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Climate change is an important issue for cities today and in the future. At present, China has a large population and complex climate conditions, and cities are also vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change (Tian, Environ Sustain Dev 6: 153-155 2020). Three-dimensional greening can not only improve the green space system of a city but also have a far-reaching impact on the ecology, image, and economic benefits of a city. Therefore, the study of urban three-dimensional greening is an effective means to deal with climate change strategies. By exploring the influence of traditional greening and three-dimensional greening on Local Climate in Beilin District of Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, the mechanism of three-dimensional greening on urban ecological environment was discussed, and the ecological theory, urban three-dimensional greening theory, and urban local climate zone (LCZ) were referred to. Based on the methods of national climate monitoring, ENVI-met simulation, and field independent measurement, this paper selected a research sample site in the east section of Jianshe Road, Beilin District, Xi'an City, Shaanxi Province, China, and applied ENVI-met software to simulate the thermal stress relationship among building exterior surfaces, plants, and air in the street; quantified the overall ecology of the area; and used measuring instruments. The influence of different types of greening in the base on the site temperature, humidity, CO2 (carbon dioxide) concentration, wind speed, and other climate factors data was, respectively, measured and analyzed. The grid analysis was used to compare the traditional greening and three-dimensional greening, then the numerical differences of each impact factor were sorted out, and the effect of three-dimensional greening on the improvement of urban ecological environment was discussed by analyzing the climate factors with greater impact. The results show that (1) three-dimensional greening plus traditional greening is the most beneficial mode; (2) in the same environment, according to the parameter of 1.5 m from the ground in the model environment, it can be seen that the temperature of the space treated with three-dimensional greening of buildings is reduced by 3.5–3.6 ℃ compared with the control group, the relative humidity is different by 7–8%, the CO2 concentration is reduced by about 5%, and the spatial wind speed is relatively small. (3) When the urban green coverage rate is more than 40%, the improvement of temperature is more obvious, if it reaches 50%, the cool phenomenon in summer can be fundamentally changed. From the perspective of human perception, the PMV index increased by 0.27 on average. This paper discusses and analyzes the three-dimensional greening of urban streets in Beilin District, Xi'an City, Shaanxi Province, China, and studies its influence on urban ecology to different degrees. The conclusions are as follows: Different types of greening have different degrees of influence on urban climate. Meanwhile, the experimental results of this paper show that in cities like Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China, where summer is hot, adding three-dimensional greening to traditional street greening can significantly improve the environmental microclimate, which is an effective means to cope with climate change, improve the site environment, and stabilize the urban ecosystem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the asymmetric effect of financial development on CO2 emissions in China by controlling for the effects of economic growth and energy consumption. So far, no consensus has been found as regards the nature and the intensity of the relationship between CO2 emissions and financial development in China. While most previous studies found a positive effect of financial development on the environment, there have been also studies showing that financial development increases CO2 emissions in China or has no effect on it. Moreover, these studies have not accounted for a possible asymmetric impact that financial development can have on CO2 emissions in China. The empirical study in this paper is carried out with the unit root test with structural breaks and the nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag model. The obtained results show that an asymmetric effect exists. An increase in financial development helps decreasing CO2 emission. These results show the importance to support financial development in China to decrease CO2 emissions while sustaining economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to achieve a sustainable development of economy and ecological environment, starting from the systemic thinking and systemic approach, this paper regards China's economic development and ecological environment protection as a whole system. Firstly, the negative index of M2 is introduced to correct the GDP bubble, and constructed the architecture model of the economy-ecological environment system. Then, this research establishes an evaluation index system using the analytic hierarchy process and Yaahp software and obtains its comprehensive evaluation value. After that, this research builds the Lotka-Volterra coordination degree model and uses the China data from 1997–2016 to analyze the mutual influencing factors and coupling coordination degree, and carries out the empirical and experimental tests to obtain the overall coordination relationship between economy and ecological environment systems. The results of the study show that the trend of economy-ecological environment coordination degree in China has changed from relatively coordinated to moderately uncoordinated in the latter 20 years; the coordination degree decreased from 0.8996 to 0.4842. Although, the situation has a rebound in the latter 2 years, the situation is still not optimistic. In addition, even the modified model of economic subsystem plus M2 did not change the original changing trend, and only changed the magnitude of the gap, thus revealing that the imbalance of economic development is much more serious than the impact of overissue currency on the ecological environment. This study provides a new basis for research decisions such as the adjustment of the economic growth rate and the optimization of ecological environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green investment, as a socially responsible investment, conforms to the concept of ecological civilization. It is considerable to promote enterprises to make green investment. This article is based on 211 questionnaires for employees of various enterprises in China, using STATA.14 for descriptive statistical analysis, logistical regression analysis, and trend analysis. It aims to explore the impact of government-led institutional environment on enterprises from five aspects. This study examines that the institutional environment has a positive effect on enterprise' green investment from the legal and cultural aspects, but it has no significant impact from the political, economic, and financial aspects. Finally, this paper provides policy advice that can promote the construction of institutional environment to encourage enterprises to make green investment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A dilemma between economic growth and environmental deterioration has never been recognized so seriously until the environmental problem has been impacting everyone's daily life cogently (e.g., the serious fog and haze in China). Simultaneously, the rising environment awareness of consumers leads to the close attention to the product's carbon performance reflected in the carbon concerned demand, which provides opportunity to rebuild our business ecosystem. The paper expands the environment view to supply chain operations. A Stackelberg-like model is developed to game-theoretically analyze the decentralized decisions of the manufacturer and retailer. Low-carbon effort is brought into decision by both sides. The centralized decision-making is also investigated as a benchmark to evaluate the supply chain performance. Additionally,we propose a carbon-related price-discount sharing-like scheme to achieve the channel coordination and discuss the possibility of Pareto improvement. Several interesting managerial insights on low-carbon factors are concluded. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the interannual variation of winter air temperature over Northeast China and its connection to preceding Eurasian snow cover. The results show that there is a significant negative correlation between October Eurasian snow cover and following-winter air temperature over Northeast China. The snow cover located in eastern Siberia and to the northeast of Lake Baikal plays an important role in the winter air temperature anomaly. More (less) eastern Siberia snow in October can cause an atmospheric circulation anomaly pattern in which the atmospheric pressure is higher (lower) than normal in the polar region and lower (higher) in the northern mid-high latitudes. Due to the persistence of the eastern Siberia snow from October to the following winter, the winter atmospheric anomaly is favorable (unfavorable) to the widespread movement of cold air masses from the polar region toward the northern mid-high latitudes and, hence, lower (higher) temperature over Northeast China. Simultaneously, when the October snow cover is more (less), the SST in the northwestern Pacific is continuously lower (higher) as a whole; then, the Aleutian low and the East Asia trough are reinforced (weakened), favoring the lower (higher) temperature over Northeast China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to explore the environmental effects of fiscal decentralisation from theoretical and empirical perspectives. We first analyse the dynamic relationship between fiscal decentralisation and the environment using an endogenous growth model. Our findings demonstrate that fiscal decentralisation and environmental pollution display an inverted U-shaped relationship. We then use provincial panel data from 1998 to 2015 in the empirical investigation of CO2 emissions in China. Our findings show that empirical results verify the correctness of the theoretical results. The results obtained are robust using different methods. The findings of this work may help China's central government and local governments in addressing the problem of CO2 emissions by using a reasonable degree of fiscal decentralisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the founding of the People's Republic of China 70 years ago, the subject of atmospheric physics and atmospheric environment has developed rapidly in China, providing important support for the development of atmospheric science and guarantee for the development of national economy. In this paper, the general advancement of atmospheric physics and atmospheric environment in last 70 years was described. The main research progress of atmospheric physics and atmospheric environment in the past 40 years of reform and opening-up was reviewed, the outstanding research achievements since the 21st century were summarized, the major problems and challenges are pointed out, and the key directions and suggestions for future development are put forward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between species diversity and ecosystem function is a hot topic in ecology and environics. This paper investigates the evolution of diversity of the late Middle Permian brachiopods community in Hechuan, Chongqing, China, and discusses the relationship between species diversity and community productivity in terms of the geohistorical development. This paper shows that the species diversity is externalized by several indexes, and the relationship between diversity and productivity is too complex to be described by a single assumption. The relationship between species diversity and community productivity is restricted by environment and community evolution. When the community succeeds normally, the relationship between species richness index, species diversity index, and species evenness index to productivity is in linear dependence relation to each other, which is met with the third assumption. But, when the environment interference surpasses the bearing capability of the community, not only the community succession will be terminated and be replaced by another one, but also the relationship between species richness index, species diversity index, and species evenness index to productivity is also inversed to negative correlation by the interference from environment. Only the relationship between ecological dominance and productivity is in linear dependence relation to each other and approximately met with the third assumption. It is illustrated that the assumption that the productivity is in linear dependence relation with diversity should be established on the presupposition that the community succession is normal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, precipitation concentrations across the Pearl River basin and the associated spatial patterns are analyzed based on daily precipitation data of 42 rain gauging stations during the period 1960–2005. Regions characterized by the different changing properties of precipitation concentration index (CI) are identified. The southwest and northeast parts of the Pearl River basin are characterized by lower and decreasing precipitation CI; the northwest and south parts of the study river basin show higher and increasing precipitation CI. Higher but decreasing precipitations CI are found in the West and East River basin. Comparison of precipitation CI trends before and after 1990 shows that most parts of the Pearl River basin are characterized by increasing precipitation CI after 1990. Decreasing precipitation CI after 1990 (compared to precipitation CI changes before 1990) is observed only in a few stations located in the lower Gui River and the lower Yu River. Significant increasing precipitation CI after 1990 is detected in the West River, lower North River and upper Beipan River. These changes of precipitation CI in the Pearl River basin are likely to be associated with the consequences of the well-evidenced global warming. These findings can contribute to basin-scale water resource management and conservation of ecological environment in the Pearl River basin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zhalong National Nature Reserve in the northeast of China is a large wetland and a habitat of hundreds species of fauna and flora. The rare red-crowned crane is one kind of endangered birds in it. Recently, Zhalong wetland is shrinking and it encounters many problems including occasional fires, bad water quality, human activities, etc. In order to find out a proper way to protect and restore the wetland, this study, using a geographic information system, the global positioning system and remote sensing techniques, analyses the spatial characteristics of the changes in marsh landscape pattern and examines the driving factors for these changes. Data sources include 8 Landsat Thematic Mapper satellite images of Zhalong area in the period of 1986–2002 and the investigation information on site. Based on the analysis of changes of marsh area and annual precipitation during the 16 years, it is found that there is a close correlation between annual precipitation and marsh area. It means that climate is one of driving factors of marsh pattern changes. To understand influences of other kinds of land uses on marsh spatial distribution in Zhalong wetland, this paper analyses the relationship between marsh and different kinds of land uses, such as water surface, residential area, farmland, salina land and grass land, respectively. According to the patch analysis theory, a fragmental index and a fractal dimension of the marsh are calculated with perimeter-area method. The results indicate that the marsh pattern is affected by human activities significantly. In addition, the location alteration of marsh centroid point over the 16 years is studied. The movement trace of marsh centroid point is concerned with different hydrological situation in different areas of the wetland. In summary the characteristics of the marsh landscape pattern evolution during the 16 years are affected by multiple driving factors. The main driving factors are climate, human activities, distribution of other kinds of land uses and hydrological situation in different areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Atherosclerosis is a primary risk factor for cardiovascular disease, but its pathogenesis is unclear. Previous studies reported that the prospero homeobox 1 (PROX1) gene is associated with lipid disorders and insulin resistance. However, few studies have been concerned about the relationship between PROX1 gene and atherosclerosis in Chinese individuals. Material and methods: A total of 2177 individuals with data on body indicators, pulse wave velocity, and genotype were included in this study. We estimated the cardiometabolic index (CMI) of the participants and analyzed the association between the rs340974 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and CMI as well as pulse wave velocity (PWV). The interaction effects between the rs340974 SNP and metabolic factors for the early atherosclerosis index were also analyzed. Results: The rs340874 SNP CC genotype exhibits increased metabolism factors, such as carotid femoral PWV, body mass index (BMI), and CMI, compared with those in other groups. The prevalence ratios of hypertension in different genotype groups were significantly different. However, after adjusting for some metabolic factors, the difference disappeared. The associations between the rs340874 SNP and CMI as well as carotid femoral PWV were confirmed by multiple linear regression. The interaction effect indicates that sex and BMI modified the relation of the rs340874 SNP and CMI or carotid femoral PWV, which are indexes of early atherosclerosis. Conclusions: The PROX1 gene rs340874 SNP CC genotype is associated with CMI and cfPWV, and sex and obesity can modify this relationship in Chinese populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integrated risk assessment approaches allow to achieve a sound evaluation of ecological status of river basins and to gain knowledge about the likely causes of impairment, useful for informing and supporting the decision-making process. In this paper, the integrated risk assessment (IRA) methodology developed in the EU MODELKEY project (and implemented in the MODELKEY Decision Support System) is applied to the Taizi River (China), in order to assess its Ecological and Chemical Status according to EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) requirements. The available dataset is derived by an extensive survey carried out in 2009 and 2010 across the Taizi River catchment, including the monitoring of physico-chemical (i.e. DO, EC, NH-_N, chemical oxygen demand (COD), biological oxygen demand in 5 days (BOD) and TP), chemical (i.e. polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and metals), biological (i.e. macroinvertebrates, fish, and algae), and hydromorphological parameters (i.e. water quantity, channel change and morphology diversity). The results show a negative trend in the ecological status from the highland to the lowland of the Taizi River Basin. Organic pollution from agriculture and domestic sources (i.e. COD and BOD), unstable hydrological regime (i.e. water quantity shortage) and chemical pollutants from industry (i.e. PAHs and metals) are found to be the main stressors impacting the ecological status of the Taizi River Basin. The comparison between the results of the IRA methodology and those of a previous study (Leigh et al. ) indicates that the selection of indicators and integrating methodologies can have a relevant impact on the classification of the ecological status. The IRA methodology, which integrates information from five lines of evidence (i.e., biology, physico-chemistry, chemistry, ecotoxicology and hydromorphology) required by WFD, allows to better identify the biological communities that are potentially at risk and the stressors that are most likely responsible for the observed alterations. This knowledge can be beneficial for a more effective restoration and management of the river basin ecosystem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the fundamental questions in community ecology is whether communities are random or formed by deterministic mechanisms. Although many efforts have been made to verify non-randomness in community structure, little is known with regard to co-occurrence patterns in above-ground and below-ground communities. In this paper, we used a null model to test non-randomness in the structure of the above-ground and below-ground mite communities in farmland of the Sanjiang Plain, Northeast China. Then, we used four tests for non-randomness to recognize species pairs that would be demonstrated as significantly aggregated or segregated co-occurrences of the above-ground and below-ground mite communities. The co-occurrence pattern of the above-ground mite community was significantly non-random in October, suggesting species segregation and hence interspecific competition. Additionally, species co-occurrence patterns did not differ from randomness in the above-ground mite community in August or in below-ground mite communities in August and October. Only one significant species pair was detected in the above-ground mite community in August, while no significant species pairs were recognized in the above-ground mite community in October or in the below-ground mite communities in August and October. The results indicate that non-randomness and significant species pairs may not be the general rule in the above-ground and below-ground mite communities in farmland of the Sanjiang Plain at the fine scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global climate change and its possible ecological consequences have become the focused issue (IPCC, 2007; Mann et al., 2008; Ding et al., 2009). The Holocene contains the analogous characteristic of future climatic change and the continuous agriculture activity, providing the ideal “similar pattern” for studying the climate change and human adaption and impact in the future. Based on the recent studies of stalagmite, ice core, ocean, and lake etc., the paper introduces the new progress in the Holocene climate and agriculture research in China as follows: (1) Discuss the variability, amplitude, and unstable characteristic of climate, as well as the abrupt events and mechanisms of climate. (2) Analyze the botanical index records for studying the early agriculture. (3) Review the agricultural origin, expanding, and development. (4) Reveal the style and intensity of early agriculture and understand the agricultural impact and adaption to the environmental changes. (5) Introduce ongoing research projects in China and emphasize the significance of increasing the dating precision and the indicative effectiveness of proxies. (6) Realize how the ecosystem and environmental factors respond to the increasing temperature process, understand how the human adapt to the rapid climate change, and provide the scientific basis for assessing the effects of climate change and the human adaption in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The carbon cycle in a global sense is the biogeochemical process by which carbon is exchanged among the biosphere, pedosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere of the earth. For epikarst systems, it is the exchange of carbon among the atmosphere, water, and carbonate rocks. Southern China is located in the subtropical zone; its warm and humid weather creates favorable conditions for the dynamic physical, chemical, and ecological processes of the carbon cycle. This paper presents the mechanisms and characteristics of the carbon cycle in the epikarst systems in south China. The CO concentration in soils has clear seasonal variations, and its peak correlates well with the warm and rainy months. Stable carbon isotope analysis shows that a majority of the carbon in this cycle is from soils. The flow rate and flow velocity in an epikarst system and the composition of carbonate rocks control the carbon fluxes. It was estimated that the karst areas in south China contribute to about half of the total carbon sink by the carbonate system in China. By enhancing the movement of elements and dissolution of more chemical components, the active carbon cycle in the epikarst system helps to expand plant species. It also creates favorable environments for the calciphilic plants and biomass accumulation in the region. The findings from this study should help in better understanding of the carbon cycle in karst systems in south China, an essential component for the best management practices in combating rock desertification and in the ongoing study of the total carbon sink by the karst flow systems in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spatial heterogeneity is widely used in diverse applications, such as recognizing ecological process, guiding ecological restoration, managing land use, etc. Many researches have focused on the inherent scale multiplicity of spatial heterogeneity by using various environmental variables. How these variables affect their corresponding spatial heterogeneities, however, have received little attention. In this paper, we examined the effects of characteristics of normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and its related bands variable images, namely red and near infrared (NIR), on their corresponding spatial heterogeneity detection based on variogram models. In a coastal wetland region, two groups of study sites with distinct fractal vegetation cover were tested and analyzed. The results show that: 1) in high fractal vegetation cover (H-FVC) area, NDVI and NIR variables display a similar ability in detecting the spatial heterogeneity caused by vegetation growing status structure; 2) in low fractal vegetation cover (L-FVC) area, the NIR and red variables outperform NDVI in the survey of soil spatial heterogeneity; and 3) generally, NIR variable is ubiquitously applicable for vegetation spatial heterogeneity investigation in different fractal vegetation covers. Moreover, as variable selection for remote sensing applications should fully take the characteristics of variables and the study object into account, the proposed variogram analysis method can make the variable selection objectively and scientifically, especially in studies related to spatial heterogeneity using remotely sensed data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assessment of the nitrogen (N) balance and its long-term trend is necessary for management practices because of the negative environmental effects caused by an imbalance of reactive N in grassland ecosystems. In this study, we designed a module for the IAP-N (Improving Anthropogenic Practices of managing reactive Nitrogen) model to enable it to assess the N budget of regional grasslands. The module was developed to quantify the individual components of the N inputs and outputs for grassland ecosystems using livestock and human populations, grassland area, and fossil-energy consumption data as the model inputs. In this paper, the estimation approaches for individual components of N budget, data acquisition, and parameter selection are described in detail. The model was applied to assess the N budget of Inner Mongolia in 2006 at the county scale. The simulation results show that the most important pathway of N outputs from the grassland was livestock intake. The N output from livestock intake was especially large in the middle of Inner Mongolia. Biological fixation, atmospheric deposition, and livestock excreta deposition were comparably important for the N inputs into the grassland. The N budget for Inner Mongolia grassland in 2006 was −1.7×10±0.6×10 kg. The case study for Inner Mongolia shows that the new grassland module for the IAP-N model can capture the characteristics of the N budget in a semiarid grassland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

More than ten thousands of bone fragments were recovered from the Lingjing site, Henan Province during 2005 and 2006. In this paper, through the quantification and statistical analyses of the skeletal elements of the two predominant species in this assemblage, aurochs ( Bos primigenius) and horse ( Equus caballus), the differential influences and weights of a variety of taphonomic agencies in the formation of the assemblage are assessed respectively. Compared to the natural agencies, hominid hunting and the subsequent disarticulation, slaughtering, and their transport of the bone elements of the prey species are the main factors accounting for the formation of the present assemblage. More importantly, this study initiatively identifies hominid's differential treatment of the bones of aurochs and horse in the Paleolithic record of East Asia and demonstrably suggests that hominids at the site have already practiced sophisticated hunting techniques and subsistence strategies and may be quite familiar with the ecological and anatomical characteristics and nutritional values of the large-sized prey animals and can accordingly take different processing and handling strategies at the hunting site. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The karst geological system in north China is different from that in the south. Due to differences in basic geological conditions and environment, the karst evolutional pattern and karst water resources, among other things, are also different in the two regions. This paper, based on on-site fieldwork and analysis of an extensive database of karst in China, presents a systematic and contrastive analysis of karst geological environment and karst water resources in north versus south China, highlights the differences between the two regions in basic karst geological conditions, groundwater dynamics and karst water resources, and concludes with the economic, environmental and engineering implications of these differences. These findings will be helpful for the strategic planning and decision-making processes associated with exploitation of karst geological resources and with prevention and control of karst geological hazards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resettlement is considered a major policy measure in two major Chinese policy programs, the 'Great Development of the West' and poverty alleviation in the new century, and the 'New Countryside Development'. The selection of the target location of resettlement sites for poverty-stricken villages is of critical importance to the success of resettlement projects, yet the selection process is challenged by the need for analyzing a variety of contributing factors, and the need for many rounds of tedious data processing. So in this paper we present an in-depth analysis of the major factors and data processing model concerning mountainous povertystricken villages, which also takes a major part of China's poor villages. Our analysis shows the following factors bear the most importance in resettlement selection: 1) topography: candidate areas should have slope less than 25 degrees and altitude less than 2400 meters. 2) accessibility: close to market conventions places and transportation facilities. 3) farming resources: with abundant land and water resources. 4) non-intrusiveness: interests of receiving villages should be considered and negative impact minimized. A simple measure could be having the candidate area 1000 m away from the receiving residents. 5) Minimal ecological and political footprint: candidate areas shall not conflict with nature conservation areas or nationally planned key land use projects. 6) Social and cultural compatibility: residents will better off if relocated in the same county, considering language, religion, ethnic culture and other factors. Taking Makuadi, Lushui County of Nujiang Prefecture as a case study, we demonstrate how GIS analysis and modeling tools can be used in the selection process of resettlement projects in mountainous areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Physical morphology is an important attribute of a stream system. The morphological state of a natural pristine stream often reflects its biological condition because of their close links. In contrast, the morphology of an urban stream may exhibit different behaviours due to serious human disturbances. For an urban stream system, the morphological condition not only determines the in-stream habitat quality but also provides the physical basis for the stream’s municipal functionalities. By comparing the morphological characters of urban and natural streams, this paper develops an integrated index system and model for the assessment of urban stream morphology. The model is applied to the Ancient Canal (Zhenjiang, China) with the aim of comparing the morphological conditions of reaches with and without ongoing restoration programs and further of assessing the effectiveness of the restoration methods and techniques. The results indicate that the water security and the landscape functionality of the canal have been upgraded. However, the quality of the in-stream habitat has been degraded as a result of the restoration. Based on the modelled results, recommendations are given for improving the effects of the next-phase restoration. The assessment system and findings from the application presented here are expected to have important implications for the restoration of disturbed urban streams in many other cities in China and elsewhere in the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water security is related closely to ecological, environmental, economic, social, and political problems, and may possibly even affect national security. The problem is especially important in arid inland watersheds. In this paper, we assess the water resources security of three watersheds in the Hexi Corridor (Northwest China) using a multi-level, multi-target, analytical hierarchy process approach. We constructed an assessment system based on the current situation and future development of the region’s water resources in the context of the society, economy, and environment of these inland watersheds. The assessment used 21 indicators that describe the ratio of water supply to demand, the ecological environment, food security, drinking-water security, disaster control capacity, water resources management, and economic conditions. The level of the water resources security was highest in the Shulehe watershed, followed by the Heihe watershed and the Shiyanghe watershed. Strategies to promote water security for all three watersheds are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental planning at different levels has been called for by environmental departments in China during last years to integrate environment consideration to economic development. Based on the accomplished environmental planning practice in Xiamen China, the paper suggests a general environmental planning process with ecological function zoning as its key steps, at the same time an effective method for ecological function zoning was formulated. The case studies of Dongfu suburban town environmental planning and Xiamen eco-city conceptual planning indicate that scientifically sound results of ecological function zoning can contribute to improving not only the adaptability and acceptability of environmental planning, also the environmental management and the decision-making. The experience shows that the ecological function zoning methods should be applied according to the principles of adaptive management, resource-based and community-based, so that it can integrate science into decision-making process, avoiding both narrow-minded viewpoints of planners and natural resource use conflicts among variety of stakeholders. Problems to be resolved in the future are also pointed out in the ending part. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecological security has become so important that it will affect the national security and social sustainable development. In this paper, a case study on the ecological security indexes of modern oasis landscapes in Beitun Oasis, Xinjiang, was carried out. The spatial neighbouring parameters, such as the contiguous length, measure of area and patch quantity of oasis landscape patches, affected by desert landscape patches were calculated by using GIS-based buffer analysis, the method of calculating ecological security indexes of oasis landscape was developed, and the dynamic changes of patterns and ecological security indexes of the oasis landscapes since recent 30 years were analyzed. The results showed that soil salinization or alkalization and paludification were major factors affecting the ecological security in Beitun Oasis. Therefore, measures should be taken actively to prevent and control secondary salinization and paludification. The ecological security indexes of the oasis landscape in 1972, 1990 and 2005 were 78.91, 82.28 and 83.86, respectively, which showed the degree of security is improving, and the environment was developing harmoniously between human and nature. The methods of evaluating ecological security based on the spatial neighbouring relations between landscape patches can be used to reflect preliminarily the ecological security patterns of landscapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Eryuan palynoflora from the Late Pliocene of western Yunnan, China is described in this paper, and is compared with two contemporary palynofloras from Yangyi and Longling. The palynological data of the three locations are analyzed to reconstruct the climatic parameters of these areas at that time by using the Coexistence Approach. The Late Pliocene climatic parameters of Eryuan are estimated, i.e., the mean annual temperature ranged from 13.3 to 18.6°C, the mean temperature of the warmest month from 24.6 to 27.5°C, the mean temperature of the coldest month from 1.9 to 12.1°C, the difference in temperatures of coldest and warmest month from 14.2 to 16.6°C, the mean annual precipitation from 619.9 to 1484.3 mm, the mean maximum monthly precipitation from 143.8 to 245.6 mm, and the mean minimum monthly precipitation from 12.7 to 16.4 mm. Both paleovegetation and paleoclimate of the three localities are compared with the modern data at each location. The present study suggests a MAT decrease accompanied by a doubling of the MAP in the Longling area between the Late Pliocene and the present. This seems to be related to the uplift of Gaoligong Mountain in Longling which is now part of the eastern portion (Western Yunnan) of the Tibetan Plateau. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biodiversity metadata provide service to query, management and use of actual data sets. The progress of the development of metadata standards in China was analyzed, and metadata required and/or produced based on the Convention on Biological Diversity were reviewed. A biodiversity metadata standard was developed based on the characteristics of biodiversity data and in line with the framework of international metadata standards. The content of biodiversity metadata is divided into two levels. The first level consists of metadata entities and elements that are necessary to exclusively identify a biodiversity data set, and is named as Core Metadata. The second level comprises metadata entities and elements that are necessary to describe all aspects of a biodiversity data set. The standard for core biodiversity metadata is presented in this paper, which is composed of 51 elements belonging to 6 categories (entities), i.e. inventory information, collection information, information on the content of the data set, management information, access information, and metadata management information. The name, definition, condition, data type, and field length of metadata elements in these six categories (entities) are also described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As China's industrial structure is continuously evolving, the transfer of polluting industries between domestic regions has become increasingly evident, and the resulting economic and environmental contradictions have become more prominent. This study examines the impact of the transfer of polluting industries from developed regions to under-developed regions on the economy and the environment, and explores whether the economy and the environment can achieve a win–win situation owing to the transfer of polluting industries. This study uses panel data from 30 province-level regions in China as a sample to analyze the impact of polluting industries on the economy and the environment during the transfer process, and verifies it from the perspective of environmental regulation. The empirical results show that the transfer of polluting industries has an "N" relationship with the economy and the environment (promote-restrain-promote). From the perspective of environmental regulations, there is a "U" relationship between environmental regulations and the economy (restrain-promote), and an "inverted U" relationship with pollution emissions (promote-restrain), which also indirectly verifies the reason the transfer of polluting industries has an "N" relationship with the economy and the environment and ultimately achieves a win–win situation. Finally, we believe that strengthening environmental regulations can effectively reduce pollution emissions. Although it will cause certain economic losses in the short term, it will benefit the environment and the economy in the long run. At present, most provinces in China have not yet achieved the coordinated development of the environment and the economy. All regions should make reasonable environmental regulations according to their own conditions and strive to achieve a win–win situation for the environment and the economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the widespread implementation of environmental regulations worldwide, their impact on corporate productivity has received increasing attention. Current studies primarily examined the impact of environmental regulations on corporate productivity from the mediating effect of innovation and failed to consider the mediating effect of import behaviour. We scrutinised the relationship between the stringency of environmental regulations and the quality of imported products, and its effects on corporate productivity, in the case of China's manufacturing corporations. Moreover, we analysed the heterogeneity of these effects from the perspective of ownership and location. The findings show that the increasing stringency of environmental regulations prompts corporations to improve the quality of imported products rather than to transfer polluting industries; thus, it does not pose a threat to the environment of neighbouring countries. Besides, the increasing stringency of environmental regulations also leads to learning effects and improvements in imported product quality, thereby increasing corporate productivity. Finally, the effects of the interaction between environmental regulations and import behaviour on corporate productivity are heterogeneous, as they depend on the type of ownership and corporate location. Therefore, the focus on import behaviour improves the current understanding and contributes a heuristic investigation to the current debate on the relationship between environmental regulations, import behaviour, and corporate productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The terrestrial ecosystem productivity and foundation of regional ecosystem services have been significantly influenced by recent urbanization processes. This study assesses the changes in terrestrial ecosystem productivity in Jiangsu from the years of 2000 to 2015 in response to the urbanization. A linear model that incorporates the traditional equalization method is proposed to improve the estimation accuracy of net primary productivity (NPP) loss. Results revealed that the land area of urban construction expanded rapidly during the research period to encompass an area of 8672.8 km2. The rate of expansion was highest during 2005–2010. Additionally, the expansion rate of urban construction land was considerably higher in southern Jiangsu compared to the northern areas. The NPP exhibited a rising tendency from the year of 2000 to 2015, and varied from 33.30 to 40.23 Tg C/y. It was higher in the central parts, which include the cities of Yancheng and Nantong. The increase in urban construction land has resulted in a significant reduction in the terrestrial ecosystem productivity, i.e. a cumulative NPP loss of 2.55–2.88 Tg C during the research period. The NPP losses due to the conversion from cropland to constrction land were the highest, followed by the wetland. The work in this paper indicates that the rate of future productivity losses in terrestrial ecosystem in northern Jiangsu would be faster than the southern areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on posttraumatic experiences has focused heavily on emotional experiences based on predetermined psychopathological standards. In contrast, victims' subjective experiences—especially of indigenous populations—are scarcely discussed. This study used a narrative approach to examine the experiences of 22 Sichuan earthquake survivors who were diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder. Victims completed semistructured interviews regarding their overall experiences, and analysis of narrative was employed to analyze the data. The current study found that the earthquake brought significant changes to participant lives regarding their (i) environment, (ii) society, (iii) body-mind, and (iv) spiritual dynamics. Each of these key themes and its practical and theoretical implications are discussed along with suggestions for further development and practices of culturally sensitive mental health services for earthquake survivors in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The enrichment of heavy metals in the soil–rice system is affected by various factors, which hampers the prediction of heavy metal concentrations. In this research, a prediction model (CNN-HM) of heavy metal concentrations in rice was constructed based on convolutional neural network (CNN) technology and 17 environmental factors. For comparison, other machine learning models, such as multiple linear regression, Bayesian ridge regression, support vector machine, and backpropagation neural networks, were applied. Furthermore, the LH-OAT method was used to evaluate the sensitivity of CNN-HM to each environmental factor. The results showed that the R2 values of CNN-HM for Cd, Pb, Cr, As, and Hg were 0.818, 0.709, 0.688, 0.462, and 0.816, respectively, and both the MAE and RMAE values were acceptable. The sensitivity analysis showed that the concentrations of Cd and Pb, mechanical composition, soil pH, and altitude were the main sensitive features for CNN-HM. Compared with CNN-HM based on all input features, the performance of the quick prediction model that was based on the sensitive features did not degrade significantly, thereby indicating that CNN-HM has stronger stability and robustness. The quick prediction model has extensive application value for timely prediction of the enrichment of heavy metals in emergencies. This study demonstrated the effectiveness and practicability of CNNs in predicting heavy metal enrichment in the soil–rice system and provided a new perspective and solution for heavy metal prediction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eco-industrial parks (EIPs) are of increasing importance for implementing industrial ecology strategies and are facing increasing challenges in terms of environmental pollution and resource scarcity. As a complex adaptive system, an EIP involves multiple sectors and faces various disturbances that influence its evolutionary trajectories. This study adopts an agent-based model to simulate the material flows and industrial symbiosis process in the EIP, considering the initiative of each company and the ever-changing environment. The proposed EIP model emphasises the heterogeneity of companies and attempts to reflect multiple and dynamic factors that have received less attention in previous studies. This model contains two types of agents, companies and the external environment. A company agent makes decisions and interacts with other agents following its own behaviour rules, while the external environment agent functions to coordinate the material flows and exert influence on the companies. The model has been verified and validated by simulating a 20-year-period development of an empirical EIP in China. The simulation results are assessed by three indicators: eco-connectance, eco-efficiency, and industrial symbiosis indicator. Results showed that during the growing phase, the eco-connectance increased from 0.02 to 0.1 for the non-disturbance situation. The eco-efficiency and industrial symbiosis indicator also realised 78.5% and 74.8% of their total increments. The outcome of this research provides insights for the design of the strategies to improve the industrial symbiosis performance and is of high potential to facilitate EIPs in promoting eco-transformation and sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Study on pattern and change on land cover stands an important aspect to global change. The spatial characteristics of ecological system show some familiar or disfamiliar principle with up-scaling or down-scaling process, which can be defined as spatial autocorrelation. In this paper, four typical parameters of ecological features, say Gross Primary Product (GPP), Net Primary Product (NPP), Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), and Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), are selected to investigate the spatial variability on vegetative features in Longitudinal Range-Gorge Region (LRGR), Southwest China. Moran coefficient (MC) is calculated for spatial autocorrelation degree, and semivariance function is used for spatial variability and spatial heterogeneity analysis. The results show that: (1) the ecological features show negative autocorrelation in the whole region. The higher anisotropy is on north-south direction, and then on southeast-northwest direction. (2) The spatial variability scale is great on vegetative features in the whole region. (3) The autocorrelation distance on north-south direction is the greatest, then on southwest-northeast direction. Through the above analysis it can be found that the vegetative features are consistent with direction of landform in LRGR, which is shown on higher auto-correlation on south-north direction, and lower on west-east direction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clonorchiasis poses a great threat to human public health. Clonorchis sinensis (Opisthorchiidae: Digenea) is the most representative fish-borne parasitic zoonotic agent. As the second intermediate host of C. sinensis, fish are necessary for C. sinensis to complete its life cycle and infect humans. This study was the first to explore the selectivity for the second intermediate host of C. sinensis from the fish ecological viewpoint. A total of 162 fish species were found in the Jialing River basin, and 46 fish species were confirmed to be the host of C. sinensis. Cyprinidae fish, which are frequently infected by C. sinensis, are distributed worldwide; thus, this selection strategy may play an important role in the wide spread of C. sinensis. Correlation analysis demonstrated that fish distributed downstream or those that inhabit the middle water layer were more likely to be the host species of C. sinensis. Additionally, we inferred that a fish species with broad activity space has a high possibility of becoming a host of C. sinensis. No direct relationship was found between host percentage and the average trophic levels of each trophic guild. However, host percentage may be correlated with feeding behavior. In general, these results can help humans in reducing the prevalence and infection range of clonorchiasis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, rural areas in China are experiencing a rapid aging phenomenon and community facilities play an important role in the aging process for rural elderly people. This study combined quantitative and qualitative research by using behavioral observation and mapping methods to analyze the usage patterns of community facilities by the local elderly population in rural environment. The study selected two villages as samples of different kinds of "rurality" in the Zhejiang Province. Behavior maps of facility level were drawn based on specific times. The findings and interpretation discuss on: (1) the usage pattern taking place in the community facilities that demonstrate the time and spatial preferences for certain behaviors of rural elderly people, of which the facilities were divided into three kinds according to the results; (2) activities and the corresponding spatial details inside the public facilities, with the main finding of the elder people's reactions to the physical environments; (3) correspondence analysis was applied to the usage of certain community facilities by the elderly population and the characteristics of the space, and the result shows that places with higher degree of retention, accessibility and identifiability, and with fewer constraints are more favorable for encouraging the use, the variety of activities, and positive interactions among the senior group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Yersinia pestis is transmitted from fleas to rodents when the bacterium develops an extensive biofilm in the foregut of a flea, starving it into a feeding frenzy, or, alternatively, during a brief period directly after feeding on a bacteremic host. These two transmission modes are in a trade-off regulated by the amount of biofilm produced by the bacterium. Here by investigating 446 global isolated Y. pestis genomes, including 78 newly sequenced isolates sampled over 40 years from a plague focus in China, we provide evidence for strong selection pressures on the RNA polymerase ω-subunit encoding gene rpoZ. We demonstrate that rpoZ variants have an increased rate of biofilm production in vitro, and that they evolve in the ecosystem during colder and drier periods. Our results support the notion that the bacterium is constantly adapting—through extended phenotype changes in the fleas—in response to climate-driven changes in the niche. Yersinia pestis, the causative agent of plague, can change its biofilm production to influence the dynamics of flea-borne transmission. Here, the authors sequence Y. pestis isolates sampled over 40 years in China and show evidence for climate-associated selection on rpoZ to increase biofilm production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study aimed to investigate whether the finger skin temperature (FST) after cold provocation (10 °C, 10 min) is as a useful indicator for assisting in the diagnosis of vibration-induced white finger (VWF) in a group of polishers in a subtropical environment. Method: Ninety male vibration-exposed metal polishers (30 patients and 60 controls) from the Guangdong Province in Southern China were recruited. The FSTs at 30, 20, 10, and 0 min before cold water immersion (FSTpre-30, FSTpre-20, FSTpre-10, and FSTbaseline) and 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 min after immersion (FST0, FST5, FST10, FST15, FST20, FST25, and FST30) were measured on the index, middle, and ring fingers of both hands. Results: During the first 20-min adaptation period, there was a significant increase in FST in three fingers on both hands in the two groups. In contrast, there were no significant differences between FSTpre-10 and FSTbaseline. Furthermore, FSTpre-30, FSTpre-20, FSTpre-10, and FSTbaseline of the three fingers in both hands did not differ significantly. During recovery, the indicators FST5–0, FST10–0, R5, and R10 for the index finger of the left hand in patients were lower than for the controls. Among the various indicators, the absolute recovery rate, FST5–0, at 5 min after immersion was identified as the best diagnosis indicator with a sensitivity of 76.7% and specificity of 70.0% when applied to the index finger of the left hand. Conclusion: The cold water immersion test as applied in a subtropical environment can have a fair discriminating ability for diagnosing VWF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vertebrate eye size typically scales hypoallemetrically with body size—as animals grow larger their eyes get relatively smaller. Additionally, eye size is highly variable across species, and such variability often reflects functional adaptations to differences in behavior and/or ecology. The selective pressures underlying the evolution of eye size are especially well studied in birds, mammals, and fishes. However, whether similar scaling rules and selective pressures also underlie the evolution of eye size in amphibians remains enigmatic. Variation in eye size is intimately linked with variation in brain anatomy, as the retina is ontogenetically part of the brain. Eye size may therefore coevolve with brain size. Here we use phylogenetic comparative methods to study interspecific variation in eye volume across 44 species of anurans from 8 families from the Hengduan Mountains, China. We relate this variation to key factors known to impact eye size evolution in other vertebrate taxa such as body mass, habitat use, defense strategy and foraging mobility. We found that also in anurans eyes size scaled hypoallometrically with body mass. However, neither of the behavioral or ecological factors explained any variation in relative eye size in our sample. Whether this is representative for other frog species needs to be clarified. We therefore conclude that eye size in frogs is tightly linked to body mass evolution but that, at least in the species investigated here, none of our tested ecological and behavioral factors have a strong influence on eye size evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Groundwater-level fluctuations at a large scale have a significant effect on the preservation and restoration of vegetation. This study determined suitable groundwater depth within which natural vegetation grows well, and analysed the effect of groundwater regulation on vegetation restoration in Tianjin City, northern China. Normal and lognormal distributions were used to fit the curve of the relation between vegetation and groundwater depth. The groundwater depth range corresponding to the higher frequency of vegetation distribution was regarded as the ‘suitable water depth’ range for vegetation growth. The suitable groundwater depth for shrub growth was 3-5 m and for grass growth 1-3 m. A groundwater flow model predicted the future changes of groundwater depths in the vegetation distribution area under the condition that the current levels of groundwater extraction are maintained. The results showed that there is potential for the extraction of groundwater in shrubland areas, but for grassland areas the water-table elevation showed a downward trend, meaning that water shortages in some areas may be more severe in the future. Finally, based on the current groundwater extraction regime, two regulation schemes were developed: (1) for shrubland, groundwater extraction was reduced by 10% in the ecological water deficit areas, and extraction was increased by 10% in the ecological water surplus and suitable areas, and (2) for grassland, groundwater recharge was increased by the restoration of the wetland areas. In conclusion, the groundwater depths in most of the area would be more suitable for vegetation growth under the regulation schemes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The biogas-linked agro-ecosystem plays a critical role in the sustainable development of rural China. In this study, emergy analysis was performed to assess the sustainability of a biogas-linked ecological orchard system in the Loess Plateau area. To analyze the system more comprehensively, the overall orchard system was divided into three subsystems, including the biogas subsystem, the greenhouse subsystem, and the orchard subsystem. Other than the conventional indicators, two novel indicators suitable for orchard ecosystems, the system production dominance and index of system stability, were developed to evaluate the overall performance of the system and subsystems. The results showed significant variations in multiple performances of the subsystems regarding resource utilization, renewability, and production capacity. The circulation of emergy flows among different subsystems revealed a promising renewable capacity and self-organizing ability for the overall system, which further suggests the advantage of this mode in terms of sustainability. As revealed by the emergy indicators, the biogas-linked ecological orchard as an ecological practice is feasible for modern agriculture involving intensive fruit production and breeding, as it can guarantee highly efficient resource recycling and energy conservation without destroying the local environment.Graphical abstract: [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article contributes as a commentary to Min’s critical evaluation of the challenges and resistances that have presented themselves during the recent process of changing the pedagogical practices ofChinese preschools to more closely resemble those seen in Scandinavian. The focus is on how decisions of how to structure the particular environment in preschool settings have direct and indirect implications for children’s learning and learning possibilities, and the importance of understanding these as mediated signifiers of the particular culture values. The discussions stress the importance of weighing cross-cultural pedagogical practices in terms of the functions they each serve in themselves, and in regard to the sociocultural history from which they have emerged and serve within. This means enculturation of new didactic practices should be understood as a gradual, smooth processes that allows itself to merge useful aspects of new educational models and practices with existing practices and cultural values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The persistent temperature and precipitation extremes may bring damage to the economy and human due to their intensity, duration and areal coverage. Understanding the quality of reanalysis datasets in descripting these extreme events is important for detection, attribution and model evaluation. In this study, the performances of two reanalysis datasets [the twentieth century reanalysis (20CR) and Interim ECMWF reanalysis (ERA-Interim)] in reproducing the persistent temperature and precipitation extremes in China are evaluated. For the persistent temperature extremes, the two datasets can better capture the intensity indices than the frequency indices. The increasing/decreasing trend of persistent warm/cold extremes has been reasonably detected by the two datasets, particularly in the northern part of China. The ERA-Interim better reproduces the climatology and tendency of persistent warm extremes, while the 20CR has better skill to depict the persistent cold extremes. For the persistent precipitation extremes, the two datasets have the ability to reproduce the maximum consecutive 5-day precipitation. The two datasets largely underestimate the maximum consecutive dry days over the northern part of China, while overestimate the maximum consecutive wet days over the southern part of China. For the response of the precipitation extremes against the temperature variations, the ERA-Interim has good ability to depict the relationship among persistent precipitation extremes, local persistent temperature extremes, and global temperature variations over specific regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the responses of vegetation characteristics and soil properties to grazing disturbance is useful for grassland ecosystem restoration and management in semiarid areas. Here, we examined the effects of long-term grazing on vegetation characteristics, soil properties, and their relationships across four grassland types (meadow, Stipa steppe, scattered tree grassland, and sandy grassland) in the Horqin grassland, northern China. Our results showed that grazing greatly decreased vegetation cover, aboveground plant biomass, and root biomass in all four grassland types. Plant cover and aboveground biomass of perennials were decreased by grazing in all four grasslands, whereas grazing increased the cover and biomass of shrubs in Stipa steppe and of annuals in scattered tree grassland. Grazing decreased soil carbon and nitrogen content in Stipa steppe and scattered tree grassland, whereas soil bulk density showed the opposite trend. Long-term grazing significantly decreased soil pH and electrical conductivity (EC) in annual-dominated sandy grassland. Soil moisture in fenced and grazed grasslands decreased in the following order of meadow, Stipa steppe, scattered tree grassland, and sandy grassland. Correlation analyses showed that aboveground plant biomass was significantly positively associated with the soil carbon and nitrogen content in grazed and fenced grasslands. Species richness was significantly positively correlated with soil bulk density, moisture, EC, and pH in fenced grasslands, but no relationship was detected in grazed grasslands. These results suggest that the soil carbon and nitrogen content significantly maintains ecosystem function in both fenced and grazed grasslands. However, grazing may eliminate the association of species richness with soil properties in semiarid grasslands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The influence of socio-ecological factors on hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) were explored in this study using Bayesian spatial modeling and spatial patterns identified in dry regions of Gansu, China. Notified HFMD cases and socio-ecological data were obtained from the China Information System for Disease Control and Prevention, Gansu Yearbook and Gansu Meteorological Bureau. A Bayesian spatial conditional autoregressive model was used to quantify the effects of socio-ecological factors on the HFMD and explore spatial patterns, with the consideration of its socio-ecological effects. Our non-spatial model suggests temperature (relative risk (RR) 1.15, 95 % CI 1.01-1.31), GDP per capita (RR 1.19, 95 % CI 1.01-1.39) and population density (RR 1.98, 95 % CI 1.19-3.17) to have a significant effect on HFMD transmission. However, after controlling for spatial random effects, only temperature (RR 1.25, 95 % CI 1.04-1.53) showed significant association with HFMD. The spatial model demonstrates temperature to play a major role in the transmission of HFMD in dry regions. Estimated residual variation after taking into account the socio-ecological variables indicated that high incidences of HFMD were mainly clustered in the northwest of Gansu. And, spatial structure showed a unique distribution after taking account of socio-ecological effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increased nitrogen (N) deposition and land-use and land-cover change (LUCC) have influenced the terrestrial ecosystem carbon budget in China over the past few decades. However, the coupling effects of N deposition and LUCC on the carbon cycle remain unclear. This study first evaluated the effects of LUCC on N deposition based on estimated N deposition data from NO column remote sensing data and the GlobeLand30 LUCC dataset, and then assessed the coupling effects of N deposition and LUCC on carbon budgets in China based on a terrestrial ecosystem process-based model. The results showed that the average rate of increase in N deposition in China was 0.35 Tg N yr (Tg = 10 g), which caused net primary production (NPP) and net ecosystem production (NEP) to rise by 92.2 Tg C yr and 46.9 Tg C yr, respectively. The effects of LUCC reduced N deposition by 0.21 Gg N yr (Gg = 10 g). The land changed from forest to cropland had the greatest rate of increase in N deposition among all types of land-cover change. Changes from cropland to forest slowed the rate of N deposition increase the most. Generally, the change in N deposition resulting from LUCC reduced NPP and NEP by 0.7 and 0.4 Gg C yr, respectively. Compared with the total effects of N deposition on NPP and NEP, N deposition changes caused by LUCC had a limited aggregate effect on the C budget. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The composition and compound-specific isotopes of fatty acids were studied within food webs in the East China Sea. Lipid-normalized stable carbon isotopes of total organic carbon had a good correlation with trophic level. Variations in fatty acid compositions among diff erent species were observed but were unclear. Diff erent dietary structures could be traced from molecular isotopes of selected fatty acids in the Shiba shrimp ( Matapenaeus joyneri), the coastal mud shrimp ( Solenocera crassicornis) and the northern Maoxia shrimp ( Acetes chinensis). Both M. joyneri and S. crassicornis are mainly benthos feeders, while A. chinensis is a pelagic species, although they have a similar fatty acid composition. There was a good correlation for isotopes of arachidonic acid (C20:4n6; ARA) and docosahexaenoic acid (C22:6n3; DHA) among pelagic species from higher trophic levels. The isotopic compositions of DHA in benthic species were more negative than those of pelagic species at the same trophic level. The fact that the diet of benthic species contains more degraded items, the carbon isotopes of which are derived from a large biochemical fraction, may be the reason for this variation. A comparative study of benthic and pelagic species demonstrated the diff erent carbon sources in potential food items and the presence of a more complex system at the water-sediment interface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An oil spill forecast system for offshore China was developed based on Visual C++. The oil spill forecast system includes an ocean environmental forecast model and an oil spill model. The ocean environmental forecast model was designed to include timesaving methods, and comprised a parametrical wind wave forecast model and a sea surface current forecast model. The oil spill model was based on the 'particle method' and fulfills the prediction of oil particle behavior by considering the drifting, evaporation and emulsification processes. A specific database was embedded into the oil spill forecast system, which contained fundamental information, such as the properties of oil, reserve of emergency equipment and distribution of marine petroleum platform. The oil spill forecast system was successfully applied as part of an oil spill emergency exercise, and provides an operational service in the Research and Development Center for Offshore Oil Safety and Environmental Technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To maintaining a health ecological environment in Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR) area, ecological shelter zones (ESZ) need to be built in the TGR shore zone urgently. Based on the implication and function of ESZ, this study first analyzed the relationships amongst three subsystems of the TGR area, including the upstream production-living land, the downstream reservoir water body, and the ESZ. Then a simple and practical hydrological environment model for controlling the eutrophication of the TGR water body was constructed to determine ESZ range of TGR. Additionally, based on the pollutant degradation efficiency of ESZ and the assimilative capacity of reservoir water body, a raster reverse tracking method was proposed to determine the range of ESZ. Thirdly, take Yangdu town in Zhongxian county as a typical region, the ESZ range under three scenarios of different rainfall intensity, degradation efficiency and inflow water quality that corresponding to the three decisive factors of defining ESZ range were discussed. Finally, the statistical laws of the ESZ's width at each boundary points were discussed to facilitate the ESZ construction projects, and selected standardized rate at 70, 90, and 99 % were labelled as 'General', 'Good' and 'Excellent' level to represent the performance of the width of the ESZ range. In conclusion, it suggest 'Good' level width as basic width of ESZ, and additionally a special protection zone should be put on upstream environment for the extreme large width at the boundary points. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study analyzed the prospects and challenges of community-based grassland management (CBGM) in Yanchi County of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China, using the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats approach combined with the analytic hierarchy process. Preference data were used from three stakeholder groups, namely, community, government, and academia, all of which are very familiar with Yanchi County. Representatives of local communities and academia perceive that the strengths and opportunities for CBGM outweigh its weaknesses and threats. However, representatives of government agencies hold an opposite view, as they anticipate that threats associated with the CBGM approach have the highest weight. We suggest the CBGM be implemented firstly in small villages, and then promoted in larger areas in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]