A holistic framework for facilitating environmental and human health

In the Anthropocene,health is necessary to achieve global sustainable development.This is a challenge because health issues are complex and span from humans to ecosystems and the environment through dynamic interac-tions across scales.We find that the health issues have been mainly addressed by disciplinary endeavors which unfortunately will not result in panoramic theories or effective solutions.We recommend focusing on the intri-cate interactions between humans,ecosystems and the environment for developing common theoretical under-standings and practical solutions for safeguarding planetary health,with human health as the key indicator and endpoint.To facilitate this paradigm shift,a holistic framework is formulated that incorporates disturbances from inner Earth and our solar system,and accommodates interactions between humans,ecosystems and the environ-ment in a nested hierarchy.An integrative and transdisciplinary health science is advocated along with holistic thinking to resolve our current health challenges and to achieve the health-related sustainable development goals.

A modified RUSLE model to simulate soil erosion under different ecological restoration types in the loess hilly area

Soil erosion is mainly affected by the rainfall characteristics and land cover conditions,and soil erosion modelling is important for evaluating land degradation status.The revised Universal Soil Loss Equation(RUSLE)have been widely used to simulate soil loss rate.Previous studies usually considered the general rainfall characteristics and direct effect of runoff with the event rainfall erosivity factor(R_(e))to produce event soil loss(A_(e)),whereas the fluctuation of rainfall intensity within the natural rainfall profile has rarely been considered.In this study,the relative amplitude of rainfall intensity(R_(am))was proposed to generalize the features of rainfall intensity fluctuation under natural rainfall,and it was incorporated in a new R_(e)(R_(e)=R_(am)EI_(30))to develop the RUSLE model considering the fluctuation of rainfall intensity(RUSLE-F).The simulation performance of RUSLE-F model was compared with RUSLE-M1 model(R_(e)=EI_(30))and RUSLE-M2 model(R_(e)=Q_(R)EI_(30))using observations in field plots of grassland,orchard and shrubland during 2011–2016 in a loess hilly catchment of China.The results indicated that the relationship between A_(e) and R_(am)EI_(30) was well described by a power function with higher R2 values(0.82–0.96)compared to Q_(R)EI_(30)(0.80–0.88)and EI_(30)(0.24–0.28).The RUSLE-F model much improved the accuracy in simulating A_(e) with higher NSE(0.55–0.79 vs−0.11∼0.54)and lower RMSE(0.82–1.67 vs 1.04–2.49)than RUSLE-M1 model.Furthermore,the RUSLE-F model had better simulation performance than RUSLE-M2 model under grassland and orchard,and more importantly the rainfall data in the RUSLE-F model can be easily obtained compared to the measurements or estimations of runoff data required by the RUSLE-M2 model.This study highlighted the paramount importance of rainfall intensity fluctuation in event soil loss prediction,and the RUSLE-F model contributed to the further development of USLE/RUSLE family of models.

A landscape persistence-based methodological framework for assessing ecological stability

Ecological stability is a critical factor in global sustainable development,yet its significance has been overlooked.Here we introduce a landscape-oriented framework to evaluate ecological stability in the Qingzang Plateau(QP).Our findings reveal a medium-high stability level in the QP,with minimal changes over recent years.The driving factors vary across landscape types,with climate and anthropogenic factors emerging as crucial determinants.While anthropogenic factors are strong but unstable due to policy changes and economic development,climatic factors exert a consistent influence.Based on our results,we propose site-specific ecological conservation and restoration measures.The ecological stability assessment framework provides a practical tool to understand the link between environmental conditions and ecosystems.

Spatiotemporal drivers of Nature's contributions to people:A countylevel study

Nature's contributions to people(NCP)encompass both the beneficial and detrimental effects of living nature on human quality of life,including regulatory,material,and non-material contributions.Globally,vital NCPs have been deteriorating,accelerated by changes in both natural and anthropogenic drivers over recent decades.Despite the often inevitable trade-offs between NCPs due to their spatially and temporally uneven distributions,few studies have quantitatively assessed the impacts of different drivers on the spatial and temporal changes in multiple NCPs and their interrelationships.Here we evaluate the effects of precipitation,temperature,population,gross domestic product,vegetation restoration,and urban expansion on four key regulatory NCPs-habitat maintenance,climate regulation,water quantity regulation,and soil protection-in Nei Mongol at the county level.We observe increasing trends in climate regulation and soil protection from 2000 to 2019,contrasted with declining trends in habitat maintenance and water quantity regulation.We have identified the dominant positive and negative drivers influencing each NCP across individual counties,finding that natural drivers predominantly overpowered anthropogenic drivers.Furthermore,we discover significant spatial disparities in the tradeoff or synergy relationships between NCPs across the counties.Our findings illustrate how the impacts of various drivers on NCPs and their interrelationships can be quantitatively evaluated,offering significant potential for application in various spatial scales.With an understanding of trade-offs and scale effects,these insights are expected to support and inform policymaking at both county and provincial levels.

20世纪后期气候加速变暖促进了北半球树木径向生长

20世纪后期全球加速变暖导致北半球森林衰退事件频发,并增加了树木生长-气候关系的复杂性。然而,关于气候加速变暖前后北半球不同地区树木生长对气候因子响应的异质性研究仍较为缺乏。本研究利用北半球3大洲9个地区共计229条温度敏感型树轮宽度年表分析了气候加速变暖前后不同地区树木生长趋势和气候响应的异质性表现。结果表明:(i)1977–2000年期间,气候加速变暖显著促进了北半球不同地区树木的径向生长,但在1950–2000年期间,不同地区的树木径向生长表现出异质性特征。(ii)1976年后,除北美中部和欧洲北部,北半球树木生长和温度的相关性均显著增加,亚洲地区最为明显。(iii)在1977–2000年期间,9个地区的树木年轮指数与温度均出现了短暂的分离(2–5年)。在1950–2000年期间,各地区树木生长能够更好地追踪到北半球平均温度的变化趋势而不是区域温度。