Abstract: Nursery producers and tree giveaway hosts must do their best to anticipate demand for the wide range of species and traits available. When trying to gauge customer response to various product design choices, companies often employ conjoint analysis to determine what features garner the most customer interest. For this study, we used the method to assess various tree attributes ranging from mature size to hurricane resistance. Our findings indicate that large nursery trees significantly deter consumer interest, though it remains unclear whether this is due to their cost or physical bulk. Similarly, consumers preferred trees that grew to small- and medium-stature at maturity over large-stature trees. Trees labeled as Florida-Friendly, native, or hurricane-resistant had a strong positive effect on purchasing interest among Florida residents.

Abstract:

Purpose: Agriculture in Northern Ghana faces increasing vulnerability to climate change, requiring higher education institutions (HEIs) to equip graduates with climate-smart agriculture (CSA) competencies. This study examines the curricula of InstituteA and InstituteB to assess their capacity to integrate CSA principles and prepare students for climate-resilient agriculture. Design/Methodology/Approach: Guided by the Context–Input–Process–Product (CIPP) evaluation model and the FAO Climate-Smart Agriculture Sourcebook, data were collected through qualitative curriculum analysis and eight semi-structured interviews with curriculum developers. Findings: CSA integration is fragmented, inconsistently embedded, and largely peripheral in both institutions. While InstituteA’s BSc Agribusiness programme prioritises entrepreneurship and management with only two climate-related electives, InstituteB’s BTech Sustainable Agriculture programme includes indirect references to climate variability but lacks an explicit and coherent climate change framework. Cross-cutting themes such as gender, ICT, indigenous knowledge, and energy conservation are either absent or weakly integrated. Practical Implications: These gaps result in a mismatch between higher education outputs and the competencies required for climate adaptation, highlighting the need for systematic CSA mainstreaming, interdisciplinary curriculum reform, and improved institutional support. Theoretical Implications: The findings contribute to scholarship on curriculum agility by demonstrating how structural and policy constraints limit effective climate change integration in agricultural education within climate-vulnerable contexts. Originality/Value: This study provides empirical evidence from Northern Ghana, offering one of the first structured evaluations of CSA integration in higher agricultural education in the region.

Abstract: Economic growth faces threats from environmental risks that intensify with rising population density and depletion of natural resources. People can either exploit these resources or manage them wisely for the benefit of their communities and future generations. They may choose to support economic development projects alongside environmental conservation initiatives, and decide where to live based on environmental conditions and economic prospects. The extent to which collaborative attitudes, social inclusion, awareness, and public participation can influence the equilibrium of complex socio-economic and environmental systems is only partially understood. Much of our knowledge stems from specific projects that facilitated popular participation. A complex model suggests that in a heterogeneous society where environmentally conscious consumers coexist with unaware ones, the strength of the conscientious group willing to invest in sustainable projects could determine the system's ultimate fate. Internal societal dynamics related to its composition may drive the socio-economic system and environment toward unexpected shifts and loops. The results highlight that sustainability transitions cannot be driven by economic or technological interventions alone.

Abstract: Urban canyons, integral components of the built environment, significantly influence microclimatic conditions and thermal comfort. This review investigates their combined effects with green infrastructure on thermal comfort, offering a comprehensive framework for optimizing urban design and greening strategies. Urban canyon orientation determines solar exposure and its interaction with prevailing wind patterns, affecting ventilation and heat dissipation. The urban canyon aspect ratio influences shading and airflow regulation, while their sky view factor moderates radiative cooling and daylight availability. Urban greening—encompassing street trees, green roofs, and vertical green walls—complements urban geometry by reducing air temperatures, enhancing evapotranspiration, and modifying local wind dynamics. Tree shading can reduce the physiological equivalent temperature in urban canyons, mitigating extreme heat stress. Key vegetative parameters, such as leaf area index and canopy density, are critical for quantifying cooling contributions. Key findings underscore the role of higher aspect ratios in enhancing shading and ventilation while they emphasize the critical influence of street orientation and sky view factor on microclimatic regulation. Vegetation emerges as a vital component, with tree shading contributing substantially to cooling effects and reducing physiological equivalent temperature. The beneficial synergistic interaction between urban geometry and vegetation optimizes thermal comfort. Tailored strategies based on urban canyon typologies balance urban development with environmental sustainability. The proposed framework provides actionable strategies for designing resilient and thermally optimized urban spaces, promoting climate-adaptive urban planning by addressing the dual challenges of the urban heat island and thermal discomfort in cities.

Abstract: This article analyses how capacity building programmes interact with structural constraints in mission-oriented climate policy, focusing on the Italian pilot Let’sGOv (GOverning the Transition through Pilot Actions) within the EU Mission “100 Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities by 2030”. Using an iterative, reflexive methodology (document analysis, participant observation, and qualitative analysis of questionnaires, workshop outputs, and online training feedback), it examines how municipal actors experience and reinterpret capacity building across three coupled dimensions: internal organisational capacity, external stakeholder relations, and multilevel governance interfaces. The empirical setting is a network of nine Italian Mission Cities (Bergamo, Bologna, Florence, Milan, Padua, Parma, Prato, Rome, Turin) supported by technical partners. The bench-learning pathway combined barriers diagnosis, an intensive in-person workshop, and a codesigned online curriculum structured around three thematic clusters (engagement, data, climate finance). Findings indicate that persistent barriers - departmental silos, resource and time scarcity, rigid HR and procurement routines, asymmetric data access, and regulatory instability - are not removed by capacity building; rather, they are progressively articulated, specified, and reframed into actionable organisational and policy demands. Bench-learning strengthens diagnostic and relational capacities and enables modest institutional innovations (templates, protocols, internal task forces, shared policy briefs), while “hard” governance infrastructures largely remain unchanged. The paper argues that networked capacity building contributes to an emerging national climate governance architecture only when it supports collective negotiation with national actors and translates local experimentation into durable multilevel interfaces, mitigating risks of projectification and downward responsibility shifting.

Abstract: The Mongolian Ulaan Uul Tungsten Deposit is located in the southern segment of the Altai Cu-Pb-Zn-W-MoNi-Au-Ag-Sb-Co-Fe Metallogenic Belt. The metallogenic belt is situated in the border area of China, Russia, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan, where over 40 large-sized deposits have been discovered. Among these, only one large-sized deposit is found on the Mongolian side, while the others are medium or small in size. Therefore, strengthening the study of typical deposits and summarizing the metallogenic rules of this region is the best way to achieve a breakthrough in mineral exploration of Altai region in Mongolia. This study focuses on the Ulaan Uul W deposit, a newly identified deposit of Tungsten mineralization within the southern segment of the belt. We examine the deposit’s zircon U-Pb geochronology and Sm-Nd isotopic data. The LA-ICP-MS zircon U–Pb dating of the ore-bearing alkali feldspar granite indicates crystallization ages of 212.5±2.2 Ma, which closely align with the wolframite Sm-Nd isochron age of 211.2±1.5 Ma for the Ulaan Uul W deposit, suggesting an Late Triassic magmatic event marked by W-dominated mineralization coinciding with the extensional tectonic setting following the subduction-collision of the Tarim Craton and the Altai Orogenic Belt. Regional data indicate that the Altai metallogenic belt experienced concentrated W mineralization between 242 and 211 Ma. The formation of W- dominated deposits, such as Ulaan Uul in the southern segment of the belt, is at least 30Ma later, which underscores the presence of a significant W metallogenic event during this critical post-collision to extensional mineralization period.

Abstract: Staten Island is less developed than the other boroughs of New York city, however outcrops of rock and surface sediment are limited, making interpretation of its geologic history challenging. When small areas of sediment are exposed, they can be used to improve our understanding of changes in sediment erosion and deposition over time. In this study of two small temporary outcrops, the beds of sediment were logged in the field and samples were collected for textural and compositional analyses. The results were interpreted in the context of previous work on similar exposures nearby. The sediments were found to be sands and gravels of fluvioglacial origin, containing reworked sediments of both the Pliocene Pensauken Formation, and older Triassic rocks of the Newark Basin. It is likely that they were deposited on an outwash plain during the Illinoian glaciation. They were deposited in a topographic low, directly overlying Cretaceous sedimentary rocks, but adjacent to sediments of the Pensauken Formation which had in turn been deposited as an earlier valley fill. This interpretation solves an apparent disagreement between previous studies, by illustrating how both the Pensauken Formation and later fluvioglacial sediments can be exposed over a small area.

Abstract: Plastic recycling technologies are rapidly being reoriented toward process-, operations-, and quality-centered innovation, driven by the expansion of the circular economy and digital transformation. This study uses patent data to quantify long-term trends in plastic recycling and to compare technological structures and thematic shifts before and after 2015, thereby identifying core technological axes and convergence patterns. We collected and curated 64,639 triadic patents (2005–2024) and conducted IPC portfolio analysis, IPC co-occurrence network analysis, and period-split topic modeling. The results indicate that, since 2015, technologies related to data- and AI-enabled sorting, quality assurance, and process optimization (G06), along with tracking and connectivity (H04), collection and logistics (B65), water treatment (C02), and quality modification/compounding (C09), have expanded, while the relative prominence of some synthesis- and conversion-oriented technologies has declined. Convergence has shifted from material formulation–centered combinations toward stronger linkages with downstream processing–productization–standardization and operational infrastructure. Topic trends likewise show the rising salience of reuse-oriented packaging take-back, washing and standardization, remanufacturing, and data governance in the later period. Overall, these shifts suggest that recycling technologies are evolving beyond isolated process improvements toward maximizing circularity performance across the value chain, supporting sustainability objectives such as reducing environmental burdens and carbon emissions and improving resource efficiency.

Abstract: Secure and enforceable property rights sit at the center of investment, finance, and so-cial stability, yet reforming them in transition and post conflict settings is rarely a purely legal exercise. Drawing on evidence from institutional economics, development studies, land administration, and post conflict restitution research, this article explains how property rights shape incentives, why reforms often stall, and which institutional complements repeatedly matter in practice. It connects cross country findings on institutions and growth with micro evidence on land tenure security, titling, and gendered barriers to ownership. It then turns to the practical machinery that makes rights real, cadastres, immovable property registers, valuation, and dispute resolution, and reviews modernization approaches such as interoperability standards, 3D cadastral concepts, and secure digital workflows. The final section applies these lessons to Kosovo, where legacies of socially owned property, informal transfers, delayed inheritance, and incomplete records have left many rights difficult to register and even harder to enforce. Across contexts, reforms work best when legal clarity is matched by credible enforcement, accessible services, and transparent information systems that citizens trust and can actually use.

Abstract: Residential buildings in tropical regions contribute significantly to extreme indoor heat, low air quality, and excessive cooling energy demand, yet the widespread adoption of passive climate‑responsive retrofit measures remains limited. In Nigeria, it is not clear to what extent there is an awareness of such policies, nor is it clear to what extent different passive retrofit measures are well understood and preferred. This study examined policy awareness and preference for passive retrofit measures by using quantitative data from 118 property managers and 163 homeowners in Lagos State, Nigeria, and semi-structured interviews of officials from the various building regulatory and control agencies. From the results of the Mann-Whitney U-test, there was no significant awareness of a national environmental policy (NCCP; p-value > 0.05), although there was a significant lack of awareness of policies on building efficiency (BEEC, BEEG, and EDGE; p-value < 0.001). The emphasis on passive retrofits is evident in the mean scores of 4.45 for “planting trees and vegetation around buildings to provide natural shade and reduce cooling loads”, 4.38 for “enhancing the building's ability to prevent moisture from entering or escaping”, and 4.24 for “integrating openings in building envelopes”, thus establishing that these are the most preferred solutions. However, from the fuzzy TOPSIS analysis, the highest value of CCᵢ was 0.974 for “enhancing the building's ability to prevent moisture from entering or escaping” and the lowest value of 0.000 for “increasing the thickness of wall insulation layers to reduce heat absorption.” Based on these findings, technical retrofit solutions are less preferred than nature-inspired and easy solutions. The qualitative study revealed that passive retrofits are embedded in the national building code, rather than being included as a retrofit policy. It is therefore necessary to first identify solutions and programs that resonate well with property managers and owners, using this as the foundation to slowly build up to more technical solutions.

Abstract: Trees located on private property constitute a substantial portion of the urban forest canopy, yet management responsibilities vary widely across different jurisdictions. While property owners are granted freedom over their land-use decisions, some governments promote tree preservation by regulating and restricting how property owners manage trees on their properties. Incentive-based policies for tree protection can serve as an alternative to enact behavior change through positive reinforcement. In this study, we provide a comprehensive national review in the United States (U.S.) to identify, consolidate, and organize existing urban forest incentives offered by local governments targeting private property owners. In reviewing codes and official government websites across all U.S. states and the District of Columbia, focusing on communities with populations of over 50,000 (n=1839), we found that 27.90% of these locations included provisions for offering some type of incentive to property owners, and 6.14% indicated plans to add such practices in future updates. We organized these mechanisms into 15 broad categories to improve navigation and highlighted some examples to present a wide range of possible approaches for adopting and implementing these practices. Our results indicate that incentives are not always substantiated in official documents, can vary in ease of implementation, and often target only one stage of a tree’s life cycle. We align with previous research that there is no “one-size-fits-all” approach and conclude that it is important to consider the holistic process of a tree’s life cycle, the specific and individual details for each situation, as well as evaluate long-term impacts before tailoring the most suitable incentive mechanism for context-appropriate urban forest management plans.

Abstract: This study integrates sedimentological and stratigraphic insights into the Ediacaran fluviolacustrine successions of the Amane n’Tourhart and Tifernine basins. The Amane n’Tourhart Basin developed within a caldera volcanic context, whereas the Tifernine Basin formed in a pre-caldera setting. These successions provide valuable information about the sedimentary processes operating in late Ediacaran continental environments. Field observations, facies analysis, and petrography reveal a variety of siliciclastic, carbonate, mixed siliciclastic- carbonate, and volcaniclastic facies. These facies form associations indicative of alluvial fan, floodplain, and shallow-water lacustrine settings. Alluvial fan deposits are dominated by conglomerates and sandstones forming braided systems. Fluviolacustrine sequences show a transition from clayey siltstones with calcareous nodules to nodular and massive limestones, marking a gradual shift from fluvial to lacustrine conditions. Laminated limestones and stromatolites indicate intermittent microbial activity that contributed to carbonate precipitation. Sedimentation was strongly influenced by volcanic inputs and climatic fluctuations, alternating between humid and arid conditions. These factors drove cycles of channel incision, sediment infill, and lake expansion–contraction, illustrating the dynamic interplay of tectonics, volcanism, and climate that modulated deposition in these Ediacaran terrestrial basins.

Abstract: The sustainability transition driven in large part by global climate change has created demand for a new generation of green technologies highly dependent on rare earth minerals. These rare earth and critical minerals are also needed for consumer and medical products as well as for military uses. This has created unintended risks, as China has assumed the world’s dominant position by controlling access to and pro-cessing of these minerals, leaving countries around the world to develop policies and approaches to minimize national security risks. This paper reviews the sustainability drivers of REEs as well as the role that the U.S. administration is taking which has triggered geopolitical tensions with historic NATO allies including the threat of ac-quiring Greenland for access to REEs and critical minerals. We explore the great power competition over REEs and chart the location and value of NATO as an alliance in these terms. This includes developing up to date data on the spatial variability of key minerals for the sustainability transition possessed by NATO and other U.S. friendly nations.

Abstract: Existing coal spontaneous combustion liability assessments suffer from incomplete temperature range coverage, poor cross-rank comparability, and weak correlations between microscopic essence and macroscopic criteria—issues that undermine reliability and risk coal mine safety. This study aims to establish a structure-driven intrinsic identification system to address these gaps. Using 10 cross-rank coal samples (lignite, bituminous coal, anthracite), we conducted systematic research via experiments, model building, and theoretical verification. We integrated three stage-specific parameters (each matching a combustion phase): saturated oxygen uptake (VO2, 30℃ chromatographic adsorption), average heating rate R70 (40−70℃ adiabatic oxidation), and Fuel Combustion Characteristic index (FCC, 110−230℃ crossing point method). With Information Entropy weighting (VO2:0.296; R70: 0.292; FCC: 0.412), we constructed the Multi-Factor Comprehensive Spontaneous Combustion Index (MF-CSCI). We also screened functional groups via FTIR, built a microstructure-driven model (MD-CSEI, linking groups to MF-CSCI), and verified mechanisms via DFT. Results show MF-CSCI covers the full “adsorption-heat accumulation-self-heating” process: HG lignite (MF-CSCI=1.0) had high liability, YCW anthracite (MF-CSCI=7.98) low liability, solving cross-rank issues. Pearson analysis found −OH positively correlated with MF-CSCI (r≈0.997), C=C negatively (r≈−0.951); MD-CSEI achieved R2=0.863 (P=0.042).This study improves cross-rank assessment accuracy, enables rapid micro-to-macro risk prediction, and provides a theoretical basis for on-site coal safety management.

Abstract:

Knowledge about the germination potential of Mandacaru seeds is fundamental for maintaining breeding programs and germplasm banks. Thus, we aimed to study the germination of stored and freshly harvested mandacaru seeds in order to investigate seed viability as a function of storage imposition, in addition to characterizing seed anatomy and conducting biochemical evaluation. Germination tests were conducted in a completely randomized design in a 2×6 factorial scheme, with two storage conditions and six temperatures (15, 20, 25, 30, 35, and 40°C), with 4 replications of 25 seeds each. Anatomical evaluation tests and biochemical tests had 5 and 10 replications for each storage condition, respectively. It is concluded that the range of 25-35°C is ideal for germination of C. jamacaru seeds, and temperatures below 20°C and above 35°C are detrimental to germination. X-ray computed microtomography was efficient for characterizing seed anatomy and differentiating their tissues, allowing accurate and clear evaluation of their internal structures, and proper storage was efficient in minimizing the deleterious effects of H₂O₂ and MDA accumulation.

Abstract: Collecting and analysing data after an earthquake is essential to determine its impact. In 2014, the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) launched the LastQuake system. This system collects intensity reports from users to help provide rapid situational awareness. However, text data collected through crowdsourcing platforms is unstructured. Therefore, natural language processing techniques such as sentiment analysis are necessary to extract meaningful information. On the 26th November 2019, following an earthquake in Albania, the LastQuake app recorded 28,220 reports with user comments. For the current analysis, we sampled comments posted on the exact day of the earthquake, in Albanian: 1678 comments (6%). The most frequent polarity detected in comments from LastQuake app users was negative (52%) followed by far by positive, neutral and unrelated comments. However, manual classification is time-consuming and not feasible during the emergency phase. Therefore, we tested the accuracy of two automatic classification models for sentiment analysis: ‘troberta’ and ‘txlm’. These models were fine-tuned using already classified text data from the 2020 Aegean earthquake. Using the manual classification as the reference to evaluate the accuracy of automatic classification models for sentiment analysis yields accuracies of 71% for the ‘troberta’ model and 56% for the ‘txlm’ model.

Abstract: Sustainable climate adaptation in Bangladesh's highly vulnerable char regions is critically constrained by a financing gap between household commitment and financial capacity. This study diagnoses this “capacity-commitment gap” and proposes a novel blended finance solution. Applying the Contingent Valuation Method to 400 households in Bangladesh’s climate-vulnerable char regions, we employ Probit and Tobit models to analyze Willingness to Pay (WTP). We find strong motivation (65% WTP) but severely constrained capacity, with 90% of contributions capped at ≤400 BDT/month. Econometric analysis reveals that human capital (education) and experiential learning (disaster experience) are more powerful drivers of WTP than income alone, while a paradox of low institutional trust correlates with higher stated contributions—indicating fatalistic self-reliance. Crucially, stated WTP amounts reflect a strict affordability ceiling, not marginal valuation, invalidating user-pays models. We translate this diagnostic evidence into an innovative financial architecture: a Char Resilience Bond. This instrument securitizes the aggregate value of formalized in-kind community co-investment (labor, local knowledge) to credit-enhance and leverage external capital. Our study provides an actionable blueprint for transforming demonstrated local need into bankable adaptation investments, advancing the literature on financing public goods in subsistence economies.

Abstract: This paper examines the Lambert conformal conic (LCC) projection. Although its equations are well established, they are rederived here because a new notation, V, defined as the reciprocal of the commonly used U, is introduced to simplify the expressions. Using the resulting distortion formulas, the conditions determining whether the projection has two, one, or no standard parallels are obtained. To identify an optimal LCC configuration, we adopt a criterion requiring that the local linear scale factors at the two boundary parallels be equal, and that the maximum scale factor exceed 1 by the same amount that the minimum falls below 1. Applying this criterion to the territory of Bulgaria, we compute a new, optimized pair of standard parallels, which constitutes the main contribution of this study.

Abstract:

The ecological status of lakes based on ichthyofauna, as defined by the Water Framework Directive, is assessed using intercalibrated methods. However, the methods adopted (in Poland, the Lake Fish Index LFI-EN method, based on results of one-off fishing with multi-mesh gillnets) are labor-intensive and do not allow for frequent repeat testing. Therefore, the concept of a simple model describing changes in the relative number of single traces in the vertical profile (according to the TS target strength distribution) in a lake is presented, as well as an index (the sum of deviations from such a model), enabling quantification of the similarity of TS distributions in lakes with this model. Preliminary analyses were conducted on acoustic data collected in Lake Dejguny. This lake—the condition of which could be estimated based on historical data using the relationships between LFI and the degree of lake eutrophication (expressed by Carlson’s TSI)—was assessed as having a good status in 2006, whereas in 2021, (based on LFI-EN) it had a moderate status. The study tested the TS distribution model, calculated as the arithmetic mean of the relative number of single traces in 2 m-thick layers. It was also shown that the proposed indicator can effectively signal deterioration of ecological status—the sum of the absolute values of the TS distribution deviations in 2021 (moderate status) from the model was more than seven times greater than the sum of the deviations of the distributions from which the model was built (good status). The obtained results confirmed the hypothesis about the possibility of determining a characteristic distribution of single traces in the vertical profile when the lake was classified as being in good condition.

Abstract: This study investigates hydro-meteorological trends in five Alpine catchments within the Upper Po River basin, spanning Northwestern Italy and Southern Switzerland. We ana-lyzed climatic variables from 25 weather stations (1950–2022) alongside streamflow data from 14 river sections (1911–2022). Trends were assessed using the Mann-Kendall test to detect monotonic changes and the Theil-Sen estimator to quantify magnitude, ensuring robustness against outliers. Results reveal pronounced warming, particularly in spring maximum temperatures (+0.95 °C per decade). Conversely, average and minimum daily temperatures show lower rates (+0.50 and +0.39 °C per decade). Consequently, potential evapotranspiration increased significantly (+15.1 mm per decade), contributing to a marked decline in summer streamflow in 8 out of 14 sections. Correlation analysis con-firms that snow dynamics modulate the hydrological response: while precipitation drives discharge annually and in autumn, winter exhibits a weaker coupling, as winter precipi-tation is partially stored in the basin as snow, contributing to discharge during spring and summer. By focusing on this strategic region for European agriculture and industry, the study provides essential insights to support effective adaptation strategies.