{"title":"Mixed Litter Decomposition Drives Functional Gene Rearrangement in the Microbial Carbon Cycle","authors":"Jiaying Liu, Changjun Ding, Weixi Zhang, Xiaohua Su, Yawei Wei, Siqi Wu, Wenxu Zhu","doi":"10.1002/ldr.70883","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.70883","url":null,"abstract":"Understanding how mixed‐species litter decomposition regulates microbial communities and carbon cycling is vital for guiding ecosystem restoration and climate change mitigation, as it is a key process for nutrient cycling and carbon sequestration. A 15‐month field experiment compared single‐species ( <jats:styled-content style=\"fixed-case\"> <jats:italic>Pinus sylvestris</jats:italic> </jats:styled-content> var. mongolica [Ps], Populus × canadensis[Pc]) and mixed (PcPs) litters using metagenomics to analyze microbial communities and carbon cycle genes (KO01200). Metagenomic sequencing revealed significant differences in microbial community composition and carbon cycle‐related functions. Carbon metabolism genes accounted for 12.93% of the total sequenced genes, with Bacteria dominating these genes (97.23%–99.76%). In contrast, Archaea, Eukaryota, and Viruses showed lower relative abundances in carbon metabolism. Microbial diversity increased (e.g., Simpson and Shannon indices), but richness decreased (ACE and Chao1 indices). Beta diversity analysis showed significant differences among treatments, with principal coordinates analysis (PCoA) explaining 72.4% of variation in community structure and 80.9% in functional classification. A total of 352 microbial species exhibited significant differential abundance, including 20 species with LDA scores > 4. Specifically, the relative abundance of Proteobacteria increased in mixed litter (PcPs) compared to single species, with a significant difference between Pc and PcPs ( <jats:italic>p</jats:italic> < 0.05). Functional analysis revealed 20 carbon cycle units with altered abundance: Photosystems I/II (psa/psb) peaked in mixed litter, while fermentation dominated in Ps. Mixed litter restructuring enhanced photosynthetic genes and reduced fermentation, shifting metabolism toward carbon sequestration via increased diversity and Proteobacteria dominance. Findings inform soil carbon management in degraded forests.","PeriodicalId":203,"journal":{"name":"Land Degradation & Development","volume":"440 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2026-08-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148809911","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Mateusz Rawlik, Ondřej Mudrák, Cecilie Tesnerová, Jan Frouz
{"title":"The Effect of Nitrogen and Phosphorus Fertilization on Plant Community Along Chronosequences of Reclaimed and Unreclaimed Postmining Soils After Coal Mining","authors":"Mateusz Rawlik, Ondřej Mudrák, Cecilie Tesnerová, Jan Frouz","doi":"10.1002/ldr.70888","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.70888","url":null,"abstract":"Nitrogen and phosphorus availability drive plant community composition, productivity, and ecosystem functioning. During succession, nutrient availability typically changes as organic matter accumulates in the soil, influencing both nitrogen and phosphorus pools. We assessed nutrient limitation along postmining chronosequences (10–50 years old), including sites reclaimed with alder ( <jats:italic>Alnus</jats:italic> ) plantations and unreclaimed sites undergoing spontaneous succession. Plots received N (50 kg ha <jats:sup>−1</jats:sup> year <jats:sup>−1</jats:sup> ) or P (5 kg ha <jats:sup>−1</jats:sup> year <jats:sup>−1</jats:sup> ) fertilization or served as controls, applied over 3 years. Vegetation surveys were conducted in the first and third years, and aboveground biomass of <jats:styled-content style=\"fixed-case\"> <jats:italic>Calamagrostis epigejos</jats:italic> </jats:styled-content> was collected in the third year for chemical analysis. Redundancy analysis revealed a significant effect of fertilization on community composition at unreclaimed sites, explaining 7% of the variance, whereas the effect was not significant at reclaimed sites and explained only 2% of the variance. On unreclaimed sites, N fertilization increased herb‐layer cover, reduced species evenness and turnover, but did not accelerate vegetation change. Although the effects of N fertilization are significant in some cases, they are relatively small. Phosphorus fertilization had negligible effects on vegetation in both site types. Nutrient content analysis of <jats:styled-content style=\"fixed-case\"> <jats:italic>C. epigejos</jats:italic> </jats:styled-content> biomass indicated that the plant community was more limited by P than by N. However, P fertilization had limited potential to alleviate this limitation. This effect likely results from alkaline soils, in which phosphorus is bound in insoluble compounds that are unavailable to plants. Moreover, the effects of both fertilizers do not appear to be clearly positive in terms of ecosystem restoration.","PeriodicalId":203,"journal":{"name":"Land Degradation & Development","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2026-08-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148809913","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Trade‐Offs and Synergies in Cultivated Land Multifunctionality and Zoning Management in the Dongting Lake Region: A Multiscale Analysis","authors":"Chaomin Li, Tingting Ma, Zixiang Sun, Bingeng Xie, Kaichun Zhou","doi":"10.1002/ldr.70892","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.70892","url":null,"abstract":"Understanding the multiscale patterns and interactions of cultivated land multifunctionality is important for conservation, governance, and agricultural spatial optimization in the Dongting Lake region. Using 2020 data, we evaluated economic production (EPF), social security (SSF), landscape‐based recreation (LRF), and ecological maintenance (EMF) functions at the 1‐km, 3‐km, and township scales. The Simpson reciprocal index, Spearman correlation, geographically weighted regression (GWR), and self‐organizing feature map (SOFM) were integrated to assess functional patterns, local relationships, and coupled zoning. The results showed that: (1) EPF and SSF were highest across the plains surrounding Dongting Lake, whereas LRF was highest around urban nodes and landscape‐resource clusters. EMF was highest in the western hills and mountains and the densely connected waterways of western and southern Dongting Lake. With increasing scale, the proportion of high‐value EPF areas declined from 29.25% to 13.22%; SSF and LRF also decreased markedly, whereas EMF remained relatively stable. (2) Functional provision and structural balance were spatially mismatched: the lake plain had stronger provision but lower balance, whereas peripheral hills and uplands showed the opposite pattern. (3) EPF and SSF maintained strong synergies across scales, with Spearman coefficients of 0.88, 0.93, and 0.86. GWR identified EPF–SSF synergies in 97.2%, 95.8%, and 98.6% of units, respectively, while many EMF‐related local relationships became non‐significant at the township scale. (4) SOFM separately identified two functional structures and three relationship structures. Coupling the two clustering results produced six management zones, of which the low‐function, trade‐off‐dominated zone (Z1) and high‐function, synergy‐dominated zone (Z6) accounted for 17.04% and 20.01%, respectively. These findings support differentiated cultivated land management. These findings support zone‐specific management based jointly on functional levels, structural balance, and relationship types.","PeriodicalId":203,"journal":{"name":"Land Degradation & Development","volume":"12 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2026-08-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148809939","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Land Degradation, Cultural Ecosystem Services, and Ecosystem Disservices in the Sumapaz Páramo, Colombia: An Integrated Socioecological Assessment","authors":"Victor Fabian Forero Ausique, Diana Cristina Díaz Guevara, Silvana Daniela Forero Ausique, Yetfersson Andrey Serrato Velosa, Favio Cala Vitery","doi":"10.1002/ldr.70893","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.70893","url":null,"abstract":"Understanding the relationships among land degradation, ecosystem functioning and human well‐being is essential for conserving tropical high‐mountain ecosystems. This study examined the relationships among land degradation, Cultural Ecosystem Services (CES), ecosystem disservices (EDS) and visitor perceptions at Laguna Colorados in the Sumapaz Páramo, Colombia, by integrating visitor‐perception data with complementary ecological evidence derived from multitemporal remote sensing. Perceptions were assessed through structured questionnaires administered to 92 adult visitors selected using simple random sampling. Responses were analysed in relation to sociodemographic characteristics using Spearman's rank correlations, hierarchical cluster analysis and principal component analysis. Knowledge of Nature and Landscape Appreciation were the most highly valued CES, whereas Religion and Spirituality received comparatively lower ratings and emerged as a distinct perceptual dimension. Tourism, Knowledge of Nature, Recreation and Sports, and Landscape Appreciation were positively associated and were perceived as an interconnected CES bundle. Soil contamination and insufficient surveillance and control were the most frequently reported EDS, each identified by 32% of respondents. These perceptions were broadly consistent with multitemporal remote‐sensing evidence, suggesting increasing vegetation heterogeneity, localised declines in vegetation vigour, moisture loss and greater soil exposure between 2003 and 2025. Integrating social‐perception data with complementary ecological evidence provides a more comprehensive understanding of land degradation as a socioecological process and can inform ecological restoration, adaptive visitor management and evidence‐based conservation planning in tropical high‐mountain ecosystems.","PeriodicalId":203,"journal":{"name":"Land Degradation & Development","volume":"36 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2026-08-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148809938","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Land Restoration as a Catalyst for Regional Economic Revitalization: Evidence From Urban–Rural Transition Zones","authors":"Rui Sun, Jichao Zhou, Yali Li, Xin Cheng, Ziru Zhang","doi":"10.1002/ldr.70887","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.70887","url":null,"abstract":"Large‐scale land restoration is widely expected to improve environmental quality, yet causal evidence on its local economic returns remains limited. This gap is especially important in urban–rural transition zones, where development pressure and ecological damage overlap. We examine 30 zones in China's Yangtze River Delta from 2009 to 2024. The analysis uses cohort‐specific group‐time difference‐in‐differences estimates with never‐treated zones as controls. An interaction‐weighted event study evaluates dynamic effects. Restoration significantly increases real GDP per capita, employment density, and real estate values. The gains are larger in initially poorer zones and in projects that create public green amenities. Placebo tests, matching, and alternative outcomes support the main findings. The evidence identifies land restoration as a practical instrument for ecological recovery and inclusive regional development.","PeriodicalId":203,"journal":{"name":"Land Degradation & Development","volume":"9 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2026-08-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148768303","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Kaifa Zhang, Xiaojun Yin, Benhao Li, Keke Chang, Xinghai Zhang, Tao Deng
{"title":"Land Use Spatial Optimization Based on Multi‐Objective Ant Colony Algorithm and FLUS Model: A Case Study of Korla City and Tiemenguan City, China","authors":"Kaifa Zhang, Xiaojun Yin, Benhao Li, Keke Chang, Xinghai Zhang, Tao Deng","doi":"10.1002/ldr.70823","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.70823","url":null,"abstract":"In southern Xinjiang, China, scarce land and water resources and fragile ecosystems have intensified land use conflicts, making land resource allocation optimization essential for sustainable development in arid oasis areas. Focusing on Korla and Tiemenguan, this study aims to coordinate economic benefits, ecological benefits, and food security. To achieve this optimization, a multi‐objective ant colony (MOACO) algorithm was employed to optimize the quantitative structure of land use, establishing a multi‐objective function system. The future land use simulation (FLUS) model was then used to simulate spatial allocation under four scenarios—economic benefit priority, ecological benefit priority, food production priority, and balanced development—and landscape pattern characteristics were evaluated using Fragstats‐4.2. The spatial simulation achieved an overall accuracy of 90.17%, indicating high prediction reliability. GDP, carbon sequestration, and grain production improved under each scenario, while soil erosion was markedly reduced. Among the four scenarios, the balanced development scenario showed the most coordinated trade‐off among economic development, ecological protection, food security, and landscape pattern stability, representing a more practical and balanced pathway for land use optimization. By integrating quantity optimization, spatial simulation, and landscape pattern evaluation, this study reveals how multi‐objective optimization reshapes spatial patterns and ecological benefits, and examines the synergies and trade‐offs among ecosystem service objectives, land use transitions, and landscape pattern evolution in arid oasis regions of Northwest China, providing theoretical insights and decision support for sustainable land resource allocation in Korla and Tiemenguan.","PeriodicalId":203,"journal":{"name":"Land Degradation & Development","volume":"6 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2026-08-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148768302","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Top 1.2 m as a δ 56 Fe ‐Sensitive Zone: Synergistic Regulation of Fe Cycling by Soil Texture and Land Use Intensity in Tropical Soils","authors":"Qian Zhang, Guilin Han, Di Wang, Chao Song","doi":"10.1002/ldr.70851","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.70851","url":null,"abstract":"Soil Fe cycling is co‐regulated by texture and land use intensity (LUI), but their synergistic mechanism and depth‐dependent effects remain unclear. We analyzed 68 samples (0–200 cm) from one cultivated (CL, high LUI, silty loam, clay = 11%–18%) and three non‐cultivated (AC1–AC3, low LUI, sandy loam, clay = 2.65%–9.00%) profiles in Thailand's Mun River Basin, using hierarchical regression, slope difference tests, and CV decomposition. Results showed: (1) Soil texture best explains Fe content variation—silty loam maintains stable high Fe (25.4–39.7 g kg <jats:sup>−1</jats:sup> ) via clay adsorption, while sandy loam has variable Fe (1.1–118.5 g kg <jats:sup>−1</jats:sup> ) with severe depletion in topsoil. (2) The top 1.2 m is a δ <jats:sup>56</jats:sup> Fe‐sensitive zone (CV = 35.7%), more variable than deep soil (CV = 21.8%). (3) Texture ×LUI synergy is statistically significant (Fe: Δ <jats:italic>R</jats:italic> <jats:sup>2</jats:sup> = 0.09, <jats:italic>p</jats:italic> < 0.01; δ <jats:sup>56</jats:sup> Fe: Δ <jats:italic>R</jats:italic> <jats:sup>2</jats:sup> = 0.13, <jats:italic>p</jats:italic> < 0.001). (4) Fe content (static pool) and δ <jats:sup>56</jats:sup> Fe (dynamic tracer) are complementary, with LUI acting as a “switch” for texture‐Fe relationships. This study clarifies the vertical differentiation and synergistic controls of Fe biogeochemistry in tropical soils, and strengthens the mechanistic basis for land degradation assessment and restoration in tropical agroecosystems.","PeriodicalId":203,"journal":{"name":"Land Degradation & Development","volume":"70 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2026-08-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148768306","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Revealing Dust Source Changes in East Asia From Past to Future: An Interpretable Deep Learning Approach","authors":"Yanyu Li, Qizhong Wu, Xueshun Chen, Jiang Yue, Jieying He, Huaqiong Cheng","doi":"10.1002/ldr.70885","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.70885","url":null,"abstract":"Aeolian dust source areas are controlled by climate and human activities and are closely associated with land degradation, yet their long‐term evolution under global warming remains insufficiently quantified. An integrated framework that couples a U‐Net segmentation model with Shapley Additive Explanations (SHAP) was built to map and attribute dust source areas across arid and semi‐arid East Asia. Using the framework, spring dust source area changes are quantified annually for 2000–2024 and projected for 2100 under the three IPCC Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSP) scenarios. The relative influence of key meteorological controls is also quantified. From 2000 to 2024, the spring dust source area shrinks from 3.7 × 10 <jats:sup>6</jats:sup> to 2.8 × 10 <jats:sup>6</jats:sup> km <jats:sup>2</jats:sup> , representing a net reduction of 25.5%, primarily due to rapid contraction along ecological margins and persistence within hyper‐arid cores. The conversion from dust source to grassland is up to 1.3 × 10 <jats:sup>6</jats:sup> km <jats:sup>2</jats:sup> , benefiting greatly from ecological restoration and regional hydroclimatic amelioration. SHAP analysis shows a shift in the dominant climatic constraint from precipitation to evaporation. By the year 2100, dust source areas will expand in area relative to the historical period. The greatest expansion occurs in central eastern Mongolia and northern Xinjiang, whereas the Tibetan Plateau shows a marked reduction. The total dust source area in 2100 declines with warming intensification and decreases by 9.1% from SSP1‐2.6 to SSP5‐8.5 future climate scenarios. Under future global warming, precipitation supply emerges as the principal control on moisture availability in arid and semi‐arid regions and therefore constrains dust source expansion.","PeriodicalId":203,"journal":{"name":"Land Degradation & Development","volume":"159 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2026-08-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148768438","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Laxita Soontha, Mohammad Younus Bhat, Arfat Ahmad Sofi
{"title":"From Ashes to Action: Economic Growth, Ecological Footprint, and Forest Fire Resilience in Advanced and Emerging Economies","authors":"Laxita Soontha, Mohammad Younus Bhat, Arfat Ahmad Sofi","doi":"10.1002/ldr.70889","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.70889","url":null,"abstract":"Forest fires have escalated alarmingly, now consuming more than double the tree cover compared to two decades ago, signaling a growing and urgent environmental crisis. This study addresses the ever increasing global concern of forest fires, focusing on sustainable economic recovery while minimizing the ecological footprint amid mounting environmental challenges. The theoretical framework uniquely integrates the environmental Kuznets curve and tragedy of the commons, providing novel insights into the economic environment over the last two decades. This study adopts kernel density estimation approach and quantile regression method to evaluate the relationship between the variables of interest. The findings reveal a positive association between forest fires and economic growth, biocapacity, and natural resource depletion. In contrast, ecological footprint, urbanization, biodiversity loss, and tourism development are found to be negatively associated. These relationships diminish over time, indicating a potential rise in forest fire incidences without sustainable interventions. The study advocates for a transition to renewable energy, stringent environmental policies, and further research to mitigate ecological footprint and forest fire risks to promote sustainable development.","PeriodicalId":203,"journal":{"name":"Land Degradation & Development","volume":"36 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2026-08-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148768439","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Samane Ghazali, Anwar Eziz, Christine Fürst, Khatereh Taheri, Ali Ganiyusufoğlu, Petr Sklenicka, Hossein Azadi
{"title":"Willingness to Pay for the Conservation of Natural Resources: The Case of Sepidan Land and Rangeland Restoration in Iran","authors":"Samane Ghazali, Anwar Eziz, Christine Fürst, Khatereh Taheri, Ali Ganiyusufoğlu, Petr Sklenicka, Hossein Azadi","doi":"10.1002/ldr.70854","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.70854","url":null,"abstract":"Land resources provide essential ecosystem services (ESs) that improve welfare, making their conservation. Considering stakeholders' perceptions of the environmental importance of land resources and their desire to participate in the conservation value of these resources. The novelty of this study lies in environmental opinion and desire for participation rangeland in environmental evaluations in Iran. This study aimed to determine administrators' priorities and individuals' preferences for ESs in the Sepidan rangelands, located in Fars province, Iran, and identify the factors influencing individuals' willingness to pay (WTP) for land restoration and the total value of land resources. Data were collected using a semi‐structured questionnaire administered to 11 rangeland experts and natural resources specialists, and 165 households in Sepidan plain. About 33% of administrators prioritized regulating (R) services, while 28% of individuals preferred biodiversity (B) services. Among the various ESs of rangeland and land restoration, economic (E) services had the lowest priority. About 75% of administrators considered explaining the importance of ESs to be effective in persuading individuals to pay for rangeland and land restoration at medium, high, and very high levels. The mean individuals' WTP was assessed to be 124.675 thousand Iranian tomans (US$6.23), while the total value of conserving the Sepidan rangelands was 4985 million Iranian tomans (US$249,250) bid amount, education of the household head, main occupation, income, degradation cause, importance of ESs, and desire for participation were significant factors in individuals' WTP. These findings highlight the importance of incorporating stakeholder perceptions and participation into land restoration policies and valuation studies.","PeriodicalId":203,"journal":{"name":"Land Degradation & Development","volume":"121 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2026-08-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148768305","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}