Over several centuries, the native vegetation of the flat part of the Bogotá Savanna has been almost completely replaced by crops, pastures and urbanization. The last remnant of this vegetation is a small forest (10 hm²), located at Hacienda Las Mercedes on the northern edge of the city of Bogotá. The reduced size and isolation of the forest, aggravated by the uncontrolled growth of invasive vegetation (lianas and wild blackberry) has resulted in the loss of many species. However, in recent years the forest has been subject to rehabilitation actions and currently the area is immersed in a reserve where more extensive restoration programs are planned. In order to evaluate changes in the bird community to estimate the effects of restoration actions, the avifauna present in 2001–2002 and in 2014 was recorded by visual and auditory records at fixed points in the forest. Twenty-seven forest species were found in the first census and 30 in the second, and the relative abundances of at least a third of them also increased over the 13 years, indicating a positive result in the recovery of the forest. The results highlight the recovery capacity of the degraded ecosystems and the importance of continuing with restoration actions in the reserve area.

This study provides empirical data on the impact of generative AI in education, with special emphasis on sustainable development goals (SDGs). By conducting a thorough analysis of the relationship between generative AI technologies and educational outcomes, this research fills a critical gap in the literature. The insights offered are valuable for policymakers seeking to leverage new educational technologies to support sustainable development. Using Smart-PLS4, five hypotheses derived from the research questions were tested based on data collected from an E-Questionnaire distributed to academic faculty members and education managers. Of the 311 valid responses, the measurement model assessment confirmed the validity and reliability of the data, while the structural model assessment validated the hypotheses. The study’s findings reveal that New Approaches to Learning Outcome Assessment (NALOA) significantly contribute to achieving SDGs, with a path coefficient of 0.477 (p < 0.001). Similarly, the Use of Generative AI Technologies (UGAIT) has a notable positive impact on SDGs, with a value of 0.221 (p < 0.001). A Paradigm Shift in Education and Educational Process Organization (PSEPQ) also demonstrates a significant, though smaller, effect on SDGs with a coefficient of 0.142 (p = 0.008). However, the Opportunities and Risks of Generative AI in Education (ORGIE) study did not find statistically significant evidence of an impact on SDGs (p = 0.390). These findings highlight the potential opportunities and challenges of using generative AI technologies in education and underscore their key role in advancing sustainable development goals. The study also offers a strategic roadmap for educational institutions, particularly in Oman to harness AI technology in support of sustainable development objectives.

Based on the population change data of 2005–2009, 2010–2014, 2015–2019 and 2005–2019, the shrinking cities in Northeast China are determined to analyze their spatial distribution pattern. And the influencing factors and effects of shrinking cities in Northeast China are explored by using multiple linear regression method and random forest regression method. The results show that: 1) In space, the shrinking cities in Northeast China are mainly distributed in the “land edge” areas represented by Changbai Mountain, Sanjiang Plain, Xiaoxing’an Mountain and Daxing’an Mountain. In terms of time, the contraction center shows an obvious trend of moving northward, while the opposite expansion center shows a trend of moving southward, and the shrinking cities gather further; 2) in the study of influencing factors, the results of multiple linear regression and random forest regression show that socio-economic factors play a major role in the formation of shrinking cities; 3) the precision of random forest regression is higher than that of multiple linear regression. The results show that per capita GDP has the greatest impact on the contraction intensity, followed by the unemployment rate, science and education expenses and the average wage of on-the-job workers. Among the four influencing factors, only the unemployment rate promotes the contraction, and the other three influencing factors inhibit the formation of shrinking cities to various degrees.

The management of Mediterranean mountains need to know whether or not the flora is adapted to respond to fire and, if so, through what mechanisms. Serpentine outcrops constitute particular ecosystems in the Mediterranean Basin, and plants need to make an additional adaptive effort. The objective of this study is to know the response to fire of the main members of the group of serpentine plants, which habit the Spanish Mediterranean ultramafic mountain, to help in their management. For this purpose, monitoring plots were established on a burned ultramafic outcrop, which was affected by fire in August 2012.They were located in the Mediterranean south of the Iberian Peninsula, Andalusia region. The dominant vegetation of this serpentine ecosystem had been studied previously to fire; it was a shrubland composed of endemic serpentinophytes (small shrubs and perennial herbs) included in Digitali laciniatae-Halimietum atriplicifolii plant association (Cisto-Lavanduletea class) in an opened pine forest. The post-fire response of the plants was studied in the stablished burned plots by field works through permanent 200 x 10 m transect methods, consisting on checking whether they were resprouters, seeders, both of them or if they showed no survival response. Additional information about fire related functional traits is provided for the studied taxa from other studies. Of the total of plants studied (23 taxa), 74% acted as resprouters, 30% as seeders, some of which also had the capacity to resprout (13%), and only 9% of the plants did not show any survival strategy. The presence of a resprouting burl was not high (17%), although serpentine small shrubs such as Bupleurum acutifolium and the generalist Teucrium haenseleri had this kind of organ. The herbaceous taxa Sanguisorba verrucosa, Galium boissieranum and Linum carratracense were seen to be resprouters and seeders. The serpentine obligated Ni-accumulator, Alyssum serpyllifolium subsp. malacitanum, did not show any survival strategy in the face of fire and therefore their populations need monitoring after fires. In the studied ecosystems no species had traits that would protect the aerial part of the plant against fire, although most of the species are capable of post-fire generation by below ground buds. Our results show that the ecosystem studied, composed of taxa with a high degree of endemism and some of them threatened, is predominantly adapted to survival after a fire, although their response capacity may be decreased by environmental factors.