) and landscape sustainability (LS). Here we present a bibliometric analysis of 333 English papers published in SCI journals (i.e., indexed by Web of Science) during 1990–2017, whose titles, abstracts or keywords contain SL, LS, or both. Using multiple methods, including change-point detection, text and topic mining, and citation analysis, we found: (1) Sustainability studies of landscapes have entered a rapid growth phase since 2004–2006, as determined statistically by the annual publications and citations; (2) There have been many more studies focusing on the ecological and practical dimensions than sociocultural and theoretical dimensions; and (3) Influenced by advances in sustainability research in a broader science context, studies of SL and LS have become increasingly holistic, transdisciplinary, and normative. Our findings suggest that, to further advance landscape sustainability science, scholars need to be more explicit about the underlying sustainability perspective and associated scales of key terms (e.g., SL, LS, and ecosystem services) in specific studies, and need to put more emphasis on place-based case studies of various landscape unsustainability syndromes by integrating the sustainability science-based social-ecological systems and transdisciplinary perspectives.
Bing-Bing Zhou; Jianguo Wu; John M. Anderies. Sustainable landscapes and landscape sustainability: A tale of two concepts. Landscape and Urban Planning 2019, 189, 274 -284.
AMA StyleBing-Bing Zhou, Jianguo Wu, John M. Anderies. Sustainable landscapes and landscape sustainability: A tale of two concepts. Landscape and Urban Planning. 2019; 189 ():274-284.
Chicago/Turabian StyleBing-Bing Zhou; Jianguo Wu; John M. Anderies. 2019. "Sustainable landscapes and landscape sustainability: A tale of two concepts." Landscape and Urban Planning 189, no. : 274-284.
Sustainability science (SS), rooted in multiple disciplines, has been developing rapidly during the last two decades and become a well-recognized new field of study. However, the “identity” of SS remains unclear. Therefore, this study was intended to help synthesize the key characteristics of SS by revisiting the question raised by the leading sustainability scientist, Robert Kates (2011): “What kind of a science is sustainability science?” Specifically, we reviewed the literature in SS, and developed a synthesis of definitions and core research questions of SS, using multiple methods including change-point detection, word cloud visualization, and content and thematic analyses. Our study has produced several main findings: (1) the development of SS exhibited an S-shaped growth pattern, with an exponential growth phase through to 2012, and a asymptotic development phase afterwards; (2) ten key elements from the existing definitions of SS were identified, of which understanding “human–environment interactions” and “use-inspired” were most prominent; and (3) sixteen core questions in SS were derived from the literature. We further proposed an eight-theme framework of SS to help understand how the sixteen questions are related to each other. We argue that SS is coming of age, but more integrative and concerted efforts are still needed to further consolidate its identity by developing a coherent and rigorous scientific core.
Xuening Fang; Bingbing Zhou; Xingyue Tu; Qun Ma; Jianguo Wu. “What Kind of a Science is Sustainability Science?” An Evidence-Based Reexamination. Sustainability 2018, 10, 1478 .
AMA StyleXuening Fang, Bingbing Zhou, Xingyue Tu, Qun Ma, Jianguo Wu. “What Kind of a Science is Sustainability Science?” An Evidence-Based Reexamination. Sustainability. 2018; 10 (5):1478.
Chicago/Turabian StyleXuening Fang; Bingbing Zhou; Xingyue Tu; Qun Ma; Jianguo Wu. 2018. "“What Kind of a Science is Sustainability Science?” An Evidence-Based Reexamination." Sustainability 10, no. 5: 1478.
Xiaoyu Gan; Ignacio C. Fernandez; Jie Guo; Maxwell Wilson; Yuanyuan Zhao; Bingbing Zhou; Jianguo Wu. When to use what: Methods for weighting and aggregating sustainability indicators. Ecological Indicators 2017, 81, 491 -502.
AMA StyleXiaoyu Gan, Ignacio C. Fernandez, Jie Guo, Maxwell Wilson, Yuanyuan Zhao, Bingbing Zhou, Jianguo Wu. When to use what: Methods for weighting and aggregating sustainability indicators. Ecological Indicators. 2017; 81 ():491-502.
Chicago/Turabian StyleXiaoyu Gan; Ignacio C. Fernandez; Jie Guo; Maxwell Wilson; Yuanyuan Zhao; Bingbing Zhou; Jianguo Wu. 2017. "When to use what: Methods for weighting and aggregating sustainability indicators." Ecological Indicators 81, no. : 491-502.
The reliable simulation of gross primary productivity (GPP) at various spatial and temporal scales is of significance to quantifying the net exchange of carbon between terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere. This study aimed to verify the ability of a nonlinear two-leaf model (TL-LUEn), a linear two-leaf model (TL-LUE), and a big-leaf light use efficiency model (MOD17) to simulate GPP at half-hourly, daily and 8-day scales using GPP derived from 58 eddy-covariance flux sites in Asia, Europe and North America as benchmarks. Model evaluation showed that the overall performance of TL-LUEn was slightly but not significantly better than TL-LUE at half-hourly and daily scale, while the overall performance of both TL-LUEn and TL-LUE were significantly better (p < 0.0001) than MOD17 at the two temporal scales. The improvement of TL-LUEn over TL-LUE was relatively small in comparison with the improvement of TL-LUE over MOD17. However, the differences between TL-LUEn and MOD17, and TL-LUE and MOD17 became less distinct at the 8-day scale. As for different vegetation types, TL-LUEn and TL-LUE performed better than MOD17 for all vegetation types except crops at the half-hourly scale. At the daily and 8-day scales, both TL-LUEn and TL-LUE outperformed MOD17 for forests. However, TL-LUEn had a mixed performance for the three non-forest types while TL-LUE outperformed MOD17 slightly for all these non-forest types at daily and 8-day scales. The better performance of TL-LUEn and TL-LUE for forests was mainly achieved by the correction of the underestimation/overestimation of GPP simulated by MOD17 under low/high solar radiation and sky clearness conditions. TL-LUEn is more applicable at individual sites at the half-hourly scale while TL-LUE could be regionally used at half-hourly, daily and 8-day scales. MOD17 is also an applicable option regionally at the 8-day scale.
Xiaocui Wu; Weimin Ju; Yanlian Zhou; Mingzhu He; Beverly E. Law; T. Andrew Black; Hank A. Margolis; Alessandro Cescatti; Lianhong Gu; Leonardo Montagnani; Asko Noormets; Timothy J. Griffis; Kim Pilegaard; Andrej Varlagin; Riccardo Valentini; Peter D. Blanken; Shaoqiang Wang; Huimin Wang; Shijie Han; Junhua Yan; Yingnian Li; Bingbing Zhou; Yibo Liu. Performance of Linear and Nonlinear Two-Leaf Light Use Efficiency Models at Different Temporal Scales. Remote Sensing 2015, 7, 2238 -2278.
AMA StyleXiaocui Wu, Weimin Ju, Yanlian Zhou, Mingzhu He, Beverly E. Law, T. Andrew Black, Hank A. Margolis, Alessandro Cescatti, Lianhong Gu, Leonardo Montagnani, Asko Noormets, Timothy J. Griffis, Kim Pilegaard, Andrej Varlagin, Riccardo Valentini, Peter D. Blanken, Shaoqiang Wang, Huimin Wang, Shijie Han, Junhua Yan, Yingnian Li, Bingbing Zhou, Yibo Liu. Performance of Linear and Nonlinear Two-Leaf Light Use Efficiency Models at Different Temporal Scales. Remote Sensing. 2015; 7 (3):2238-2278.
Chicago/Turabian StyleXiaocui Wu; Weimin Ju; Yanlian Zhou; Mingzhu He; Beverly E. Law; T. Andrew Black; Hank A. Margolis; Alessandro Cescatti; Lianhong Gu; Leonardo Montagnani; Asko Noormets; Timothy J. Griffis; Kim Pilegaard; Andrej Varlagin; Riccardo Valentini; Peter D. Blanken; Shaoqiang Wang; Huimin Wang; Shijie Han; Junhua Yan; Yingnian Li; Bingbing Zhou; Yibo Liu. 2015. "Performance of Linear and Nonlinear Two-Leaf Light Use Efficiency Models at Different Temporal Scales." Remote Sensing 7, no. 3: 2238-2278.