{"title":"Non-linear responses and critical thresholds of human well-being to ecosystem services across land-use intensities in urbanizing areas","authors":"Runmiao Zhu , Zheyi Xia , Fachao Liang , Chengcheng Yuan , Liming Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.eiar.2025.107921","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eiar.2025.107921","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Human well-being (HWB) cannot be sustained without ecosystem services (ESs). While many studies have explored the complex relationship between ESs and HWB, few have focused on their non-linear relationships and threshold effects, and how these vary under different land-use intensities. This study quantified and mapped ESs and HWB from 2000 to 2020 in the Xiamen-Zhangzhou-Quanzhou area in China. To examine how each ES contributed to HWB and their variation across land-use intensities, the random forest was employed. Restricted cubic splines were applied to identify non-linear relationships and critical thresholds, examining how these relationships changed with varying land-use intensity. The findings show that among different ESs, grain production had the greatest impact on HWB throughout the entire area, as well as in both areas with low and high land-use intensities. ESs and HWB had a significant variation of relationships, most of which displayed non-linear patterns and threshold effects. Many associations followed an inverted “U” shape, with a maximum threshold. The non-linear relationship between ESs and HWB differed across land-use intensities. It is manifest mostly from a significant nonlinear relationship in the low land-use intensity areas to a non-significant one in the high land-use intensity areas. HWB was less dependent on local ESs in areas with high land-use intensity than low land-use intensity, revealing a social-ecological system archetype of change. Critical threshold identification of how ESs and HWB interact can help guide social-ecological systems toward sustainable development.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":309,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Impact Assessment Review","volume":"114 ","pages":"Article 107921"},"PeriodicalIF":9.8,"publicationDate":"2025-03-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143687621","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The multi-dimensional assessment and dynamic evolution of the energy trilemma in China","authors":"Tie Wei, Zhicheng Duan, Pin Xie","doi":"10.1016/j.eiar.2025.107914","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eiar.2025.107914","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Global energy dynamics are currently undergoing a critical transition toward low-carbon systems while maintaining high-quality development standards. However, this transition is hindered by the “energy trilemma,” which illustrates the inherent conflict between energy equity, security, and environmental sustainability. This study investigates the dynamics of this trilemma across spatiotemporal contexts, focusing on China, a country grappling with regional disparities in energy development. Through a multi-dimensional assessment, strategic countermeasures are discussed to mitigate the challenges posed by the energy trilemma. Key findings: (1) China's coordinated energy development remained low (0.4–0.5) from 2001 to 2021, with growth decelerating after surpassing the 0.5 coordination index threshold. (2) Energy equity, leading 57 % of provinces to 83 %, along with a decline in provinces lagging in environmental sustainability from 7 to 2 drove China's transition from nearly disordered to barely coordinated levels. (3) The spatial pattern remained uniform until 2015, with changes in environmental sustainability and security shaping regional characteristics from 2015 to 2021. (4) Under non-spatial conditions, provinces below 0.25 improved to 0.3–0.35 within three years. Static conditions showed positive spillovers, with neighbors above 0.6 reaching 0.55–0.6. In dynamic conditions, regional disparities appeared (5) Projections show strong internal stability by 2025, but the probability of disordered provinces advancing increases from 34.4 % to 61.9 % by 2030, while transition provinces reaching coordinated growth rises from 21.4 % to 39.8 %.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":309,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Impact Assessment Review","volume":"114 ","pages":"Article 107914"},"PeriodicalIF":9.8,"publicationDate":"2025-03-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143687620","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Deriving forest cover rates from map sources: A contribution to official statistics and environmental reporting","authors":"Alessia D'Agata , Piermaria Corona , Luca Salvati","doi":"10.1016/j.eiar.2025.107920","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eiar.2025.107920","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>While forest statistics are currently released at NUTS-1 (macro-regions) or NUTS-2 (administrative regions) levels, advancements in remote sensing technology may improve their accuracy at smaller spatial units. To explore the potential contribution of remote sensing in downscaling forest cover rates to finer administrative levels, we run a quantitative analysis of the statistical relationship between selected indicators of forest cover derived from 16 independent (wall-to-wall) map-sources and 4 probabilistic sampling surveys (land cover/forest inventories) with the aim at verifying the consistency of their statistical distribution at the regional scale in Italy. The empirical results indicate that, given current technological capabilities and the standard land cover classifications used in each survey, only a limited number of map-based (local-scale) sources align with official sampling sources provided at large (regional) scale. Specifically, indicators from EFI, FAO, FROM, JRCLU and the JRC20 dataset exhibit compatibility with EFI and JRCLU, standing out as particularly reliable for spatial downscaling of sample-based forest indicators, being not affected by the Modifiable Areal Unit Problem. Forest cover rates derived from these sources can serve as valuable ancillary variables in spatial downscaling procedures of official (sample-based) forest estimates provided at a large scale, thus representing a reliable source of information for the routine production of official statistics at the level of small-area administrative units.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":309,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Impact Assessment Review","volume":"114 ","pages":"Article 107920"},"PeriodicalIF":9.8,"publicationDate":"2025-03-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143687618","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Beyond mining: A pioneer attempt to assessing lead exposure risks in Nigeria","authors":"Gift Fabolude, Charles Knoble, Anvy Vu, Danlin Yu","doi":"10.1016/j.eiar.2025.107923","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eiar.2025.107923","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Lead exposure persists as a critical public health challenge in Nigeria, with potential sources far more diverse and widespread than the well-documented artisanal mining activities. This study presents a pioneer and novel approach to assessing lead exposure risks across Nigeria's states through the development of a Lead Exposure Index. Utilizing road density, aerosol optical depth, poverty, and Google Trends data, we employed Principal Component Analysis to create a screening tool. The index reveals a complex landscape of lead exposure risks, with urban centers like Lagos and the Federal Capital Territory emerging as high-risk areas alongside northern states. This pattern underscores the role of urbanization, historical development, and environmental factors in shaping exposure risks. Temporal analysis of Google Trends data highlights a spike in public interest following the 2010 Zamfara crisis, followed by a rapid decline, emphasizing the need for sustained awareness campaigns. While the unavailability of direct lead exposure data, such as elevated blood lead levels, limits validation, our index provides a valuable foundation for identifying potential hotspots and guiding intervention efforts. The study recommends implementing nationwide blood lead level testing, developing targeted interventions for high-risk areas, enhancing regulations on lead-based products, and conducting community-level studies. This methodology offers a pioneer screening assessment for lead exposure risk in developing countries facing similar data constraints, contributing to the broader effort of protecting vulnerable populations from lead poisoning.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":309,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Impact Assessment Review","volume":"114 ","pages":"Article 107923"},"PeriodicalIF":9.8,"publicationDate":"2025-03-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143687613","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yiting Yang , Yuxin Zhang , Yi Zhang , Dongfang Guo , He Xu
{"title":"Comprehensive assessment of the environmental impacts of China's new energy industry policy from life cycle perspective","authors":"Yiting Yang , Yuxin Zhang , Yi Zhang , Dongfang Guo , He Xu","doi":"10.1016/j.eiar.2025.107916","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eiar.2025.107916","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The new energy industry offers significant environmental benefits and plays a pivotal role in addressing climate change and achieving sustainable development goals. However, research on the potential negative environmental impacts of the new energy industry from the policy level remains limited. To bridge this gap, this study integrates the quantitative evaluation method into the identification phase of policy environmental impact to comprehensively assess the environmental effects of China's new energy industry policy. The results indicate that the new energy industry predominantly exerts negative impacts on atmospheric, water, and soil environments, as well as on human health. Among atmospheric indicators, PM<sub>2.5</sub> is particularly affected. Using Sichuan Province as a case study, a life cycle assessment reveals that the production phase accounts for over 80 % of the total environmental impact on atmospheric and water quality. A well-designed recycling strategy can significantly mitigate these negative effects. The results underscore the need to optimize the power generation structure and the layout of the new energy industry, as well as enhance the green production and recycling of lithium iron phosphate batteries. This study offers a novel approach and empirical reference for quantifying policy environmental impacts.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":309,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Impact Assessment Review","volume":"114 ","pages":"Article 107916"},"PeriodicalIF":9.8,"publicationDate":"2025-03-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143687617","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"To uncover economic losses and mitigation benefits of agricultural water scarcity by considering water availability, quality, and efficiency in China's largest dryland River Basin","authors":"Zhonggui Lu , Youran Li , Wei Li","doi":"10.1016/j.eiar.2025.107924","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eiar.2025.107924","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Water scarcity constrains agricultural production and leads to significant economic losses. However, existing water scarcity risk (WSR) assessments often overlook the combined effects of water availability, quality, and efficiency, as well as potential mitigation benefits. This study develops an integrated assessment framework that incorporates these factors to evaluate agricultural WSR in the Yellow River Basin, a critical grain-producing region in China. The framework quantifies both direct economic losses in agriculture and indirect impacts on non-agricultural sectors through intercity trade, while also estimating mitigation benefits. Results show that insufficient water quality significantly amplifies economic losses, reaching 1189.9 billion CNY, compared to 391.0 billion CNY when only water quantity is considered. Key supply chain sectors, including food and tobacco processing, chemicals, and textiles, account for 56.6 % of total indirect agricultural WSR exports. Among mitigation measures, improving water quality and water-use efficiency reduces economic losses by 72.5 billion CNY and 53.2 billion CNY, respectively. Meanwhile, utilizing mine water in coal-rich regions and reclaimed water in urban centers can significantly reduce economic losses, with Ordos and Qingdao experiencing reductions of 75.4 % and 39.1 %, respectively. This framework provides a comprehensive approach to agricultural water management, integrating economic loss estimation with mitigation benefits to support sustainable water resource management.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":309,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Impact Assessment Review","volume":"114 ","pages":"Article 107924"},"PeriodicalIF":9.8,"publicationDate":"2025-03-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143687619","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The role of urban built environments in the perception of safety: A systematic review","authors":"Tong Qin, Nico Van de Weghe, Haosheng Huang","doi":"10.1016/j.eiar.2025.107915","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eiar.2025.107915","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11 explicitly aims to make cities and human settlements safe. Perception of safety in urban environments significantly impacts daily activities, travel behavior, social interactions, and mental well-being. Existing literature shows that, in addition to individual and social characteristics, urban built environment characteristics significantly influence the perceptions of safety. We conduct a systematic review of the relationship between built environments and perceptions of safety in urban settings. Specifically, we propose a conceptual framework to categorize the context and settings of existing studies on the perception of safety in urban environments along five dimensions: What is perceived? Where is it perceived? When is it perceived? Who perceives it? And How is it perceived? A taxonomy is also designed to categorize the diverse characteristics of the urban environment in these studies. Our results reveal that the experimental design, analytical methods and empirical findings of these studies are diverse depending on their specific contexts. Based on the review, we further identify key research challenges in three aspects: experimental settings, analytical methods, and contribution of the built environment. Our findings not only advance theoretical understanding but also offer practical guidance for creating safer, more inclusive, and sustainable urban environments.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":309,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Impact Assessment Review","volume":"114 ","pages":"Article 107915"},"PeriodicalIF":9.8,"publicationDate":"2025-03-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143644694","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Transmission risks of airborne respiratory infectious disease and their influencing factors in and around urban outdoor recreational spaces","authors":"Yuxuan Zhou , Shenjing He","doi":"10.1016/j.eiar.2025.107919","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eiar.2025.107919","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Outdoor recreational spaces (ORSs) are essential for promoting urban residents' wellbeing and developing resilient and healthy communities. However, a nuanced understanding of the risks and risk factors associated with airborne respiratory infectious diseases in the environments surrounding various types of ORSs is lacking. This leaves an uncharted question regarding how to plan and manage ORSs and their surrounding communities to lower their infectious risks while maintaining urban residents' well-being during the disease outbreaks. Utilizing multisource data and employing the spatial error model (SEM) and geographic random forest (GRF) model, we propose a novel framework, taking COVID-19 pandemic as an example, to assess the infectious risks and identify risk factors in the environments surrounding ORSs in Hong Kong. Our findings show that communities surrounding parks, sports grounds, and plazas exhibited relatively low risks, while those surrounding playgrounds, children's playgrounds, and rest gardens experienced high risks. In addition, built environments contain more important risk factors influencing infectious risks than the social environments. Meanwhile, infectious risks may be influenced by multiple environmental factors that exhibited spatial variations. The findings provide pointers for spatial planning and the managing of OSRs in response to future respiratory infectious disease outbreaks.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":309,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Impact Assessment Review","volume":"114 ","pages":"Article 107919"},"PeriodicalIF":9.8,"publicationDate":"2025-03-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143644696","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Impact of cadmium risk communication on household cadmium reduction technology adoption: Evidence from a randomized controlled trial in China","authors":"Junjie Shao , Lei Lei , Li Zhou","doi":"10.1016/j.eiar.2025.107918","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eiar.2025.107918","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Heavy metal contamination is a significant threat to food safety and human health in China. A stratified randomized controlled trial was conducted in rice-growing areas in China to examine how different communication modes of soil cadmium contamination information affect smallholder household producers' adoption of cadmium reduction technology. The study finds that none of the three information intervention methods (manual, short message service, and combination) have significant effects on adopting cadmium reduction technology of smallholder households. Furthermore, the living environment of households is identified as a key threshold for effective information intervention. The manual intervention is more effective in promoting technology adoption of smallholder households living in cadmium risk areas. In addition, online social media and offline communication with village cadres can help strengthen the positive effects of three information intervention methods in cadmium risk areas. These findings suggest that low-cost information interventions are not always effective; the effectiveness of information interventions is affected by the living environment. Thus, low-cost information campaigns can help facilitate pollution control in cadmium risk areas.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":309,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Impact Assessment Review","volume":"114 ","pages":"Article 107918"},"PeriodicalIF":9.8,"publicationDate":"2025-03-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143644695","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Megan C. Ferguson , Kathryn A. Williams , M. Wing Goodale , Evan M. Adams , Paul Knaga , Katrien Kingdon , Stephanie Avery-Gomm
{"title":"A flexible framework for species-based regional cumulative effects assessments to support offshore wind energy planning and management","authors":"Megan C. Ferguson , Kathryn A. Williams , M. Wing Goodale , Evan M. Adams , Paul Knaga , Katrien Kingdon , Stephanie Avery-Gomm","doi":"10.1016/j.eiar.2025.107912","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eiar.2025.107912","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Offshore wind energy development (OWED) is pivotal for renewable energy transition and climate resiliency. However, OWED activities may negatively affect wildlife, contributing to cumulative effects (CE) from human activities and natural processes. Cumulative effects assessments (CEAs) are vital for informed planning and management of OWED activities during regional assessment, site selection, and site evaluation phases. To reduce impacts on wildlife, OWEDs should be sited in areas that avoid or minimize CE. We present a flexible, species-based framework to assess CE from OWED activities and other pressures, supporting decision-making in early planning phases. The framework uses a species-based approach, applicable to various wildlife receptors (i.e., species or populations), and adapts to available information on ecology, socioeconomics, and pressures. The analytical strategy uses a CE metric to indicate the presence or magnitude of effects from all pressures on receptors. Spatially explicit optimization methods identify OWED site configurations that minimize a CE metric. The framework accommodates alternative pressure scenarios that include foreseeable future human activities and natural processes and can explore the sensitivity of the results to uncertain parameters. Given sufficient spatial information on receptor density, pressure magnitude, and cause-effect pathways, the spatial optimization algorithm can find solutions that minimize species- or population-level impacts from CE. If this ideal standard cannot be achieved due to information gaps, alternative metrics may be used to inform the immediate decision-making process. This framework offers a practical approach for balancing renewable energy goals with wildlife conservation, even when information is incomplete.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":309,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Impact Assessment Review","volume":"114 ","pages":"Article 107912"},"PeriodicalIF":9.8,"publicationDate":"2025-03-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143644697","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}