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Herbivory has been identified as a potent evolutionary force, but its ecological impacts have been frequently underestimated. Leaf‐cutting ants represent one of the most important herbivores of the Neotropics and offer an interesting opportunity to address the role played by herbivorous insects through a perspective that embraces population‐ to ecosystem‐level effects. Here we: (1) qualitatively summarize the multiple ways leaf‐cutting ants interact with food plants and their habitats and elucidate the ultimate outcome of such interactions at multiple organization levels; (2) update our understanding of leaf‐cutting ant‐promoted disturbance regimes; and (3) examine potential ecological roles by leaf‐cutting ants within the context of human‐modified landscapes to guide future research agendas. First, we find that leaf‐cutting ants show that some herbivorous insects are able to generate ecologically important disturbance regimes via non‐trophic activities. Second, impacts of leaf‐cutting ants can be observed at multiple spatio‐temporal scales and levels of biological organization. Third, ecosystem‐level effects from leaf‐cutting ants are ecosystem engineering capable not only of altering the abundance of other organisms, but also the successional trajectory of vegetation. Finally, effects of leaf‐cutting ants are context‐dependent, species‐specific, and synergistically modulated by anthropogenic interferences. Future research should examine how leaf‐cutting ants respond to deforestation and influence remaining vegetation in human‐modified landscapes. By promoting either heterogeneity or homogeneity, leaf‐cutting ants operate not only as agricultural pests but also as ecological key players.

Urban cities are facing the challenges of microclimatic changes with substantially warmer environments and much less access to fresh vegetables for a healthier food supply than in adjacent rural areas. In this respect, urban rooftop agriculture is considered as a green technology for city dwellers and the community to attain environmental and socioeconomic benefits in a city. For this purpose, a roof top of 216 square meters was selected as an experimental plot where 70% of the area was covered with the selected crops (Tomato, Brinjal, Chili, Bottle Gourd and Leafy vegetables such as Spinach, Red Spinach and Water Spinach; they were cultivated under fencing panels of Bottle Gourd). The microclimatic parameters such as air temperature, near roof surface temperature, indoor temperature and relative humidity and carbon dioxide concentration from different locations of the agricultural roof and from nearby bare roofs were observed during the whole experimental period (November 2018–May 2019). Five existing rooftop gardens with green area coverages of 40, 50, 60, 80, and 85% were selected, and 5 bare nearby roofs were also selected through field visits and questionnaire surveys of 200 existing rooftop gardens. The air and ambient temperature, cooling degree day and energy saving trends were assessed for the selected roofs. The economic assessment was carried out through the net present value and internal rate of return approach of urban rooftop agriculutre. The results showed that the temperature was reduced from 1.2 to 5.5% in different area coverages of agricultural roofs with plants compared to the nearest bare roofs. For the time being, the cooling load was decreased from 3.62 to 23.73%, and energy saving was increased significantly from 5.87 to 55.63% for agricultural roofs compared to bare roofs. The study suggested that the value of urban rooftop agriculture was high environmentally and economically compared to the traditional bare roof, which would be an added amenity by the city dweller’s individual motivations and state interests, and it could be aligned to achieve a more sustainable city.

Questions: How do species richness and composition of fern assemblages change with elevation and, within elevational belts, in differently impacted forest habitats? Is there a relationship between fern assemblages and microclimate, both along gradients of elevation and disturbance? Which species are most sensitive to habitat disturbance and microclimatic changes? Location: From sea level close to the Gulf of Mexico 81 km away in a direct line on the eastern slopes of the Cofre de Perote at 3500 m, central Veracruz, Mexico. Methods: We studied the richness and composition of fern assemblages in 120 study plots at eight elevations from 20–3500 m in three forest types: natural forest (NF), disturbed forest (DF) subjected to timber extraction and grazing, and secondary forest (SF) regrown after total clearance 15–20 yr ago. In addition, we measured microclimatic conditions in the three forest types at five elevations over a year. Results: Fern richness peaked in humid montane forests at mid-elevations and was low in the drier habitats at the ends of the gradient. Humid montane forests were most sensitive to disturbance, showing increases in mean annual temperatures by about 1 °C and reduction in relative air humidity by about 20% in DF and SF compared to NF. This was together with a reduction in fern species richness of 5–60% and marked changes in species composition. In contrast, drought-deciduous forests at low elevations and coniferous forests at high elevations already had low humidity and high light intensity in NF and were less affected by human impact: their microclimatic conditions and fern assemblages did not change markedly in DF and SF. Conclusions: The conservation of much of the humidity-dependent biota (ferns and presumably also groups such as bryophytes and amphibians) in humid montane forests depends on the protection of natural fragments without human disturbance. In contrast, the naturally open forests at the ends of the gradient can be subjected to some exploitation while conserving much of their fern flora as long as a general forest structure is maintained.

The relocation of Indonesia’s capital to Nusantara in East Kalimantan has raised concerns about microclimatic impacts resulting from proposed land use and land cover (LULC) changes. This study explored strategies to mitigate these impacts by using dynamical downscaling with the Weather Research and Forecasting model integrated with the urban canopy model (WRF-UCM). Numerical experiments at a 1 km spatial resolution were used to evaluate the impacts of green and mitigation strategies on the proposed master plan. In this process, five scenarios were analyzed, incorporating varying proportions of blue–green spaces and modifications to building walls and roof albedos. Among them, scenario 5, with 65% blue–green spaces, exhibited the highest cooling potential, reducing average urban surface temperatures by approximately 2 °C. In contrast, scenario 4, which allocated equal shares of built-up areas and mixed forests (50% each), achieved a more modest reduction of approximately 1 °C. The adoption of nature-based solutions and sustainable urban planning in Nusantara underscores the feasibility of climate-resilient urban development. This framework could inspire other cities worldwide, showcasing how urban growth can align with environmental sustainability.

Increasing wildfire activity in western North America has the potential to remove forest canopy cover over large areas, increasing the vulnerability of understory plants and juvenile trees to microclimatic extremes. To understand the impacts of wildfire on forest microclimatic buffering, we monitored daily temperature and vapor pressure deficit (VPD) in 33 plots over the first two growing seasons following two wildfires from 2017. The Lolo Peak and Sunrise fires occurred during a regionally extensive fire season, burning mixed‐conifer and subalpine forests across complex mountainous topography in western Montana. Sensors were deployed from June to September in 2018 and 2019 in sites stratified by aspect, elevation, and fire severity (unburned, moderate, high) to capture a range of forest types, biophysical contexts, and fire effects. Loss of canopy and understory vegetation had marked effects on microclimate: On average, sites burned at high severity had 3.7°C higher daily maximum temperatures and 0.81 kPa higher daily maximum VPD relative to paired unburned sites. Differences between burned and unburned sites were most pronounced when ambient temperatures were high, across diurnal and seasonal time scales. Differences were also more pronounced at sites with less canopy cover, more bare ground postfire, and greater long‐term water availability (i.e., low climatic water deficit). Our results reveal fire‐caused changes in microclimate extremes that are biologically meaningful for the postfire establishment of tree seedlings and understory vegetation. These effects depend strongly on biophysical context, with cool‐wet forests more vulnerable to fire‐caused changes in microclimate compared with warm‐dry settings. Our results further highlight the functional importance of standing dead trees for moderating surface temperature in postfire environments. Anticipating forest ecosystem responses to increased warming and wildfire activity, and the potential for fire to catalyze vegetation changes, thus requires considering the substantial impacts of fire on microclimate.

As a consequence of climate change and urbanization, many cities will have to deal with more flooding and extreme heat stress. This paper presents a framework to maximize the effectiveness of Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) for flood risk reduction and thermal comfort enhancement. The framework involves an assessment of hazards with the use of models and field measurements. It also detects suitable implementation sites for NBS and quantifies their effectiveness for thermal comfort enhancement and flood risk reduction. The framework was applied in a densely urbanized study area, for which different small-scale urban NBS and their potential locations for implementation were assessed. The overall results show that the most effective performance in terms of flood mitigation and thermal comfort enhancement is likely achieved by applying a range of different measures at different locations. Therefore, the work presented here shows the potential of the framework to achieve an effective combination of measures and their locations, which was demonstrated on the case of the Sukhumvit area in Bangkok (Thailand). This can be particularly suitable for assessing and planning flood mitigation measures in combination with heat stress reduction.

Traditional Chinese villages embody the ecological wisdom of ancient people to “conform to nature and transform nature”. In the long-term process of natural evolution, the natural environment and human production and living space have been combined to develop a unique spatial pattern with climate adaptability, which has the ability to cope with and regulate natural climate. Under the context of China’s rural revitalization, a study into the microclimate and thermal comfort of traditional villages holds promise for fostering the development of ecologically sustainable and aesthetically pleasing rural communities. This study focuses on three representative traditional villages in Nanjing. By employing a combination of measured data and ENVI-met numerical simulation, the microclimate effects of distinct spatial domains in these villages are analyzed. Additionally, the thermal comfort PET values are calculated using the Rayman platform, thereby objectively examining the relationship between spatial configuration and microclimate factors in Jiangnan traditional villages. The findings reveal that the PET values range from 38.4 to 57°C in summer and from 0.1 to 27°C in winter, with winter thermal comfort generally surpassing that of summer. From various villages. the internal water system of Shishanxia Village is scattered and the space is dense, with good ventilation and balanced humidity. Therefore, its thermal comfort in winter and summer is optimal. The northern mountain of Huanglongxian Village can effectively block the northwest monsoon and form a wind barrier, which can achieve the effect of keeping warm and controlling temperature in winter. Therefore, Huanglongxian has better thermal comfort in winter. Huashu Village is surrounded by water systems, with dense internal buildings and large hard areas inside the village. Plants are scarce, which can easily cause local high temperatures due to the absorption and radiation of solar radiation by hard underlying surfaces and buildings. Therefore, the comfort in winter and summer is the worst. Finally, the spatial configuration and landscape elements that influence human thermal comfort are revealed and transformation strategies tailored to each space type are summarized, aiming to provide scientifically grounded and rational recommendations for climate-adaptive design in rural areas.

In the extreme environmental scenario, due to global warming and pollution, and in the necessary condition of energy saving, this research proposes an interdisciplinary methodological approach as a tool for environmental, urban/architectural and energy design, applied at an urban scale, i.e. to the complex building-plant system and its surroundings (built, unbuilt and/or green). Starting from the fundamental concept that the shape of any city, and on a smaller scale than of a single building, is an energy form, in the present research the urban environment has a shape and a structure directly connected to its energetic performances and behaviours in relation with environmental and social consequences that affect energy policies and adaptation to climate change but above all with the reduction of anthropogenic impacts. The present article shows the preliminary results of the ESCAPOS-LIFE-2023-2027 project for Florence. It is based on the concept of Dynamic Control Volume (DCV), a virtual capillary volume structured as a network that acquires information and knowledge in itself, a systemic, intelligent, and fast tool. The DCV is the operational tool with which, through a capillary network of always available and updatable, open-source information, all existing databases, urban plans, green plans, local-metropolitan agendas for sustainability, action plans for sustainable energy and climate, programs, policies, strategies and planning for climate adaptation are integrated and interfaced with each other, with a view to protecting health, biodiversity, forestation and the green energy economy.

Oases and deserts generally act as a landscape matrix and mosaic in arid and semiarid regions. The significant difference in thermal and dynamic characteristics between an oasis and desert surface will result in oasis–desert interaction. Specifically, this refers to the interaction between an oasis and desert system via the exchange of momentum, energy, water, and carbon, which can lead to a series of microclimate effects that affect the structure of the atmospheric boundary layer, changes in carbon sources and sinks in an oasis, and the local ecological environment. Therefore, studying water, heat, and carbon exchange is significant to achieve the goals of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality in oasis–desert areas and support the ecological security and sustainable development of oases. To monitor energy, water vapor, and carbon exchange between the land surface and atmosphere, a land surface process integrated observatory network was established in the oasis–desert area in the middle and lower reaches of the Heihe River basin, the second largest endorheic basin in China. In this study, we present a suite of observational datasets from artificial and natural oasis–desert systems that consist of long-term energy, water vapor, carbon and methane fluxes as well as auxiliary data involving hydrometeorology, vegetation, and soil parameters from 2012 to 2021. Half-hourly turbulent flux data were acquired by an eddy covariance system and scintillometer. The hydrometeorological data (including radiation, soil heat flux, and soil temperature profiles; gradients of air temperature and humidity and of wind speed and direction; and air pressure, precipitation, and soil moisture profiles) were observed from automatic weather stations with a 10 min average period as well as the groundwater table data. Moreover, vegetation and soil parameters were also supplemented in the datasets. Careful data processing and quality control were implemented during data production, including data collection, processing, archiving, and sharing. The current datasets can be used to explore the water–heat–carbon process and its mechanism of influence; to calibrate and validate related remote-sensing products; to simulate energy, water vapor, and carbon exchange in oasis and desert areas; and to provide references and representatives for other similar artificial and natural oases along the “Silk Road”. The data are available from the National Tibetan Plateau Third Pole Environment: https://doi.org/10.11888/Terre.tpdc.300441 (Liu et al., 2023).

The climate crisis seriously threatens Central European forests and their ecosystem functions. There are indications that old-growth forests are relatively resilient and efficient in micro-climatic regulation during extreme climatic conditions. This study evaluates five well-protected old beech forests in Germany, part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We examined temperature dynamics and vitality in core, buffer, and border zones during hot days from 2017 to 2023, using Landsat 8 and 9 imageries to assess Land Surface Temperature (LST) and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), alongside on-site Air Temperature (AT) measurements. Our findings reveal that all five forests were impacted by recent extreme heat events, with core zones remaining cooler and more vital, followed by buffer zones. Temperature-regulating patterns varied with landscape characteristics and the surrounding matrixes. We observed a site-dependent cooling effect of the forest interior that increased with higher LST. Our study highlights the value of old-growth forests and recommends increasing effective protection around mature forests, establishing corridors between isolated patches, and creating mosaics in managed landscapes that include unmanaged areas capable of developing into old-growth ecosystems.