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According to previous studies, the Lixiahe area in the east of the Jianghuai River was an alternate environment of land and sea in the middle Holocene, and it was not until the late Holocene that the eastern Jianghuai completely became a terrestrial environment. However, recent archaeological studies have found that the extensive Neolithic sites in the Lixiahe area have recorded the rich human activities and cultural connotations of the prehistoric civilization in the Middle Holocene. In this paper, the Gangxi section of Jianhu Lake, Jiangsu Province (GX2) was selected and pollen analysis was fulfilled, then the geomorphic evolution process of the study area from sea to land was investigated according to the palynological assemblages and algae fossils of brackish water, semi-saline water, fresh water and terrestrial in the section strata. During the period of 8500–3800 cal. BP, GX2 was affected by multiple factors such as sea surface fluctuation, ocean flow and sediment deposition carried by seagoing rivers. Since 5800 cal. BP, the area east of the Grand Canal between the Yangtze River and the Huaihe River, and the west of the Yangzhai town, Funing–Longgang town, Yancheng–Dagang town and Yancheng–west of the Dongtai–Hai'an line, have become a terrestrial environment. After the eastern Jianghuai became a land, the Liangzhu culture (5300–4300 cal. BP) in the Taihu Lake basin in the south wing of the Yangtze River delta expanded to the eastern Jianghuai area, and the Longshan culture and Yueshi culture in the Haidai area in the north also migrated south to the eastern Jianghuai area. Admittedly, the main reason in the process of Neolithic cultural development is the internal motivation that the ancient ancestors struggled with nature and pushed forward the continuous development of civilizations. However, our study explains the palaeogeographical origin of Neolithic culture in the eastern and coastal areas of Jianghuai in the middle Holocene, and meanwhile, provides an example for the man–land relationship research on Neolithic culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of sustainable economic development as the core promotes socio-economic progress and rapid economic development. Nevertheless, in the new era of China, the contradiction between socio-economic development and environmental sustainability is still prominent. In order to deal with the coordinated development relationship among regional economy, energy, and environment, this paper constructs an energy-economy-environment (3E) index system from the perspective of green development and ecological integrity. On this basis, the distance-based coupling coordinated degree (CCD) model and dynamically comprehensive coordination degree model were used to evaluate the coupling coordinated development levels of 11 provinces (cities) along the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB) from 2008 to 2017. Then, a spatial econometric model was used to explore the spatial effects of the regional 3E system of the YREB. The results indicated that (1) the overall coordination of the 3E system in the provinces (cities) along the YREB shows an increasing trend. However, change paths varied with the provinces (cities) due to the influence of regional policies; (2) the CCD of the 3E system in the YREB differed spatially significantly, showing a stepped distribution of "high in the east and low in the west"; (3) the 3E system in the YREB had a positive spatial correlation and showed the characteristics of aggregation, with Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces mainly showing "high-high" agglomeration and Sichuan showing "high-low" aggregation, while the rest of the provinces had the characteristics of random distribution in terms of spatial effects. The research process and results show that combining the ecological civilization concept and the CCD model can provide the vision and indicators for evaluating and researching the regional 3E system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the rapid development of coastal areas has polluted the watershed water, affecting the ecological environment of wetland scenic spots. This paper briefly introduced the constructed wetland, a means of watershed water pollution control, and briefly explained its mechanism of water pollution control. Then, an example of Yancheng Coastal Wetland Natural Reserve in Jiangsu Province was analyzed to analyze water quality ecological changes in the basin before and after the construction of constructed wetland. The results showed that the basin of the natural reserve changed from acidic to alkaline, and ammonia nitrogen, total nitrogen, total phosphorus and chemical oxygen demand decreased significantly and maintained at a relatively low level after the constructed wetland controlled the water pollution in the basin; subsurface constructed wetland had a better effect on reducing ammonia nitrogen, total nitrogen and total phosphorus; surface constructed wetland had a better effect on reducing chemical oxygen demand. In conclusion, constructed wetlands as a means of water pollution control in the watershed can effectively improve the water quality ecology of coastal wetland natural reserves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The River Chief System (RCS), an innovative top-down and bottom-up water resource management system in China, is implemented to manage increasingly complex water environment issues. However, there has been a time lag in policy implementation. To accurately and scientifically assess the effect of RCS, a dynamic multiple-attribute decision-making method considering the time factor (DMADM) has been proposed. We have constructed the model consisting of 17 indicators from four aspects and determined the index weights and time weights by using the gray relation analysis method, the maximum entropy principle, and the subjective empowerment method. Finally, we applied the model to evaluate the water environment governance effect in the Taihu Basin from 2008 to 2020. The results have been ranked by possibility degree matrix, showing that: (1) The water environment in Taihu Basin maintains a steady improvement trend until 2014, except in Jiangsu Province;(2) The ranking result of the final comprehensive evaluation value is Shanghai ([0.334, 0.376]) ≻ Zhejiang ([0.316, 0.353]) ≻ Jiangsu ([0.305, 0.336]). Shanghai is far ahead with systematic pollution control measures, while Jiangsu lags due to the large fluctuation of pollutants (COD, NH3-N) in the wastewater. The study finds that the water environment management in Taihu Basin did improve over the past years, but failed to achieve the RCS governance goals at each stage. Enhancing coordination and cooperation and improving supervision mechanism for precise governance can better consolidate the results of RCS governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The existing research on watershed ecological compensation pays less attention to the special basin (without significant relationship between upstream and downstream or the compensation subject and object are distributed on the left and right banks of the basin), which makes the previous research methods difficult to be effectively used. Therefore, it is necessary to explore a new method to solve the problem of ecological compensation in special basin. Taking Taihu Lake Basin (Jiangsu section) as an example, this paper first calculates the ecosystem service value (ESV) of the region from 2005 to 2018, and makes a spatial-temporal analysis; through the construction of land use intensity index system and coupling coordination degree model, the relationship between ESV and land use intensity is explored, and the reasons for its change are explored; finally, this paper constructs a compensation standard accounting model based on GDP, basin area and population, and applies it to the accounting of compensation standard and the identification of compensation subject and object. The results show that: from 2005 to 2018, the land use of this area changed greatly, mainly reflected in farmland and urban land; ESV decreased by 21.41%, which was mainly affected by the change of land use, the downturn of grain market, and farmers' going out to work; the coupling coordination degree of land use intensity and ESV in this area entered the stage of coordinated development from 2010, but the situation of each city was quite different; population, area and GDP have a great influence on compensation subject and object, and compensation standard. This study can not only provide a complete methodology for governments to implement ecological compensation in special basins, and improve the existing ecological compensation theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Owing to the publicity and externality of watershed governance, collaborative governance among cities has become an inevitable choice to improve watershed governance performance and promote sustainable development of watersheds. Existing studies have provided many enlightenment on promoting watershed collaborative governance (WCG), while most of them investigated WCG from single or several dimensions with scanty quantitative empirical studies. Against this background, this study aims to establish a comprehensive WCG research framework involving multiple phases and diverse actors to empirically measure the synergy degree of WCG. Specifically, this study constructs a WCG index system composed of resource investment, open cooperation, and performance supervision subsystems that involves actors of government, enterprise, and the public. Using the complex system synergy model, an empirical analysis is performed to evaluate the synergy degree of Taihu Basin collaborative governance among and within cities in Jiangsu province, China during 2014–2020. The results reveal that the Tai Basin collaborative governance among cities was still in the run-in adaptation stage, which was primarily constrained by the discrete open cooperation subsystems among cities. The synergy degree of Taihu Basin collaborative governance within cities presented significant differences. Several targeted implications are proposed according to the results. This study provides a comprehensive index system for synergy degree measurement of WCG and could offer effective guidance for policymakers to design effective strategies for improving WCG performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of the high incidence of flooding disputes among neighboring subjects in the basin, exploring the drainage rights trading mechanism and clarifying the pricing method of drainage rights are new ideas to manage flooding disasters. In this study, the trading mechanism of drainage rights is constructed using a bilateral call auction model, in which the price constraint, the control total quantity constraint, the clearing rule, and the matching rule are explained. In addition, we adopt the wealth utility concept to construct a function, apply the social welfare function to associate the wealth utility functions of both sides of the transaction, and draw on the environmental Gini coefficient concept to construct a pricing model for drainage rights transactions based on fairness and efficiency. Finally, we conduct an arithmetic simulation of the drainage rights trading mechanism and transaction pricing for China's Jiangsu section of the Huaihe River Basin. The study's results show that the trading mechanism model can give the optimal trading scheme when multiple subjects are trading drainage rights. This fills the gap in existing studies and can lead to efficient trading of drainage rights. At the same time, the pricing model can give the optimal transaction price that considers efficiency and fairness, providing a more practical pricing theory for drainage rights trading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change, population growth, the development of industrialization and urbanization are increasing the demand for water resources, but the water pollution is reducing the limited water supply. In recent years, the gap between water supply and demand which shows water scarcity situation is becoming more serious. Clear knowing this gap and its main driving factors could help us to put forward water protection measures correctly. We take the data of Huaihe River Basin from 2001 to 2016 as an example and use ecological water footprint to describe the demand, with the water carrying capacity representing the supply. We analyze the water supply-demand situation of Huaihe River Basin and its five provinces from footprint view in time and space. Then we apply the Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index model to analyze the driving factors of the ecological water footprint. The results show that: (1) the supply and demand balance of Huaihe River Basin was only achieved in year 2003 and 2005. There is also a large difference between Jiangsu province and other provinces in Huaihe River basin, most years in Jiangsu province per capital ecological footprint of water is more than 1 hm2/person except the years of 2003, 2015, and 2016. But other provinces are all less than 1 hm2/person. (2) Through the decomposition of water demand drivers, we concluded that economic development is the most important factor, with an annual contribution of more than 60%. Our study provides countermeasures and suggestions for the management and optimal allocation of water resources in Huaihe River Basin, and also provides reference for the formulation of water-saving policies in the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A radar reflectivity observation operator with ice-phase hydrometeors was employed for the assimilation of the real radar observations of a squall line on June 14, 2009, over Anhui and Jiangsu provinces in China. The threedimensional variational (3DVAR) data-assimilation system along with the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model was applied. The impact of assimilating radar radial velocity and reflectivity is investigated by analysing the meteorological conditions for different stages of the squall line. The results show that the radar data-assimilation experiments adjust and improve the initial fields to some extent for the squall line with the cycling data-assimilation strategy. The analysed and predicted radar composite reflectivity is significantly improved with the use of the ice-phase hydrometeors observation operator. The improvements are illustrated in terms of the wind fields for both the surface and upper level, the radar reflectivity, the surface perturbation potential temperature and the surface perturbation pressure. In addition, the forecast skills of the precipitation are improved noticeably for both the location and the intensity after using the ice-phase hydrometeors radar observation operator. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coupled human and natural system research is an urgent issue in the Anthropocene. However, this has not yet been conducted from the perspective of multiplex networks, which are a powerful tool to elucidate the interactions in human-natural systems. This paper establishes a framework of human-water multiplex networks (HWMNs) to explain the combined effects of human-water interactions in the Yangtze River basin. The spatial linkages and the status of each province in the Yangtze River basin can be characterized through the index of network flow and topology. Research demonstrated that the highest import flow of the virtual water environment capacity flow in the Yangtze River Basin is to Jiangsu Province, at 16.2 thousand t. The highest export flow in the Yangtze River Basin is from Shanghai city, at 33.2 thousand t. The control power of Shanghai city over Sichuan Province accounts for 56.59% of the water resources, which is the highest value and can be recognized as one type of telecoupling of water resources. The provinces in the delta of the Yangtze River basin, including Shanghai city, Jiangsu Province and Zhejiang Province, benefit the most from economic trade. The community structure of the virtual water environment capacity flow is highly consistent with the geographical distribution of the Yangtze River basin. Comprehensive research methods combined with network flow analysis and network topology analysis provide more general results. The microenvironmental effect of indirect pollutant discharge is uncovered through HWMNs. This research can provide a more connected view of integrated water management. Image 1 • A framework of HWMN is established to reveal the combined environmental effects. • The key provinces are revealed through the network flow analysis and topology analysis. • The provinces in the Yangtze river delta obtains most of the water environment benefits. • The environmental effect of the indirect pollutant discharge through HWMN is revealed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Private diaries are important sources of historical data for research on climate change. Their advantages include a high veracity and reliability, accurate time and location information, a high temporal resolution, seasonal integrity, and rich content. In particular, these data are suitable for reconstructing short-term, high-resolution climate series and extreme climatic events. Through a case study of Yunshan Diary , authored by Bi Guo of the Yuan dynasty of China, this article demonstrates how to delve into climate information in diaries, including species distribution records, phenological records, daily weather descriptions and personal experiences of meteorological conditions. In addition, this article considers how to use these records, supplemented by other data, to reconstruct climate change and extreme climatic events on various timescales, from multidecadal to annual or daily. The study of Yunshan Diary finds that there was a relatively low amount of precipitation in central and southern Jiangsu Province in the summer of 1309; the winter of 1308–1309 was abnormally cold in the Taihu Lake basin. In the early 14th century at the latest, the climate in eastern China had begun to turn cold, which reflects the transition from the Medieval Warm Period to the Little Ice Age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The phrase 'green cities' refers to an idealised and modernised urban development model that features harmonious development among the environment, ecology, society, culture, and the inhabitants of a city. Harmonious humanistic relations and green pathways have become predominant models in modern urban development. Green city construction has drawn considerable attention. However, the construction and development of green cities involves numerous problems. The various needs of different populations must be coordinated to foster the green development of a city. In this study, the analytic hierarchy process was used to classify factors related to green city construction into different levels. The scope of the empirical verification was eight cities alongshore the drainage area of the Jiangsu section of the Beijing–Hangzhou Canal. Data from 2009, 2014, and 2019 were selected for analysis. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses were performed using these data, and standards were established to serve as a reference for city administrators in the process of decision-making regarding green city construction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]