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Widespread distribution of livestock in the natural habitats of large carnivores may negatively impact carnivore populations by reducing wild prey availability and increasing human-carnivore conflicts. In this study, we used camera-trapping data collected in the temperate forests of the Taihang Mountains in North China during 2016-2019 to examine whether and how free-ranging cattle affected habitat use and Diel activity patterns of the endangered North Chinese leopard (Panthera pardus japonensis) and its 2 wild prey species, Siberian roe deer (Capreolus pygargus), and wild boar (Sus scrofa). Residents were also interviewed to record livestock depredation events by leopards during 2015-2019. We found that roe deer spatially avoided sites frequented by cattle, but wild boar did not. In the growing seasons, leopards shared habitats with cattle and tended to increase their diurnal activities where cattle were present. All 3 study species exhibited fine-scale spatial-temporal segregation to cattle. Leopards selectively preyed on calves over adult cattle and livestock depredation frequency was positively correlated with the detection rates of cattle and wild prey, but not that of leopard. These findings not only show that through behavioral adaption large carnivores and their ungulate prey may persist under livestock disturbance, but also highlight how important proper livestock management is for conserving North Chinese leopards in this region. To enhance livestock management and mitigate human-leopard conflicts, we recommend specific actions, such as better guarding of free-ranging cattle or adoption of a captive farming system.

Oxygen evolution reaction is a significant half-reaction for water splitting, while its sluggish kinetics and high-cost catalyst hinder the commercial application. In this work, we report a novel nanocoral-like NiSe2/g-C3N4 composite as highly efficient catalyst for water oxidation in 1.0 M KOH solution. Based on the support of multi-layered g-C3N4, NiSe2/g-C3N4 composite exhibits favorable electrocatalytic performances with low overpotential of 290 mV at current density of 40 mA cm−2 and low onset potential of 1.38 V (vs. RHE). In addition, NiSe2/g-C3N4 composite delivers higher current density (199 mA cm−2) than those of pure NiSe2 (142 mA cm−2) and multi-layered g-C3N4 (112 mA cm−2) at potential of 2.0 V (vs. RHE). Furthermore, NiSe2/g-C3N4 composite exhibits an excellent long-term electrochemical stability for 10 h. The outstanding electrocatalytic properties above suggest that NiSe2/g-C3N4 composite is a candidate for the substitution of noble metal based catalyst for oxygen evolution reaction.

The development of highly efficient and stable noble-metal-free electrocatalysts towards HER is of great significance. Herein, an electrodeposition method for the preparation of samarium oxide modified Ni-Co vertical nanosheets assembled three-dimensional honeycomb film on porous Ni foam (Sm2O3-Ni-Co/NF) is proposed. As-prepared Sm2O3-Ni-Co vertical nanosheets interweave together into a honeycomb morphology and uniformly cover the entire surface of Ni foam. The influence of content of Sm2O3 in electroplating bath on the electrocatalytic performances of Sm2O3-Ni-Co/NF electrode towards HER is studied in 1.0 M KOH electrolyte. Polarization curve indicates that the self-supported Sm2O3-Ni-Co/NF electrode exhibits remarkably enhanced electrocatalytic activity towards HER. To attain a current density of 10 mA cm−2, Sm2O3-Ni-Co/NF electrode needs lower overpotential (276 mV) than Ni-Co/NF electrode (301 mV). In addition, Sm2O3-Ni-Co/NF electrode exhibits a lower Tafel slope, demonstrating more favorable HER kinetics. Sm2O3-Ni-Co/NF electrode has smaller charge transfer resistance than Ni-Co/NF electrode, indicating a faster Faradic process and better HER kinetics. Besides, Sm2O3-Ni-Co/NF electrode features satisfactory long-term durability in alkaline media. The results indicate that Sm2O3-Ni-Co/NF electrode has potential application to water splitting devices for hydrogen generation.

Scalable ranking approaches can map effective biodiversity and climate targets for national conservation action by 2030., To achieve the goals of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework, we must identify representative targets that effectively protect biodiversity and can be implemented at a national level. We developed a framework to identify synergies between biodiversity and carbon across the Asian region and proposed a stepwise approach based on scalable priorities at regional, biome, and national levels that can complement potential Convention on Biological Diversity targets of protecting 30% land in the post-2020 global biodiversity framework. Our targets show that 30% of Asian land could effectively protect over 70% of all assessed species relative to only 11% now (based on analysis of 8932 terrestrial vertebrates), in addition to 2.3 to 3.6 hundred billion metric tons of carbon. Funding mechanisms are needed to ensure such targets to support biodiversity-carbon mutually beneficial solutions at the national level while reflecting broader priorities, especially in hyperdiverse countries where priorities exceed 30% of land.

Assessing a species’ threatened status and then developing specific conservation strategies accordingly rely heavily on knowing that species’ complete and accurate spatial distribution. In this study, we used the Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus) in China to represent a large threatened species for which distribution information is limited and spatially biased. We grouped the two main sources of black bear occurrence data into two different resolutions: (1) coarse resolution data corresponding specific management units (e.g., nature reserves) that cover large areas, and (2) fine resolution data composed of longitude and latitude records that were bias in their geographic range. Our distribution mapping approach integrated those two data types to examine black bear spatial patterns across the country. We used both presence and absence data in the Random Forest algorithm to predict black bear distribution at coarse (30 km) and fine (3 km) resolutions, and then refined the coarse-scale prediction with the fine-scale prediction using a map fusion technique based on the Bayes theorem. We thus generated an integrated high-resolution range map that was both more accurate than the coarse-scale map and more representative of the black bear geographic range than was the fine-scale map. Our results showed that the total estimated range of Asiatic black bears in China was 462.3 × 103 km2, 77.50% less than the most recent IUCN range map and 70.90% less than the area of habitat (AOH) estimation. Using those results, we identified two island and six mainland management units in China and, based on the predicted habitat conditions, proposed specific conservation strategies for each unit. Our study results provide practical knowledge and pragmatic guidance for future conservation planning and action for this species, and our framework provides an example and template for range estimations of species with similar types of occurrence records.

In this work, oxygen-rich activated carbon compounds were prepared from three kinds of biomass by simple carbonization and they were investigated as electrodes for supercapacitors. The selected biomasses were waste dragon fruit skin, Momordica grosvenori skin and Firmiana catkins. Three kinds of as-prepared activated carbons showed abundant oxygen-containing groups and typical amorphous characteristics with high specific surface areas of 911.2 m2 g−1, 597.5 m2 g−1 and 286.7 m2 g−1, respectively. This combination of high specific surface areas and abundant active surface functional groups resulted in capacitances of 286.9 F g−1, 238.7 F g−1 and 226.6 F g−1 at 0.5 A g−1, respectively. Furthermore, three kinds of as-prepared activated carbons also showed excellent cycling performance with nearly 100% retention over 5000 cycles at 4.0 A g−1 in 2.0 mol l−1 KOH solution. As a result, three kinds of as-prepared activated carbons exhibited favorable electrochemical performances in potential application as electrode materials for supercapacitors.