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        <title>Frontiers in Environmental Science | New and Recent Articles</title>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/environmental-science</link>
        <description>RSS Feed for Frontiers in Environmental Science | New and Recent Articles</description>
        <language>en-us</language>
        <generator>Frontiers Feed Generator,version:1</generator>
        <pubDate>2026-08-20T13:29:10.62+00:00</pubDate>
        <ttl>60</ttl>
        <item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2026.1916729</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2026.1916729</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Event-driven atmospheric forcing and meltwater lake response in maritime antarctic]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-08-20T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Shoukat Ali Shah</author><author>Mingliang Liu</author><author>Songtao Ai</author><author>Huanfeng Shen</author>
        <description><![CDATA[IntroductionMaritime Antarctic meltwater lakes are highly sensitive to atmospheric variability, yet their short-term hydrothermal responses remain poorly understood because most studies rely on seasonal or daily observations that cannot resolve sub-daily atmosphere–lake interactions.MethodsThis study investigated Yanou Lake, a shallow maritime Antarctic meltwater lake, using continuous 5‐min meteorological and hydrological observations collected over 66 days during the 2025–2026 austral summer. Wind speed, air temperature, atmospheric pressure, water temperature, and lake depth were analyzed using an integrated framework combining event‐based atmospheric forcing detection, lagged correlation, wavelet coherence, change‐point detection, and statistically validated threshold analysis.ResultsA total of 916 five‐min event observations (4.84% of the record) were grouped into 12 independent compound atmospheric forcing events. Cross‐correlation analysis identified weak but measurable delayed atmosphere–lake associations, while autocorrelation indicated persistence in water temperature (75.6 h) and lake depth (165.9 h). Wavelet coherence showed that atmosphere–lake coupling was intermittent and scale dependent, strengthening only during discrete atmospheric events. Event‐level analyses indicated that average lake responses were small and varied among individual events. Change‐point analysis identified repeated thermal and hydrological reorganizations, whereas statistically supported thresholds of 6.22 m s -1 (wind speed) and 2.41 °C (air temperature) were associated with changes in lake behaviour.DiscussionThese findings demonstrate that atmosphere–lake interactions in Yanou Lake are governed by delayed, episodic, and nonlinear processes rather than persistent atmospheric control. The proposed high‐frequency analytical framework provides a transferable approach for investigating short‐term hydroclimatic dynamics in Antarctic meltwater lakes and improves understanding of cryosphere–hydrology interactions under ongoing polar climate change.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2026.1915601</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2026.1915601</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Hydrological controls on dissolved carbon export from permafrost peatland catchments of northeastern China]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-08-20T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Shujie Wang</author><author>Yuedong Guo</author><author>Hao Zhang</author><author>Yaqin Miao</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Peatlands in Eurasian permafrost regions are among the world’s most important soil carbon reservoirs and may strongly influence future climate through carbon release. Runoff-mediated dissolved carbon export represents a critical carbon-loss pathway in permafrost peatlands, yet observations from the southern margin of Eurasian permafrost remain scarce. Here, we investigated dissolved carbon export from two differently sized permafrost peatland catchments in the Greater Khingan Mountains, northeastern China. We estimated dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) export fluxes and evaluated hydrological controls on dissolved carbon dynamics using three fluorescence indices. DOC and DIC concentrations were closely coupled with discharge during seasonal hydrological fluctuations, indicating that runoff dynamics were the primary driver of dissolved carbon export. During the growing season, the Fukuqi River exported 703.84 t total dissolved carbon, equivalent to approximately 20% of peatland net ecosystem exchange. Hydrological processes regulated not only dissolved carbon fluxes and the relative contributions of DOC and DIC, but also DOC chemical characteristics. Flood-peak flows promoted the export of more humified DOC, characterized by higher humification index and lower fluorescence index and freshness index, whereas baseflow showed the opposite pattern. The vertical organic–mineral stratification of peatland soils, with contrasting hydraulic transmissivity and dissolved-carbon production potential, directly governed temporal variations in discharge and dissolved carbon concentrations. Active-layer deepening may increase runoff contributions from deeper mineral soils, thereby increasing the DIC fraction while reducing DOC concentration and the degree of humification. Fluorescence indices were consistently correlated with discharge across both catchments, suggesting their potential as robust indicators of hydrological processes. Overall, these findings highlight runoff-mediated dissolved carbon export as an underrepresented carbon-loss pathway and suggest that permafrost degradation will reshape both the magnitude and chemical composition of dissolved carbon exports under future warming.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2026.1896671</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2026.1896671</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Spatiotemporal patterns, propagation mechanisms, and driving factors of agricultural and groundwater droughts across major agricultural regions of Northeast China]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-08-20T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Yong Huang</author><author>Zhaoqiang Zhou</author><author>Renjie Hou</author><author>Qinglin Li</author><author>Yibo Ding</author><author>Tian Wang</author><author>Peng Chen</author><author>Xiaowen Wang</author>
        <description><![CDATA[IntroductionCold region agriculture is an important component of the global food security system. In recent years, cold regions have experienced significant warming and increasingly frequent extreme events. However, the propagation characteristics and driving mechanisms of different drought types across agricultural regions in cold regions remain insufficiently understood. Therefore, this study focused on Northeast China, a major grain-producing region located in the high-latitude cold zone.MethodsMeteorological drought (MD), agricultural drought (AD), and groundwater drought (GD) were characterized across different agricultural regions. Drought response time and propagation time were analyzed to quantify the temporal relationships among different drought types. A drought propagation model was constructed to identify propagation thresholds and evaluate the drought resistance capacities of different agricultural regions. Furthermore, an XGBoost model combined with SHAP analysis was used to identify the main factors influencing AD and GD.Results(1) MD was more severe in the western and northern parts of the study area, AD was more severe in the southwestern and southeastern parts, and GD was more severe in the northern, western, and southwestern parts. (2) The propagation times between different drought types were generally longer in winter than during the growing season. (3) The soil water systems in the western, central, and southwestern parts of the study area exhibited relatively high resistance to MD, whereas groundwater systems in parts of the central and eastern regions showed relatively high resistance to AD. (4) Shallow soil temperature was one of the most important factors influencing AD in Northeast China, while the dominant factors influencing GD varied among agricultural regions.DiscussionThese findings improve the understanding of drought propagation processes and regional differences in drought resistance in cold regions under climate change and provide a scientific basis for region-specific drought monitoring and risk prevention.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2026.1810630</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2026.1810630</link>
        <title><![CDATA[The impact of environmental performance industry gap on corporate green collaborative innovation]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-08-20T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Xiaoping Hu</author><author>Xiajing Xu</author>
        <description><![CDATA[IntroductionTighter environmental regulations and stiffer competition are subjecting an increasing number of firms to environmental performance pressure.MethodsThis study draws on the Theory of Firm Behavior, Upper Echelons Theory, and the Red Queen Effect to examine how environmental performance industry gap affects corporate green collaborative innovation, using panel data from Chinese listed firms covering 2010–2023. It further examines the moderating roles of managerial risk preference and green strategic orientation, as well as the heterogeneity across industry attributes.ResultsThe findings reveal that environmental performance industry gap significantly promotes corporate green collaborative innovation. Managerial risk preference negatively moderates this relationship, whereas green strategic orientation exerts a positive moderating effect. In addition, heterogeneity analysis demonstrates that this driving effect is significant in low-carbon industries but not in high-carbon ones.DiscussionThe conclusions provide an integrated perspective for understanding the driving mechanisms of corporate green collaborative innovation and offer meaningful implications for promoting corporate green transformation and for governments to formulate differentiated environmental policies.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2026.1900482</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2026.1900482</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Leaf mould as a potential peat substitute in leafy vegetable seedling production — a citizen science study]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-08-20T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Emese Gyöngyösi</author><author>Nuri Nurlaila Setiawan</author><author>László Csambalik</author><author>Ferenc Tóth</author><author>Anna Divéky-Ertsey</author><author>Dóra Drexler</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Peat extraction contributes to habitat loss, lowers water tables in peatlands, and releases stored carbon into the atmosphere. Rising awareness about the unsustainable use of peat as a growing medium has led to the search for more environmentally friendly alternatives. Leaf mould (also known as leaf compost), derived from deciduous leaves and characterised by a soft, porous structure, represents a potentially renewable peat-free substrate for seedling production. This study evaluated the suitability of mature leaf mould for vegetable seedling production using a citizen science approach. Hobby and market gardeners from Hungary cultivated lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.), kale (Brassica oleracea var. sabellica L.), kohlrabi (Brassica oleracea var. gongylodes L.), and pak choi (Brassica rapa subsp. chinensis (L.) Hanelt) in leaf mould and in commercially available or homemade control substrates. Seed emergence and seedling development were monitored for up to six weeks. Data collected included seed emergence, visual seedling appearance, and the number of true leaves, supported by photographic records. Overall, leaf mould supported seed germination to a similar extent as the control substrates. Seedling appearance was significantly improved in leaf mould compared with the control media for kale (p = 0.016) and pak choi (p = 0.007). Of the four crops, only pak choi developed significantly fewer true leaves in leaf mould than in the control substrates. The comparable performance of seedlings grown in leaf mould and control substrates, together with the observed improvements in seedling appearance for some crops, indicates that mature leaf mould can effectively support the early development of the tested vegetable seedlings. It may therefore represent a viable peat-free substrate for seedling production. The findings also demonstrate the potential of citizen science for evaluating horticultural growing media under practical cultivation conditions.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2026.1803763</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2026.1803763</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Prioritizing public investments for low-carbon rural e-commerce in China: an AHP–TOPSIS framework linking income growth and environmental performance]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-08-19T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Peng Zhang</author>
        <description><![CDATA[IntroductionRural e commerce is widely promoted in China to expand market access and increase rural incomes. However, its rapid development also creates environmental pressures through logistics related emissions and packaging waste. This study aims to identify and prioritize public investment packages that can support rural income growth while promoting low carbon development.MethodsAn integrated Analytic Hierarchy Process and Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (AHP TOPSIS) framework is developed to evaluate and rank public investment options for rural e commerce development. Pairwise comparison questionnaires from 60 experts are aggregated using the geometric mean to derive criterion weights. Six main criteria and 20 indicators are considered, covering digital infrastructure, logistics capability, human capital, market linkage, inclusive economic impact, and environmental outcomes. Five alternative public investment packages are evaluated using TOPSIS based on their distances from the positive and negative ideal solutions. Sensitivity analysis with ±30% weight perturbations and scenario analysis under inclusion, growth, and environmental priorities are also conducted to assess ranking robustness.ResultsThe baseline TOPSIS results show that A4 ranks first with a closeness coefficient of 0.630, followed by A2 with 0.593. A5 and A1 form a middle tier with coefficients of 0.556 and 0.534, respectively, whereas A3 ranks last with 0.489. The sensitivity analysis shows limited rank reversals, mainly among the middle ranked alternatives. Across the inclusion, growth, and environmental scenarios, A4 and A2 consistently remain the two highest ranked alternatives.DiscussionThe results indicate that skills and entrepreneurship support (A4) and low carbon logistics investment (A2) provide the most robust performance across different policy priorities. These findings suggest that rural development policies should combine human capital development with low carbon logistics infrastructure rather than focus on income growth alone. The proposed AHP-TOPSIS framework provides a transparent and robust decision support tool for prioritizing rural e commerce investments under multiple economic, social, logistical, and environmental objectives.]]></description>
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        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2026.1915548</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2026.1915548</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Financial incentives or fiscal support? the differential impacts of green credit and green subsidies on corporate carbon intensity]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-08-19T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Bo Wen</author><author>Dayi He</author><author>Ping Lei</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Green credit is a market-oriented financial instrument. Green subsidies are government-led fiscal instruments. Both are important policy instruments for directing resources toward green sectors. However, existing studies have generally examined the two instruments separately, with few comparing their target recipients and low-carbon resource allocation characteristics within a unified framework. This study develops a theoretical model incorporating firms, banks, and the government and compares the allocation of capital and output to low-carbon firms relative to high-carbon firms under alternative policy scenarios. Building on this framework, this study conducts an empirical analysis using data on China’s A-share listed firms. The results show that corporate carbon emission intensity is significantly negatively associated with the probability of obtaining both green credit and green subsidies, indicating that both types of policy resources are generally allocated preferentially to low-carbon firms. Compared with green subsidies, green credit exhibits stronger screening of low-carbon firms. This study reveals differences between green credit and green subsidies in low-carbon resource allocation and provides guidance for improving both policy instruments.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2026.1920143</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2026.1920143</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Ethical tensions in renewable energy transitions: a philosophical examination of innovation cycles, intergenerational justice, and the moral imperative of responsible decommissioning]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-08-19T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Conceptual Analysis</category>
        <author>Qunchao Huang</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Accelerated innovation in renewable energy technologies drives the energy transition, but it can also intensify end-of-life material risks and expose the transition to a form of systemic fragility. This conceptual paper examines those ethical tensions across photovoltaic modules, wind-turbine blades, and lithium-ion batteries. It advances a normative argument grounded in Hans Jonas’s imperative of responsibility, Rawls’s just savings principle, Gardiner’s “perfect moral storm,” and Science and Technology Studies critiques of technological determinism. It further conceptualizes resilience as the capacity of the renewable-energy material–institutional system to anticipate, absorb, adapt to, and transform in response to technology turnover, resource constraints, and decommissioning pressures without shifting uncompensated ecological burdens to future generations or marginalized communities. The paper therefore connects responsible decommissioning to the 2030 Agenda’s integrated Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially SDGs 7, 9, 12, 13, and 17, and reframes governance as a multi-actor sustainability transition rather than a voluntary manufacturer response. It concludes that bounded acceleration—linking deployment, design, repairability, take-back, recycling, public information, and accountability across the life cycle—is a moral and institutional condition of a just and resilient energy transition.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2026.1854489</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2026.1854489</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Smart economies and climate outcomes: assessing the impact of digital transformation, economic resilience, and renewable energy on CO2 emissions]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-08-19T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Sobia Naseem</author>
        <description><![CDATA[In recent years, the rapid evolution of information and communication technology (ICT) has profoundly influenced various sectors of the economy. Nevertheless, it is crucial to underscore the environmental ramifications of the rapid expansion of information and communication technology. This research aims to examine the asymmetric effects of information and communication technology, renewable energy consumption, foreign direct investment, and economic growth on CO2 emissions in G-20 countries from 2000 to 2022. The study used Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares (DOLS) and Pooled Mean Group Autoregressive Distributed Lag (PMG-ARDL) techniques. The preliminary step was to determine the normality of the data series using the second-generation unit-root tests (CIPS and CADF), which are known for their high efficiency and accuracy compared to the first-generation tests. The Pedroni and Westerlund cointegration test confirms a long-run relationship among foreign direct investment (FDI), economic growth (EG), information and communication technology (ICT), renewable energy (RE), and CO2 emissions, as supported by the error correction term. The PMG-ARDL and DOLS analytical techniques confirm a positive contribution of FDI, EG, and ICT to CO2 emissions, and declare that the G-20 countries face environmental sustainability challenges, even though they account for the largest share of global GDP and international trade. The appropriate policy implications and keenly observed practices of these sectors can help achieve a zero-carbon-emission environment without compromising economic growth, international trade, and global technological competition.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2026.1829377</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2026.1829377</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Donor-recipient interactions and the governance of the Water-Energy-Food-Health (WEFH) nexus in Uganda]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-08-18T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Aisha Nalugya</author><author>Tonny Ssekamatte</author><author>Richard K. Mugambe</author><author>Bas J. M. Van Vliet</author>
        <description><![CDATA[IntroductionThe Water-Energy-Food and Health (WEFH) nexus has gained prominence as an approach for improving policy coherence across interconnected sectors. In low- and middle-income countries, donor agencies play a central role in shaping WEFH policies and interventions. However, the influence of donor-recipient interactions on local-level WEFH governance remains underexplored, despite implications for priority-setting, resource allocation, and sustainability across sectors.MethodsWe conducted 20 key informant interviews with stakeholders from government ministries, development agencies, and civil society, purposively sampled to capture diverse positions across the WEFH governance landscape. Document reviews were used to corroborate and validate interview findings. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis, with NVivo software supporting coding and data organization.ResultsThe findings show that donor agencies significantly shaped WEFH governance across six action situations: policy formulation, program design, resource allocation, inter-ministerial coordination, monitoring, and international policy alignment. While ministries maintained formal authority, donor funding and technical assistance influenced policy priorities, where programs were implemented, and resource distribution. Rules-in-use, particularly boundary, choice, and payoff rules, were redefined through donor conditions. Participation also remained asymmetric, with local governments and non-core ministries excluded from upstream decision-making. These interactions led to varying governance outcomes: improved coordination efficiency, enhanced attention to equity and inclusion, strengthened institutional capacity and policy alignment with frameworks. However, they also reinforced fragmentation, spatial inequities, accountability tensions, and sustainability challenges beyond donor project cycles.DiscussionThese findings show that donor-recipient interactions are not merely financing relationships, but governance mechanisms that shape decision-making, participation, resource allocation, reporting, and accountability in WEFH systems. Externally funded governance can create hybrid action situations in which formal state authority and donor practical leverage diverge. Strengthening WEFH governance therefore requires earlier inclusion of subnational actors in upstream decision-making, harmonized reporting systems across donors and ministries, equitable financing arrangements, and stronger alignment of donor support with national priorities and local realities.]]></description>
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        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2026.1865597</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2026.1865597</link>
        <title><![CDATA[UWMR-net: uncertainty-aware and wind-guided remote-sensing fusion for urban PM2.5 and ozone forecasting]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-08-18T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Shaoru Feng</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Accurately characterizing the spatio-temporal evolution of urban air pollution and its meteorological response remains challenging because public multi-source observations are often asynchronous, incomplete, and heterogeneous. To address this issue, this study proposes UWMR-Net, an uncertainty-aware and wind-guided spatio-temporal framework that integrates public remote-sensing products, meteorological reanalysis, static land-surface attributes, and activity-related proxies for joint pollutant forecasting and meteorological-response diagnosis. The model combines an uncertainty-aware fusion module for quality-, lag-, and missingness-sensitive multi-modal integration, a wind-guided dynamic propagation backbone for directional transport modeling, and a counterfactual response branch for separating atmospheric response from background emission-related signals. Experiments on two public study domains, Los Angeles and the Po Valley, show that UWMR-Net achieves the best performance with five-seed mean ± SD reporting across PM2.5 and O3 1-day-ahead and 7-day-ahead forecasting tasks. The UWMR-Net entries are calculated from cleaned row-level test predictions over five independent random seeds. Rolling-origin backtests, macro-area diagnostics, extreme-event analyses, and split-conformal prediction intervals further characterize temporal stability, spatial heterogeneity, and calibrated forecast uncertainty. Counterfactual case studies additionally reveal spatially coherent meteorological enhancement and mitigation patterns during representative particulate and ozone episodes. These results demonstrate that uncertainty-aware fusion and wind-guided response modeling provide an effective and interpretable framework for urban air-pollution forecasting and meteorological-response analysis from public multi-source data.]]></description>
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        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2026.1885945</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2026.1885945</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Diversified legume-based crop rotations enhance nutrient cycling and long-term productivity in tropical no-tillage systems]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-08-17T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Telmo Jorge Carneiro Amado</author><author>Jackson Ernani Fiorin</author><author>William Ramos da Silva</author><author>Thiago Massao Inagaki</author><author>Ulfried Arns</author><author>Tiago Wyzykowski</author><author>Felipe José Cury Fracetto</author><author>Ademir de Oliveira Ferreira</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Diversified no-tillage crop successions are key strategies for improving soil health, productivity, and sustainability in tropical environments. However, adoption of diversified cropping systems remains limited due to economic, cultural, and technical constraints. This study aimed to evaluate how long-term diversified crop rotations, differing in legume inclusion and mineral phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) fertilization, influence system nitrogen (N), P, and K budgets, biomass production, and crop productivity in mature tropical no-tillage systems (NTS). Using a 10-year field experiment established on a tropical Ferralsol in southern Brazil, we evaluated six long-term crop rotations that differed in crop diversification, inclusion of Fabaceae cover crops, and phosphorus and potassium mineral fertilization. Total system N, P, and K budgets were quantified by integrating nutrient inputs, crop uptake, grain nutrient export, biomass nutrient cycling, and net soil nutrient balances. Intensive legume-based rotations increased crop productivity compared with low-diversity, non-legume rotations (specifically, the two-crop black oat/common bean succession). Vetch-based rotations under optimal or suboptimal mineral fertilization, as well as unfertilized vetch rotations, produced the highest cumulative grain yields (∼52,000 kg ha-1), representing a 38% increase (a 1.38-fold increase) over the black oat/common bean rotation (∼38,000 kg ha-1). This response was associated with a 40% increase in aboveground biomass and grain yield when maize followed hairy vetch rather than black oat. Legume-intensive rotations under optimal mineral fertilization or without fertilization maintained a strongly positive N budget (+559 kg ha-1), whereas the low-diversity black oat/common bean rotation showed a net N deficit. Conversely, all unfertilized systems, including the highly productive unfertilized hairy vetch-based rotations, exhibited strongly negative P and K budgets, indicating a progressive risk of soil fertility depletion. Only suboptimal mineral-fertilized vetch rotations partially offset these nutrient deficits in highly crop-productive systems. The study highlights the role of legume-based crop rotations as a key strategy to sustain a positive N budget, thereby supporting nutrient cycling and crop productivity under tropical NTS. Maintaining nutrient balance remained dependent on coupling biological N fixation with balanced mineral P and K fertilization to offset nutrient export deficits in high-yield systems and to reduce the risk of long-term soil fertility depletion.]]></description>
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        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2026.1887509</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2026.1887509</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Judicial incentives for ecological repair: voluntary restoration and probation in China’s environmental criminal judgments]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-08-17T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Tan Zhao</author><author>Xin Jin</author><author>Xuan Wang</author>
        <description><![CDATA[In environmental criminal justice, defendants who restore the damaged ecosystem often receive more lenient sentences. Restoration in judgment documents, however, comes from two institutionally distinct sources: pre-judgment voluntary restoration initiated by the defendant, and court-ordered restoration imposed in the operative verdict. Whether the two are associated with sentencing leniency to a similar degree, and why courts respond as they do, carries direct implications for environmental governance, since the two sources point to different policy levers: encouraging early acceptance of responsibility versus strengthening post-judgment supervision. Drawing on 92,365 first-instance environmental criminal judgments delivered in China between 2014 and 2020, this study estimates the association of each restoration type with probation, the principal observable form of sentencing leniency. Linear probability models include province, year, month, offence-type, and court-hierarchy-level fixed effects and control for the main statutory sentencing factors; logit and probit estimation, propensity score matching, entropy balancing, Oster sensitivity analysis, and a specification curve across 108 model configurations confirm the pattern. Voluntary restoration is associated with a probation probability approximately 10 percentage points higher, whereas the court-ordered association is markedly weaker and statistically unstable. We then evaluate three candidate mechanisms for the voluntary–probation association: a signalling mechanism, in which restoration conveys the defendant’s remorse and accountability; an ecological-recovery mechanism, in which leniency rewards verified recovery; and an operational mechanism, in which probation enables defendants to complete restoration tasks. Within voluntary cases, verified-effective restoration is not more strongly associated with probation than ordinary in-kind or special-fund restoration, and in-kind restoration is not more strongly associated than fund-based restoration—patterns favouring the signalling mechanism. The findings suggest that strengthening environmental governance through judicial channels requires not only encouraging early, verifiable restoration through predictable sentencing incentives, but also developing independent ecological-performance verification and safeguards against pay-for-leniency.]]></description>
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        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2026.1848445</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2026.1848445</link>
        <title><![CDATA[New-quality productivity and rating-based ESG outcomes: the roles of green innovation and intelligent technology]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-08-17T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Pengfei Hu</author><author>Fang Wang</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Regarding the synergetic progression of high-quality development and China’s “dual carbon” objectives, the relationship between new-quality productivity (Npro) and firms’ environmental, social, and governance (ESG) ratings has become an important issue in corporate sustainability research. A key practical concern is that firms’ technology investment may not necessarily translate into improved ESG rating performance. Using data from Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share listed companies from 2011 to 2022, this study develops an integrated framework linking Npro, green innovation (GI), intelligent technology, and rating-based ESG outcomes. Specifically, it examines the parallel mediating roles of green technological innovation (Gt) and green management innovation (Gm), the moderating roles of digital transformation (Dig) and artificial intelligence (AI), and regional heterogeneity across eastern, central, and western China. The findings show that Npro is positively associated with firms’ rating-based ESG outcomes, and this association remains stable across lagged-variable tests, IV-based sensitivity analysis, and multidimensional robustness checks. The results further indicate that Gt and Gm partially mediate the Npro–ESG rating relationship in parallel, with Gm accounting for 85.1% of the total indirect effect. The evidence on intelligent technology suggests that Dig and AI condition parts of the Npro–GI–ESG rating pathway, although their moderating effects are heterogeneous across mechanisms and regions. Regional heterogeneity analysis shows that the association between Npro and ESG ratings follows the order Central > Eastern > Western China. The moderating role of Dig is mainly observed in the Central region, whereas that of AI is mainly observed in the Eastern region. This study contributes to the literature by examining whether firm-level Npro is associated with higher ESG ratings through green technological and green management innovation. It also refines the integrated framework of dual-path green innovation and technology-related boundary conditions. The findings provide practical implications for firms seeking to improve ESG-rating performance through technological upgrading and green management practices, and for governments designing region-specific policies to strengthen the rating-based governance and disclosure channels that support high-quality development and the “dual carbon” agenda.]]></description>
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        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2026.1854059</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2026.1854059</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Quantifying the environmental impacts of student behavior uncertainty in campus power system: an electricity load forecasting-driven carbon reduction method]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-08-14T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Hong-Yun Jie</author><author>Zeqi Li</author><author>Zhifeng Liu</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Accurate power load forecasting is a prerequisite for optimizing energy allocation, aligning campus electricity supply with demand, and mitigating carbon emissions in campus integrated energy systems. To improve campus load forecasting accuracy and support low-carbon energy dispatch, this study proposes an IRDOA-DSR-Transformer-based carbon reduction framework for campus Integrated Energy System (IES). First, input features related to uncertain student behaviors, including campus electric vehicle charging records, temporal characteristics, and environmental variables, are compressed using Uniform Manifold Approximation and Projection (UMAP). The dimensionality reduction process preserves environmentally sensitive data structures while filtering redundant noise, thereby enhancing feature quality for subsequent forecasting and carbon-reduction analysis. Second, a dynamic sparse routing gate mechanism is introduced to adaptively emphasize critical electricity-use periods, especially environmentally sensitive intervals such as overnight charging. This mechanism strengthens the model’s capability to capture multi-scale temporal dependencies and mitigates the limitations of conventional Transformers in identifying key load patterns, reducing dispatch inefficiencies and emission increases caused by forecasting errors. Finally, an improved Inheritance Reorganization Dhole Optimization Algorithm is used to optimize the model’s hyperparameters. Experimental results show that the proposed method achieves a maximum goodness-of-fit coefficient of 98.41% and reduces Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) by up to 50% relative to benchmark models. Under identical dispatch logic, the method lowers campus carbon emissions by approximately 3.9%–7.3%, demonstrating both forecasting advantages and practical carbon-reduction potential.]]></description>
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        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2026.1835650</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2026.1835650</link>
        <title><![CDATA[The clean energy trade war: assessing the climate costs of U.S. solar tariffs on China’s PV sector]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-08-14T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Hui Yuan</author><author>Shuxian Zheng</author>
        <description><![CDATA[IntroductionThis study investigates how U.S. tariffs on Chinese photovoltaic (PV) products affect the embodied carbon emissions and decarbonization trajectory of China’s PV power sector.MethodsWe couple a multi-regional input-output model, the Tapio decoupling model, and the GTAP-E computable general equilibrium model. Historical data from 2000–2022 establish baseline trends, while three policy scenarios are simulated for 2023–2030, with a parameter sweep identifying critical tariff thresholds.ResultsHistorical analysis reveals progressive decoupling (1% output growth drives only 0.5% embodied carbon increase). Under extreme tariffs (TTB), China’s PV embodied carbon rebounds by 4.9% cumulatively during 2025–2027, while U.S. emissions surge by 30.5%, reflecting a lose–lose outcome. A critical tariff threshold of 18–19% is identified, beyond which China’s PV emissions reverse from decline to growth. Although China regains strong decoupling by 2030, extreme tariffs still reduce cumulative emission reductions by 41%.DiscussionThese findings reveal a nonlinear relationship between tariff intensity and decarbonization outcomes, highlighting how geopolitical trade measures undermine climate goals and underscoring the need for climate-resilient international trade rules.]]></description>
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        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2026.1905650</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2026.1905650</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Comparison of UV/persulfate and UV/hydrogen peroxide processes for the degradation of organic micropollutants in tap water: kinetics, synergy, and selected transformation products]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-08-14T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Ehsan Ranjbar</author><author>Junchao Pang</author><author>Sunil Paul M. Menacherry</author><author>Aki Sebastian Ruhl</author>
        <description><![CDATA[This study systematically evaluated two ultraviolet (UV)-based advanced oxidation processes, UV/hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and UV/persulfate, for the removal of nine organic micropollutants (OMPs): acesulfame, atenolol, carbamazepine, diclofenac, metoprolol, primidone, saccharin, sulfamethoxazole, and valsartan acid. The results show that increasing the concentration of hydrogen peroxide/persulfate, and extending the reaction time could improve the oxidation of the OMPs. Under optimized conditions, over 80% elimination was achieved for most OMPs. It was also observed that the transformation behavior varied among the investigated OMPs and appeared to be influenced by their physicochemical characteristics. For instance, diclofenac, as a photosensitive compound, exhibited rapid transformation. However, OMPs such as saccharin demonstrated limited degradation. The results indicate that persulfate showed superior degradation capability compared to H2O2 for atenolol, diclofenac and metoprolol. However, some OMPs including acesulfame and Valsartan acid showed better degradation using H2O2. Detectable levels of 2- and 3-hydroxylated carbamazepine derivatives occur only following UV/H2O2 treatment after 0.5–1.0 h and 1–2 mM H2O2. Another transformation product, acridone-9-carboxylic acid was predominantly detected under UV/persulfate. The study found that synergy between UV light and H2O2/persulfate often plays a major role in removing OMPs. In some cases, direct photolysis or direct oxidation by H2O2 or persulfate contributes more to OMP removal than the free radical-mediated oxidation generated during the advanced oxidation process.]]></description>
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        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2026.1870340</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2026.1870340</link>
        <title><![CDATA[The impact of urban low-carbon transition development on residents’ consumption levels-evidence from China’s low carbon city pilot policy]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-08-14T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Pian Chen</author><author>Wei Xi</author>
        <description><![CDATA[BackgroundThe green low-carbon transition is crucial not only for mitigating environmental challenges but also for reshaping residents’ consumption patterns.MethodsThis study evaluates the impact of the urban low-carbon transition, specifically the Low-Carbon City Pilot (LCCP) policy, on the scale and structure of residents’ consumption. Leveraging the implementation of China’s LCCP policy as a quasi-natural experiment, we employ a multi-period difference-in-differences (DID) model and analyze panel data from 281 prefecture-level cities spanning 2007 to 2022.ResultsThe findings indicate that the LCCP policy significantly expands the scale and improves the structure of residents’ consumption. These results withstand a series of rigorous robustness checks. Heterogeneity analysis further reveals that the policy’s impacts on residents’ consumption scale and structure vary across different consumption tiers and regions.DiscussionMechanism analysis suggests that the LCCP policy affects consumption primarily by increasing the supply of low-carbon products and strengthening residents’ low-carbon consumption awareness.]]></description>
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        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2026.1831815</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2026.1831815</link>
        <title><![CDATA[The hidden perils of greenwashing: an empirical study on default risk in Chinese a-share listed firms ]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-08-14T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Yun Chen</author>
        <description><![CDATA[IntroductionIn the context of global climate governance, corporate environmental performance is becoming critical for market competitiveness. However, some enterprises may cultivate false environmental credentials through greenwashing practices, triggering information asymmetry and market trust crises.MethodsUsing data from Chinese A-share listed companies spanning 2009–2022, this study constructs a proxy for potential greenwashing based on the standardized gap between ESG disclosure scores (Bloomberg) and ESG performance ratings (Huazheng), which captures the divergence between disclosure intensity and external assessment. This disclosure‐rating gap serves as an empirical proxy for the deliberate exaggeration or selective reporting that characterizes greenwashing behavior. Building on this, fixed‐effects models and mediation tests quantitatively deconstruct the 'black box' mechanism through which greenwashing amplifies corporate default risk.ResultsThe core empirical contribution of this study lies in confirming greenwashing as a significant predictor of corporate debt default, while deeply deconstructing its transmission logic through three channels: market reputation, legal repayment, and stock price volatility.DiscussionThe findings address the evidence gap between environmental performance and hard financial risks, and provide regulators with a comprehensive risk transmission roadmap for implementing differentiated financial oversight during green transitions.]]></description>
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        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2026.1890546</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2026.1890546</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Multi-scale spatiotemporal trade-offs and synergies of ecosystem services: implications for zoned ecological governance in the Shanxi section of the Yellow River Basin]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-08-13T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Zhihong Lv</author><author>Ben Wang</author><author>Zhilei Zhen</author><author>Jinfang Wang</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Clarifying the spatial distribution and evolutionary characteristics of ecosystem services (ESs) across multiple scales is crucial for maintaining ecological stability and sustainability. This study assessed the spatiotemporal changes of ESs in the Shanxi section of the Yellow River Basin (SYRB) from 2005 to 2020 using the InVEST model. We analyzed the multi-ecosystem service landscape index and their driving factors, explored the trade-offs and synergy at the county and 1-km scale, and formulated differentiated ecological management strategies based on local ecological characteristics. The findings demonstrated that (1) land use change was the dominant driver influencing ESs (2) carbon storage (CS) and habitat quality (HQ) showed a stronger synergistic relationship at both the county and 1-km scales; and (3) ecosystem service bundles were divided into four types: CS–HQ synergistic bundle, low synergistic bundle, key synergistic bundle, and integrated ecological bundle at the 1-km scale, while CS–HQ synergistic bundle, key synergistic bundle, water purification–water yield–soil conservation synergistic bundle, and integrated ecological bundle revealed at the county scale. From 2005 to 2020, an increasing number of regions transitioned from single ES to synergistic ESs. This study reveals the spatial mechanisms of trade-offs and synergies among ESs in SYRB, and constructs an effective partitioning scheme and targeted ecological management strategy for SYRB, which are of great significance for regional ecological conservation and sustainable development.]]></description>
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