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Critical Zone Science (CZS) explores the deep evolution of landscapes from the base of the groundwater or the saprolite‐rock interface to the top of vegetation, the zone that supports all terrestrial life. Here we propose a framework for CZS to evolve further as a discipline, building on 1st generation CZOs in natural systems and 2nd generation CZOs in human‐modified systems, to incorporate human behaviour for more holistic understanding in a 3rd generation of CZOs. This concept was tested in the China‐UK CZO programme (2016–2020) that established four CZOs across China on different lithologies. Beyond conventional CZO insights into soil resources, biogeochemical cycling and hydrology across scales, surveys of farmers and local government officials led to insights into human‐environment interactions and key pressures affecting the socio‐economic livelihoods of local farmers. These learnings combined with the CZS data identified knowledge exchange (KE) opportunities to unravel diverse factors within the Land‐Water‐Food Nexus, that could directly improve local livelihoods and environmental conditions, such as reduction in fertilizer use, contributing toward Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and environmental policies. Through two‐way local KE, the local cultural context and socio‐economic considerations were more readily apparent alongside the environmental rationale for policy and local action to improve the sustainability of farming practices. Seeking solutions to understand and remediate CZ degradation caused by human‐decision making requires the co‐design of CZS that foregrounds human behavior and the opinions of those living in human modified CZOs. We show how a new transdisciplinary CZO approach for sustainable Earth futures can improve alignment of research with the practical needs of communities in stressed environments and their governments, supporting social‐ecological and planetary health research agendas and improving capacity to achieve SDGs. Plain Language Summary: Critical Zone Science (CZS) explores how landscapes evolve from below the Earth's surface to the top of trees, supporting life on Earth. CZS was established by studying pristine landscapes, with little or no human modification of the land, water and soil. These pristine natural systems are rare in our modern world. In this paper, we have proposed a new approach to CZS for studying the human‐modified landscapes that dominate our world. To help explain why this is needed, we have re‐drawn a diagram explaining how the critical zone works to show the role of humans. We also give examples of research in three regions of China where we learned from local farmers living in our study areas, to improve our scientific understanding and to try to align our research process to address the biggest pressures affecting their lives. This new approach to CZS can help focus research to directly support local people and improve our ability to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Key Points: Integrating local knowledge with critical zone science can improve interpretation of scientific findings and delivery of Sustainable Development GoalsThird generation science can improve alignment of research with the practical needs of communities and governmentsA new conceptual diagram for human‐modified critical zones is produced to illustrate transdisciplinary Critical Zone Observatories for sustainable Earth futures [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vegetation degeneration has become a serious ecological problem for karst regions in the Anthropocene. According to the deficiency of long serial and high-resolution analysis of karst vegetation, this paper reconstructed the variation of vegetation landscape changes from 1987 to 2020 in a typical karst region of China. Using Landsat time series data, the dynamic changes and driving factors of natural karst vegetation were identified at the landscape scale. On the premise of considering the time-lag effect, the main climatic factors that influence vegetation growth were presented at the interannual timescale. Then, the approach of residual analysis was adopted to distinguish the dominant factors affecting vegetation growth. Results of trend analysis revealed that 21.5% of the forestland showed an overall significant decline in vegetation growth, while only 1.5% showed an increase in vegetation growth during the study period. Precipitation and radiation were the dominant meteorological factors influencing vegetation at the interannual timescale, as opposed to temperature. More than 70% of the natural vegetation growth was dominated by climatic factors. The area percentage of negative human impact has increased gradually since 2009 and reached 18.5% in 2020, indicating the currently serious situation of vegetation protection; fortunately, in recent years, human disturbances on vegetation have been mitigated in karst areas with the promotion of ecological conservation and restoration projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the transient dynamics of interlinked social-ecological systems (SES) is imperative for assessing sustainability in the Anthropocene. However, how to identify critical transitions in real-world SES remains a formidable challenge. In this study, we present an evolutionary framework to characterize these dynamics over an extended historical timeline. Our approach leverages multidecadal rates of change in socioeconomic data, paleoenvironmental, and cutting-edge sedimentary ancient DNA records from China's Yangtze River Delta, one of the most densely populated and intensively modified landscapes on Earth. Our analysis reveals two significant social-ecological transitions characterized by contrasting interactions and feedback spanning several centuries. Initially, the regional SES exhibited a loosely connected and ecologically sustainable regime. Nevertheless, starting in the 1950s, an increasingly interconnected regime emerged, ultimately resulting in the crossing of tipping points and an unprecedented acceleration in soil erosion, water eutrophication, and ecosystem degradation. Remarkably, the second transition occurring around the 2000s, featured a notable decoupling of socioeconomic development from ecoenvironmental degradation. This decoupling phenomenon signifies a more desirable reconfiguration of the regional SES, furnishing essential insights not only for the Yangtze River Basin but also for regions worldwide grappling with similar sustainability challenges. Our extensive multidecadal empirical investigation underscores the value of coevolutionary approaches in understanding and addressing social-ecological system dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A key scientific issue in the study of the Anthropocene is the determination of the corresponding stratigraphic marker in geological archives. The arid and semi-arid regions of Asia are the second largest dust source on Earth, and their release, transport and deposition of dust affect global climate change, as well as marine and terrestrial biogeochemical cycles. Over the past ∼2000 years, human activity has outpaced natural climatic variability as the dominant control of dust storms in northern China. Thus, exploring the potential of anthropogenic Asian dust as a marker of the Anthropocene and its impacts on lake ecosystems may contribute to an improved definition of the characteristics and timing of the Anthropocene. In this context, we measured spectrally-inferred chlorophyll a from the sediments of an undisturbed alpine lake in northern China, and compared the results with dust storm data from the same cores and with regional climatic records. Asian dust is a widely distributed, globally significant signal of human activity, and it is also well preserved in various geological archives; hence, we propose anthropogenic dust can be considered as a potential marker of the Anthropocene. Anthropogenic dust signals in stratigraphic records during the past ∼2000 years differ substantially from those during the early and middle Holocene, which demonstrates that, at least since ∼2000 years ago, human activity has exceeded the natural forcing of dust transport in northern China. We therefore propose that there are spatial and temporal differences in the onset of the Anthropocene, as defined by anthropogenic dust deposition, which is therefore time-transgressive. Our spectrally-inferred chlorophyll a record is consistent with dust storm activity over the past ∼2000 years (except since the 1950s), suggesting that anthropogenic dust storms were the dominant control on lake primary production. Prior to the 1950s the interactions of the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM), human activity, dust storms and lake ecosystems resulted in a shift from a pattern in which "human activity outpaced the EASM as the dominant control on the Earth surface system" to one in which, after the 1950s, "human activity became the dominant factor influencing the EASM and the Earth surface system". In the future this pattern may trend towards one in which there is the "sustainable development of humans and the environment". We suggest that, in order to better understand the interactions of human activity, climate and environment, future research on the Anthropocene should focus on its time-transgressive characteristics and regional differences, in addition to the "Great Acceleration". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We review the state of research on human-environment interaction in Holocene China. • We demonstrate the benefits of a multidisciplinary, regionally focused approach. • We conclude datasets must be local and specific, and integrate data on multiple scales. • China is large, well-documented, and critical for understanding social-natural systems. This paper reviews recent archaeological research on human-environment interaction in the Holocene, taking continental China as its geographic focus. As China is large, geographically diverse, and exceptionally archaeologically and historically well-documented, research here provides critical insight into the functioning of social-natural systems. Based on a broad review of the field as well as recent advances and discoveries, the authors reflect on research themes including climate change and adaptive systems theory, spatial and temporal scale, anthropogenic environmental change, risk management and resilience, and integration of subdisciplines. These converge on three overarching conclusions. First, datasets relevant to climate change and ancient human-environment interaction must be as local and specific as possible, as the timing of environmental change differs locally, and the human response is highly dependent on local social and technological conditions. Second, the field still needs more robust theoretical frameworks for analyzing complex social-natural systems, and especially for integrating data on multiple scales. Third, for this work to contribute meaningfully to contemporary climate change research, effective communication of research findings to the public and to scientists in other disciplines should be incorporated into publication plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]