{"title":"Windfarm construction alters soil multinutrient cycling by destabilizing microfauna community in a mountain ecosystem.","authors":"Debao Li, Changwei Ma, Chunyu Yue, Na Lin, Yingmo Zhu, Jianping Wu","doi":"10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.123758","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.123758","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In recent decades, investors attracted to wind power's promise of zero-emission electricity have fueled the proliferation of large windfarms across the world. However, the effects of windfarm construction with different land use subtypes (i.e., wind turbine, waste slag, and construction production and living areas) on soil microfauna community stability and subsequent consequences for ecosystem functioning remains poorly understood. Here, we evaluated how these three land use types affect soil microfauna community stability relative to natural vegetation types (forest, shrubland, and grassland) in a mountain area. We found that all three windfarm land use subtypes reduced soil multinutrient cycling and microfauna community stability compared with natural ecosystems. However, among these natural ecosystems, reductions of soil multinutrient cycling were 66.36% and 79.10% lower in grassland than in forest and shrubland, respectively. Reductions of soil nematode community stability were 62.15% and 77.22% lower in grassland than in forest and shrubland; as well as soil protist community stability were 74.01% and 56.74%, respectively. Interspecific interactions and environmental filtering jointly drove variation in soil microfauna community stability. Soil microfauna community stability was significantly and positively linked to soil multinutrient cycling, which has the potential to initiate cascading ecological consequences. Our finding implies that grasslands may be more suitable than shrublands or forests for windfarm development based on the responses of soil microfauna communities.</p>","PeriodicalId":356,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Environmental Management","volume":"373 ","pages":"123758"},"PeriodicalIF":8.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142851951","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":"Sharing demand information in competing supply chains with greening efforts.","authors":"Abdul Quadir, Alok Raj, Cyril R H Foropon","doi":"10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.123626","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.123626","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This study considers a supply chain model wherein the retailers have private information about demand and the manufacturers undertake greening efforts. First, we consider a base model with one manufacturer and retailer to analyze the manufacturer's greening decisions under demand information sharing. Then, we extend the model by considering two competing supply chains, each comprising one manufacturer and one retailer. Using game theory, we examine the greening decisions and impacts of competition on the supply chain, considering both Cournot (quantity) and Bertrand (price) competition. Our results suggest that information sharing improves the greening level on the one hand and distorts the wholesale price upward in response to an accurate demand signal on the other hand. We show that information sharing is most likely to occur if the manufacturer is efficient in greening efforts in both Cournot and Bertrand competition. We find that (a) Bertrand (Cournot) competition with information sharing leads to higher (lower) equilibrium greening levels in the supply chain; (b) The equilibrium greening level of the products decreases in Cournot while increases in Bertrand competition; (c) The equilibrium greening level is higher in Bertrand than Cournot under information sharing. Past literature on information sharing suggests that full information sharing reduces consumer surplus and social welfare. Contrary to this result, we show that it depends on competition mode. With intense competition, consumer surplus and social welfare are higher in Bertrand competition in full information sharing than in no information sharing. Our results provide novel insights into how the mode of competition impacts the greening effort by sharing demand information in competing supply chains.</p>","PeriodicalId":356,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Environmental Management","volume":"373 ","pages":"123626"},"PeriodicalIF":8.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142851785","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}
Makhosazana Masuku, Jemal Fito Nure, Harrison I Atagana, Ntuthuko Hlongwa, Thabo T I Nkambule
{"title":"The development of multifunctional biochar with NiFe<sub>2</sub>O<sub>4</sub> for the adsorption of Cd (II) from water systems: The kinetics, thermodynamics, and regeneration.","authors":"Makhosazana Masuku, Jemal Fito Nure, Harrison I Atagana, Ntuthuko Hlongwa, Thabo T I Nkambule","doi":"10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.123705","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.123705","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>High concentrations of Cd (II) in wastewater have been reported several times which attracted top research attention to mitigate the pollution impacts of the contaminant. Therefore, this study aimed to develop a Zn-doped NiFe<sub>2</sub>O<sub>4</sub><sup>-</sup> pinecone biochar composite (ZNiF@PB) for the adsorption of Cd (II) from wastewater. FTIR confirmed immobilization of PB on the surface of ZNiF by the presence of C = O at 1638 cm<sup>-1</sup>, COOH at 1385 cm<sup>-1</sup>, C-O at 1009 cm<sup>-1</sup> and Fe-O at 756 cm<sup>-1</sup>. Similarly, XRD determined the crystallite structure of the adsorbents where the ZNiF crystallite size of 43 nm was obtained while the particle size of ZNiF@PB was found to be 38 nm. These XRD results agreed with those values obtained from TEM images showing ZNiF and ZNiF@PB had a spherical shape with similar particle sizes. On the other hand, the surface areas of ZNiF, PB, and ZNiF@PB were found to be 78.4 m<sup>2</sup>/g, 125 m<sup>2</sup>/g, and 104 m<sup>2</sup>/g, respectively. These high surface areas have a huge potential to enhance Cd removal. With these adsorbents, the maximum Cd (II) adsorption of 96% was recorded at the optimum experimental condition of adsorbent dosage 0.5g/50 mL, solution pH 6, initial Cd (II) concentration 100 mg/L, and contact time 120 min. Practical adsorption kinetics data were well described by the pseudo-second order model whereas the adsorption isotherm was a perfect fit to the Langmuir isothermal model implying the adsorption process to be a monolayer with mainly a chemically bonded mechanism. In conclusion, this adsorbent is efficient for the adsorption of Cd (II) from wastewater and has also a huge potential to be applied for industrial-scale water purification.</p>","PeriodicalId":356,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Environmental Management","volume":"373 ","pages":"123705"},"PeriodicalIF":8.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142851933","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":"Forging new pathways: How farmland abandonment affects decision-making of non-grain production - Insight from China's mountainous areas.","authors":"Hengfei Song, Xiubin Li, Liangjie Xin, Xue Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.123753","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.123753","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The shift in crop growth in rural households towards non-grain crops is a focus of concern in China's grain security. Land allocation decisions by rural households to abandon farmland can affect crop growth decisions. Prior studies on the relationship between farmland abandonment and rural households' crop growing decisions have been insufficient. This study presents a theoretical framework that encompasses land, labor force, and capital. Using unique survey data from 2448 rural households in China's mountainous areas, we employ an endogenous switching regression model for empirical estimation. The findings demonstrate that farmland abandonment significantly promoted rural households to grow grain crops on their remaining farmland. If rural households had not abandoned their farmland, the crop acreage used for growing non-grain crops would have increased by 16.4%. The effects of abandonment on non-grain production decision-making vary based on per capita farmland area, farmland transfer, and agricultural social services. Furthermore, farmland abandonment by rural households affects decision-making regarding non-grain production by adjusting the agricultural labor force supply. Thus, under policies such as farmland protection and food security, it is necessary to balance the goals of replanting abandoned farmland and preventing non-grain crop growth in mountainous areas, with a focus on enhancing the level of mechanization.</p>","PeriodicalId":356,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Environmental Management","volume":"373 ","pages":"123753"},"PeriodicalIF":8.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142851846","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":"Impact of legal commitments on carbon intensity: A multi-country perspective.","authors":"Zhicheng Zhou, Shen Zhong","doi":"10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.123696","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.123696","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>High carbon intensity (CI) contributes to climate change, hindering the achievement of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal 13 (SDG13). National legal commitments (LC) to reduce carbon emissions can mitigate this obstacle. This study identifies 32 countries with LC to carbon reduction as the treatment group and countries with commitments at other levels (e.g., policy statements) as the control group. Using panel data from 143 countries between 2006 and 2022, the study employs a Difference-in-Differences with multiple time periods (DID-MTP) model to examine the impact of LC on CI. The results indicate that countries with LC achieved a significant 7.3% reduction in CI, a finding that remains consistent across various robustness tests. Furthermore, LC contribute to the reduction of CI by lowering energy intensity, promoting technological innovation, and enhancing the industrial structure upgrading. The impact of LC on CI shows substantial heterogeneity across countries, operating through multiple mechanisms that reflect differentiated pathways of influence. Lastly, LC have also proven effective in reducing the emissions of other pollutants, such as CO2, CH4, and N2O. This research provides empirical support for global climate governance and offers valuable insights for nations in formulating and implementing effective carbon reduction policies.</p>","PeriodicalId":356,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Environmental Management","volume":"373 ","pages":"123696"},"PeriodicalIF":8.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142851847","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":"Synergistic effects of heterogeneous mature compost and aeration rate on humification and nitrogen fixing during kitchen waste composting.","authors":"Changqing Liu, Haimin Li, Ji-Qin Ni, Guihua Zhuo, Qingyi Zhang, Yuyi Zheng, Guangyin Zhen","doi":"10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.123743","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.123743","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Sludge mature compost (SMC) is notable for its high production, easy accessibility, and stable supply. This study investigated the impact of the SMC addition and different aeration rates on the humification and nitrogen fixing process during kitchen waste composting. The results demonstrated that addition of SMC prolonged the thermophilic phase, as a comparison, increased aeration shortened this phase. The addition of SMC and increased aeration enhanced humus formation and nitrogen retention. SMC introduced more amide and polysaccharide compounds into the compost, promoting the Maillard humification pathway. Additionally, both SMC and high aeration inhibited denitrification: the SMC reduced the abundance of the nirK gene, while high aeration decreased the abundance of nosZ gene. Network analysis revealed that higher aeration enhanced fungal interactions but diminished bacterial interactions. Conversely, SMC addition bolstered both bacterial and fungal interactions. The final compost product with SMC addition showed a 11.56%-44.19% reduction in antibiotic resistance gene content compared with the control group, and heavy metal contents remained within safe application limits. The combination of high SMC addition and high aeration achieved optimal humification and nitrogen retention, underscoring its potential as a promising solution for kitchen waste composting.</p>","PeriodicalId":356,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Environmental Management","volume":"373 ","pages":"123743"},"PeriodicalIF":8.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142851918","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}
Kalidas Mainali, Majher I Sarker, Brajendra K Sharma, Mohammad Mezbah Ui Hoque, Yinglei Han, Charles A Mullen, Manuel Garcia-Perez
{"title":"Thermal treatment and densification of manure and biomass blends to produce stabilized soil amendments.","authors":"Kalidas Mainali, Majher I Sarker, Brajendra K Sharma, Mohammad Mezbah Ui Hoque, Yinglei Han, Charles A Mullen, Manuel Garcia-Perez","doi":"10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.123594","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.123594","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Land application of dairy manure is the most common practice for disposal of this waste. Agricultural fields surrounding concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) often have high levels of N and P because of manure over-application. However, its low bulk density limits the amount of manure that can be profitably transported for use as fuel or fertilizer. As an alternative, selective carbonization can be used to create densified-stabilized N-containing products that can be delivered to regions with low soil N and P contents. This research reports developing a biomass (Douglas fir)/manure thermally treated product containing a maximum fraction of N integrated into the biochar structure. Response Surface Methodology (RSM) was used to identify processing conditions resulting in high C and N conversion efficiencies. Experimental results show maximum N conversion efficiencies were achieved at Douglas fir contents higher than 50 wt % and temperatures close to 260 °C. H<sub>3</sub>PO<sub>4</sub> levels at 2 wt % seems to be sufficient to catalyze the desired reactions. The KOH treatment did not significantly affect product yield and the efficiency of C and N conversion. The structural strength of densified char was evaluated using dynamic rheometric (amplitude sweep test).</p>","PeriodicalId":356,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Environmental Management","volume":"373 ","pages":"123594"},"PeriodicalIF":8.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142851935","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":"Unraveling asymmetrical spillover effects originating from China's green finance markets: Insights from asymmetric TVP-VAR and interpretable machine learning.","authors":"Ditian Zhang, Chun Tang, Pan Tang","doi":"10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.123463","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.123463","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This study combines an asymmetric TVP-VAR model with interpretable machine learning algorithms to confirm the presence of asymmetries in spillover effects within China's green finance market and to identify the macroeconomic drivers behind these effects. The key findings are as follows: First, China's green finance market has become a prominent transmitter of energy risk spillovers, with a significant asymmetry in its external effects-negative return spillovers exceed positive ones. This asymmetry is especially evident during extreme events like the 2014 oil price crash and the COVID-19 pandemic, indicating that investors in this market are more responsive to negative news. Second, using interpretable machine learning models, we identify the macroeconomic factors that significantly impact spillover effects in the green finance market, with Economic Policy Uncertainty and the U.S. Energy Price Index standing out as particularly influential. Third, while the drivers of positive and negative spillovers differ, their directional impact is consistent across both. These insights are crucial for investors aiming to diversify portfolios and for policymakers managing risks in asymmetric market conditions.</p>","PeriodicalId":356,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Environmental Management","volume":"373 ","pages":"123463"},"PeriodicalIF":8.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142851941","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":"Is more not always better? Untangling the impact of ESG disclosure transparency on idiosyncratic risk.","authors":"Jia Ren, Kee-Hung Lai, Shuo Shan, Jianxin You","doi":"10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.123648","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.123648","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Environmental, social and governance (ESG) increasingly impacts firms' risk management and investment decisions. Based on instrumental stakeholder theory, this study uses data from Chinese-listed manufacturing firms from 2013 to 2021 to examine the relationship between ESG disclosure transparency and idiosyncratic risk (IR). Artificial intelligence (AI) intellectual property protection and institutional investor distraction are incorporated as moderating variables in examining this relationship. Our empirical results indicate that ESG disclosure transparency lowers IR initially. However, once a certain threshold is reached, ESG disclosure transparency commences to increase IR, showing a U-shaped relationship. Furthermore, this study verifies that AI intellectual property protection shifts the turning point of the U-shaped curve to the right and steepens the U-shaped link by strengthening the positive impact of ESG disclosure transparency. AI intellectual property protection thus has a complementary role to ESG disclosure transparency about the effect on IR. In contrast, institutional investor distraction shifts the U-shaped curve to the left. It flattens the U-shaped curve by weakening the positive effect of ESG disclosure transparency, demonstrating that institutional investor distraction takes on a substitution role to ESG disclosure transparency regarding its effect on IR. Managerial implications and future research avenues are also discussed.</p>","PeriodicalId":356,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Environmental Management","volume":"373 ","pages":"123648"},"PeriodicalIF":8.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142862790","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":"Balanced hydropower and ecological benefits in reservoir-river-lake system: An integrated framework with machine learning and game theory.","authors":"Shuangjun Liu, Xiang Fu, Yu Li, Xuefeng Chu","doi":"10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.123746","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.123746","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The negative impacts of large hydroelectric reservoirs on downstream ecosystems have attracted worldwide attention. Few attempts have been made to dynamically predict ecological benefits and rationally negotiation in the reservoir-river-lake (RRL) system. This study addresses these gaps by developing an integrated framework with machine learning and game theory to balanced hydropower and ecological benefits. The proposed framework integrated the RRL system simulation with a bargaining model, utilizing a machine learning model to forecast lake levels and the equivalent factor method to assess downstream ecosystem service values (ESV). The study evaluated the framework's generalizability and accuracy by applying random and actual runoff series within the Three Gorges Reservoir to the Dongting Lake region. The 2022 mega-drought case study revealed that the Nash equilibrium operation could simultaneously enhance hydropower generation (7.55%) and ecological benefits (20.00%). Notably, ESV improvements of 61.58% during the post-flood season and 36.07% during the dry season underscored the framework's effectiveness in elevating the ecological benefits. The comparison with traditional multi-objective optimization showed that the proposed framework provided reliable and acceptable solutions for decision-makers. The dynamic weight change elucidates the intricate interactions between economic and ecological benefits, enabling a nuanced adjustment of the single weights in the traditional framework. In addition to enhancing the theoretical framework, the Nash equilibrium solutions also showed positive effects on the carbon cycle, plant growth, and animal habitats in Dongting Lake, further highlighting the practical significance. This research offers a practical management tool for reconciling the conflict in an RRL integrated system, providing theoretical and practical insights into sustainable environment and ecosystem management.</p>","PeriodicalId":356,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Environmental Management","volume":"373 ","pages":"123746"},"PeriodicalIF":8.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142851674","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}