Hidden challenges behind ecosystem services improvement claims.

Substantial evidence indicates that China's afforestation statistically contributed to the ecosystem services (ES) improvement. However, we found the potential challenges behind this improvement, especially in water-limited areas. We propose an attribution analysis method, which can assess the specific contribution of natural, human and cognition degree drivers to ES dynamics.

Current Status and Potential Assessment of China's Ocean Carbon Sinks.

The role of ocean carbon sinks in global climate change mitigation and carbon neutrality is still affected by lack of research. Aiming at overcoming the present limitations, a comprehensive and holistic framework and accounting method of ocean carbon sink evaluation are proposed in this study, which consider both carbon sink types and their characteristic carbon storage cycle timescales. The results show that (1) China's total ocean carbon sink is 69.

Energy constrains to increasing complexity in the biosphere.

Thirty years ago, the systems ecologist Howard T. Odum introduced the concept of transformity, which is a thermodynamic measure of quality within the trial and error evolutionary dynamics of ecosystems, namely an indicator of rank in the hierarchical system structure of the biosphere. Based on a global database of individual processes and whole economies, this paper extends, refines, and updates Odum's idea, demonstrating the strength of the postulated relation.

Ecosystem restoration programs challenges under climate and land use change.

Ecological restoration programs have significantly contributed to the improvement of ecosystem services in the past two decades. However, due to climate change and rapid land use change, planning and management of ecosystem services restoration programs are still challenging, particularly how to identify and quantify the specific contribution of natural and human drivers of ecosystem services dynamics, how to assess and simulate the integrated impacts of climate-land use change interactions on changes in ecosystem services, insufficient simulation of mid- and long-term impacts of different ecological restoration programs, and lack of identification of ecological restoration thresholds. To overcome the challenges, we propose a new framework for restoring ecosystem services programs as potential solutions to the challenges.

Monitoring Cyanobacterial Blooms during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Campania, Italy: The Case of Lake Avernus.

Cyanobacteria are ubiquitous photosynthetic microorganisms considered as important contributors to the formation of Earth's atmosphere and to the process of nitrogen fixation. However, they are also frequently associated with toxic blooms, named cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (cyanoHABs). This paper reports on an unusual out-of-season cyanoHAB and its dynamics during the COVID-19 pandemic, in Lake Avernus, South Italy.

Review on pollution damage costs accounting.

Although the concept of damage cost accounting is already well-studied and applied, its application to pollution still lacks of an integrated accounting framework, while the spatial-temporal variability of accounting results has not been fully discussed. To fill this gap, this review frames the existing models and their limitations into static and dynamic categories, outlining the characteristics of different methods, which consider both human and non-human damages caused by pollution. Existing data sources, that could be used for accounting purposes, are detailed.

Simulations of scenarios for urban household water and energy consumption.

The expansion of cities and their impacts currently constitutes a challenge for the achievement of sustainable development goals (SDGs). In this respect, assessments of resource consumption and the delivery of appropriate policies to support resource conservation are of paramount importance. Previous works in the literature have focused on one specific resource (e.

Addressing Non-linear System Dynamics of Single-Strand RNA Virus-Host Interaction.

Positive single-strand ribonucleic acid [(+)ssRNA] viruses can cause multiple outbreaks, for which comprehensive tailored therapeutic strategies are still missing. Virus and host cell dynamics are tightly connected, generating a complex dynamics that conveys in virion assembly to ensure virus spread in the body. Starting from the knowledge of relevant processes in (+ss)RNA virus replication, transcription, translation, virions budding and shedding, and their respective energy costs, we built up a systems thinking (ST)-based diagram of the virus-host interaction, comprehensive of stocks, flows, and processes as well-described in literature.

Potential Role of Fiscal Decentralization on Interprovincial Differences in CO Emissions in China.

Spatial differences in CO emissions must be taken into account in CO mitigation. In this work, a spatial - logarithmic mean Divisia index decomposition model was developed by using cluster analysis to evaluate the potential role of fiscal decentralization in driving interprovincial differences in CO emissions in China. The results revealed that the direct impact of fiscal decentralization emerged as a major emission driver after 2009.

On the accuracy of official Chinese crop production data: Evidence from biophysical indexes of net primary production.

With rapid economic growth and urbanization, self-sufficiency in crop production has become central to China's agriculture policy. Accurate crop production statistics are essential for research, monitoring, and planning. Although researchers agree that China's statistical authority has considerably modernized over time, China's economic statistics have still been viewed as unreliable and often overstated to meet growth targets at different administrative levels.

Environmental impacts characterization of packaging waste generated by urban food delivery services. A big-data analysis in Jing-Jin-Ji region (China).

Controversies on food delivery services environmental impacts have been sparked due to the growth of this economic sector. This study focuses on the environmental impacts generated by packaging waste related to urban food delivery services. In particular, the Python based web-crawling and sample survey methods are used for big data mining, and LCA-based environmental impacts evaluation and Kernel density analysis methods are combined to determine the positioning trend of food delivery service providers and expansion direction of environmental pollution load in Jing-Jin-Ji region (North China).

Donor-side evaluation of coastal and marine ecosystem services.

There is an increasing need for coastal and marine ecosystems conservation. However, information to guide management decisions for coastal and marine ecosystems is still lacking. Considering the present advantages and limitations of existing ecosystem services valuation (ESV) accounting methods, this paper proposes a detailed donor-side accounting approach, based on emergy method, which could be used as the basis for better policies-making on coastal and marine conservation.

A Fast Detection Strategy for Cyanobacterial blooms and associated cyanotoxins (FDSCC) reveals the occurrence of lyngbyatoxin A in campania (South Italy).

Fast Detection Strategy for Cyanobacterial blooms and associated Cyanotoxins (FDSCC) is a multidisciplinary strategy that allows early detection, in 24 man-hours, of cyanobacteria and related cyanotoxins in water and bivalve samples. This approach combines the advantages of remote/proximal sensing with those of analytical/bioinformatics analyses, namely, LC-HRMS-based molecular networking. The detection of Lyngbyatoxin A, a lipophilic cyanotoxin, in all analyzed water samples and in bivalves, commonly used as food, was the proof of the reliability of the new method.

Simulation of coupled impact-management response scenarios for distributed wastewater environmental discharges at basin scale through urban environmental risk network transmission mechanism.

A multi-agent modeling method is applied here to model the coupled environmental impact and management response scenarios in relation to the impact of multiple wastewater discharges at river basin scale. Based on the Netlogo modeling platform, the cumulative impact of water pollution, which was represented here by COD values, is esteemed using Huaihe River Basin (China) as a case study. As a novel factor, different management responses to the adverse effects of cumulative pollution level increases along the river are also considered in the simulation processes.

Integrated hierarchical geo-environmental survey strategy applied to the detection and investigation of an illegal landfill: A case study in the Campania Region (Southern Italy).

This paper describes an approach to detect and investigate the main characteristics of a solid waste landfill through the integration of geological, geographical and geophysical methods. In particular, a multi-temporal analysis of the landfill morphological evolution was carried out using aerial and satellite photos, since there were no geological and geophysical data referring to the study area. Subsequently, a surface geophysical prospection was performed through geoelectric and geomagnetic methods.

Size resolved metal distribution in the PM matter of the city of Turin (Italy).

A work on the characterization of the air quality in the city of Turin was carried out in different sampling periods, reflecting early autumn and winter conditions, including a snow episode during the early 2012 European cold wave. The concentrations of 13 elements in eight size fractions of the aerosol were determined using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. The collection was carried out with a Andersen MkII cascade impactor.

PM10 size distribution of metals and environmental-sanitary risk analysis in the city of Torino.

The mechanisms responsible for negative biological effects due to airborne particulate matter (PM) exposure are still being studied, however the interactions between metals and biologic systems seem to be of primary importance. The aim of the study was to estimate a healthy risk linked to exposure to airborne PM10 metals by means of an environmental-sanitary risk assessment. Metals PM10 size distribution analysis was carried out in a central site of Torino city - Italy, then the Target Hazard Quotient (THQ) and the Cancer Risk (CR) were applied, according to standard EPA methods.