Environmental Impact Assessment Review最新文献

{"title":"Development and validation of a statistical index for estimating groundwater recharge potential in Brazil","authors":"Lara Mota Corinto ,&nbsp;Samara Martins Barbosa ,&nbsp;Zilmar Divino de Carvalho Júnior ,&nbsp;Leandro Campos Pinto ,&nbsp;Marta Vasconcelos Ottoni ,&nbsp;Junior Cesar Avanzi ,&nbsp;Nilton Curi ,&nbsp;Bruno Montoani Silva","doi":"10.1016/j.eiar.2025.108252","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eiar.2025.108252","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Given global water scarcity and climate change, groundwater represents a viable source of high-quality water, whose recharge potential depends on soil physical quality. This study proposes the Soil Quality Index for Groundwater Recharge Potential (SQIgr), developed for Brazilian soils as a tool to support sustainable land and water management. Eleven physical attributes from the Hydrophysical Database for Brazilian Soils (HYBRAS v.2) were analyzed using Supervised Principal Component Analysis (SPCA) to identify the most influential indicators. Three key attributes were selected to generate the SQIgr: Saturated Soil Hydraulic Conductivity (Kslablog), Drainable Porosity (DP), and Silt content. Two land uses (Agriculture and Forestry) and four soil classes (G2: Acrisols and Lixisols; G4: Ferralsols) were included for validation. SQIgr and the Basic Infiltration Rate (BIRn) showed no significant differences for the Agr_G2 and For_G4 groups. SQIgr values were 0.76 (For_G4), 0.58 (Agr_G4), and 0.50 (Agr_G2) showing that agricultural land use reduced soil quality for recharge, whereas Ferralsols exhibited higher potential, as expected. The spatial feasibility of the index was validated using baseflow contribution. Overall, SQIgr proved to be a useful tool for sustainable watershed management and conservation planning.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":309,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Impact Assessment Review","volume":"118 ","pages":"Article 108252"},"PeriodicalIF":11.2,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145464691","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":"Divergent spatiotemporal interactions between human footprint and ecosystem services: multi-scenario analysis of protected areas and edge zones","authors":"Kai Li ,&nbsp;Wei Wu ,&nbsp;Shiqi Tian ,&nbsp;Zhe Li ,&nbsp;Yufan Wu ,&nbsp;Yue Cao ,&nbsp;Linjuan Li ,&nbsp;Weidong Xiao","doi":"10.1016/j.eiar.2025.108312","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eiar.2025.108312","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Protected areas (PAs) are important for keeping ecosystem services (ESs), yet their effectiveness is increasingly undermined by the expanding human footprint (HF). The interaction between HF and ESs varies across governance gradients surrounding PAs, reflecting differences in human pressure and management intensity. To capture these divergences, we developed an innovative multi-scenario framework that integrates spatial scale, governance gradients, and human-pressure gradients, applied to 447 national PAs in China. Five spatial scenarios were defined to represent a governance continuum, including strictly protected cores (PAs), co-managed edge zones (PAs + 0–5 km and PAs + 0–10 km), and human-dominated edge zones (0–5 km and 0–10 km). Spatiotemporal interactions between HF and four key ESs (habitat quality, carbon storage, soil retention, and water yield) were analyzed from 2000 to 2020 using spatial correlation, coupling coordination, and spatial matching approaches. Results showed that HF intensified over the two decades, with edge zones providing varying buffering for PAs. Water yield in the 0–5 km edge zone showed the strongest spatial correlation with HF, while other ESs correlated most strongly within PAs or their edge zones. Coupling coordination between HF and ESs was generally higher in edge zones than in PAs, and spatial matching revealed more complex dynamics in edge zones. Natural relic PAs exhibited the lowest coordination and unique spatial correlations, while ecosystem and wildlife PAs showed broadly similar coupling and spatial matching patterns. These findings highlight divergent HF and ES interactions along governance and human-pressure gradients and provide insights for evaluating PA effectiveness and improving management across protected and adjacent landscapes<!--> <!-->.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":309,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Impact Assessment Review","volume":"118 ","pages":"Article 108312"},"PeriodicalIF":11.2,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145786718","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":"Lake carbon storage as environmental impact indicator: A multi-decadal assessment framework for evaluating sustainable development pathways","authors":"Zijie Zhang,&nbsp;Yishuai Ma,&nbsp;Jinhui Jeanne Huang","doi":"10.1016/j.eiar.2025.108325","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eiar.2025.108325","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Rapid environmental impact assessment (EIA) of urban development traditionally relies on static indicators that fail to capture cumulative effects and sustainability transitions. We develop an innovative impact assessment framework using dissolved organic carbon (DOC) storage as a sensitive environmental indicator to evaluate the cumulative impacts of economic development policies. Our methodology integrates 36 years (1987–2022) of Landsat-derived chromophoric dissolved organic matter data, lake bathymetry, landscape pattern analysis, and composite socioeconomic indices to quantify column-integrated DOC dynamics in China's Chaohu Lake. The framework reveals that while DOC storage declined overall (−0.065 g m⁻² yr⁻¹), landscape drivers dominated system responses, with grassland degradation (29.5 %) and fragmentation (16.3 %) emerging as primary impact factors. Critically, our Tapio decoupling analysis exposes hidden sustainability trade-offs: long-term strong decoupling between DOC loss and urbanization indices demonstrated “green development” effectiveness, yet rapid industrial restructuring policies (2017–2018) triggered expansive coupling and negative decoupling states, temporarily reversing environmental gains. This methodological advancement transforms EIA from reactive project evaluation to proactive sustainability monitoring, establishing lake carbon storage as a transferable early-warning indicator for policy-environment interactions. The framework enables planners to quantitatively assess whether economic transitions remain within planetary carbon limits while advancing Sustainable Development Goal 11, providing a paradigm shift towards adaptive EIA for sustainable urban development.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":309,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Impact Assessment Review","volume":"118 ","pages":"Article 108325"},"PeriodicalIF":11.2,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145880077","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":"Heterogeneous climate impacts on spring phenology of China's wetlands","authors":"Kaidong Feng ,&nbsp;Dehua Mao ,&nbsp;Xiaofeng Xu ,&nbsp;Haiguang Pu ,&nbsp;Ming Wang ,&nbsp;Duanrui Wang ,&nbsp;Zihan Xing ,&nbsp;Xiapeng Jiang ,&nbsp;Ying Qin ,&nbsp;Hengxing Xiang ,&nbsp;Zongming Wang ,&nbsp;Tim Van de Voorde","doi":"10.1016/j.eiar.2025.108264","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eiar.2025.108264","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>A comprehensive understanding of the spatiotemporal heterogeneity of spring phenology (SOS) in China's wetlands and its climate-driven mechanisms remains unclear. Based on MOD13Q1 NDVI, ERA5-Land, and China_Wetlands datasets, this scientific question was systematically explored using linear regression, partial correlation, and Synergistic-Unique-Redundant Decomposition (SURD) methods. Results showed the multi-year average SOS of China's wetlands occurred on 144.2 ± 16.7 days and advanced by 4.4 ± 6.5 days per decade, with substantial variation across radiation-climate zones and wetland types. Notably, inland swamps within the high radiation with the temperate continental climate zone (HC_IS) exhibited a negative advancement rate of −0.5 ± 7.2 days per decade. SURD analysis provided a new perspective on the climatic response mechanisms of SOS, revealing the important, often-overlooked role of preseason accumulated radiation (Rad). Rad demonstrated a unique causality contribution on SOS changes, particularly in HC_IS, which showed a multi-preseason average increase in information (ΔI) of 0.16. Distinct mechanisms by which Rad affected the preseason accumulated precipitation were identified across radiation-climate zones, especially the unique causality in inland marshes within the extremely high radiation with the plateau mountain climate zone and HC_IS (ΔIs of 0.51 and 0.41). This study offers recommendations to mitigate potential ecological risks, supporting the conservation and sustainable management of China's wetlands.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":309,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Impact Assessment Review","volume":"118 ","pages":"Article 108264"},"PeriodicalIF":11.2,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145569497","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":"Social life cycle assessment of bio-based products from microbiomes: Additives, bioplastics, pigments and hydrogen","authors":"Kurt Ziegler-Rodriguez ,&nbsp;Eva Gonzalez-Flo ,&nbsp;Joan García ,&nbsp;Marianna Garfí","doi":"10.1016/j.eiar.2026.108333","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eiar.2026.108333","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In recent decades, interest in bio-based products from microbiomes has grown significantly, driven by increasing concerns over the sustainability of conventional and chemically derived products. Although significant technical progress has been made, limited awareness and comprehension of their social dimensions persist.</div><div>This study aimed to analyse the social performance of the production of 4 bio-based products for both food and non-food applications (i.e. additives (Exopolysacharides (EPS)), bioplastics (Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA)), pigments (phycobiliproteins) and hydrogen) by means of novel bio-based routes based on microbiomes, using the Social Life Cycle Assessment (S-LCA) methodology. In total, 9 scenarios were considered, combining the sole or the co-production of different bio-products. The stakeholder groups were: workers, consumers, local community, value chain actors and society.</div><div>Results showed that the sole production of bioplastics and hydrogen had the best social performance (total normalised scores up to 2.5 times higher than the other scenarios). It was mainly due to the high acceptance level for consumers and the better performance in terms of public commitment to sustainability issues for society. In particular, the non-food products (bioplastics and hydrogen) seemed to have higher acceptability from consumers and higher interest in terms of regulation and policy development.</div><div>On the whole, all the scenarios showed good performance for workers (health and safety), consumers (quality and performance, acceptability) and the local community (number of jobs generated). More efforts should be made to develop specific regulations and policies (especially for additives and pigments) and implementation at full scale should be boosted to cover the technological development gap.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":309,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Impact Assessment Review","volume":"118 ","pages":"Article 108333"},"PeriodicalIF":11.2,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145972706","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":"Glacier service value changes and adaptive management under cryospheric retreat in the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau","authors":"Xianglong Gao ,&nbsp;Chengpeng Lu ,&nbsp;Qi Feng ,&nbsp;Wei Liu ,&nbsp;Jutao Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.eiar.2025.108259","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eiar.2025.108259","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Glaciers of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP) are vital ecological and economic assets, playing a crucial role in regional ecosystems and socio-economic development. As global warming accelerates cryospheric retreat, it becomes increasingly important to accurately quantify changes in glacier ecosystem services and develop adaptive management strategies. This study focuses on glaciers in the QTP, utilizing data from the First (1978–2002) and Second (2004–2011) Chinese Glacier Inventories, multi-source remote sensing imagery, and socio-economic statistical yearbooks. Employing economic valuation methods such as shadow pricing and market valuation, this study comprehensively quantifies glacier service values in terms of freshwater supply, hydropower generation, climate regulation, runoff regulation, habitat support, aesthetic and recreational value, and scientific research. Additionally, glacier vulnerability across the different basins of the QTP is analyzed through dynamic indicators. The results indicate that the total glacier ecosystem service value on the QTP amounts to approximately 1.34 trillion CNY, with regulatory services accounting for 95.04 %. Compared to the First Glacier Inventory, service values decreased by 22.07 % in the Second Inventory. Service values are higher in the south and west, with the Brahmaputra and Tarim Basins contributing 27.45 % and 26.56 %, respectively. However, rising temperatures and reduced precipitation increase glacier vulnerability, particularly in high-value regions like the Indus Basin, where vulnerability is also influenced by population growth. The findings highlight the urgency of implementing adaptive management strategies, such as glacier disaster risk warning, glacier resource utilization, social participation, and industrial development, to mitigate ecological and economic risks and achieve sustainable regional development. This study provides a comprehensive assessment of glacier service values and vulnerabilities on the QTP, offering a holistic understanding of the impacts of glacier retreat in the region and informing more effective decision-making and management strategies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":309,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Impact Assessment Review","volume":"118 ","pages":"Article 108259"},"PeriodicalIF":11.2,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145518045","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":"Carbon trading in the construction industry: A systematic review and a vigorous impact assessment framework to facilitate implementation","authors":"Ying Liu ,&nbsp;Becky P.Y. Loo","doi":"10.1016/j.eiar.2025.108271","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eiar.2025.108271","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>While carbon trading is considered a promising global market mechanism for promoting the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, it has been underdeveloped in the construction industry. Furthermore, existing studies on carbon trading in construction focus almost exclusively on cutting operational emissions, disregarding embodied carbon (EC) due to challenges in measuring material-side emissions, allocating allowances, and ensuring feasibility. To overcome these barriers, this study systematically analyses the literature and proposes a replicable multi-objective optimisation (MOO) framework that evaluates construction-sector emission trading system (ETS) designs by simultaneously maximising contractor participation, financial viability and EC abatement. Six real-world prototypes (five Chinese pilots plus the EU model) are tested using the case of Hong Kong. With a manageable size of construction contractors and available data on residential and non-residential construction area in Hong Kong, the MOO model allows the regulator to observe how EC benchmarks, fees and penalties affect participation and costs—making the city an ideal pilot ground. Our research findings suggest that a linked-ETS following the Beijing Model with moderate entry fees, high penalties, and transparent pricing could achieve 100 % participation, stable financial returns, moderate increase in construction cost, and effective carbon abatement. Academically, this study presents the first contractor-level optimisation toolkit that integrates EC metrics into emissions-trading design. Methodologically, our MOO framework is fully replicable across regions and construction typologies. To policy makers, this study estimates fees, benchmarks and penalty schedules that regulators can deploy flexibly to link construction to stand-alone or regional ETS to achieve carbon reduction while preserving industry competitiveness.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":309,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Impact Assessment Review","volume":"118 ","pages":"Article 108271"},"PeriodicalIF":11.2,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145614943","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":"Comparative multi-algorithm AI framework for real-time carbon emission optimization in a medium-scale irrigation project in Thailand","authors":"Chiratthawat Mueangphaen ,&nbsp;Wuttipong Kusonkhum ,&nbsp;Kittiwet Kuntiyawichai ,&nbsp;Tanyada Pannachet ,&nbsp;Ratamanee Nuntasarn ,&nbsp;Maetee Boonpichetvong","doi":"10.1016/j.eiar.2025.108276","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eiar.2025.108276","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study develops and validates a real-time carbon monitoring framework that integrates automated meteorological data with operational construction logs to enhance environmental impact assessment (EIA) methodology for tropical infrastructure projects. Leveraging 2332 h of synchronized climate–operational data from a reinforced-concrete sluice gate project in Thailand, the framework addresses critical gaps in carbon governance for medium-scale irrigation construction, a sector underrepresented in current EIA literature yet vital to climate adaptation in emerging economies. Three machine learning models (artificial neural networks, random forest, and extreme gradient boosting) were used to capture complex emission patterns. Under the tested monsoon scenarios, all models achieved high predictive fidelity (R² = 0.997–0.998) with low normalized errors (mean absolute scaled error &lt; 0.05). The framework demonstrated 5 %–30 % potential emission reduction across operational–climatic scenarios, confirming its robustness for tropical infrastructure management and showing robust cross-algorithm consensus. Feature importance analysis highlighted embodied carbon in concrete (59.7 %) and steel reinforcement (24.8 %) as the primary emission sources, while environmental conditions emerged as influential factors. Furthermore, lower embodied‑carbon levels were observed during operational periods under ambient temperatures below 28 °C. The framework facilitates climate-responsive construction planning via real-time emission forecasting, scenario testing, and adaptive resource optimization. A three-tier implementation strategy encompassing climate-adaptive material scheduling, climate-responsive planning, and scenario-based emission testing demonstrates 5 %–30 % reduction potential while accommodating the technological constraints of tropical developing economies. This approach advances EIA methodology from retrospective assessment toward predictive, climate-responsive decision support, offering a scalable framework for integrating real-time carbon management into digital EIA platforms and aiding national net-zero infrastructure goals.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":309,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Impact Assessment Review","volume":"118 ","pages":"Article 108276"},"PeriodicalIF":11.2,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145615028","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":"Toward a transparent life cycle assessment of photovoltaic systems: Addressing regulatory and methodological challenges","authors":"Ilham Ihoume ,&nbsp;Michiel van Noord ,&nbsp;André Augusto","doi":"10.1016/j.eiar.2025.108290","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eiar.2025.108290","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Photovoltaic (PV) systems are central to global decarbonization, but their assessed environmental impacts vary due to inconsistencies in life cycle assessment (LCA) methodologies. These differences hinder comparability and the development of a transparent sustainability framework. To address this issue, this review systematically synthesizes PV LCA studies across five continents. The analysis highlights variations in system boundaries, functional units, data quality, and regulatory frameworks, revealing that methodological coherence is strongly shaped by regional policy and data infrastructure. Europe, supported by stringent regulations and localized inventories, demonstrates high methodological alignment. In contrast, Africa and Latin America face major data gaps, with over 90 % of studies relying on non local inventories, creating uncertainty in the results. Building on these findings, this study proposes key harmonization strategies, including enhanced transparency, the adoption of standardized guidelines such as IEA PVPS Task 12, and the targeted development of regional life cycle inventory databases. These measures provide policymakers, industry, and researchers with a practical framework to strengthen the reliability and comparability of PV sustainability assessments, supporting solar energy's role in a low carbon future. Future research should prioritize the expansion of localized datasets and the integration of dynamic LCA approaches to capture rapid technological evolution and circular economy principles.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":309,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Impact Assessment Review","volume":"118 ","pages":"Article 108290"},"PeriodicalIF":11.2,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145680831","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":"Revealing the nonlinear effects of traditional rural streetscape features on visual quality based on the XGBoost-SHAP model","authors":"Lanhong Ren ,&nbsp;Wei Xiong ,&nbsp;Jie Li ,&nbsp;Aihemaiti Namaiti ,&nbsp;Jie Zhuang","doi":"10.1016/j.eiar.2025.108282","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eiar.2025.108282","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In the context of a global trend emphasizing livable environments and cultural heritage preservation, the “internal–external imbalance” in the visual quality of traditional village streetscapes has become a bottleneck constraining the development of China's “Beautiful and Livable Countryside”. Current research on rural streetscape features fails to effectively integrate neurocognitive mechanisms with local cultural attributes. Furthermore, its reliance on linear models limits the capture of complex nonlinear relationships. This study takes She Village, a traditional village in the rapidly urbanizing Yangtze River Delta region of China, as a case study. We established an indicator system comprising 23 streetscape features by integrating neurocognitive mechanisms and local cultural attributes. This indicator system adheres to the principles of human visual processing, offering a theoretical foundation for streetscape feature selection. We compared an Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) linear model with five machine learning models and selected XGBoost model. This study uncovered nonlinear mechanisms underlying the effect of streetscape features on visual quality in traditional rural contexts, which differ from predominantly urban-focused studies. We further constructed the “dual-hierarchy” theory of streetscape visual quality. The findings demonstrate: The dominant factors affecting rural streetscape visual quality are, in sequence, culture, building, coordination of style, green, road, fence, streetlight, and color diversity. This confirms the critical role of cultural attributes in rural visual quality. It reveals threshold effects and interaction effects that influence the visual quality of rural streetscapes, which differ from those in urban areas. The thresholds for diminishing marginal benefits of green and road elements are 0.1 and 0.05, respectively. Building view index has a critical threshold at 0.6; beyond this value, its effect on visual quality shifts from positive to negative. Cultural attributes (coordination of style and culture) interact with building, green, Std-depth, and sky. Based on k-means clustering, we formulated targeted, precise improvement strategies for traditional villages focusing on optimizing streetscape configuration, emphasizing cultural characteristics, and strengthening threshold control. This study provides a reference method for identifying and optimizing rural streetscape visual quality in other regions, promoting the sustainable development of rural human settlements.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":309,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Impact Assessment Review","volume":"118 ","pages":"Article 108282"},"PeriodicalIF":11.2,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145681524","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}