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This study explores the possibility of deciphering changes in the total area of a karst wetland due to shifts inland use, economy and population over a long‐term period (35 years) and microclimate changes (1958–2019). To achieve this goal, we focused on Huangcaozhou Karst Wetland, a national karst wetland park located in China. Based on remote sensing interpretation, long‐term climate data, and statistical yearbook datasets, our results showed that from 1984 to 2019, owing to the rapid rates of urbanization and economic development, swamplands in our study area decreased by 16.4%, while urban lands increased up to 16.7%. The inflection point on the land use and land cover (LUCC) curve we constructed appeared in 2006, after which the areas of swampland, rocky desertification land, and wasteland sharply decreased and those of urban land and farmland increased. This is consistent with the increase in gross domestic production (GDP) and the totalnumber of inhabitants. From 1958, when Luxi registered an annual average temperature of 14.8°C, to 2019, the air temperature increased with a gradient of 0.157°C per decade, until it reached an average of 15.3°C. We did not find a clear trend for the number of annual rainy days (average of 140.6 rainy days per year) but the mean torrentiality (average annual volume divided by the annual number of rainy days) shows a slight trend of increase (0.72 mm per day per decade). Precipitation we found has gradually declined. We concluded that economic and demographic changes are interacting with microclimate changes, which are affected by the regional eco‐environment over a long‐time scale in the Huangcaozhou Karst Wetland, causing the wetland quality significantly varied in recent decades. This would help to develop more efficient land management plans to better correctly handle new human activities allowing policymakers to regulate the wetland ecosystem in Southwestern China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Littoral plains in general and those of the Mediterranean rivers and ramblas, are highly vulnerable territories. Understanding the past and present conditions of these areas is the best strategy to design efficient land management plans to prevent degradation such as pollutants, soil sealing, erosion, etc. in the near and medium future. In this research, different mapping techniques (land-use changes in twelve different years using manually digitalisation and field observations, from 1956 to 2019, and pattern analysis using ecological landscape indexes), multivariate statistical analyses (Spearman rank coefficient and Principal Component Analysis), and predictive models (Markov chain) are combined to assess the past, current, and future status of the Vélez River delta (Málaga province, Southern Spain), a representative vulnerable territory situated in the popular touristic area of Costa del Sol. We also included a demographic analysis using annual population census data (current inhabitants and projections) and a climate trend analysis (Mann-Kendall test) considering temperatures, precipitations and wind data. Our results demonstrate that the drastic urbanization, including new settlements, roads, and ways, has negatively impacted the delta area, even the alluvial plain, beaches, and natural sand deposits. From 1956 to 2019, >70 ha of deltaic area have been lost. The largest category of land-use, cultivated fields, accounted for up to 72.4 % of the total delta area in 1984. However, this was reduced to 41.1 % by 2019. The alluvial plain and beaches/sand deposits started from 9.3 and 11.8 %, and decreased to 5.2 and 5.9 %, respectively. Also, climate change (especially in temperature) could affect some spatial patterns. Predictive models reveal that it is likely that abandoned spaces, sand deposits, and beaches, will be transformed into new urban areas and, to a lesser extent, into cultivated fields. We concluded that the conservation of the cultivated lands, although decreasing in the area over the studied period, obtained the highest correlation with the delta conservation. Therefore, we affirm that efficient plans, which promote specific changes in land use, would contribute to stopping the degradation of the delta such as pollution of natural areas or soil sealing. Specifically, a plan should be developed to preserve sustainable agriculture and control urban sprawl. • The Delta del Vélez situated in the popular touristic area of Costa del Sol was assessed. • Urbanization, including new settlements, roads, and ways, has negatively impacted. • Predictive models reveal that abandoned and sandy areas will be transformed into urban ones. • The conservation of the cultivated lands obtained the highest correlation with the delta size. • Plans, which promote specific changes in land use, would contribute to stopping the degradation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Farmland shelterbelt system (FSS) in oasis desert ecotones can effectively improve ecosystem services, especially in fragile agricultural areas. However, the spatial-temporal heterogeneity of its ecological effects still needs further clarity, because the interactions are complex and multiple. Understanding this allows us to know the key practical significance of ecological construction and agricultural management. In this study, four typical patterns of FSS (i.e. two lines pattern, TWLP; four lines pattern, FOLP; five lines pattern, FILP; eight lines pattern, EILP) were selected in a desert oasis ecotone in northern China to assess the distributions at vertical (0–100 cm), horizontal (0–3 H) and temporal (May- October) scales of soil properties, vegetation attributes, microclimates and variations of soil moisture storage (SMS) and soil salt contents (C) during the three growing seasons. The results showed that the major difference in soil properties and vegetation attributes of FSSs are the soil particle composition and canopy size, respectively. In FOLP and EILP, the silt contents were 51.6% and 41.5% respectively. The canopy size ranked from the highest to lowest values as follows: FOLP (8.70 m2) > EILP (6.91 m2) > TWLP (4.64 m2) > FILP (4.47 m2). Compared to the control, all patterns of FSSs registered significant effects on microclimate improvement. The FOLP and FILP achieved the same effects as well as EILP, with less spatial costs. Moreover, the variations of SMS and C were mainly different at the vertical scale. As indicated by the Redundancy (RDA) and variation partitioning (VP) analyses, soil properties played a more important role in reserving soil water and controlling soil salinity than vegetation attributes and microclimates, which the independent influence can explain 48.5% of total influence among all factors. Our results provide an efficient theoretical basis for FSS construction and agricultural water management practices. • Farmland shelterbelt system (FSS) can improve ecosystem services. • A spatio-temporal heterogeneity of ecosystem functions in FSSs is observed. • Soil properties play a more important role in controlling soil water content and salinity. • Results provide an efficient theoretical basis for agricultural water management in deserts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]