Ecological Indicators最新文献

{"title":"A systematic review on environmental DNA (eDNA) Science: An eco-friendly survey method for conservation and restoration of fragile ecosystems","authors":"Ashish Sahu ,&nbsp;Mahender Singh ,&nbsp;Adnan Amin ,&nbsp;Monisa Mehboob Malik ,&nbsp;Shariq Nazir Qadri ,&nbsp;Adnan Abubakr ,&nbsp;S.Surya Teja ,&nbsp;Shabir Ahmad Dar ,&nbsp;Ishtiyaq Ahmad","doi":"10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113441","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113441","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The conservation and restoration of fragile ecosystems and their genetic resources depends on precisely assessing species diversity and richness, understanding spatiotemporal dynamics, and stock structure analysis. Traditional monitoring methods like visual surveys, physical captures, individual counting, sibling or cryptic species identification, and immature life stages (juveniles) of animals are often intrusive, time-consuming, and provide rough estimates. Environmental DNA (eDNA) has emerged as a novel powerful tool for detecting and quantifying the presence or absence of species through genetic traces left in the environment. It is particularly suited for vulnerable habitats that are sensitive to human disturbance. Herein, we present a temporal analysis from 2008 to 2024, which indicates a consistent increase in eDNA research across fragile ecosystems and their living microbes and microorganisms. Freshwater eDNA studies contribute the highest (33.93%), followed by brackish (26.19%) and marine waters (27.38%). There is a notable focus on invasive (25.48%) and endangered species (22.36%). This systematic review provides an overview of the standard methodological considerations for eDNA science, covering stages from sample collection to advanced bioinformatics processing. It addresses various pipelines, databases, and software tools, essential for accurate data interpretation. The areas for improvement in eDNA science and future directions are also presented that can improve sensitivity, scalability, and reliability. Further, the review highlights important worldwide facilities, organizations, and laboratories leading in eDNA research, along with societies, projects, and programs promoting knowledge exchange.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11459,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Indicators","volume":"173 ","pages":"Article 113441"},"PeriodicalIF":7.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143767544","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Global-scale improvement of terrestrial gross primary productivity estimation by integrating optical remote sensing with meteorological data","authors":"Yao Wenyu ,&nbsp;Bie Qiang","doi":"10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113429","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113429","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study integrates sunlight-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF), meteorological factors, and various optical factors (such as LAI, FAPAR, and NDVI) to estimate global-scale gross primary productivity (GPP) using a random forest model (RF). The results show that the random forest model can significantly improve the GPP estimation accuracy, and its overall coefficient of determination (R²) is 0.84, the consistency index (IOA) is 0.97, and the root mean square error (RMSE) is only 1.73 g C m^-² d^-1. As the core variable of the model, SIF showed significant contributions in all vegetation types, making up for the limitations of the traditional vegetation index in monitoring the dynamic changes of photosynthesis. The multi-source data fusion method effectively improves the adaptability and robustness of the model to the dynamic changes in GPP in complex ecosystems (such as wetlands and farmland). This study shows that the integration of SIF, meteorological factors and optical factors to construct a multi-source fusion model can not only improve the accuracy and spatiotemporal resolution ability of global-scale GPP estimation, but also provide scientific support for further research on the interaction between ecosystem carbon cycle and climate change.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11459,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Indicators","volume":"173 ","pages":"Article 113429"},"PeriodicalIF":7.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143767546","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Corrigendum to “Landscape ecological risk assessment and driving factors analysis based on optimal spatial scales in Luan River Basin, China” [Ecol. Indic. 169 (2024) 112821]","authors":"Nijuan Yang ,&nbsp;Ting Zhang ,&nbsp;Jianzhu Li ,&nbsp;Ping Feng ,&nbsp;Nina Yang","doi":"10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113366","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113366","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":11459,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Indicators","volume":"173 ","pages":"Article 113366"},"PeriodicalIF":7.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143838389","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Decadal-scale changes in fish spawning strategies: A case study of striped bass in the Hudson River","authors":"Xindong Pan ,&nbsp;Wenchao Zhang ,&nbsp;Wanqi Liu ,&nbsp;Anh Nguyen ,&nbsp;Jessica Best ,&nbsp;Richard Pendleton ,&nbsp;Liangmin Huang ,&nbsp;Yong Chen","doi":"10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113410","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113410","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Understanding spawning behavior is critical in evaluating the productivity and vulnerability of fish populations to exploitation and climate change. Using the ichthyoplankton data collected in the Hudson River Biological Monitoring Program (HRBMP), we evaluated the spawning behavior of striped bass (<em>Morone saxatilis</em>) in the Hudson River estuary (HRE). We developed three novel spawning optimum indices: Thermal Optimum Index (THOI), Temporal Optimum Index (TEOI), and Spatial Optimum Index (SOI). Our results showed that striped bass prefer to spawn at certain temperature ranges during two specific and distinct time periods but in extensive locations in the HRE. Their spawning behavior had changed over time, with two shifts occurring in 1985 and 1998 and resulting in three distinct periods with different spawning strategies. These changes, including narrower range of optimal spawning temperatures and reduced diversity in spatial and temporal spawning behavior, may negatively impact the population’s stability and reproductive resilience. Our study demonstrates the importance of a long-term monitoring program to understand spawning strategies in striped bass and highlights the importance of considering spawning behavior in fisheries management.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11459,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Indicators","volume":"173 ","pages":"Article 113410"},"PeriodicalIF":7.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143767545","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Ecosystems resilience assessment of forest and grassland subjected to ecological drought","authors":"Yu Han ,&nbsp;Yanping Qu ,&nbsp;Tianliang Jiang ,&nbsp;Xuejun Zhang ,&nbsp;Juan Lyu ,&nbsp;Xiaoling Su","doi":"10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113437","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113437","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Ecosystem resilience is essential for sustaining ecosystems in the face of increasingly extreme climate conditions. However, current research faces challenges in improving the accuracy of identifying ecological drought events, enhancing temporal resolution, and refining model fitting for resilience quantification. In this study, a novel, daily-scale Ecosystem Service Supply (ESS) index is introduced, integrating water yield, carbon storage, and habitat quality into a unified measure weighted by ecosystem service equivalency factors. Baiyangdian wetland in North China was chosen as the study area, where the ESS index and the Standardized Ecological Water Deficit Index (SEWDI) were combined to jointly identify ecological drought events that directly alter ecosystem functioning. To characterize post-drought recovery dynamics, Bayesian non-parametric quantile regression model is employed to construct resilience curves, which capture the relationship between drought intensity and ecosystem recovery time at multiple quantiles. The results reveal that forests exhibit greater resilience under mild drought conditions, while grasslands demonstrate superior recovery capacity during more severe droughts. Due to differences in ecosystem structure and vegetation characteristics, forest ecosystems experience a significant decline in resilience under extreme drought conditions. In contrast, grassland ecosystems generally maintain stable or even slightly improved recovery resilience. By improving the temporal resolution of ecosystem assessments and introducing a flexible method to quantify resilience trajectories, this approach offers valuable insights for evaluating drought resilience and guiding ecosystem management in water-limited environments.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11459,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Indicators","volume":"173 ","pages":"Article 113437"},"PeriodicalIF":7.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143791469","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Evaluation of the ecological status of Posidonia oceanica meadows along the Calabrian Coasts: A multi-index approach","authors":"Faustino Scarcelli ,&nbsp;Chiara Spadaro ,&nbsp;Annamaria Ienco ,&nbsp;Vincenzo Osso ,&nbsp;Pietro Giovannelli ,&nbsp;Silvestro Greco ,&nbsp;Silvia Mazzuca ,&nbsp;Amalia Piro","doi":"10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113408","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113408","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study assessed the ecological status of <em>Posidonia oceanica</em> meadows along the Calabrian coast, a region that acts as a geographical barrier between the eastern and western Mediterranenan basins. In doing so, the study addressed a significant gap in our knowledge of this important marine area. Six Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) were monitored along the Tyrrhenian and Ionian coasts, including the transition zone of the Strait of Messina. Using a comprehensive set of indices, the meadows were analysed with a multi-level approach at the population, individual, and community levels. The results revealed notable structural heterogeneity among the sites, while the Posidonia Rapid Easy Index (PREI) indicated good ecological conditions across all sites despite varying levels of environmental pressure. Individual descriptors, however, showed more nuanced patterns, with some sites exhibiting signs of consistent disturbance. Notably, the Reggio Calabria site displayed unique characteristics, such as wider leaf blades and higher epiphyte biomass, suggesting potential anthropogenic eutrophic impacts. Our findings highlight the complex interactions between environmental factors and human activities that influence these ecosystems. Overall, the results underscore the need for a multi-index approach in monitoring programs to provide a more accurate assessment of the health of <em>P. oceanica</em> meadows, crucial for developing effective conservation strategies in the Mediterranean.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11459,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Indicators","volume":"173 ","pages":"Article 113408"},"PeriodicalIF":7.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143746482","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Spatiotemporal evolution and driving forces of ecosystem service values in the Yellow River Delta","authors":"Yinghan Zhao ,&nbsp;Li Luo ,&nbsp;Lin Zhang ,&nbsp;Jingkuan Sun ,&nbsp;Zhaohua Lu","doi":"10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113432","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113432","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Natural protected areas, as critical foundations for China’s ecological security, play an irreplaceable role in maintaining ecosystem services. Investigating the spatiotemporal evolution and driving factors of ecosystem service values (ESVs) in natural protected areas is essential for policymakers to develop scientific strategies that promote sustainable development. This study focused on the Yellow River Delta to analyze the spatiotemporal evolution, interrelationships, and driving factors of ESVs in coastal areas and areas along the Yellow River. The results indicated that: From 2000 to 2023, ESVs in both coastal areas and areas along the Yellow River showed a steady upward trend, with obvious characteristics of spatial distribution differences, in which the coastal areas have the highest ESV, followed by the areas along the Yellow River, and lastly the non-coastal zone and non-Yellow River areas. The Shell Island and Wetland National Nature Reserve demonstrated a high water conservation value, while the Yellow River Delta Nature Reserve (Yellow River estuary) exhibited a high soil retention value. In addition, the interrelationships between different ESVs showed significant spatial differences, and although the areas along the Yellow River typically exhibited stronger ESV synergies than coastal areas, the occurrence of high − high synergies was more common in the coastal areas. Wetland area had been identified as the primary driving factor for ESV changes in coastal areas, with changes in reservoir pit area having a significant effect on ESVs. For areas along the Yellow River, the main driving factors had included river area, reservoir pit wetland area, DEM, the area of natural protected areas, and fram yield. In overlapping areas, the main driving factors for ESV changes had been per capita disposable income and DEM.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11459,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Indicators","volume":"173 ","pages":"Article 113432"},"PeriodicalIF":7.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143776518","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Soil carbon metabolizing microorganisms affect the storage and stability of carbon pool in degraded alpine meadows","authors":"Qian Liu ,&nbsp;Wenquan Yang ,&nbsp;Jiancun Kou ,&nbsp;Yangcan Zhang ,&nbsp;Yanghua Yu ,&nbsp;Weiliang Kou ,&nbsp;Jing Zhang ,&nbsp;Xilai Li","doi":"10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113413","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113413","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The carbon pool of alpine meadows exerts an important impact on global climate change. Soil carbon metabolizing microorganisms play a crucial role in the storage and stability of carbon pools in ecosystems. However, the role and mechanism of soil carbon metabolizing microorganisms in alpine meadows’ carbon pools are not yet clearly understood. This study aims to fill this knowledge gap by selecting non-degraded alpine meadows (ND), slightly degraded alpine meadows (LD), moderately degraded alpine meadows (MD), and heavily degraded alpine meadows (HD) as the research objects. The response of soil carbon metabolizing microorganisms to meadow degradation and their impact on meadow carbon pools were analyzed via studying the carbon storage and the functional genes of carbon metabolism-related microorganisms (<em>pmoA</em>, <em>cbbL</em>, <em>mcrA</em>, <em>chiA</em>) in the four types of alpine meadow ecosystems. The results showed that the carbon storage in the MD and HD ecosystems decreased by 23.9 % and 32.9 %, respectively (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05), in comparison with ND. With the continuous degradation of alpine meadows, the α diversity of methanotrophs and chitinase-producing microorganisms gradually decreased, while the α diversity of soil carbon-fixing microbes and methanogens communities increased. Co-occurrence network analysis showed that two major methanotrophs modules (pmoA_Mod2,4), one major soil carbon-fixing microbe module (cbbL_Mod5) and two major chitinase-producing microorganism modules (chiA_Mod1,4) were significantly affected by meadow degradation. Due to changes in the β diversity of the soil carbon-fixing microorganism communities, and an increase in the α diversity of methanogens communities, the degradation of alpine meadows decreased the carbon sequestration capacity of the ecosystem, increased the decomposition ability, and ultimately reduced carbon storage in the meadow ecosystems. Additionally, the relative abundance of the chitinase-producing microorganism network module (chiA_Mod1) which primarily comprises genera capable of antibiotic production such as <em>Janthinobacterium</em>, <em>Amycolatopsis methanolica</em>, and <em>Streptomyces</em>, also significantly decreased due to meadow degradation (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05), thereby affecting carbon cycling in the ecosystems. This study reveals how four carbon-metabolizing microbial communities respond to alpine meadow degradation and their impact on carbon pool storage and stability, providing a theoretical basis for the protection and sustainable development of alpine meadows.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11459,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Indicators","volume":"173 ","pages":"Article 113413"},"PeriodicalIF":7.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143777231","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Selecting surrogate species for species-based conservation in the Plateau-Mountains-Basin transition region of southwestern China","authors":"Yuchen Liao ,&nbsp;Xuewei Shi ,&nbsp;Yan Wu ,&nbsp;Michael P. Nobis","doi":"10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113433","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113433","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Urgent conservation action is needed to safeguard biodiversity. One promising approach is the use of surrogate species in species-based conservation strategies, which can indirectly benefit other species that share similar habitat requirements. However, the lack of spatial quantification methods to accurately select representative species at large-scale regions has limited the application of surrogate species in conservation. To address this, our study presents two methods to quantify and select surrogate species for species-based conservation in the Plateau-Mountains-Basin transition region of China (∼486,000 km²). These two methods follow the same selection process, moving from priority conservation species to refined candidate species, and finally to surrogate species. Specifically, we compiled a species list of priority conservation plant species and used multiple datasets to predict the area of habitat maps for these species. We found 140 priority conservation plants distributed around the Sichuan Basin. Building on their distributions, we selected 17 surrogate species using indicator value analysis, considering 18 different subregion combinations and 4 habitat overlap scenarios. Alternatively, we applied a second method, selecting 19 surrogate species based on factor analysis, while considering the correlation analysis of pairwise species combinations. The richness map of these surrogate species shows a distribution pattern similar to that of the 140 priority conservation plants. Based on the distribution patterns of surrogate species, we identified conservation hotspots in the mountains around the Sichuan Basin. By utilizing the fine-scale area of habitat maps, our study offers valuable strategies for selecting surrogate species in species-based conservation efforts aimed at safeguarding biodiversity in ecologically critical regions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11459,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Indicators","volume":"173 ","pages":"Article 113433"},"PeriodicalIF":7.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143783919","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Analysis of sustainable spatial structure of cities under the framework of “Economy-Society- Environment”: A case study Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomeration","authors":"Haonan Chen ,&nbsp;Zhi Li ,&nbsp;Xiaoning Cui ,&nbsp;Mengchao Zhao ,&nbsp;Yu Shi ,&nbsp;Haiying Lin ,&nbsp;Tianqi Zhu","doi":"10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113416","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113416","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The sustainable development of cities is a critical concern and pivotal for the well-being of future generations. Achieving this necessitates a thorough analysis of the spatial dynamics within urban agglomerations, coupled with a comprehensive examination of the factors influencing urban sustainability. Despite existing research efforts, there remains a notable gap in addressing the impact of inter-city interactions on urban sustainability. To address this gap, this study analyzes 17 sustainable development goals for each city within the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Urban Agglomeration (<em>JJJUA</em>), utilizing the Economic-Social-Environment (<em>ESE</em>) framework. Furthermore, employing the Random Forest algorithm, this study quantifies the influence of the <em>ESE</em> framework on urban sustainable development. The findings reveal that the core functional area of <em>JJJUA</em> exhibits superior <em>ESE</em> synergies. In contrast, the northwestern region, designated as the Ecological Cultivation Area, demonstrates stronger environmental sustainability albeit with less economic and social cohesion. Conversely, the eastern (Coastal Development Area) and southern (Industrial Expansion Area) parts exhibit higher levels of social and economic sustainability. Improving transportation accessibility and infrastructure development is conducive to promoting economic sustainability; while fortifying the social welfare system advances social sustainability. Additionally, bolstering environmental protection measures serves to promote environmental sustainability.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11459,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Indicators","volume":"173 ","pages":"Article 113416"},"PeriodicalIF":7.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143785099","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}