Nonlinear responses of coupled socioecological systems to land use and climate changes in the Yangtze river basin

Abstract The intensification of land use and climate change threatens watershed sustainability. These external disturbances drive complex interactions among components within watershed socio-ecological systems (SESs). Understanding how SESs respond to these changes is crucial for developing effectiv...

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Main Authors: Jianping Wu, Wenjie Li, Hongbo Du, Yu Wan, Shengfa Yang, Yi Xiao
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-02-01
Series:Scientific Reports
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-92084-8
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author Jianping Wu
Wenjie Li
Hongbo Du
Yu Wan
Shengfa Yang
Yi Xiao
author_facet Jianping Wu
Wenjie Li
Hongbo Du
Yu Wan
Shengfa Yang
Yi Xiao
author_sort Jianping Wu
collection DOAJ
description Abstract The intensification of land use and climate change threatens watershed sustainability. These external disturbances drive complex interactions among components within watershed socio-ecological systems (SESs). Understanding how SESs respond to these changes is crucial for developing effective integrated watershed management strategies. Nevertheless, the nonlinear responses of these systems to such changes remain poorly understood. To fill this gap, this study proposes a network analysis method focusing on the Yangtze River Basin to construct an SES network comprising six dimensions, revealing the response of coupled relationships among network elements to climate and land-use change. The results showed that changes in land-use dynamics (LUD) and the standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI) altered the link count and importance of network nodes, with notable shifts in vegetation and landscape nodes. Importantly, a strong nonlinear response of the LUD and SPEI to the coupled relationship between SES elements was observed, and critical thresholds were identified for all network attributes. Furthermore, compared to the SPEI threshold, the LUD threshold was stable at 0.24, demonstrating stronger robustness. This study provides a new perspective for understanding watershed SESs, and has important implications for sustainable ecosystem management and planning.
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issn 2045-2322
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publishDate 2025-02-01
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spelling doaj-art-4767a97b3f5d47d8a93e91ba7204a91e2025-08-20T03:04:16ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-02-0115111310.1038/s41598-025-92084-8Nonlinear responses of coupled socioecological systems to land use and climate changes in the Yangtze river basinJianping Wu0Wenjie Li1Hongbo Du2Yu Wan3Shengfa Yang4Yi Xiao5Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Hydraulic and Water Transport Engineering, Chongqing Jiaotong UniversityNational Inland Waterway Regulation Engineering Technology Research Center, Chongqing Jiaotong UniversityNational Inland Waterway Regulation Engineering Technology Research Center, Chongqing Jiaotong UniversityNational Inland Waterway Regulation Engineering Technology Research Center, Chongqing Jiaotong UniversityNational Inland Waterway Regulation Engineering Technology Research Center, Chongqing Jiaotong UniversityNational Inland Waterway Regulation Engineering Technology Research Center, Chongqing Jiaotong UniversityAbstract The intensification of land use and climate change threatens watershed sustainability. These external disturbances drive complex interactions among components within watershed socio-ecological systems (SESs). Understanding how SESs respond to these changes is crucial for developing effective integrated watershed management strategies. Nevertheless, the nonlinear responses of these systems to such changes remain poorly understood. To fill this gap, this study proposes a network analysis method focusing on the Yangtze River Basin to construct an SES network comprising six dimensions, revealing the response of coupled relationships among network elements to climate and land-use change. The results showed that changes in land-use dynamics (LUD) and the standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI) altered the link count and importance of network nodes, with notable shifts in vegetation and landscape nodes. Importantly, a strong nonlinear response of the LUD and SPEI to the coupled relationship between SES elements was observed, and critical thresholds were identified for all network attributes. Furthermore, compared to the SPEI threshold, the LUD threshold was stable at 0.24, demonstrating stronger robustness. This study provides a new perspective for understanding watershed SESs, and has important implications for sustainable ecosystem management and planning.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-92084-8Yangtze river basinSocio-ecological systemsLand-use changeClimate changeNetwork analysis
spellingShingle Jianping Wu
Wenjie Li
Hongbo Du
Yu Wan
Shengfa Yang
Yi Xiao
Nonlinear responses of coupled socioecological systems to land use and climate changes in the Yangtze river basin
Scientific Reports
Yangtze river basin
Socio-ecological systems
Land-use change
Climate change
Network analysis
title Nonlinear responses of coupled socioecological systems to land use and climate changes in the Yangtze river basin
title_full Nonlinear responses of coupled socioecological systems to land use and climate changes in the Yangtze river basin
title_fullStr Nonlinear responses of coupled socioecological systems to land use and climate changes in the Yangtze river basin
title_full_unstemmed Nonlinear responses of coupled socioecological systems to land use and climate changes in the Yangtze river basin
title_short Nonlinear responses of coupled socioecological systems to land use and climate changes in the Yangtze river basin
title_sort nonlinear responses of coupled socioecological systems to land use and climate changes in the yangtze river basin
topic Yangtze river basin
Socio-ecological systems
Land-use change
Climate change
Network analysis
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-92084-8
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