Evaluation for Use Efficiency of Agricultural Resources in Grain Production： A Case Study of Changshu, Taihe and Ansai in China

This paper aims to establish an index system for evaluation of agricultural resources use efficiency (ARUE) in grain production and discuss the causes of low efficiency and high consumption of agricultural resources in Changshu of Jiangsu Province, Taihe of Jiangxi Province and Ausai of Shaanxi Province in China by analyzing the data about meteorology, soil, water consumption and grain production. Agro-ecological Zone (AEZ) method was adopted to calculate the potential productivity, and synthetically multivariate equation was used to evaluate the ARUE of study areas. This paper can be concluded as: 1) the agricultural resources in grain production can be classified into five categories, i.e., climatic resources, water resources, land resources, biological resources and assistant resources, and 15 indexes were selected to evaluate their use efficiency in grain production; 2) the values of ARUE in grain production are 0.5868, 0.6368 and 0.5390 respectively in Changshu, Taihe and Ansai; and 3) Changshu ranks the highest among the three study areas in terms of the use efficiency of climatic resources and biological resources (evaluation values are 0.0277 and 0.1530), but Taihe tops the three in terms of the use efficiency of water resources, land resources and assistant resources (evaluation values are 0.0502, 0.2945 and 0.1379 respectively). However, the ARUE remains always low in Ansai for all the resources. The inefficiencies are caused by poor grain revenue in Changshu, deficient agriculture investments in Taihe and unfavorable natural conditions in Ansai.     

Sustainability issues related to the engineering geology of long linear developments

The development of long linear structures such as roads, rail roads, tunnels, canals and pipelines often has unique engineering geology challenges. These include geological modeling, the identification of material strength and support factors, stability and risk issues, material excavation characteristics and the proposal of techniques for overcoming geotechnical problems, which are normally assessed as part of the conventional engineering geological investigation. An additional factor that is becoming increasingly important but is seldom included in investigations is the sustainability of the geotechnical inputs, in contrast to the sustainability of the project which is generally included. Sustainability issues revolve around the non-renewable nature of most construction resources and there is no doubt that the injudicious use of these construction materials and construction water is not sustainable in the long term: it is thus essential that the engineering geo-logical investigation should take cognizance of such issues and be adapted to provide the design engineer with the information that will maximize the sustainability options. This will also require a closer on-going relation-ship between the engineering geologist and the design engineer. This paper highlights significant sustainability issues (note that these differ from conventional environmental issues) and suggests some mitigating solutions. The sustainability issues discussed include primarily material and water usage, with some reference to energy conservation (mostly through alternative material usage and processing techniques and transportation).     

Urban metabolic efficiencies and elasticities of Chinese cities

Urban metabolism is a complex system of materials, energy, population and environment, which usually can be measured by the Emergy Synthesis(ES) and the Slacks-Based Measure(SBM) approach. In this paper, by employing the two approaches of ES and SBM, as well as metabolic evolution index, urban metabolic stocks, efficiencies and elasticity of 31 Chinese cities are evaluated in a systematic way. The results imply that over the last decade(2000–2010), most of the cities, such as Chongqing, Nanjing, Shijiazhuang, Hangzhou, were experiencing drastic urban metabolic efficiency decline accompanied with a moderate decrease of industrial outputs. By contrast, metropolises and specialized cities have improved their urban metabolic performances, with higher output-input ratio and fewer undesirable outputs. However, their exported emergy experienced a substantial increase as well. It is concluded that local urban management might develop policies to diversify urban renewable supplies and address the undesirable output problems. The urban emergy of renewable resources should be specified as a prime focus for future research. In addition, mechanisms of different urban metabolic models will also be necessary for researchers.     

Regional distribution and sustainable development strategy of mineral resources in China

This paper summarizes the distribution and production layout of the major mineral resources in China,including coal,iron ore,copper and bauxite,from a national perspective.It also identifies the incompatibility between the mineral resources distribution and regional economic development.Significant issues with China’s mineral resource industry cause challenges for the sustainable development of both the mining industry and the national socio-economy.The sustainability of regional mineral resources and the environmental pollution by mining in the western China were also analyzed.Results show that the distribution of China’s mineral resources is misaligned with its regional layout of economic development.China’s mineral resources have been over-exploited,and the mineral resources production in the eastern China is unsustainable.The continuously expanding production of mineral resources in the western China has heavily endangered the ecological environment.We propose strategies to boost the sustainable development of mineral resources,including measures to accelerate economic development and enhance the sustainability of domestic mineral resources.We also offer suggestions for scientifically planning the mineral resource prospecting and exploitation and regional economic layout,as well as for proactively undertaking industry transfer in the eastern China and raising the environmental benchmark requirements for the mineral industry in the central and western China.     

近20年来黄土高原地区的经济增长时空分异特征

 经济不均衡增长是区域发展的一种常态。分析区域经济增长时空差异及成因,对于认识和加快落后地区的经济发展具有重要的意义。本研究在GIS技术的支持下,对黄土高原地区近20年来以县市为单元的经济增长时空分异特征进行了系统的分析。主要结论有:改革开放以来,黄土高原地区的GDP水平呈现出持续的快速增长态势。近20年来,陕北和内蒙古鄂尔多斯地区增长最为迅速;人均GDP的空间分布整体上呈现出"两高一低"的带状分布格局,且这种格局明显地受到极化增长的扰动和重塑;经济增长表现出显著的极化增长特征,且经济增长极的极化作用与增长极之间地位的调整是同时进行的;与常态化的城市产业集聚推动型经济相比,机遇性的资源开发拉动型经济对人均GDP的拉动速度更快,但可持续性较差。未来,黄土高原地区应走以中心城市带动为主,以能矿产资源开发拉动为辅,两者相互促进,共同带动整个区域经济更快、更好、更可持续地发展的道路。     

Life Cycle Assessment of Different Sea Cucumber (Apostichopusjaponicus Selenka) Farming Systems

The life cycle assessment was employed to evaluate the environmental impacts of three farming systems(indoor intensive, semi-intensive and extensive systems) of sea cucumber living near Qingdao, China, which can effectively overcome the interference of inaccurate background parameters caused by the diversity of economic level and environment in different regions. Six indicators entailing global warming potential(1.86 E + 04, 3.45 E + 03, 2.36 E + 02), eutrophication potential(6.65 E + 01,-1.24 E + 02,-1.65 E + 02), acidification potential(1.93 E + 02, 4.33 E + 01, 1.30 E + 00), photochemical oxidant formation potential(2.35E-01, 5.46E-02, 2.53E-03), human toxicity potential(2.47 E + 00, 6.08E-01, 4.91 E + 00) and energy use(3.36 E + 05, 1.27 E + 04, 1.48 E + 03) were introduced in the current study. It was found that all environmental indicators in the indoor intensive farming system were much higher than those in semi-intensive and extensive farming systems because of the dominant role of energy input, while energy input also contributed as the leading cause factor for most of the indicators in the semi-intensive farming system. Yet in the extensive farming system, infrastructure materials played a major role. Through a comprehensive comparison of the three farming systems, it was concluded that income per unit area of indoor intensive farming system was much higher than those of semi-intensive and extensive farming systems. However, the extensive farming system was the most sustainable one. Moreover, adequate measures were proposed, respectively, to improve the environmental sustainability of each farming system in the present study.     

A framework for selecting indicators to assess the sustainable development of the natural heritage site

Sustainable world heritage management represents an approach for managing the resources of a property by integrating environmental, economic, and social issues. It aims to provide sustainable benefits for future generations, while protect the property and minimize the possible adverse social, economic and environmental impacts. Indicators of sustainable development, which summarize information for decision-making, are invaluable to learn the efficiency and effectiveness of property management. Scientists in many fields devised several conceptual models of environmental statistics and indicators, of which, DPSIR (Driving forces – Pressure – State – Impact – Response) is thought to be the best available one in identifying and developing indicators of sustainable development. Based on the DPSIR conceptual model and indicator selection criteria, the present paper proposed a methodology framework for selecting indicators to assess the sustainable development of a natural heritage site. The proposed framework included a multi-level hierarchical structure for various indicators and indexes, a modified DPSIR frame to identify key issues in property management and a set of indicators for evaluating the sustainability in Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries.     

Reconstructing environmental changes of a coastal lagoon with coral reefs in southeastern Hainan Island

Coastal lagoons with small catchment basins are highly sensitive to natural processes and anthropogenic activities. To figure out the environmental changes of a coastal lagoon and its contribution to carbon burial, two sediment cores were collected in Xincun Lagoon, southeastern Hainan Island and (210) ~Pb activities, grain size parameters, total organic carbon(TOC), total nitrogen(TN), total inorganic carbon(TIC) and stable carbon isotopes(δ~(13)C) were measured. The results show that in 1770–1815, the decreasing water exchange capacity with outer open water, probably caused by the shifting and narrowing of the tidal inlet, not only diminished the currents and fined the sediments in the lagoon, but also reduced the organic matter of marine sources. From 1815 to 1950, the sedimentary environment of Xincun Lagoon was frequently influenced by storm events. These extreme events resulted in the high fluctuation of sediment grain size and sorting, as well as the great variation in contributions of terrestrial(higher plants, soils) and marine sources(phytoplankton, algae, seagrass). The extremely high content of TIC, compared to TOC before 1950 could be attributed to the large-scale coverage of coral reefs. However, with the boost of seawater aquaculture activities after 1970, the health growth of coral species was severely threatened, and corresponding production and inorganic carbon burial flux reduced. The apparent enhanced inorganic carbon burial rate after 1990 might result from the concomitant carbonate debris produced by seawater aquaculture. This result is important for local government long-term coastal management and environmental planning.     

Resource Flows of Villages with Contrasting Lifestyles in Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve, Central Himalaya, India

Resource use efficiency analyses of village ecosystem are necessary for effective and efficient planning of resource utilization. This paper deals with economic and energy input-output analyses of different components of village ecosystem in representative buffer zone villages, which are practicing transhumance and settled way of lifestyles in Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve （NDBR） of Garhwal Himalaya. While the villages practicing transhumance used various natural resources spatially segregated,the villages practicing settled way of lifestyle have to manage resources from a limited spatial area through rotation and varied extraction intensities. Forests subsidized the production activity in both type of villages and the per capita resource extractions were found to be greater in tran~humance village than settled village. Though crops provided maximum energy, in terms of economic criteria, animal husbandry played important role in both settled and transhumance villages. As villages representing both the situations showed different ways of adjustments to the conservation oriented land use changes, management authority needs to address the eco-development plans fulfilling the aspirations of all people traditionally using the resources of the Reserve to reduce the conflicts and encourage their participation in the conservation of the area.     

自然资源大数据应用技术框架与学科前沿进展

自然资源大数据及其处理技术应用能够为自然资源研究与管理,特别是揭示自然资源系统要素、结构与关联研究提供基础支撑,为资源科学发展提供新思路、新方法和新技术。本文试图厘清自然资源大数据的概念、主要特征和发展趋势,分析自然资源大数据对于国民经济与社会发展的重要现实意义。自然资源大数据建设既是自然资源信息化的重要组成部分,也是提高自然资源产业及整个社会经济效率、完善自然资源治理结构和提升自然资源治理能力现代化的新手段。本文在地球系统科学体系下,构建了自然资源大数据应用研究的知识框架,基于“一图一网一平台”结构,提出建立空天地一体化自然资源大数据库和“生产-生活-生态”应用框架,探讨建立基于自然资源数据收集、处理与应用的结构体系,并以此技术框架分析了自然资源大数据应用研究的学科前沿进展和发展趋势。     

鄂尔多斯盆地多级次地下水流系统中硝酸盐分布特征及其成因

水资源短缺的鄂尔多斯盆地内地下水遭受硝酸盐(NO^-₃)污染等问题日益突出,识别盆地不同地下水流系统的NO^-₃分布规律及其成因,对地下水资源的合理利用与保护具有重要意义。选取鄂尔多斯盆地北部湖泊集中区白垩系地下水系统为研究对象,基于水化学和聚类-主成分分析划分地下水流系统级次,在此基础上对比分析不同级次地下水流系统中NO^-₃分布特征,综合水化学和环境同位素分析识别多级次地下水流系统中NO^-₃来源及其潜在过程。研究表明：研究区ρ(NO^-₃)超出地下水质量标准(GB/T 14848-2017)Ⅲ类水标准的地下水样品集中在局部-中间地下水流系统,其超标率达到28%;区域地下水流系统中ρ(NO^-₃)均值约为1 mg/L。研究区不同级次地下水流系统中ρ(NO^-₃)分布特征主要与人类活动影响程度有...     

Population growth and sustainability of common property resource management systems in the eastern Hindu Kush: The use of communal fodder resources in Mehlp Valley, North Pakistan

In common property studies, increasing number of users has been considered as a major threat for the long-term sustainability of natural resources. This perception has been true in a few cases. However, the 40-years empirical research conducted in a variety of environmental settings, reveals that population pressure is not the only factor responsible for the degradation of natural resources. In remote areas, where the local inhabitants highly depend on available natural resources for subsistence livelihood, the economically important resources are kept under different ownership regimes. The local inhabitants have established autochthonous institutions, and formulated rules and regulations for proper management of these resources. In this paper an attempt has been made to explore the response of a small fodder user community to the increasing population. For this purpose a micro-level study has been conducted in a remote mountain environment in the eastern Hindu Kush. For this research, data has been collected through fieldwork and focus group discussion. The results of this study reveal that fodder user communities have responded very well to the problem of population pressure. To maintain equity and long-term sustainability they have adopted a number of strategies including changing the ownership, and a resource kept under private ownership at the time of low population has been changed to a common property with increase in population. Based on this study it can be concluded that in mountainous areas and fragile environment the local inhabitant have both the capacity and capability to change their behaviour with regard to changing resource productivity as well as increasing number of users, and this situation does not always lead to the tragedy of commons.     

Integrated Futures for Europe＇s Mountain Regions： Reconciling Biodiversity Conservation and Human Livelihoods

Europe＇s mountains cover nearly half of the continent＇s area and are home to one fifth of the European population. Mountain areas are hotspots of biodiversity and agriculture has played a multifunctional role in defining and sustaining mountain biodiversity. Ongoing trends of agricultural decline are having negative impacts on mountain biodiversity. This paper presents results from an interdisciplinary European research project, BioScene, which investigated the relationship between agriculture and biodiversity in six mountain study areas across Europe to provide recommendations for reconciling biodiversity conservation with social and economic activities through an integrated rural development strategy. BioScene used scenario analysis and stakeholder participation as tools for structuring the analysis of alternative mountain futures. Three main BioScene scenarios were evaluated： Business as Usual （BAIT）, Agricultural Liberalisation （Lib）, Managed Change for Biodiversity （MCB）. BioScene brought together ecologists, economists, sociologists and rural geogra- phers, to carry out interdisciplinary analysis of the scenarios： identifying key drivers of change, assessing the biodiversity consequences and evaluating costeffectiveness. BioScene used a sustainability assessment to integrate the research outputs across natural and social science disciplines to assess the broader sustainability of the scenarios in terms of biodiversity, natural resources, rural development, social development, economic development and institutional capacity. The sustainability assessment showed that the MCB scenario was potentially the most sustainable of the three BioScene scenarios. Through the reconciliation of potentially conflicting objectives, such as conservation, economic development and human livelihoods, and with a strong participatory planning approach, the MCB scenario could represent an alternative approach to BaU for sustainable rural development in Europe＇s mountains. BioScene confirms the necessity for natural and social scientists to work together to seek solutions to environmental problems. Interdisciplinary research can assist with the definition of integrated strategies with the potential to reconcile the ecological, social and economic parameters that determine a sustainable future for European mountain areas.     

页岩气开发的水资源与绿色发展面临的机遇与挑战

水与能源是全球关注的热点问题.水平井与分段压裂技术结合等新技术的发展,为实现页岩能源生产创造了可能性,同时增加能源对水资源的依赖性.水力压裂所需水量以及页岩气开采作业产生废水的水量和水质是页岩气开发的核心之一.本文以中国页岩气井开采先驱地区的川南页岩气开采区为例,分析页岩气开发对区域水资源系统及生态系统的可能影响,提出...     

基于网格的精准农业数据库及示范应用——以黑龙江农场双山基地为例

精准农业是指按照田间每一操作单元的具体条件,精细准确地调整各项土壤和作物管理措施,最大限度地优化使用各项农业投入(如化肥、农药、水、种子和其他方面的投入量),以获取最高产量和最大经济效益,同时减少化学物质使用,保护农业生态环境,保护土地等自然资源.本文从精准农业对数据的要求入手,提出以格网为单元的精准农业数据库的设计思...     

ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY AND SCENARIOS OF URBANIZATION IN ARID AREA——A Case Study in Wuwei City of Gansu Province

1IN T R O D U C T IO N The western China isfacinggrowing problems of eco- logicaland economic development. The disparitiebse- tween the socio-economy of the western and eastern China were enlarging, and the major ecologicalprob- lems stilelvolve as past(H…     

Simulating Sustainable Urban Development by Incorporating Social-ecological Risks into a Constrained CA Model

A key solution to urban and global sustainability is effective planning of sustainable urban development, for which geo-techniques especially cellular automata (CA) models can be very informative. However, existing CA models for simulating sustainable urban development, though increasingly refined in modeling urban growth, capture mostly the environmental aspect of sustainability. In this study, an adaptable risk-constrained CA model was developed by incorporating the social-ecological risks of urban development. A three-dimensional risk assessment framework was proposed that explicitly considers the environmental constraints on, system resilience to, and potential impacts of urban development. The risk-constrained model was then applied to a case study of Sheyang County, Jiangsu Province in the eastern China. Comparative simulations of urban development in four contrasting scenarios were conducted, namely, the environmental suitability constrained scenario, the ecological risk constrained scenario, the social risk constrained scenario, and the integrated social-ecological risk constrained scenario. The simulations suggested that considering only environmental suitability in the CA simulation of urban development overestimated the potential of sustainable urban growth, and that the urbanization mode changed from city expansion that was more constrained by social risks to town growth that was more constrained by ecological risks. Our risk-constrained CA model can better simulate sustainable urban development; additionally, we provide suggestions on the sustainable urban development in Sheyang and on future model development.     

Sediment Provenance and Climate Changes Since the Middle Pleistocene in the Yingqiong Continental Slope of the South China Sea

The age, grain size compositions and major elemental compositions for sediments in core YQ1 from the Yingqiong continental slope in the South China Sea was determined in this paper. It is noted that the periodically cyclic change of sedimentation rates occurred in the Yingqiong continental slope in the South China Sea. During the interglacial periods, the sedimentation rates were high, while the sedimentation rates exhibited low values during the glacial periods. During Marine Isotope Stage 1(MIS1), the sedimentary rate could reach about 800 cm kyr~(-1) and during the MIS6 this area is characterized by the lowest sedimentary rate, which is lower than 3 cm kyr~(-1). According to the R-mode factor analysis of the major element data, three factors F1(Al_2O_3, Fe_2O_3, TiO_2 and K_2O), F_2(MgO and MnO) and F3(Na_2O and P_2O_5) were obtained, which shows that vertical change of the major elemental concentrations in the core was mainly controlled by the nearby terrestrial inputs and the early diagenesis, while the effect of volcanic and biogenous inputs was less. The obvious glacial-interglacial cyclic features are presented in the changes of the typical terrestrial element ratios contained in factor F1, which reflects the impact of glacial-interglacial climatic cycle on the evolution of the East Asian monsoon. This indicates that the major element ratios in terrestrial sediments are significant indicators of regional climate changes.     

ECOLOGICAL PROBLEMS ON THE URBAN DEVELOPMENT IN THE TAIHU LAKE REGION OF SOUTHERN JIANGSU

The Taihu Lake region in southern Jiangsu is one of the regions with flourishing economy and the highest level of urbanization due to favourable natural conditions and socio-economic foundation. However, there emerge a seriers of urban ecological problems on continuous stretch of cities and towns, a vague division of urban functions, ground subsidence, serious pollution of atmosphere and waters arising from dense population, irrational distribution of industry, backwardeness of municipal engineering facilities, and inexperienced scientific management of water resources. In order to improve the urban eco-environment in this lake region, we should work out an overall regional eco梕nvironmental programme, perfect the urban economic set-up from the reqirements of urban material circulations and energy exchanges, and finally put into practice the urban functional regionalism, so that the Taihu Lake region in southern Jiangsu has not only a higher economic benefit, but also a beautiful and comfortable eco-env     

Shifting dynamics of nature,society and agriculture in the Hindu Kush Himalayas: Perspectives for future mountain development

Current approaches for sustainable mountain development have several persisting warning signals. Economic globalization, profitoriented market development, and infrastructure development have significantly altered traditional nature-society interactions, increased environmental pressures, and challenged agricultural sustainability in the mountains. Some of the effects of globalization could also be beneficial. Social differentiation and disintegration of mountain communities' have weakened their collective stakes on natural resources resulting in decline in initiatives such as community forestry, collective water management, domestication of rapidly disappearing herbal species, and balancing of economic and ecological concerns. Population growth, food insecurity, unemployment, and increasing economic gaps between rich and poor have led to out-migration of youth. Sustained action promoting ownership of new initiatives for rehabilitating degraded mountain landscapes through macro-level global/national initiatives, mountain specific planning and development efforts is severely lacking in many areas on the Hindu Kush Himalayan region. Therefore, there is an urgent need for widening the scope of efforts directed to help mountain areas and communities, and a future thinking approach to enhance the sustainability of mountain areas as they are a valuable natural resource for humankind. This paper discusses the issues, opportunities, and provides suggestions for the future of mountain development.