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We examined the long-term relationship of psychosocial risk and health behaviors on clinical events in patients awaiting heart transplantation (HTx). Psychosocial characteristics (e.g., depression), health behaviors (e.g., dietary habits, smoking), medical factors (e.g., creatinine), and demographics (e.g., age, sex) were collected at the time of listing in 318 patients (82% male, mean age = 53 years) enrolled in the Waiting for a New Heart Study. Clinical events were death/delisting due to deterioration, high-urgency status transplantation (HU-HTx), elective transplantation, and delisting due to clinical improvement. Within 7 years of follow-up, 92 patients died or were delisted due to deterioration, 121 received HU-HTx, 43 received elective transplantation, and 39 were delisted due to improvement. Adjusting for demographic and medical characteristics, the results indicated that frequent consumption of healthy foods (i.e., foods high in unsaturated fats) and being physically active increased the likelihood of delisting due improvement, while smoking and depressive symptoms were related to death/delisting due to clinical deterioration while awaiting HTx. In conclusion, psychosocial and behavioral characteristics are clearly associated with clinical outcomes in this population. Interventions that target psychosocial risk, smoking, dietary habits, and physical activity may be beneficial for patients with advanced heart failure waiting for a cardiac transplant.
The temporal stability of psychological test scores is one prerequisite for their practical usability. This is especially true for intelligence test scores. In educational contexts, high stakes decisions with long-term consequences, such as placement in special education programs, are often based on intelligence test results. There are four different types of temporal stability: mean-level change, individual-level change, differential continuity, and ipsative continuity. We present statistical methods for investigating each type of stability. Where necessary, the methods were adapted for the specific challenges posed by intelligence research (e.g., controlling for general intelligence in lower order test scores). We provide step-by-step guidance for the application of the statistical methods and apply them to a real data set of 114 gifted students tested twice with a test-retest interval of 6 months.
• Four different types of stability need to be investigated for a full picture of temporal stability in psychological research
• Selection and adaption of the methods for the use in intelligence research
• Complete protocol of the implementation
Mit vorliegendem Dokument sollen Überlegungen zur Rolle der Ausbildung auf dem grenzüberschreitenden
Arbeitsmarkt angestellt werden. Hierfür werden gleichzeitig die durch die verschiedenen Hefte der Großregion, als auch die bei der am 1. Dezember 2020 organisierten Online-Podiumsdiskussion zum Thema „Mismatches, Kompetenzen, Ausbildung… Welche Passverhältnisse für den grenzüberschreitenden Arbeitsmarkt?“ angeregten Diskussionen herangezogen. Konkreter ausgedrückt beabsichtigt dieser Beitrag, eine Antwort auf folgende Frage zu geben: wie können die Ausbildung und deren unterschiedliche Praxismaßnahmen in den beruflichen Bereichen, aber auch in schulischen und universitären Bereichen dazu beitragen, die Ungleichgewichte abzumildern, die auf dem Arbeitsmarkt der Großregion zu beobachten sind? Insofern liefert das Dokument einige Denkanstöße für die grenzüberschreitende Zusammenarbeit im Ausbildungsbereich.
This paper mainly studies two topics: linear complementarity problems for modeling electricity market equilibria and optimization under uncertainty. We consider both perfectly competitive and Nash–Cournot models of electricity markets and study their robustifications using strict robustness and the -approach. For three out of the four combinations of economic competition and robustification, we derive algorithmically tractable convex optimization counterparts that have a clear-cut economic interpretation. In the case of perfect competition, this result corresponds to the two classic welfare theorems, which also apply in both considered robust cases that again yield convex robustified problems. Using the mentioned counterparts, we can also prove the existence and, in some cases, uniqueness of robust equilibria. Surprisingly, it turns out that there is no such economic sensible counterpart for the case of -robustifications of Nash–Cournot models. Thus, an analog of the welfare theorems does not hold in this case. Finally, we provide a computational case study that illustrates the different effects of the combination of economic competition and uncertainty modeling.
Optimal mental workload plays a key role in driving performance. Thus, driver-assisting systems that automatically adapt to a drivers current mental workload via brain–computer interfacing might greatly contribute to traffic safety. To design economic brain computer interfaces that do not compromise driver comfort, it is necessary to identify brain areas that are most sensitive to mental workload changes. In this study, we used functional near-infrared spectroscopy and subjective ratings to measure mental workload in two virtual driving environments with distinct demands. We found that demanding city environments induced both higher subjective workload ratings as well as higher bilateral middle frontal gyrus activation than less demanding country environments. A further analysis with higher spatial resolution revealed a center of activation in the right anterior dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. The area is highly involved in spatial working memory processing. Thus, a main component of drivers’ mental workload in complex surroundings might stem from the fact that large amounts of spatial information about the course of the road as well as other road users has to constantly be upheld, processed and updated. We propose that the right middle frontal gyrus might be a suitable region for the application of powerful small-area brain computer interfaces.
In 2014/2015 a one-year field campaign at the Tiksi observatory in the Laptev Sea area was carried out using Sound Detection and Ranging/Radio Acoustic Sounding System (SODAR/RASS) measurements to investigate the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) with a focus on low-level jets (LLJ) during the winter season. In addition to SODAR/RASS-derived vertical profiles of temperature, wind speed and direction, a suite of complementary measurements at the Tiksi observatory was available. Data of a regional atmospheric model were used to put the local data into the synoptic context. Two case studies of LLJ events are presented. The statistics of LLJs for six months show that in about 23% of all profiles LLJs were present with a mean jet speed and height of about 7 m/s and 240 m, respectively. In 3.4% of all profiles LLJs exceeding 10 m/s occurred. The main driving mechanism for LLJs seems to be the baroclinicity, since no inertial oscillations were found. LLJs with heights below 200 m are likely influenced by local topography.
Les carnets paraissent deux fois par an et offrent aux dirigeant(e)s des écoles ainsi qu’au personnel des fondements théoriques et du matériel pratique pour la mise en oeuvre d’un développement scolaire démocratique. Chaque publication traite d’une méthode de l’éducation à la démocratie ou d’une question stratégique du développement scolaire. Les carnets en langue allemande sont mis à la disposition des écoles luxembourgeoises en version imprimée. L’ensemble du matériel ainsi que la version en langue française sont disponibles en ligne.
Die Praxishefte Demokratische Schulkultur erscheinen halbjährlich und bieten Schulleitungen und Schulpersonal theoretische Grundlagen und praxisorientierte Anleitungen zur demokratiepädagogischen Schulentwicklung. Jedes Themenheft ist jeweils einer demokratiepädagogischen Bauform oder strategischen Frage der Schulentwicklung gewidmet. Die Praxishefte werden allen Luxemburger Schulen als Printausgabe zur Verfügung gestellt und online mit zusätzlichen Materialien und in französischer Fassung vorgehalten.
Using a dendrochronological approach, we determined the resistance, recovery and resilience of the radial stem increment towards episodes of growth decline, and the accompanying variation of 13C discrimination against atmospheric CO2 (Δ13C) in tree rings of two palaeotropical pine species. These species co-occur in the mountain ranges of south–central Vietnam (1500–1600 m a.s.l.), but differ largely in their areas of distribution (Pinus kesiya from northeast India to the Philippines; P. dalatensis only in south and central Vietnam and in some isolated populations in Laos). For P. dalatensis, a robust growth chronology covering the past 290 years could be set up for the first time in the study region. For P. kesiya, the 140-year chronology constructed was the longest that could be established to date in that region for this species. In the first 40 years of the trees’ lives, the stem diameter increment was significantly larger in P. kesiya, but levelled off and even decreased after 100 years, whereas P. dalatensis exhibited a continuous growth up to an age of almost 300 years. Tree-ring growth of P. kesiya was negatively related to temperature in the wet months and season of the current year and in October (humid transition period) of the preceding year and to precipitation in August (monsoon season), but positively to precipitation in December (dry season) of the current year. The P. dalatensis chronologies exhibited no significant correlation with temperature or precipitation. Negative correlations between BAI and Δ13C indicate a lack of growth impairment by drought in both species. Regression analyses revealed a lower resilience of P. dalatensis upon episodes of growth decline compared to P. kesiya, but, contrary to our hypothesis, mean values of the three sensitivity parameters did not differ significantly between these species. Nevertheless, the vigorous growth of P. kesiya, which does not fall behind that of P. dalatensis even at the margin of its distribution area under below-optimum edaphic conditions, is indicative of a relatively high plasticity of this species towards environmental factors compared to P. dalatensis, which, in tendency, is less resilient upon environmental stress even in the “core” region of its occurrence.
Evaluation of an eye tracking setup for studying visual attention in face-to-face conversations
(2021)
Many eye tracking studies use facial stimuli presented on a display to investigate attentional processing of social stimuli. To introduce a more realistic approach that allows interaction between two real people, we evaluated a new eye tracking setup in three independent studies in terms of data quality, short-term reliability and feasibility. Study 1 measured the robustness, precision and accuracy for calibration stimuli compared to a classical display-based setup. Study 2 used the identical measures with an independent study sample to compare the data quality for a photograph of a face (2D) and the face of the real person (3D). Study 3 evaluated data quality over the course of a real face-to-face conversation and examined the gaze behavior on the facial features of the conversation partner. Study 1 provides evidence that quality indices for the scene-based setup were comparable to those of a classical display-based setup. Average accuracy was better than 0.4° visual angle. Study 2 demonstrates that eye tracking quality is sufficient for 3D stimuli and robust against short interruptions without re-calibration. Study 3 confirms the long-term stability of tracking accuracy during a face-to-face interaction and demonstrates typical gaze patterns for facial features. Thus, the eye tracking setup presented here seems feasible for studying gaze behavior in dyadic face-to-face interactions. Eye tracking data obtained with this setup achieves an accuracy that is sufficient for investigating behavior such as eye contact in social interactions in a range of populations including clinical conditions, such as autism spectrum and social phobia.
Detection of Preferential Water Flow by Electrical Resistivity Tomography and Self-Potential Method
(2021)
This study explores the hydrogeological conditions of a landslide-prone hillslope in the Upper Mosel valley, Luxembourg. The investigation program included the monitoring of piezometer wells, hydrogeological field tests, analysis of drillcore records, and geophysical surveys. Monitoring and field testing in some of the observation wells indicated very pronounced preferential flow. Electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) and self-potential geophysical methods were employed in the study area for exploration of the morphology of preferential flowpaths. Possible signals associated with flowing groundwater in the subsurface were detected; however, they were diffusively spread over a relatively large zone, which did not allow for the determination of an exact morphology of the conduit. Analysis of drillcore records indicated that flowpaths are caused by the dissolution of thin gypsum interlayers in marls. For better understanding of the site’s hydrogeological settings, a 3D hydrogeological model was compiled. By applying different subsurface flow mechanisms, a hydrogeological model with thin, laterally extending flowpaths embedded in a porous media matrix showed the best correspondence with field observations. Simulated groundwater heads in a preferential flow conduit exactly corresponded with the observed heads in the piezometer wells. This study illustrates how hydrogeological monitoring and geophysical surveys in conjunction with the newest hydrogeological models allow for better conceptualization and parametrization of preferential flow.
Food waste is the origin of major social and environmental issues. In industrial societies, domestic households are the biggest contributors to this problem. But why do people waste food although they buy and value it? Answering this question is mandatory to design effective interventions against food waste. So far, however, many interventions have not been based on theoretical knowledge. Integrating food waste literature and ambivalence research, we propose that domestic food waste can be understood via the concept of ambivalence—the simultaneous presence of positive and negative associations towards the same attitude object. In support of this notion, we demonstrated in three pre-registered experiments that people experienced ambivalence towards non-perishable food products with expired best before dates. The experience of ambivalence was in turn associated with an increased willingness to waste food. However, two informational interventions aiming to prevent people from experiencing ambivalence did not work as intended (Experiment 3). We hope that the outlined conceptualization inspires theory-driven research on why and when people dispose of food and on how to design effective interventions.
Die Dissertation weist nach, dass der Gerichtshof der Europäischen Union (im Folgenden: EuGH) das mitgliedstaatliche Ausgestaltungsermessen bei der Umsetzung von Richtlinien i. S. d. Art. 288 Abs. 3 AEUV, die weitreichendste Form richtlinieninhaltlich vorgesehener Umsetzungsspielräume der Mitgliedstaaten, in unterschiedlicher Art und Weise beschränkt und dabei teilweise gegen Vorgaben des primären Unionsrechts verstößt. Soweit Rechtsverstöße festgestellt werden, macht die Dissertation weiterführend Vorschläge für eine Korrektur der betroffenen unionsgerichtlichen Begrenzungsansätze im Hinblick auf das mitgliedstaatliche Ausgestaltungsermessen bei der Richtlinienumsetzung. Hierzu geht die Dissertation wie folgt vor: Ausgehend von vier in der Einleitung (Kapitel 1) aufgeworfenen Forschungsleitfragen stellt die Dissertation in Kapitel 2 die untersuchungsrelevanten unionsrechtlichen Grundlagen der Rechtsaktsform der Richtlinie dar. Dabei wird insbesondere auf die unionsvertragliche Verteilung der Kompetenzen zwischen der EU und ihren Mitgliedstaaten bei der kooperativ-zweistufigen Richtlinienrechtsetzung eingegangen und eine restriktive Auslegung des Terminus‘ „Ziel“ i. S. d. Art. 288 Abs. 3 AEUV entwickelt (sog. kompetenzinhaltsbestimmender modifiziert-enger Zielbegriff). In Kapitel 3 arbeitet die Dissertation die in der Richtlinienpraxis vorkommenden Grundformen richtlinieninhaltlich vorgesehener mitgliedstaatlicher Entscheidungsbefugnisse bei der Richtlinienumsetzung heraus und bestimmt das Ausgestaltungsermessen begrifflich als die weitreichendste Form mitgliedstaatlicher Umsetzungsspielräume. Kapitel 4 widmet sich zunächst der Ermittlung der Ansätze des EuGH zur Begrenzung des mitgliedstaatlichen Ausgestaltungsermessens. Dabei wird deutlich, dass das Unionsgericht durch seine Rechtsprechung nicht nur die Entstehung mitgliedstaatlichen Ausgestaltungsermessens begrenzt. Eine exemplarische Analyse der EuGH-Rechtsprechung zu Art. 4 Abs. 2 UAbs. 1 S. 1 und S. 2 lit. b der UVP-Richtlinie 2011/92/EU und seiner Vorgängernormen zeigt vielmehr, dass und wie der EuGH auch den Umfang des nach dem auslegungserheblichen Wortlaut einer Richtlinie bestehenden mitgliedstaatlichen Ausgestaltungsermessens begrenzt. Die hiernach ermittelten Begrenzungsansätze werden sodann einer rechtlichen Bewertung im Hinblick auf die Vorgaben des primären Unionsrechts einschließlich des in Kapitel 2 entwickelten restriktiven Zielbegriffs i. S. d. Art. 288 Abs. 3 AEUV unterzogen. Da einzelne Begrenzungsansätze des EuGH sich mit dem primären Unionsrecht als nicht vereinbar erweisen, werden insoweit schließlich Vorschläge für eine unionsrechtskonforme Korrektur dieser Rechtsprechung gemacht. Die Zusammenfassung der Forschungsergebnisse in Form einer thesenartigen Beantwortung der in der Einleitung aufgeworfenen vier Forschungsleitfragen findet sich in Kapitel 5.
Background
Identifying pain-related response patterns and understanding functional mechanisms of symptom formation and recovery are important for improving treatment.
Objectives
We aimed to replicate pain-related avoidance-endurance response patterns associated with the Fear-Avoidance Model, and its extension, the Avoidance-Endurance Model, and examined their differences in secondary measures of stress, action control (i.e., dispositional action vs. state orientation), coping, and health.
Methods
Latent profile analysis (LPA) was conducted on self-report data from 536 patients with chronic non-specific low back pain at the beginning of an inpatient rehabilitation program. Measures of stress (i.e., pain, life stress) and action control were analyzed as covariates regarding their influence on the formation of different pain response profiles. Measures of coping and health were examined as dependent variables.
Results
Partially in line with our assumptions, we found three pain response profiles of distress-avoidance, eustress-endurance, and low-endurance responses that are depending on the level of perceived stress and action control. Distress-avoidance responders emerged as the most burdened, dysfunctional patient group concerning measures of stress, action control, maladaptive coping, and health. Eustress-endurance responders showed one of the highest levels of action versus state orientation, as well as the highest levels of adaptive coping and physical activity. Low-endurance responders reported lower levels of stress as well as equal levels of action versus state orientation, maladaptive coping, and health compared to eustress-endurance responders; however, equally low levels of adaptive coping and physical activity compared to distress-avoidance responders.
Conclusions
Apart from the partially supported assumptions of the Fear-Avoidance and Avoidance-Endurance Model, perceived stress and dispositional action versus state orientation may play a crucial role in the formation of pain-related avoidance-endurance response patterns that vary in degree of adaptiveness. Results suggest tailoring interventions based on behavioral and functional analysis of pain responses in order to more effectively improve patients quality of life.
Background: The body-oriented therapeutic approach Somatic Experiencing® (SE) treats posttraumatic symptoms by changing the interoceptive and proprioceptive sensations associated with the traumatic experience. Filling a gap in the landscape of trauma treatments, SE has attracted growing interest in research and therapeutic practice, recently.
Objective: To date, there is no literature review of the effectiveness and key factors of SE. This review aims to summarize initial findings on the effectiveness of SE and to outline methodspecific key factors of SE.
Method: To gain a first overview of the literature, we conducted a scoping review including studies until 13 August 2020. We identified 83 articles of which 16 fit inclusion criteria and were systematically analysed.
Results: Findings provide preliminary evidence for positive effects of SE on PTSD-related symptoms. Moreover, initial evidence suggests that SE has a positive impact on affective and somatic symptoms and measures of well-being in both traumatized and non-traumatized
samples. Practitioners and clients identified resource-orientation and use of touch as methodspecific key factors of SE. Yet, an overall studies quality assessment as well as a Cochrane analysis of risk of bias indicate that the overall study quality is mixed.
Conclusions: The results concerning effectiveness and method-specific key factors of SE are promising; yet, require more support from unbiased RCT-research. Future research should focus on filling this gap.
This intervention study explored the effects of a newly developed intergenerational encounter program on cross-generational age stereotyping (CGAS). Based on a biographical-narrative approach, participants (secondary school students and nursing home residents) were invited to share ideas about existential questions of life (e.g., about one’s core experiences, future plans, and personal values). Therefore, the dyadic Life Story Interview (LSI) had been translated into a group format (the Life Story Encounter Program, LSEP), consisting of 10 90-min sessions. Analyses verified that LSEP participants of both generations showed more favorable CGAS immediately after, but also 3 months after the program end. Such change in CGAS was absent in a control group (no LSEP participation). The LSEP-driven short- and long-term effects on CGAS could be partially explained by two program benefits, the feeling of comfort with and the experience of learning from the other generation.
Perennial energy crops (PECs) are increasingly used as feedstock to produce energy in an environmental friendly way. Compared to traditional conversion strategies like thermal use, sophisticated technologies such as biomethanation defined different re-quirements of the feedstock. Whereas the first concept relies on dry, woody mate-rial, biomethanation requires a moist feedstock. Thus, over time, the spectrum of species used as PECs has widened. Moreover, harvest dates were adjusted to pro-vide the feedstock at suitable moisture contents. It is well known that perennial, lignocellulose- based energy crops, compared to annual, sugar- and starch- based ones, offer ecological advantages such as, inter alia, improving biodiversity in landscape, protecting soil against erosion, and protecting groundwater from nutrient inputs. However, one of the main arguments for PEC cultivation was their undemanding nature concerning external inputs. With respect to the broader spectrum of PEC spe-cies and changed harvest dates, the question arises whether the concept of PECs being low- input energy crops is still valid. This also implies the question of suitable grow-ing conditions and sustainable management. The aims of this opinion paper were to classify different PECs according to their life- form strategy, compare nutrient exports when harvested in different maturation stages, and to discuss the results in the context of sustainable PEC cultivation on marginal land. This study revealed that nutrient exports with yield biomass of PECs harvested in green state are in the same range than those of annual energy crops and therewith several times higher than those of PECs harvested in brown state or of woody short rotation coppices. Thus, PECs can-not universally be claimed as low- input energy crops. These results also imply the consequences of cultivation of PECs on marginal land. Finally, the question has to be raised whether the term PECs should prospectively be better specified in written and spoken words.
Institutional and cultural determinants of speed of government responses during COVID-19 pandemic
(2021)
This article examines institutional and cultural determinants of the speed of government responses during the COVID-19 pandemic. We define the speed as the marginal rate of stringency index change. Based on cross-country data, we find that collectivism is associated with higher speed of government response. We also find a moderating role of trust in government, i.e., the association of individualism-collectivism on speed is stronger in countries with higher levels of trust in government. We do not find significant predictive power of democracy, media freedom and power distance on the speed of government responses.
The daily dose of health information: A psychological view on the health information seeking process
(2021)
The search for health information is becoming increasingly important in everyday life, as well as socially and scientifically relevant Previous studies have mainly focused on the design and communication of information. However, the view of the seeker as well as individual
differences in skills and abilities has been a neglected topic so far. A psychological perspective on the process of searching for health information would provide important starting points for promoting the general dissemination of relevant information and thus improving health behaviour and health status. Within the present dissertation, the process of seeking health information was thus divided into sequential stages to identify relevant personality traits and skills. Accordignly, three studies are presented that focus on one stage
of the process respectively and empirically test potential crucial traits and skills: Study I investigates possible determinants of an intention for a comprehensive search for health information. Building an intention is considered as the basic step of the search process.
Motivational dispositions and self-regulatory skills were related to each other in a structural equation model and empirically tested based on theoretical investigations. Model fit showed an overall good fit and specific direct and indirect effects from approach and avoidance
motivation on the intention to seek comprehensively could be found, which supports the theoretical assumptions. The results show that as early as the formation of intention, the psychological perspective reveals influential personality traits and skills. Study II deals with the subsequent step, the selection of information sources. The preference for basic characteristics of information sources (i.e., accessibility, expertise, and interaction) is related to health information literacy as a collective term for relevant skills and intelligence as a personality trait. Furthermore, the study considers the influence of possible over- or underestimation of these characteristics. The results show not only a different predictive
contribution of health literacy and intelligence, but also the relevance of subjective and objective measurement.
Finally, Study III deals with the selection and evaluation of the health information previously found. The phenomenon of selective exposure is analysed, as this can be considered problematic in the health context. For this purpose, an experimental design was implemented in which a varying health threat was suggested to the participants. Relevant information was presented and the selective choice of this information was assessed. Health literacy was tested
as a moderator in a function of the induced threat and perceived vulnerability, triggering defence motives on the degree of bias. Findings show the importance of the consideration of the defence motives, which could cause a bias in the form of selective exposure. Furthermore, health literacy even seems to amplify this effect.
Results of the three studies are synthesized, discussed and general conclusions are drawn and implications for further research are determined.
The endemic argan tree (Argania spinosa) populations in southern Morocco are highly degraded due to overbrowsing, illegal firewood extraction and the expansion of intensive agriculture. Bare areas between the isolated trees increase due to limited regrowth; however, it is unknown if the trees influence the soil of the intertree areas. Hypothetically, spatial differences in soil parameters of the intertree area should result from the translocation of litter or soil particles (by runoff and erosion or wind drift) from canopy-covered areas to the intertree areas. In total, 385 soil samples were taken around the tree from the trunk along the tree drip line (within and outside the tree area) and the intertree area between two trees in four directions (upslope, downslope and in both directions parallel to the slope) up to 50 m distance from the tree. They were analysed for gravimetric soil water content, pH, electrical conductivity, percolation stability, total nitrogen content (TN), content of soil organic carbon (SOC) and C/N ratio. A total of 74 tension disc infiltrometer experiments were performed near the tree drip line, within and outside the tree area, to measure the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity. We found that the tree influence on its surrounding intertree area is limited, with, e.g., SOC and TN content decreasing significantly from tree trunk (4.4 % SOC and 0.3 % TN) to tree drip line (2.0 % SOC and 0.2 % TN). However, intertree areas near the tree drip line (1.3 % SOC and 0.2 % TN) differed significantly from intertree areas between two trees (1.0 % SOC and 0.1 % TN) yet only with a small effect. Trends for spatial patterns could be found in eastern and downslope directions due to wind drift and slope wash. Soil water content was highest in the north due to shade from the midday sun; the influence extended to the intertree areas. The unsaturated hydraulic conductivity also showed significant differences between areas within and outside the tree area near the tree drip line. This was the case on sites under different land usages (silvopastoral and agricultural), slope gradients or tree densities. Although only limited influence of the tree on its intertree area was found, the spatial pattern around the tree suggests that reforestation measures should be aimed around tree shelters in northern or eastern directions with higher soil water content or TN or SOC content to ensure seedling survival, along with measures to prevent overgrazing.