Article
Environmental Sciences
Jeromy W. Gotschall, Megan Zhao, Chidinma Wilson, Zonia Moore, Victor Ayeni, Misha Rosenbach, Eugenia South
Summary: Inequity in access to urban greenspaces can contribute to health disparities in the USA. Academic medical centres can promote health equity by partnering with community organisations to improve greenspace access in urban environments. Medical education initiatives can also play a role in advancing health-equity leadership among future doctors.
LANCET PLANETARY HEALTH
(2023)
Article
Forestry
Calvin Ritter, David I. King, Stephen DeStefano, Daniel Clark
Summary: Establishment of non-native monoculture plantations is a common method to supplement native timber stocks, but it is believed to provide inferior habitat for native biodiversity. However, our study in Massachusetts showed that mature Norway spruce plantations have similar species richness as native forest habitats and support the abundance of several native conifer-dependent bird species. This suggests that small-scale plantations can coexist without negative impacts on native biodiversity.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Na Chen, Nandin-Erdene Tsendbazar, Daniela Requena Suarez, Jan Verbesselt, Martin Herold
Summary: Characterization of regrowing forests is essential for understanding forest dynamics and supporting sustainable forest management. This study analyzed the effects of environmental and human factors on regrowing forests in Brazil. The results showed that the time since disturbance interpreted from satellite time series is the most important predictor for characterizing aboveground biomass and tree cover of regrowing forests.
REMOTE SENSING IN ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Lana Narine, Lonesome Malambo, Sorin Popescu
Summary: This study investigates the methods to derive canopy cover and evaluate the predictive capability of ICESat-2. The results demonstrate the feasibility of estimating canopy cover with ICESat-2 in various cover types.
REMOTE SENSING OF ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Forestry
Oto Nakladal, Vaclav Zumr, Jiri Remes, Marketa Machacova, Vitezslava Peskova
Summary: Intensive forest and agroforestry management has reduced the biodiversity of saproxylic organisms. Large trees, especially heritage trees in the landscape, are important refuges for saproxylic beetles. Research shows that sunny habitats and increasing tree trunk dimension significantly affect the distribution of saproxylic beetles.
Article
Agronomy
Bo Shi, Yifan Yuan, Tingxuan Zhuang, Xuan Xu, Urs Schmidhalter, Syed Tahir Ata-UI-Karim, Ben Zhao, Xiaojun Liu, Yongchao Tian, Yan Zhu, Weixing Cao, Qiang Cao
Summary: This study aimed to improve the prediction accuracy of water status in winter wheat using machine learning and multi-source data. By constructing different spectral indices, the study predicted canopy water content, plant water content, and canopy equivalent water thickness. The best feature selection method and data were chosen, resulting in high prediction accuracy.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF AGRONOMY
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Zhenzhen Zhang, Katherine L. Martin, Kathryn T. Stevenson, Yuan Yao
Summary: Green infrastructure is crucial for health, well-being, and sustainability in urban areas. However, its distribution is often uneven, leading to unequal access for low-income residents and underserved racial/ethnic communities. This study found that while green infrastructure was distributed more equitably in schoolyards, it was still less prevalent compared to surrounding neighborhoods. There is an opportunity for school districts to expand green infrastructure in schoolyards to provide more ecosystem services for all students.
URBAN FORESTRY & URBAN GREENING
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Jiayuan Lin, Decao Chen, Wenjian Wu, Xiaohan Liao
Summary: Urban forests play a crucial role in urban ecological environments. Utilizing UAV remote sensing technology and a new allometric equation, accurate estimation of tree aboveground biomass in urban forests is achievable.
URBAN FORESTRY & URBAN GREENING
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Liam Krause, Kevin J. McCullough, Evan S. Kane, Randall K. Kolka, Rodney A. Chimner, Erik A. Lilleskov
Summary: Peatlands play a critical role in terrestrial carbon storage but have been degraded due to historic management, leading to loss of ecosystem services. A study in northern Minnesota assessed peat and carbon loss in legacy drainage systems over approximately 100 years, providing estimates and management recommendations based on LiDAR data and site characteristics.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Civil
Charles K. Huyck, Zhenghui ''Z'' Hu, Michael Eguchi, Georgiana Esquivias, Paul Amyx, Kay Smith, Colm Jordan
Summary: This article proposes a framework for classifying approaches of developing building exposure databases and examines the uncertainty introduced through different approaches. The study reveals that the choice of data development methods can significantly affect risk assessment results.
EARTHQUAKE SPECTRA
(2022)
Article
Forestry
Yuan Guan, Xin Tian, Wangfei Zhang, Armando Marino, Jimao Huang, Yingwu Mao, Han Zhao
Summary: In this study, four methods (RF, SVR, KNN, and KNN-FIFS) were investigated to model forest canopy cover, and three mainstream optical data sources (Landsat8 OLI, Sentinel-2A, GF-1) were evaluated comparatively. The KNN-FIFS model achieved the best accuracy in canopy cover modeling using different data sources, and the federated data showed the highest accuracy. The KNN-FIFS model with specific parameters can significantly improve the inversion accuracy and efficiency of forest canopy cover evaluation.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Sarah Ponte, Nancy F. Sonti, Tuana H. Phillips, Mitchell A. Pavao-Zuckerman
Summary: The hydrological functioning of urban trees plays a crucial role in reducing stormwater runoff, mitigating flood risk, and improving water quality in developed areas. Research showed that single trees had significantly higher transpiration rates compared to closed canopy trees and tree clusters in different management contexts. Additionally, single trees were found to be more responsive to environmental drivers such as vapor pressure deficit.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Forestry
J. Davis Goode, Anuska Narayanan, David L. Phillips, Justin L. Hart, Scott J. Torreano, Daniel C. Dey
Summary: Mixed Quercus-Pinus stands are important for enhancing biodiversity and resilience to global change. Intermediate-severity wind disturbance plays a crucial role in the creation and maintenance of these stands. The study provides quantitative recommendations for emulating natural disturbance patterns.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Justin B. Richardson, Stephanie A. Thrasher, Brian Saccardi, Elyse V. Clark
Summary: Sulfidic schists are important rock formations with high trace metal and metalloid concentrations. They have the potential for acid-enhanced chemical weathering due to the hydration and oxidation of pyrite and pyrrhotite. This study compared the TMM content in sulfidic schists to other bedrock types, evaluated the conditions that promote TMM rock weathering, and examined the concentrations of TMMs in streamwater. The results showed that sulfidic schists had the highest concentrations of As, Cu, and Pb, and their dissolution rates were higher than other bedrock types. The study also found that streamwater TMM concentrations were below water quality standards and were correlated with bedrock lithology and human development.
ENVIRONMENTAL GEOCHEMISTRY AND HEALTH
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Jan De Keyser, Daniel S. Hayes, Beatrice Marti, Tobias Siegfried, Carina Seliger, Hannah Schwedhelm, Oyture Anarbekov, Zafar Gafurov, Raquel M. Lopez Fernandez, Ivan Ramos Diez, Bertalan Alapfy, Justine Carey, Bakhtiyor Karimov, Erkin Karimov, Beatrice Wagner, Helmut Habersack
Summary: In today's globally connected world, the Water-Food-Energy-Climate Nexus concept offers a foundation for informed decision-making based on trade-offs and synergies between different sectors. This approach is particularly relevant in regions requiring transboundary water management, like Central Asia. However, the lack of data in this region hinders informed decision-making. This paper aims to bridge the data gap by providing an overview of key data and its potential applications.
