Who is the “murderer” of the bloom in coastal waters of Fujian,China, in 2019?

Journal of Oceanology and Limnology - On May 24–29, 2019, a bloom occurring in Pingtan coastal areas of Fujian Province caused mass mortality of cage-cultured fish (Plectorhinchus cinctus and...     

Do mowing regimes affect plant and soil biological activity in the mountain meadows of Southern Poland?

The soil biological activity of mountain meadows is a significant factor that determines the health and utility of these regions. The climax stage of this area is forest, but to maintain semi-natural grassland, which is characterised by high biodiversity,low-intensity land use(mowing or grazing) is necessarily required. To understand the effect of various mowing regimes on the soil biological activity and plants, the soil microbial activity(microbial biomass carbon, dehydrogenase activity and number of the cultivable fraction of soil microbial community),annelids community(density and species composition earthworms and enchytraeids) and plant species composition were investigated. The study area was located in the Pieniny National Park in the Carpathian Mountains, in a meadow belonging to the association Dactylis glomerata-Poa trivialis. The investigated variants were divided according to mowing regime:traditional scything – hand mowing(HM), mechanical mowing(MM), or the abandonment of mowing – nonmowing(NM). The microbial activities(expressed by,e.g. microbial biomass carbon and the number of phosphorus bacteria) were affected by the mowing regime. The density of earthworms was higher in the HM and MM than in the NM variants. The largest changes in plant species composition were caused by the abandonment of mowing(NM). The mean number of plant species was positively correlated with soil moisture, earthworm density, and microbial activity(expressed indirectly by dehydrogenases activity). The soil microbial community, such as vegetative bacteria forms and ammonifying bacteria,were positively associated with pH value, and the microbial and total organic carbon content. The results presented here indicate that there is no single form of optimal management for all living organisms.Decisions about mowing regimes, or abandonment of use, should be preceded by multi-aspect studies,including plants and soil biota.     

Conservation of challenging endemic plant species at high risk of extinction in arid mountain ecosystems: a case study of Rosa arabica Crép. in Egypt

Rosa arabica Crép. is a perennial shrub belonging to the family Rosaceae. It is endemic to the high mountain area of St. Catherine Protected Area(SCPA) in southern Sinai, Egypt, and is listed as one of the most 100 threatened plants in the world. Recently, it has been listed as critically endangered by IUCN Red List due to its small extent of occurrence and tiny population size. We reported the continuous decline in habitat quality for this species and the urgent need to carry out on-ground conservation actions. So, this research aims to conserve Rosa arabica through in situ practices by implementing the following steps, respectively: a) evaluate the current conservation status through IUCN Red List to extract the environmental factors controlling the species' distribution necessary for establishing the recovery program, b) determine the potential species habitat suitability under the current climate conditions using Maxent, and c) based on the previous two steps, the translocation process for R. arabica in the suitable habitat will be done after the simple layering process as one of the most effective traditional vegetative methods for wild cultivation for this species. These steps aimed to reduce the impact of threats and the risk of extinction through increasing the population size, the Extent of Occurrence(EOO), and the Area of Occupancy(AOO). We extracted the environmental factors controlling the target species' distribution and habitat suitability range using the IUCN Red List assessment and Species Distribution Model(SDM). The most suitable habitat for R. arabica is predicted in the middle northern parts of SCPA, with the highest suitability in the High Mountains. Precipitation of driest quarter, precipitation of wettest month, precipitation of coldest quarter, and aspect are the highest mean contributors determining the distribution of R. arabica in SCPA. Rosa arabica potential distribution covers 324.4 km2(7.46%) of the total SCPA area(4350 km2). This area is divided into: 18.1 km2 high probability, 124.3 km2 moderate probability, and 182 km2 low probability. After one year of the simple layering process, ten branches rooted and were translocated into three sites that had been previously identified to cover three habitat suitability ranges(high, moderate, and low suitability). After a year of translocation in the wild, the survival rate ranged from 66% to 100%, the geographical range increased by 65%, and the population size by 6.8%. Therefore, if the new individuals continue to grow and adapt it may lead to the expansion of other environmental factors such as climatic and topographical factors that probably increase the resilience of the global population of the species to adverse events. Detailed information is provided in this research about the recovery program, from planning to implementation and monitoring, and recommendations for best practices.     

Telecentres in mountain regions — A Peruvian case study of the impact of information and communication technologies on remoteness and exclusion

Communities in developing country mountain areas, in part due to their remoteness, find themselves excluded from social, political and economic systems; and excluded from access to resources. This paper aims to study the impact of information and communication technologies （ICTs） on remoteness and exclusion. It utilises two models - the resource movement framework, and the ＂information chain＂ - to analyse a telecentre in one district of mountainous Huancavelica, Peru＇s poorest region, set in the high Andes. It finds ICTs enabling new and positive resource flows for the two key user groups： teenaged school students and young farmers. These help to maintain social networks. They also support information searches that have improved agricultural practice where other information chain resources have been available. But non-use and ineffective use of the telecentre are found where information chain resources are lacking. ICTs have some impacts on intangible elements of remoteness. In this particular example, they also offer access to some previously-excluded resources. But they have not really addressed the systematic exclusions faced by mountain communities. And they so far appear to be a technology of inequality; favouring those residents who begin with better resource endowments. The paper concludes by offering some recommendations for mountain ICT project practice.     

An integrated spatial planning of the mountainous landscapes for ski sports in a case area at the eastern Türkiye

Mountainous regions have disadvantages in economic development because of harsh physical and climatic conditions. However, winter tourism activities are one of the key components for supporting economic development in the highlands. Establishing a ski resort area supports direct and indirect employment in a region, and it stops immigration from mountainous regions to other places. This research aimed to assess the potential ski areas using a multi criteria evaluation technique in the Van region ...     

What is attractive rural landscape? Differences in the social and expert assessment of the changes in the rural landscape of the Carpathian region in Poland with regard to the need of its protection

Contemporary villages of the mountain region are subject to uncontrolled structural and spatial transformations, which cause deformation of centuries-old spatial systems of high cultural and natural value. The aim of the study is to confront the opinions of the inhabitants and experts regarding the condition of the cultural landscape of the villages in south-eastern Poland. This area belongs to the Carpathian region of Central Europe. The historical and economic conditions of the studied region,...     

Post-depositional modification of NO-3 in snow layers at EastAntarctica and at the headwater of ürumqi River

Acidic species, such as Nitrate, in polar snow and firn layers are “reversibly” deposited, and are sufficiently volatile to undergo significant postdepositional exchange between snow/firn and the atmosphere. Through comparison of the snowpit and snowpack nitrate concentrations from central East Antarctica and the headwater of ürumqi River, we conclude that the nitrate peaks in the uppermost surface snow layers in central Antarctica are not related to an atmospheric signal and must account for post-depositional effects. Such effects, however, are not found in the surface snowpack nitrate profiles from the headwater of ürumqi River. Two reasons may account for the post-depositional difference. At first, nitrate in the polar snow and firn layers appears to be hydrated ion, which can be taken up by the atmosphere, while at the headwater of ürumqi River it seems mainly as mineral ion, which assembles the behavior of aerosol-derived species that are “irreversibly” deposited and do not undergo significant post-depositional exchange with the atmosphere. Secondly, the chemical features of the snow and ice on the Antarctica are mainly determined by wet deposition, to the contrary, dry deposition is more significant at the headwater of lUrumqi River than that on the East Antarctic Plateau.     

Residents’ environmental conservation behaviour in the mountain tourism destinations in China: Case studies of Jiuzhaigou and Mount Qingcheng

This study aimed at gaining an understanding of the formation of residents’ Environmental Conservation Behaviour (ECB) to promote sustainable tourism development in Chinese mountain areas. In particular, a theoretical framework was constructed by merging residents’ mountain attachment and their environmental values, and awareness of environmental consequences based on the Cognition Behaviour Theory. This research sampled 642 residents with convenience sampling method in Jiuzhaigou and Mount Qingcheng, and structural equation modelling analysis was conducted to identify the relationships among the above variables. Results verified that mountain attachment affected people’s awareness of environmental consequences, which then affected their ECB. Environmental values and mountain attachment directly and positively influenced ECB. Moreover, awareness of environmental consequences played the most prominent role in predicting ECB among all the predictors in this study. In all, this study derived several significant implications which can not only contribute to environmental management policies in tourism field but also help to improve the levels of the antecedents of residents’ ECB and promote sustainable tourism development in Chinese mountain areas.     

What is the relationship between ecosystem services and urbanization? A case study of the mountainous areas in Southwest China

China is undergoing a rapid urbanization process, and urbanization will have a direct impact on regional ecosystems and affect regional ecosystem services. Considering the mountainous counties in Southwestern China as the research object, this study reveals the spatial clustering characteristics of four typical ecosystem services(food production, soil conservation, water yield and carbon sequestration)as well as the trade-offs and synergies among ecosystem services in different urbanized areas. At the same time, piecewise linear regression is used to determine the threshold of the influence of urbanization on ecosystem services. The results indicate that: 1) There are spatial autocorrelations among the four typical ecosystem services; with strong clustering characteristics, the positive correlation types are "clustered" locally; and with significant spatial heterogeneity, the negative correlation types are scattered and mainly appear in the highly urbanized area. 2) There are also remarkable differences in the relationship among various ecosystem services in different urbanized areas, and in particular, there are marked trade-offs between food production and carbon sequestration in the moderately urbanized area and the highly urbanized area. However, there are synergies between them in the lowly urbanized area. 3) With an increase in the compounded night light index(CNLI), water yield, carbon sequestration, food production and overall ecosystem services values present an increasing-decreasing trend, the soil conservation function value shows a decreasing-increasing trend.The response of water yield, carbon sequestration,food production, and overall ecosystem services to the compounded night light index(CNLI) has a threshold of 1.2642, 1.4833, 1.3388, 1.5146 and 1.2237,respectively. Based on the detected relationships between urbanization and ecosystem services, this study provides a theoretical reference for the selection of urbanization development models in key ecological functional areas.     

Spatial distribution and diurnal variation of chemical oxygen demand at the beginning of the rainy season in the Changjiang （Yangtze） River Estuary

A field observation was carried out in the Changjiang （Yangtze） River Estuary from May 19 to 26, 2003. A total of 29 stations, including 2 anchored stations, were occupied through almost the whole salinity gradient. Based on the observation data, biogeochemistry of chemical oxygen demand （COD） was examined. Spatial distribution pattern of COD shows that it decreased downstream. The COD concentration varied generally within a narrow range of 1.24-1.60 mg/L in the zone around the river mouth, beyond which it decreased rapidly to 0.20 mg/L. In the mixed water zone, the fluctuation in COD was smaller at 2 m above the bottom layer than at the surface layer in 48 h. In the seawater zone, the 48-h fluctuation at the surface was the largest, followed by that of 5 m below the surface and 2 m above the bottom layers in a range of from 2.50 to 0.55 mg/L. Freshwater discharge was the dominant source of COD in the estuary. The average COD beyond the river mouth was 2.7 mg/L, which accorded with the Chinese seawater quality Grade I. Relationships between dissolved oxygen and biogeochemical parameters such as suspended particulate matter, dissolved organic matter and chlorophyll-a were also discussed.     

Origin of the Mushroom Stone Forest at the southeastern foot of the Little Sangpu Mountain in eastern Guangdong,China: A palaeo-sea-level indicator or not?

The Mushroom Stone Forest, which consists of granite boulders looking like mushrooms with flared sidewalls, is located in eastern Guangdong China, and is a famous scenic spot that draws many tourists each year. The Mushroom Stone Forest has been traditionally recognized as a collection of wave erosion landforms and used for the reconstruction of palaeo-sea-level changes along the coastal areas of eastern Guangdong in previous coastal researches. By combining in situ measurements of the aspect,vertical profile and height of boulder sidewalls,palaeo-coastal wave direction estimation, rock density determination, major elemental analysis, and petrographic thin section analysis, this paper presents an alternative origin for the Mushroom Stone Forest.Our results suggest that wave or wind erosion cannot offer a satisfactory explanation for the formation of the Mushroom Stone Forest; The boulders that make up the Mushroom Stone Forest originated from the corestones in the granite weathering crusts of the Little Sangpu Mountain; When the debris of the weathering crust was removed, the corestones are perched on rocky outcrops or half-buried by weathering debris beneath the natural land surface;The flared sidewall (concave vertical profile) of the boulders is a particular form developed in the foot zone of a half-buried boulder through increased chemical weathering beneath the land surface. A recent exposed half-buried boulder found in the study area provides convincing evidence to support this argument. Sea water reached the foot of the Sangpu Mountain during the Holocene transgression, but it merely provided a mechanism to erode the weathering debris from the bottom of the mushroom rocks and enhanced salt weathering that created tafoni on the boulders. These findings demonstrate that the boulders of the Mushroom Stone Forest are not sea stacks and cannot be served as a palaeo-sea-level indicator.     

Gradient effect on farmers’ income in the mountain areas and its implication for poverty alleviation strategies: Empirical analysis from the upper reach of Minjiang River, China

Using four types of settlements in the upper reach of Minjiang River as case,we establish structural models in farmers’ income of different settlement patterns based on rural household panel data to reveal the gradient effect on farmers’ income and determinants.The results indicate that:(1) except the resettlement area,the incomes for farmers living in river valley,semi-mountain,and high-mountain settlements present a decreasing trend with the elevation increasing;on the contrary,their nonfarm earnings show an increasing trend with the elevation decreasing;(2) from the effect on farmers’ income,there is a common feature that the nonfarm earnings and farming incomes have significant positive effects,and family size and productive expenditure have significant negative effects.One exception to this is the productive expenditure,which becomes insignificant in the model of resettlement area;(3) from the way of increasing farmers’ income and alleviating poverty,there are great differences for four types of settlements in mountain areas,however,the improvement of agricultural product sales,agricultural production subsidies,the expansion for nonfarm employment,and the control of the family’s size are the most effective approaches for poverty alleviation.     

Abandoned Altitudes? Decrease and Expansion of Grassland in the Hinterland of Popayán,Southern Colombian Andes

Due to their ecological disadvantages,many mountain regions have experienced land-use abandonment and shrub encroachment on former grassland at higher altitudinal zones—especially during recent decades of urbanization. But does this trend also apply to the hinterland of urban settlements? By using the Southern Colombian example of Popayán, a medium-sized city located in the Northern Andes, we can show that the landscape changes observed between 1989 and 2010 can hardly be related to agricultural abandonment. Hypsometric variations of land-cover change indicate that, until 2001, woods or shrubland expanded faster at the lower altitudinal range adjacent to the city than at the more remote higher zones. In contrast, after 2001 grassland areas increased on former woods or shrubland at all altitudinal belts. Both periods thus present developments that can be interpreted as the result of land-use expansion below 2000 m asl and land-use persistence in the tierra fría of the mountain city's hinterland.     

Variations in leaf functional traits and physiological characteristics of Abies georgei var. smithii along the altitude gradient in the Southeastern Tibetan Plateau?

Variations in leaf functional traits of Abies georgei var. smithii at 3700, 3900, 4100, 4300, and 4390 m altitude were investigated in 15 typical plots in the Southeastern Tibetan Plateau. In each plot, three seedlings were selected, of which functional leaves in current-year sunny branches were chosen for the measurement of morphological, photosynthetic, and physiological and biochemical characteristics, and their variations were analyzed. Results showed that significant variations existed among the leaf functional traits of A. georgei var. smithii along the altitudinal gradient, as well as their physiological adaption indicators. Leaf area decreased, while the mass per area and thickness of leaf increased at an altitude above 4,100 m. The maxima of pigment, total nitrogen concentration, net photosynthesis rate during light-saturated, and when water use efficiency appeared at 4100 m altitude. In addition, A. georgei var. smithii seedlings regulated the activities of superoxide dismutase and ascorbate peroxidase to resist abiotic stress under 4100 m altitude. Meanwhile, malondialdehyde concentration and the dark respiration rate rapidly increased, which indicates that A. georgei var. smithii seedlingssuffered from heavy abiotic stress from 4100 m to 4390 m altitude. Basing on variations in leaf functional traits along the altitude gradient, we inferred that 4100 m altitude was the suitable region for A. georgei var. smithii growth in the Sygera Mountain. Moreover, the harsh environment was the main limiting factor for A. georgei var. smithii population expansion to high altitude.     

Belt or network? The spatial structure and shaping mechanism of the Great Wall cultural belt in Beijing

The relationship between cross-regional cultural landscapes does not currently receive enough attention in cultural landscape conservation. Cultural landscapes in China are faced with the crisis of fragmentation and islanding, which makes it necessary to strengthen the idea of integrated conservation. The Great Wall cultural belt in Beijing is a cross-regional linear cultural landscape in the northwest mountainous area of Beijing. With the Great Wall as a link connecting the surrounding natural, social, and cultural resources to form a banded structure, it has the typical and practical significance of integrated conservation. Based on the theory of the cultural landscape security pattern and its ‘node – setting – connection' model, this research studies the spatial structure and shaping mechanism of the Great Wall cultural belt in Beijing from the perspective of tourist flow, using Flickr geo-tagged photos and Wikiloc tracks. The results identify the core nodes and intermediate nodes of the Great Wall cultural belt in Beijing and show that it has a multicore, multi-group hierarchical nesting structure differing from the geographic space, which has groups following the evolution orbit of ‘linear string – circumnuclear star – complete network.' To explain the differences between the cultural association network(CAN) and the geospatial network(GSN), we find that the cultural associations between nodes rely on geophysical channels, including heritage corridors and traffic passages, as physical carriers, but the nodes' attraction and their setting elements, containing natural geography environments, settlements, administrative divisions, etc., change the channel resistance, so CAN and GSN present different characteristics. From the perspective of systematic and spatial network thoughts, this study has made an attempt to adopt new analysis and research methods to achieve the integrated conservation and inheritance of linear cultural landscapes in mountainous areas.     

Prediction of mine drainage generation potential and the prevention method of the groundwater pollution in the Gümü?k?y(Kütahya) mineralization area,NW Turkey

One of the leading factors of seepage contamination is mine drainage, which creates serious ecological risks on the environment both during operation and post-mining times. In this study, experimental processes have been carried out to determine the occurrence of mine drainage in the Gümü?k?y(Kütahya) mineralization area(Northwest Turkey). The prevention method for potential mine drainage occurrence has been also discussed. High enrichment was observed which are directly related to mineralization in trace element concentrations, especially in potentially toxic metals such as Ag, Cd, Mo, Ba, Bi, and Zn. Based on short-term tests, mine drainage formation has not been expected according to the p H(7.36-9.38), contact leaching, and acid-base accounting studies. However, in the long-term, acid generation potential has been expected because of weathering and oxidation in terms of rock type and mineralization in the area. Therefore, in order to prevent groundwater contamination in the event of a possible formation of mine drainage, the hydraulic conductivity of the stock area bedrock was evaluated by the in situ tests performed in the field and it was found to be moderately permeable(K= 1.9 × 10~(-6) m/s). In order to make the stock area bedrock impermeable,natural clay will be laid and compressed at the base of the stock area. When the finite elements were modeled by seepage analysis, the seepage discharge to be formed on the base rock at a depth of 5 m was determined as 3.17 × 10~(-19) m~3/s. Since the discharge value determined in the seepage analysis after modeling is very close to zero, contamination of possible ground and surface water will be prevented.     

Assessment of sediment connectivity using modelling and field-based approaches in the Slaví? River catchment(Moravskoslezské Beskydy Mts,Czech Republic)

Mountain streams act as conveyors of sediments within the river continuum, where the physical transport of sediments between river reaches through the catchment or between individual parts(e.g., between hillslopes and channels) of the catchment is assumed. This study focused on sediment connectivity analysis in the Slaví? River catchment in the Moravskoslezské Beskydy Mts in the eastern part of the Czech Republic. The connectivity index and connectivity index target modelling were combined with ...