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Zingiber porphyrochilum Y.H. Tan & H.B. Ding sp. nova (Zingiberaceae) from Yunnan, China is described and illustrated. It is similar to Z. densissimum in its bilobed ligule and flower shape but differs from it by having a longer clumped pseudostem (1.5–2.5 m tall vs. solitary, 0.4–0.7 m tall), longer ligules (3–11 mm long vs. ca. 3 mm long), brownish yellow corolla lobes (vs. pure white), labellum and lateral staminodes brownish yellow at the base, and bright clear red to dark purplish towards the apex and margins (vs. pure white). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecological degradation is a key factor limiting sustainable development. Artificial afforestation has chiefly been used to combat it, especially in China. In order to contain rocky desertification and ecological and environmental degradation in Southwest China, the Government of China has planted 6000 km2 of trees in this region since the year 2000. Yet, the resultant water consumption of artificial afforestation has had a significant influence on water resource supplies in Southwest China, and its internal mechanisms remain largely unclear. Studies in Southwest China have shown that artificial afforestation has degraded the natural water balance in Yunnan Province because of the elevated evapotranspiration levels associated with manmade forests. Accordingly, such increases in evapotranspiration have disturbed the water resource balance of the region. It is been suggested that natural restoration practices should therefore be encouraged in this region or plants that consume less water should be grown in place of artificial afforestation. This study sheds some light on the cycles of local water resources and the stimulus of climate change to access ways by which to afforest Yunnan Province sustainably and successfully. It also presents a strong argument on how to use water resources to enable vegetation construction initiatives in Yunnan Province while avoiding potential ecological risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cylindera (Cylindera) davidi davidi (Fairmaire, 1886), Lophyra fuliginosa (Dejean, 1826), and Myriochila sinica (Fleutiaux, 1889) are reported as range extensions to Yunnan Province. Callytron andersonii (Gestro, 1889), Calochroa elegantula (Dokhtouroff, 1882) and Neocollyris (Leptocollyris) tumida Naviaux, 1991 are reported as new records for the province and for China. Because of name and taxonomic changes to genera of tiger beetles in recent years and the addition of new genera to the record, a key is provided for separating Yunnan tiger beetles into the most recent classification of genera. The key is specific to the province and may not be appropriate for other provinces in China. Following the key is a summary list of the known species of Yunnan tiger beetles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Naviauxella phongsalyensis Sawada and Wiesner, 2004, and Neocollyris (Stenocollyris) compressicollis (Horn, 1909) are recorded for the first time for China, collected from southern Yunnan Province. From the same location specimens of Neocollyris (Neocollyris) jinpingi sp. nov. and Neocollyris (Leptocollyris) rogeri sp. nov. are described. Therates fruhstorferi fruhstorferi Horn, 1902, Cicindela (Cicindela) gemmata gemmata Falderman, 1835, and Tricondyla pulchripes White, 1844, occurring elsewhere in China, are reported as new records for Yunnan Province. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Distribution of forest fire was concentrated in the southern region near the border. • There was an increasing trend of forest fire crossing national and provincial borders. • Forest fire policy is the main driver, followed by biophysics and human intervention. • Human interventions via policy significantly affected the forest fire occurrences. • Fire prevention publicity and education near the national border should be improved. Forest fire is a recurrent and serious problem which stirs major environmental, economic, and social concerns. Information on the temporal–spatial distribution of ignition probability and identifying the factors that drive the pattern of forest fire occurrences are the most challenging issues over the world. In this study, the spatial distribution and temporal variation in forest fire occurrence were examined by applying the Maximum Entropy (Maxent) algorithm. Redundancy analyses were used to determine the contributions of driving factors (forest fire policy, human interventions, and biophysical variables) to the forest fire occurrences. In addition, the strength of the relationship between the forest fire policy, human interventions, and biophysical variables and their direct and indirect effects on forest fire occurrences were determined using structural equation models (SEMs). Our results showed the Maxent model was suitable for predictive modeling of the distribution of forest fire occurrences in southwestern China. The predicted area of forest fire occurrences in southwestern China during 2000–2017 was 3.25 × 105 km2 which mostly concentrated in the southern region. There was an increasing trend of forest fire crossing national and provincial borders. According to the temporal pattern of forest fire occurrences, additional ignition probability areas including the central Yunnan and the eastern Sichuan were found in spring when compared to those in winter. Moreover, forest fire policy is the main driver underlying the ignition, followed by biophysical factors and human interventions. These should be considered as key elements in the design of forest fire prevention programmes. Although the explanatory power of driving factors varied, national border distance (NBD) and conductive index (CI) that represented effects of forest fire policy were constantly the key driving variables. In addition, there is heterogeneity among the biophysical factors. The meteorological factors significantly affected on ignition probability in different temporal scale, while the effects of topographic factors were smaller. Human interventions had no significant direct effect on ignition probability, while they via fire policy had a significant positive indirect effect on the probability of fire occurrence. The results suggest that we should strengthen the administrative capacities to prevent forest fires, and improve the fire prevention publicity and education on the residents living near the national border and/or in low population density areas to get higher awareness and compliance of forest fire policies for local residents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]