Promoting Geography for Sustainability

The discipline of geography encompasses both natural and social sciences and has the natural advantage of enabling the study of sustainability from a transdisciplinary perspective.There are great opportunities for geographers to participate in sustainability research.However,while geographers have set sustainability goals,they have rarely clarified the details for reaching those goals.Current knowledge on the relationship between humans and the environment and the methodologies for studying this relationship are inadequate to solve the transdisciplinary questions in sustainability science.Five research areas:geographical processes;ecosystem services and human wellbeing;human-environmental systems;sustainable development;and geo-data and modelling for sustainability are proposed as those needed to help geography achieve sustainability.The key objective of promoting geography for sustainability is to reveal the mechanisms of human-environmental system dynamics.This depends on understanding the processes in the natural and social systems and their mutual feedback as well as clarifying the relationships between the structures,functional characteristics and interactions in the human-environmental systems at multiple scales.The advancement of geography and its methodologies and technologies will provide a more profound understanding of the future.Geographers have the responsibility of promoting the discipline as the key pathway for carrying natural and social sciences towards sustainability.

Prioritizing sustainable development goals and linking them to ecosystem services:A global expert’s knowledge evaluation

The implementation of strategies to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs)is frequently hindered by potential trade-offs between priorities for either environmental protection or human well-being.However,ecosystem services(ES)-based solutions can offer possible co-benefits for SDGs implementation that are often overlooked or underexploited.In this study,we cover this gap and investigate how experts from different countries value the SDGs and relate them with ES.A total of 66 countries participated to the survey,and answers were grouped into three macro-regions:Asia;Europe,North America,and Oceania(ENO);Latin America,Caribbean and Africa(LA).Results show that the most prioritized SDGs in the three macro-regions are usually those related to essential material needs and environmental conditions,such as SDG2(Zero Hunger),SDG1(No Poverty),and SDG6(Clean Water).At a global scale,the number of prioritized synergies between SDGs and ES largely exceeded trade-offs.The highest amount of synergies was observed for SDG1(No Poverty),mainly with SDG2,SDG3(Good Health),SDG5(Gender Equality),and SDG8(Economic Growth).Other major synergies among SDGs include SDG14-15(Life below water-Life on land),SDG5-10(Gender Equity-Reduced Inequality),and SDG1-2(No poverty-Zero Hunger).At a global scale,SDG15,SDG13,SDG14,and SDG6 were closely related to ES like climate regulation,freshwater,food,water purification,biodiversity,and education.SDG11(Sustainable Cities)and SDG3 were also relevant in Asia and in LA,respectively.Overall,this study shows the potential to couple future policies that can implement SDGs’strategies while adopting ES-based solutions in different regions of the world.

Geography in the Anthropocene:Transforming our world for sustainable development

The world is changing at an accelerating pace due to increased human exploitation of the earth’s resources and the consequent climate change and biodiversity loss crises.As a transdisciplinary discipline studying the coupled human and nature systems and their interactions,Geography has natural advantages to promote sustainable development.With the aim of stimulating sustainable development in the Anthropocene,the International Geography and Sustainability Workshop 2021 was held virtually during 23-24 November 2021.This editorial briefly reviews the development history of Geography,summarizes the presentations of keynote speakers,outlines the overall research framework,and discusses the future directions by which the discipline of Geography can be harnessed to advance sustainable development.The key outcomes are as follows:(1)The research paradigms of Geography are shifting from basic knowledge acquisition to understanding of coupling patterns and processes,and to the simulation and prediction of complex human-earth systems;(2)Landscape sustainability science and the metacoupling concept are emerging as new comprehensive research perspectives,and the framework of“Pattern—Process—Service—Sustainability”can be used as a basis to underpin Geography’s role in sustainability;(3)Geography can support sustainable development in many ways,such as in agricultural development,disaster and risk monitoring and early warning,global climate change mitigation,and in helping to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs).Future research directions include:integrated geographical research on climate change and sustainable resource utilization;integrated geographical research on social and economic sustainable development;sustainable cascades of ecosystem structure,functions,services,and human well-being;metacoupling for sustainability;safe and justice space boundaries;the classification-coordination-collaboration approach;and geographical education for sustainable development.

The research priorities of Resources and Environmental Sciences

The great challenges of sustainable development highlight an urgent need to systematically understand the mech-anisms linking humans and nature.Resources and Environmental Sciences are a broad and practical discipline focused on coupled human and natural systems.They aim to study the formation and evolution of resources in the earth system,the drivers of various environmental problems,processes and relationships between resources and the environment,particularly under the combined impacts of natural conditions and human activities.The major resources and environmental problems drive the discipline development;international science programmes guide the direction of the discipline;interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary integration promotes new branches of the discipline;and technological progress results in a research paradigm shift.Facing the critical research re-quirements of strengthening trans-and interdisciplinarity,breaking through the key technology,targeting major environmental and disaster issues,and supporting sustainable development,nine critical scientific issues should be focused on climate change impact and adaptation,petroleum and mineral resources,water cycle and water re-sources,soil and land resources,ecosystems,remote sensing and geographic information science,environmental science and technology,disaster risk,and global and regional sustainable development.Suggestions to enhancing funding systems,improve talent cultivation,develop scientific platforms,and strength international cooperation are provided in this study to support scientific policymaking.The promotion of Resources and Environmental Sci-ences enables a more comprehensive and in-depth understanding of economic development and environmental changes relevant to assure a more sustainable global development.

Sustainable city development challenged by extreme weather in a warming world

The year of 2021 has witnessed many extreme weather events across the world that have shocked and challenged human society,in particular for the populous cities,challenging progress on sustainable city development.In the comment we highlighted the record-breaking rainstorm that is considered to happen only“once-in-a-thousand-years”on 20 July 2021 in Zhengzhou,China;and a series of short and long-term resilience enhancement and risk reducing measures to climate change and natural hazard risks.We found that increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events caused by human-induced climate change challenges progress on sustainable city development,but could also accelerate activities to enable cities to become more resilient.This comment is essential to advance towards the sustainable city development goal(SDG 11)in China’s mega cities,as well as informing progress for other global cities.

Spatiotemporal variation and driving factors of water yield services on the Qingzang Plateau

Water resources are a basic need for social sustainable development and human existence.As an important national strategy for water resources security,spatial and temporal patterns and driving mechanisms of water yield ecosystem services on the Qingzang Plateau(QP)are critical for water resources management,optimal water allocation and the improvement of ecological water protection efficiency.However,only a few relevant studies are currently available.In this study,we simulated the water yield(WY)of the QP over 34 years,from 1982 to 2015,using the InVEST model and analyzed the spatiotemporal dynamic relationships between WY and climate change as well as between WY and vegetation change,using geographically weighted regression(GWR)models.The results showed that:1)from 1982 to 2015,the WY of the QP increased at an average rate of 3.8 mm/yr;2)WY presented a reduced spatial pattern from southeast to northwest;and 3)the WY driving factors have individual and spatial differences.In terms of the area percentage in promoting WY when analyzing each driving factor,precipitation(99.8%)and air pressure(53.3%)played the major roles in promoting WY,while temperature(71.9%),wind speed(57.2%),net primary productivity(87.2%),radiation(68.3%)and lake(87.7%)played negative roles.The areas where WY are dominated by temperature are the largest(41.1%),and followed by areas dominated by pressure(19.7%)and precipitation(18.5%).The results of this study provide scientific support for formulating regional water resources policy,social and economic development planning and other macro decisions for the QP.

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.

关于设立面向全球科学研究基金的思考与建议

气候变化、健康危机和粮食安全等问题通常会超越国家间的地理边界,是典型的全球性挑战。随着不同挑战的日益加剧,设立全球科学研究基金已成为推动科技进步、探索创新解决方案和加强伙伴关系的重要手段。在此背景下,“研究设立面向全球的科学研究基金”是我国“十四五”时期(2021—2025年)完善科技创新体制的重要举措。为推进这一举措落实,本文在分析主要发达国家(美国、加拿大、英国、德国、日本、澳大利亚)和欧盟针对全球挑战的科研基金资助经验和广泛调研研讨的基础上,从人才项目、研究项目和大科学装置项目三个方面提出了我国未来设立面向全球的科学研究基金的建议,并探讨了相应的遴选、评估和管理机制,以期促进我国科研资助体系的创新发展,逐步提升我国在全球挑战研究中的国际影响力。

Spatial distributions of soil nutrients affected by land use,topography and their interactions,in the Loess Plateau of China

Soil nutrient availability and their spatial distributions are strongly related to land use and landscape morphology.This study aims to address the knowledge gap regarding the interaction between these factors and the underlying mechanisms.We selected five land uses(grassland with Artemisia gmelinii,woodland with Robinia pseudoacacia,shrubland with Caragana korshinskii and Hippophae rhamnoides,and apple orchard with Malus pumila)and nine slope positions across hillslopes in the Loess Plateau,China,to investigate their combined effects on the contents and stocks of soil organic carbon(SOC),total nitrogen(TN)and total phosphorus(TP).Parametric and non-parametric statistical tests were conducted to determine the significant differences in the means or the medians of the soil nutrient variables.Results showed that the SOC and TN contents of shrubland with Caragana korshinskii were statistically significantly greater than those of the grassland(p<0.05).SOC and TN contents generally decreased from the upper slope to the middle slope,and to the foot slope for the grassland,woodland and shrublands,and on the contrary,an increasing trend from the upper slope,to the middle slope,and to the foot slope was identified for the apple orchard.This study highlights that land use,slope position and their interaction have significant effects on the spatial distributions of soil nutrients.It provides essential empirical evidence for the identification of the optimal vegetation type and slope positions in land management and vegetation restoration activities.

Overlooked uneven progress across sustainable development goals at the global scale: Challenges and opportunities

Differences in progress across sustainable development goals(SDGs)are widespread globally;meanwhile,the rising call for prioritizing specific SDGs may exacerbate such gaps.Nevertheless,how these progress differences would influence global sustainable development has been long neglected.Here,we present the first quantitative assessment of SDGs’progress differences globally by adopting the SDGs progress evenness index.Our results highlight that the uneven progress across SDGs has been a hindrance to sustainable development because(1)it is strongly associated with many public health risks(e.g.,air pollution),social inequalities(e.g.,gender inequality,modern slavery,wealth gap),and a reduction in life expectancy;(2)it is also associated with deforestation and habitat loss in terrestrial and marine ecosystems,increasing the challenges related to biodiversity conservation;(3)most countries with low average SDGs performance show lower progress evenness,which further hinders their fulfillment of SDGs;and(4)many countries with high average SDGs performance also showcase stagnation or even retrogression in progress evenness,which is partly ascribed to the antagonism between climate actions and other goals.These findings highlight that while setting SDGs priorities may be more realistic under the constraints of multiple global stressors,caution must be exercised to avoid new problems from intensifying uneven progress across goals.Moreover,our study reveals that the urgent needs regarding SDGs of different regions seem complementary,emphasizing that regional collaborations(e.g.,demand-oriented carbon trading between SDGs poorly performed and well-performed countries)may promote sustainable development achievements at the global scale.

Major advances in studies of the physical geography and living environment of China during the past 70 years and future prospects

The natural environment provides material essentials for human survival and development. The characteristics,processes, regional differentiation and forcing mechanisms of the elements of the natural environment(e.g. geomorphology,climate, hydrology, soil, etc.) are the main objects of research in physical geography. China has a complex natural environment and huge regional differentiation and therefore it provides outstanding reserach opportunities in physical geography. This review summarizes the most important developments and the main contributions of research in the physical geography and human living environment in China during the past 70 years. The major topics addressed are the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau and the evolution of its cryosphere, the development of fluvial systems, the acidification of the vast arid region of the Asian interior, variations in the monsoon and westerly climate systems on multiple timescales, the development of lakes and wetlands, the watershed system model, soil erosion, past human-environment interactions, biogeography, and physical geographic zonality. After briefly introducing international research developments, we review the history of research in physical geography in China, focusing on the major achievements and major academic debates, and finally we summarize the status of current research and the future prospects. We propose that in the context of the national demand for the construction of an ecological civilization, we should make full use of the research findings of physical geography, and determine the patterns and mechanisms of natural environmental processes in order to continue to promote the continued contribution of physical geography to national development strategies, and to further contribute to the theory of physical geography from a global perspective.

干旱区主导全球植被生产力增加趋势

旱区(drylands)是指年平均降雨量与潜在蒸散发之比小于0.65的区域,占全球陆地表面的42%,是最易受气候变化影响的地区之一.然而,目前关于旱区植被对气候变化的响应特征及其对全球变绿和陆地生态系统生产力变化的相对贡献仍不清楚.本研究通过集成模型和遥感数据分析发现,旱区对全球变绿的贡献较小,仅占33%±15%,但却主导了全球植被生产力(GPP)增加趋势,贡献达65%±16%旱区植被光合利用效率升高是解释变绿与生产力增加不一致的主要原因.旱区光能利用率主要受土壤水分的影响,大气水汽压差作用不显著,而非旱区主要受大气水汽压差的影响,土壤水的作用有限.因此,需要强调使用不同的水分胁迫指标来预测不同区域植被生产力变化的重要性,这也有助于理解较长时间尺度上植被绿度与生产力之间的解耦关系.

评估全球自然对人类的贡献

自然对人类的贡献(nature’s contributions to people,NCP)是指大自然对人类生活质量的一切积极贡献和消极影响,分为10个调节型NCP、4个物质型NCP和4个非物质型NCP.但目前这些NCP的全球时空分布及其相互作用规律尚不清楚,直接制约了加强自然界多种有益贡献的生态系统管理实践.本研究构建基于指标体系的评价方法,结合生态系统演变、气候变化与人类活动全球尺度多源空间数据集,在全球范围内对1990~2018年所有18个NCPs进行空间制图,在15,204个流域单元上识别主导了NCP组合,并基于NCPs时空特征识别了全球景观变化的功能权衡关系和景观多功能性.结果表明,全球大部分NCPs的高值仅在局地出现.1992~2018年,6个调节型NCP、3个物质型NCP和2个非物质型NCP下降.29种调节型和物质型NCP组合(总共有54种组合)的主导流域占全球76%的陆地面积,而无NCP主导的流域占全球陆地面积的22%.NCPs变化的协同关系比权衡关系更为常见,但调节型和物质型NCP之间的关系普遍处于权衡状态.过渡气候地区的NCP相对少,并具有强烈的权衡关系;而低纬度地区NCPs之间的高度协同关系可能受到未来气候变化的影响.研究结果提供了对全球NCP空间变化规律的总体认知,可用于科学支撑区域景观功能的关系调控和景观多功能性提升,以增强全球人类福祉.

Adapting ecosystem restoration for sustainable development in a changing world

The world population exceeded eight billion in 2022 and will continue to grow rapidly in the coming decades.To support the survival andwell-being of this large and growing population,numerous natural resources have been overexploited,and a large amount of waste has been generated,inducing forms of ecosystem degradation,such as biodiversity loss,productivity decline,and environmental pollution,which undermine the capacity of sustainable development for socioecological systems at multiple scales.As a countermeasure for this problem,a land-degradation-neutral world by 2030 has been established as a critical component of the Sustainable Development Goals.

全面实现全球可持续发展目标的黯淡前景和针对性行动

实施《2030年可持续发展议程》的时间框架已经过半,不同国家实现可持续发展目标(SDGs)的进展呈现明显差异.国家分类为提高政策效率和促进联合行动奠定了基础.本研究发展了基于SDGs表现的国家分类,进而分析不同类型国家SDGs间相互作用,比较不同类型国家获得的发展援助与实际需求的匹配情况.根据166个国家17项SDGs的表现可以将其划分为从“可持续发展水平最低但环境良好”到“可持续发展水平高但需要气候行动”的五种类型.这些国家类型中没有一种在所有SDG吐均表现出色,也没有一种能够在当前SDGs相互作用下最终实现所有目标.全球可持续发展的前景不容乐观,凸显了所有国家进行可持续转型的重要性和紧迫性,而优先考虑某些SDGs(如SDG 9,产业、创新和基础设施)是在可持续发展水平较低的国家事半功倍的途径.此外,全球发展援助需要与不同国家需求更加匹配,特别是在教育、能源、环境和供水与卫生等领域.研究明确了不同类型国家实现SDGs的关键机遇与挑战,有助于统筹国家层面相关可持续发展政策、促进更有针对性的国际协作,为推进全球SDGs的全面实现提供科学依据.

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。

Three main dimensions reflected by national SDG performance

Unraveling the complexity of the 17 inter acting sustainable development goals(SDGs)is crucial for their achievement.Empirically revealing the dimensions of the SDGs helps generalize the dominant features of SDGs and better understand their drivers.Here,using a database of 166 countries'progress toward achieving each individual SDG,we found that about 70%of the variability of national SDG performance can be captured by three dimensions:socioeconomic development at the expense of resource and climate,the environment,and development at the expense of equality.Moreover,these dimensions are mainly affected by the economy,as gross domestic product(GDP)per capita increases,the first dimension increases monotonically,the environment dimension decreases and then increases,and the inequality dimension increases and then decreases.Our findings indicate a dim prospect of eventually achieving all SDGs because of the conflicts between economic growth and resource and cdimate goals under the current development paradigm,highlighting the importance of sustainable transformation.

系统认知土地资源的理论与方法

土地是由近地表气候、地貌、表层地质、水文、土壤、动植物以及过去和现在人类活动的结果相互作用而形成的物质系统[1,2].土地资源是在一定的技术条件和一定时间内可以为人类利用的土地,是人类主要社会经济活动的空间载体[3-5].过去对土地资源的认知过于强调人类对土地的直接利用,农用地、建设用地、未利用地的三大类划分方式过于聚焦土地的农业用途与建设用途,容易导致对土地资源生态内涵的忽视[6,7].业界虽然能够认知土地具有系统性,但在土地资源管理实践中往往缺乏系统观,导致了土地资源利用不可持续的现实问题[6-8].对此,有必要进一步深化土地资源的系统认知理论,探索土地资源的系统管理方法.

The effect of land use structure on the distribution of soil nutrients in the hilly area of the Loess Plateau,China

The irrational land use is one of the main reasons for the soil erosion and nutrient loss in the loess hilly area of China. In this project, 4 types of typical land use structure of sustain ment for about 15 years in the loess hill slope are selected to study the effect of land use structure on the distribution of soil nutrients. From hill bottom to hill top, the patterns of land use types are:, grassland-slope farmland-forest, slope farmland-grassland-forest, terrace-grassland-forest and slope farmland-forest-grassland. By measuring the contents of the total N, total P, available N, available P and organic matter of soils, the results show that the land use structure types of slope farmland-grassland-forest and terrace-grassland-forest have a better capacity to maintain the soil nutrients.

重新认知青藏高原围栏禁牧的作用

围栏禁牧是中国政府为恢复青藏高原等地退化草地而采取的一项重要政策.然而,关于围栏对高寒草地生态系统功能和服务及其对牧民生计的影响,人们的认识还很有限.本研究荟萃分析和基于问卷的调查显示,围栏禁牧时间长达4年和8年的时间里可以有效地促进高寒草甸以及草原的地上植被生长,更长时间的围栏并没有带来任何生态和经济效益.研究还发现,围栏限制了野生动物的活动范围,增加了非围栏地区的放牧压力,降低了牧民的满意度,且给地区和国家政府带来了巨大的财政成本.因此,建议在适当的情况下,应鼓励传统的游牧方式来利用草地,在严重退化的草地上应采用短期围栏(4~8年),在重要的野生动物栖息地应避免使用围栏,特别是受保护的大型哺乳动物分布的区域.研究结果可为青藏高原草地可持续管理提供一定的参考.