TY - JOUR
T1 - Addressing Regional Agro-ecological Boundaries
T2 - An Integrated Environmental Footprint Framework for Revealing Sustainability Gaps in Agroecosystems
AU - Wu, Linxiu
AU - Huang, Kai
AU - Yu, Yajuan
AU - Ridoutt, Bradley G.
AU - Qu, Shen
AU - Xu, Ming
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2025 American Chemical Society.
PY - 2025
Y1 - 2025
N2 - Overexploiting ecosystems to meet growing food demands threatens global agricultural sustainability and food security. Addressing these challenges requires solutions tailored to regional agro-ecological boundaries (AEBs) and overall agro-ecological risks. Here, we propose a globally consistent and regionally adapted approach for quantifying regional AEBs. Based on this approach, we develop a region-specific integrated Footprint-AEB framework that combines six environmental footprints (EFs) with AEBs to capture the overall environmental impacts on China’s regional agro-ecosystems. Results indicate that individual EFs cannot reliably reveal the complexity of agro-ecological stressors without comprehensive assessment relative to regionally determined boundaries. For example, Northwest China faces higher water boundary stress despite lower water footprints compared to Central China, and regions such as Qinghai and Ningxia exhibit higher integrated AEB stress driven by combined water, land, and biodiversity stresses. Additionally, imbalanced integrated AEB stress transfer via trade, mainly from industrialized eastern to vulnerable western regions, is identified as a key driver of AEB exceedance in Northwest China. This fosters a nuanced understanding of environmental responsibility and equity. The integrated Footprint-AEB framework provides new insights into agro-ecosystem dynamics and supports targeted interventions to avoid shifting environmental stressors. These challenges confront agro-ecosystems worldwide.
AB - Overexploiting ecosystems to meet growing food demands threatens global agricultural sustainability and food security. Addressing these challenges requires solutions tailored to regional agro-ecological boundaries (AEBs) and overall agro-ecological risks. Here, we propose a globally consistent and regionally adapted approach for quantifying regional AEBs. Based on this approach, we develop a region-specific integrated Footprint-AEB framework that combines six environmental footprints (EFs) with AEBs to capture the overall environmental impacts on China’s regional agro-ecosystems. Results indicate that individual EFs cannot reliably reveal the complexity of agro-ecological stressors without comprehensive assessment relative to regionally determined boundaries. For example, Northwest China faces higher water boundary stress despite lower water footprints compared to Central China, and regions such as Qinghai and Ningxia exhibit higher integrated AEB stress driven by combined water, land, and biodiversity stresses. Additionally, imbalanced integrated AEB stress transfer via trade, mainly from industrialized eastern to vulnerable western regions, is identified as a key driver of AEB exceedance in Northwest China. This fosters a nuanced understanding of environmental responsibility and equity. The integrated Footprint-AEB framework provides new insights into agro-ecosystem dynamics and supports targeted interventions to avoid shifting environmental stressors. These challenges confront agro-ecosystems worldwide.
KW - Downscaled Planetary Boundaries
KW - Environmental Footprints
KW - Food Security
KW - Integrated Impact Assessment
KW - Regional Heterogeneity
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85215660213&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1021/acs.est.4c08025
DO - 10.1021/acs.est.4c08025
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85215660213
SN - 0013-936X
JO - Environmental Science and Technology
JF - Environmental Science and Technology
ER -