On coordinated development of oasis and environment in arid area

1 Formation and evolution of oasisBoth physical environment and human activities influence the formation and evolution of oasis. Natural oasis is a kind of ecological landscape formed mainly by water without human intervention. Its prosperity and adversity primarily depends on the flow direction and discharge of a river. With the increment of intensity of human activities, however, great changes have taken place in oasis in arid area. The evolution of oasis has been transformed from the contr…     

The harmonious relationship between land use and environment in Xi’an

1 Introduction Generally, it is the urbanization that causes the structural change of landscape environment, and the structure, scale, benefit and effectiveness of LUCC are all the spatial appearance and important results of Xi’an’s urbanization. It no…     

Effect of the environment in Antarctica on immune function and electroencephalogram

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Inter-hemispheric comparisons of geospace environment in the polar regions—A proposed cooperative research program between China and Norway

The Chinese Zhongshan Station in Antarctica and the stations in Svalbard (Auroral station at Longyearbyen and NP station at Ny lesund) are closely magnetic conjugate. All of them are equipped similar measurement instruments dealing with upper atmospheric physics. Therefore, there is a good reason to conduct a cooperative research program between China and Norway to do the inter hemispheric comparisons of geospace environment in the polar regions. It will make significant contribution to further understanding of the coupled magnetosphere ionsphere system. The scientific aims of the cooperative project are: to experimentally verify the modeled complicated conjugate relationship between Zhongshan Station in the Antarctic and Svalbard in the Arctic. To derive knowledge from the conjugate characteristics of auroral formations, ionospheric features and space plasma waves in the polar regions, which in turn will lead to better understanding of the solar wind magnetosphere ionosphere coupling processes. The proposed research contents, research methods and experimental techniques are discussed, and the manners of the cooperative research are suggested in the paper.     

The relationship between cyanobacteria and environmental factors in the Bering Sea

During the first Chinese Scientific Expedition to the Arctic in July - September 1999, cyanobacteria in the Bering Sea were measured by epifluorescence microscopy. Cyanobacterial abundance varied from 0 to 7. 93 × 103 cell/ml and decreased along a northerly directed latitudinal gradient in horizontal distribution. Cyanobacteria did not occur at station Bl - 12 (north of 60 °N). Vertically, high cya-nobacterial abundance appeared in the upper 25 - 50 m and decreased rapidly below 50 m. There were no cyanobacteria at the 150 m. Seawater temperature and NH4+ -N are suggested to affect the distribution of cyanobacteria.     

The preliminary study of the phytoplankton ecology in the Great Wall Bay，Antarctica

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Relationship between energy dissipation rate and channel morphology in the development of the model braided channel

1 IntroductionA certain pattern of channel is the product of its self-adjustment under given boundary, discharge and sediment conditions[1]. A lot of experiments have been performed in flumes, usually with an initially-regulated straight channel being constructed in the flume, to determine the impact of these conditions on channel morphologies and patterns[2-6]. Schumm's experiments[3] demonstrated that when the bed-load channels transport only sand at constant discharge, channels develop from…     

Research on the Patterns and Evolution of Ecosystem Service Consumption in the “Belt and Road”

With great significance in ecosystem protection and sustainable development, the study of ecosystem service consumption (ESC) has become a hot topic in ecological research. Based on FAOSTAT data, in this study the patterns, composition and evolution of ESC and ecosystem service consumption patterns (ESCP) in the “Belt and Road” were revealed on the total and regional scales, taking consumed-biomass as a main indicator. Three main conclusions were reached. 1) The total ESC was mainly contributed from farmland ecosystems along the “Belt and Road” , followed by grassland ecosystems. The ESC indicators on the whole system scale fluctuated, but increased from year 2000 to year 2016. The total ESC increased from 12911.89 Tg yr ^-1 to 16810.00 Tg yr ^-1, and the annual per capita consumption of ecosystem services increased from 3.3228 million g p ^-1 yr ^-1 to 3.6392 million g p ^-1 yr ^-1. 2) The ESC, composition and evolution varied significantly among countries, zones and ecosystems. The annual per capita ESC was highest in Mongolia on the national scale, and highest in Central and Eastern Europe and lowest in Southeast Asia on zone scale, which represented the results from the joint effects of regional resource endowments, consumption habits, levels of productive forces, and other factors. 3) Higher farmland ESC was the dominant ESCP, which accounted for about 76.7% of the total area along the “Belt and Road”, followed by higher farmland + higher grassland ESC, which accounted for about 19.0% of the total area. The other consumption patterns (i.e., those of higher grassland ESC, higher forestland ESC or higher farmland + higher forest + higher grassland ESC) were found in only a few countries. The ESCP may be related to higher regional population density or the higher proportions of developing countries. Therefore, to realize sustainable social, economic and ecological development, and to improve people's well-being, countries along the “Belt and Road” should take advantage of their own resources in developing industries, actively expand trade, achieve mutual benefits and win-win situations, and adjust and optimize consumption patterns of ecosystem services. This study can provide data support for further research on the mechanism of ESCP formation this area.     

Sustainable Agriculture in the “Belt and Road” Region in Conjunction with the Sustainable Development Goals

The countries along the “Belt and Road” (B&R) should devote their efforts to top-level planning in the field of agriculture, so as to ensure the sustainable development of agriculture in the region. This will require a precise assessment of the sustainability of agriculture along the B&R. With a view to understanding the concept of sustainable agriculture along the B&R, combined with the interpretation of the agricultural objectives contained in the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), this study uses statistical regression analysis and trend prediction to predict the social and economic development trends in terms of economic growth and urbanization in the countries along the B&R up until 2030, and the corresponding impacts on agricultural resources and the environment. The results show that the future prospects for agricultural resources and the environment along the B&R are not promising, and meeting the future food security needs of the region will be difficult. Only by adopting innovative policies and implementing strategic planning can the goals of sustainable agricultural development and food security by 2030 be achieved in this region. Therefore, countries along the B&R should formulate agricultural development strategies from three aspects: building an agricultural cooperation platform, setting up special funds, and innovating the agricultural cooperation mode, so as to achieve the sustainable development of agriculture in the region.     

Analysis on areal relationship between regional environment and socioeconomy—taking the Chinese Yellow Sea coastal zone as a case

Since the reform and open-up,the economy in the Yellow Sea coastal zone has rapidly developed and the regional structure of socio-economy has changed a lot,but meanwhile it has also caused increasingly serious environmental problems. The discussion on relationship between economic development and environment[1-12] has become the focus of research. The present research mainly focuses on the following aspects: first, the study on coordinately development of regional PRED system, including de…     

On the organic compounds in water of Mochou Lake and Heart Lake in Larsemann Hills,Antarctica

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Can gains in efficiency offset the resource demands and CO2 emissions from constructing and operating the built environment?

Urbanization is a demographic, economic, and land transformation process. Building construction and operation are integral aspects of urban land use change and contribute to material and energy resources consumption and the resulting carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions in urban areas. In this paper, we ask two questions regarding the urbanization process: 1) Do the land, material, and energy use efficiencies associated with the construction and operation of buildings increase over time? 2) Do the gains in resource use efficiencies offset the increases in resource demands due to the magnitude of urbanization? To answer these questions, we use a systematic approach similar to a material flow analysis and apply it to the Pearl River Delta, a rapidly urbanizing region in China. We use a combination of satellite data and official statistics to evaluate changes in urban population density and building density from 1988 to 2008. Both density measures decrease from 1988 to 2003; after 2003, building density increases while population density continues to decline. We also track the indirect impacts of urban land expansion on material and energy demands and associated CO₂ emissions using concrete and heating/cooling as proxies for building construction and operation, respectively. Throughout the study period, structural changes and efficiency gains decrease the demand per unit floor area for both building materials and energy. However, the efficiency gains are outstripped by the magnitude of urban expansion, therefore leading to an increase in the demand for resources and CO₂ emissions per capita. Our results show that focusing only on gains in efficiency for individual buildings without considering the scale of urban expansion results in underestimate of the cumulative energy, material, and greenhouse gas emissions impacts of urbanization. We emphasize the distinction between the rates versus the accumulations of these impacts over spatial and temporal scales. We discuss the relevance of the Environmental Kuznets approaches to tackling environmental impacts that are cumulative in nature and may lead to irreversible changes in the environment. We conclude that tracking the energy, materials, and emissions impacts of urbanization requires a multi-scale approach that ranges from the individual building to the urban region.     

Characteristics of Agricultural and Livestock Products Trade Flows between China and the “Belt and Road” Initiative Region: From the Perspective of Biocapacity

In the context of global ecological overload, international trade has become one of the most important ways to make up for the ecological deficit. This study takes the “Belt and Road” Initiative as the study area to analyze the biocapacity and ecological footprint characteristics between China and other countries along the “Belt and Road” Initiative. Trade flow characteristics were explored from the perspective of biocapacity. The import and export of virtual land was used to assess the effect of trade on compensating for the resource gaps in crop and grazing land. The main results show that: 1) In 2005-2014, the majority of “Belt and Road” countries were experiencing increasing degrees of overload. In China, cropland takes up the largest proportion of biocapacity, while the ecological footprint is dominated by the carbon footprint. 2) The trade flow of agricultural and livestock products in the mainland of China shows a trend of increasing imports and decreasing exports, which increases dependence on specific regions. 3) In 2005-2014, China’s trade in cereals and oil crops along the “Belt and Road” Initiative were generally net imports, and the share of cereals traded along the “Belt and Road” Initiative is increasing gradually, but that of oil crops decreased rapidly. 4) The import trade has alleviated ecological deficit, as the selected products compensated for 1.03 times of the cropland deficit and 0.65 times of the grazing land deficit in China. This study is helpful to understand the relationship between the land use and trade deeply, and provide decision-making references for reducing ecological deficits, optimizing land resource allocation, and promoting win-win cooperation among China and other countries in the “Belt and Road” Initiative.     

The effects of enclosures and land-use contracts on rangeland degradation on the Qinghai–Tibetan plateau

Rangeland degradation on the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau is a growing concern, often attributed to climate change and overgrazing. A minority of researchers have suggested instead that degradation may be caused by changes in land management, particularly enclosures and the contracting of long-term rangeland use rights to households. However, these claims have been hampered by a lack of empirical evidence. This field experiment is the first to compare rangeland conditions over time in the case of different management regimes on the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau, specifically single-household versus multi-household management. A survey of vegetation properties in Maqu County, Gansu province in 2009, and repeated in 2011, examined the differences between single- and multi-household management in terms of vegetation biomass, cover, and species richness. In 2009, the biomass of the sedge group under multi-household management was significantly higher than that under single-household management. In 2011, biomass, vegetation cover, and species richness were all significantly higher under multi-household management than single-household management. These data suggest the flaws of the tragedy of the commons assumptions underlying single-household management.     

Ecological Carrying Capacity and Green Development in the “Belt and Road” Initiative Region

Since the 1970s, resource crisis, environmental pollution and ecological degradation have become prominent globally, and the limits to growth have always been an important theoretical and policy issue. The technological system of early warning and regulation based on carrying capacity evaluation has great potential in natural resource utilization, environmental management and ecosystem conservation. In this paper, the evolution of carrying capacity research and the concept of ecological carrying capacity are summarized, and the existing evaluation methods of ecological carrying capacity are classified into ecological footprint method, comprehensive index system method, ecosystem service analysis method and human appropriation of net primary productivity method. The current problems in ecological carrying capacity study were analyzed and the trend was outlooked. Combined with the special issue, the recent proceeding of ecological carrying capacity study in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) region was narrated, from the aspects of ecological carrying capacity evaluation method and application, the supply and consumption of ecosystem services, and the resources use and environment change. Some suggestions have been proposed to improve the accuracy and reliability of ecological carrying capacity evaluation: 1) the spatial heterogeneity and temporal dynamic change of ecological carrying capacity should be explored furtherly; 2) the interaction between ecological process and human activities should be simulated; 3) factors such as climate change, human activities and ecological products and ecological service flows should be integrated into the evaluation system of ecological carrying capacity.     

Human–environment dynamics during the Iron Age in the Lofoten Islands,Norway

Integrated archaeological and paleoenvironmental investigations provide long-term perspectives on human–environment interactions. In the North Atlantic region, early human settlements were established in marginal agricultural environments and were susceptible to various environmental stressors. The Lofoten Islands have had an important role in the history of this region, particularly during the Iron Age, when Lofoten developed from pioneering agricultural settlements to a prominent node of power and trade under Viking chieftains. Iron Age developments in Lofoten were concurrent with significant natural environmental changes, including variations in climate and sea level. However, there has not been a comprehensive investigation of their influence on early settlements. The purpose of the study is to review Iron Age cultural developments in Lofoten using published archaeological data and paleoenvironmental records of past climate and sea-level change, and to present specific examples of the intersection of early human development and natural environmental changes. The findings show that climate changes probably influenced agricultural phases and that relative sea-level variations had important impacts on maritime developments. In conclusion, the findings demonstrate that human–environment interactions were significant factors in Lofoten’s history and the authors suggest specific areas for future research.     

“How Much Does Property Cost Up There?”: Exploring the Relationship between Women,Sustainable Farming,and Rural Gentrification in the US

Using in-depth interviews with women engaged in sustainable farming in the western United States, this project explores an unanticipated finding: migration from an urban area to rural “Prairie County” was necessary for these farmers to secure farm land and sustain their farming operations. This article interrogates the role of migration in women’s access to farmland as both an economic and cultural phenomenon. My findings highlight the necessity of migration for women’s participation in sustainable farming and suggest that women’s success in sustainable farming may align with the processes of rural gentrification, by which cultural and economic in-migrants amplify their social privilege and transform the values and economy of rural communities. This project, then, situates gender as a key structure to understanding both the classed dynamics of sustainable agriculture and rural gentrification.     

The features of physical geography in the transitional region between Qinling Mountains and Huanghuai Plain

1IntroductionThe transitional region of physical geography is the transitional zone with unique characteristics formed by the interaction of the adjacent systems of physical geography, which have different properties. Study on the transitional region of physical geography is favorable for developing synthetic theories and methods in physical geography. It is one of the sensitive regions for studying global change, and it may provide scientific basis for exploiting natural resources, alleviatin…     

Progress and prospects of applied research on physical geography and the living environment in China over the past 70 years (1949–2019)

Physical geography is a basic research subject of natural sciences.Its research object is the natural environment which is closely related to human living and development,and China's natural environment is complex and diverse.According to national needs and regional development,physical geographers have achieved remarkable achievements in applied basis and applied research,which also has substantially contributed to the planning of national economic growth and social development,the protection of macro ecosystems and resources,and sustainable regional development.This study summarized the practice and application of physical geography in China over the past 70 years in the following fields:regional differences in natural environments and physical regionalization;land use and land cover changes;natural hazards and risk reduction;process and prevention of desertification;upgrading of medium-and low-yield fields in the Huang-Huai-Hai region;engineering construction in permafrost areas; geochemical element anomalies and the prevention and control of endemic diseases;positioning and observation of hysical geographical elements;and identification of geospatial differentiation and geographical detectors. Furthermore, we have proposed the future direction of applied research in the field of physical geography.