Estimation on Aesthetic Value of Tourist Landscapes in a Natural Heritage Site： Kanas National Nature Reserve, Xinjiang, China

Most world natural heritage sites are designated partly by reason of their prominent aesthetic values in accordance with Article Ⅶ of World Natural Heritage Convention.In this paper, the aesthetic values of Kanas National Nature Reserve, which has potential for such designation, was analyzed quantitatively using scenic beauty estimation(SBE).The landscapes of 19 representative scenic spots in the Kanas National Nature Reserve in summer and autumn were selected as the objects of evaluation.The contributions of different landscape factors to the aesthetic value of the Kanas National Nature Reserve were revealed using a multivariate quantitative model.The main factors affecting the aesthetic value were waterscapes, vegetation, mountains, folk culture and the tourist environment.The t-test and F-test results are extremely significant.According to the results, some suggestions were given for conserving the landscapes in the Kanas National Nature Reserve.     

Quantitative Assessment of Impacts of Regional Climate and Human Activities on Saline-alkali Land Changes： A Case Study of Qian＇an County, Jilin Province

Interdecadal and interannual variations of saline-alkali land area in Qian’an County, Jilin Province, China were comprehensively analyzed in this paper by means of satellite remote sensing interpretation, field flux observations and regional climate diagnosis. The results show that on the interannual scale, the impact of climate factors accounts for 71.6% of the total variation of the saline-alkali land area, and that of human activities accounts for 28.4%. Therefore the impact of climate factors is obviously greater than that of human activities. On the interdecadal scale, the impact of climate factors on the increase of the saline-alkali land area accounts for 43.2%, and that of human activities accounts for 56.8%. The impact of human activities on the variation of saline-alkali land area is very clear on the interdecadal scale, and the negative impact of human activities on the environment should not be negligible. Besides, changes in the area of heavy saline-alkali land have some indication for development of saline-alkali land in Qian’an County.     

Relationship between North Pacific SST anomalies and the atmospheric circulation anomalies in January 2008

Based on the NCEP (National Centers for Environmental Prediction) data, the relationship between the Sea Surface Temperature Anomalies (SSTAs) in the North Pacific and the atmospheric circulation anomalies in January 2008 is analyzed in this study. The SSTA mode most correlated with the Geopotential Height anomalies (GHAs) in January 2008 in the North Pacific exhibited a basin-wide horseshoe pattern with a warm center in November 2007. This persistent SSTA pattern would induce positive GHAs in the Aleutian Low area and East Asia and the northward extension of the West Pacific Subtropical High in January 2008 by maximum diabatic heating in the atmosphere over the Kuroshio Oyashio Extension (KOE) area, leading to the occurence of the circumpolar trough-ridge wave train anomaly in January 2008.     

Crest-height distribution of nonlinear random waves

The wave crest is an important factor for the design of both fixed and floating marine structures. Wave crest height is a dominant parameter in assessing the likelihood of wave-in-deck impact and resultant severe damage. Many empirical and theoretical distribution functions for wave crest heights have been proposed, but there is a lack of agreement between them. It is of significance to develop a better new nonlinear wave crest height distribution model. The progress in the research of wave crest heights is reviewed in this paper. Based on Stokes’ wave theory, an approximate nonlinear wave crest-height distribution formula with simple parameters is derived. Two sets of measured data are presented and compared with various theoretical distributions of wave crests obtained from nonlinear wave models and analysis of the comparison is given in detail. The new crest-height distribution model agrees well with observations. Also, the new theoretical distribution is more accurate than the other methods cited in this paper and has a greater range of applications.     

Antibacterial activity of extracts from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Zostera marina</Emphasis> against pathogens of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Apostichopus japonicus</Emphasis> skin ulceration disease

The purpose of this study was to investigate the antibacterial activity of extracts from Zostera marina against the pathogens of Apostichopus japonicus skin ulceration disease. When 95% ethanol (v/v) solvent was used to extract Zostera marina at 50°C, aqueous extract (ZA) showed obvious bacteriostatic effects on the tested bacterial strains (inhibition halo diameters between 8.23 mm and 13.62 mm), whereas the ethyl acetate extract (ZE) was almost inactive. The minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of ZA against four pathogens were homogeneous at 12.8 g L⁻¹. ZA components were analyzed by thin layer chromatography (TLC) assay and six fractions were obtained. In another study, the six fractions showed inhibitory effects against the tested bacteria while their functions seemed to counteract the ZA activity.     

Species composition and gear characteristics of the <Emphasis Type="Italic">Macrobrachium</Emphasis> fishery of the Cross River Estuary,Nigeria

The Cross River Estuary, Nigeria, is an important shrimping area for artisanal fishermen of the coastal communities. The multi-species Macrobrachium fishery is exploited with three main gears, namely beach seine, push net and trap. Studies on species composition of this fishery recorded thirteen shrimp species, one swimming crab (Callinectes amnicola) and two fish species (Eleotris sp. and Pellonula leonensis). The shrimp species identified included Macrobrachium macrobrachion (83.39% and 55.69% by number and weight, respectively), M. vollenhovenii (9.66% and 37.18%), M. equidens (3.8% and 2.87%), juveniles-sub-adults of Penaeus notialis (1.11% and 1.3%), M. dux, M. felicinum, Palaemonetes africanus, Palaemon maculatus, Palaemon elegans, Desmocaris sp., Leander sp., Nematopalaemon hastatus and Alpheus pontederiae. While the selectivity index for trap was 0.25, beach seine and push net had a lower index of 0.063. The results present the first comprehensive and representative report for the Estuary shrimp fishery and will assist in the management of the biodiversity of this ecosystem.     

Study on the performance of the micropile-mechanically stabilized earth wall

The Micropile-Mechanically Stabilized Earth (MSE) wall, specially designed for mountain roads, is proposed to improve the MSE wall local stability, global stability and impact resistance of roadside barriers. Model tests and the corresponding numerical modeling were conducted to validate the serviceability of the Micropile-MSE wall and the reliability of the numerical method. Then, a parametric study of the stress and deformation of Micropile-MSE wall based on the backfill strength and interfacial friction angle between backfill and backslope is conducted to evaluate its performance. The test results indicate that the surcharge-induced horizontal earth pressure, base pressure and lateral displacement of the wall panel of Micropile-MSE wall decrease. The corresponding numerical results are nearly equal to the measured values. The basic failure mode of MSE wall in steep terrain is the sliding of backfill along the backslope, while A-frame style micropiles are capable of preventing the sliding trend. The maximum resultant displacement can be decreased by 6.25% to 46.9% based on different interfacial friction angles, and the displacement can be reduced by 6% ~ 56.1% based on different backfill strengths. Furthermore, the reduction increases when the interfacial friction angle and internal friction angle of backfill decrease. In addition, the lateral displacement of wall panel, the deformation of backfill decrease and the tension strain of geogrid obviously, which guarantees the MSE wall functions and provides good conditions for mountain roads.     

Tradeoff between the number of firefighting resources and the level of fire ignition prevention efforts in the Republic of Korea

This study explores the tradeoff relationship between the number of initial attack firefighting resources and the level of fire ignition prevention efforts mitigating the probability of human-made fires in the Republic of Korea, where most fires are caused by human activities. To examine this tradeoff relationship, we develop a hybrid model that combines a robust optimization model with a stochastic simulation model. The robust optimization minimizes the expected number of fires not receiving a pre-defined response, such as the number of firefighting resources that must arrive at the fire within half an hour, subject to budget constraints and uncertainty about the daily number and location of fires. The simulation model produces a set of fire scenarios in which a combination of number, location, ignition time, and intensity of fires occur. Results show that fire ignition prevention is as cost-effective as initial attack firefighting resources given the current budget in the Republic of Korea for reducing the expected number of fires not covered by the predefined response. The mixed policy of fire suppression and fire prevention may produce some gains in efficiency relative to the dominant policy of strong fire suppression strategies.     

Spatial downscaling of climate variables using three statistical methods in Central Iran

Spatial downscaling methods are widely used for the production of bioclimatic variables(e.g. temperature and precipitation) in studies related to species ecological niche and drainage basin management and planning. This study applied three different statistical methods, i.e. the moving window regression(MWR), nonparametric multiplicative regression(NPMR), and generalized linear model(GLM), to downscale the annual mean temperature(Bio1) and annual precipitation(Bio12) in central Iran from coarse scale(1 km × 1 km) to fine scale(250 m ×250 m). Elevation, aspect, distance from sea and normalized difference vegetation index(NDVI) were used as covariates to create downscaled bioclimatic variables. Model assessment was performed by comparing model outcomes with observational data from weather stations. Coefficients of determination(R2), bias, and root-mean-square error(RMSE) were used to evaluate models and covariates. The elevation could effectively justify the changes in bioclimatic factors related to temperature and precipitation. Allthree models could downscale the mean annual temperature data with similar R2, RMSE, and bias values. The MWR had the best performance and highest accuracy in downscaling annual precipitation(R2=0.70; RMSE=123.44). In general, the two nonparametric models, i.e. MWR and NPMR, can be reliably used for the downscaling of bioclimatic variables which have wide applications in species distribution modeling.     

Long-term variability of air temperature and precipitation conditions in the Polish Carpathians

Mountain regions are sensitive to climate changes, which make them good indicators of climate change. The aim of this study is to investigate the spatial and temporal variability of air temperature and precipitation in the Polish Carpathians. This study consists of climatological analyses for the historical period 1851-2010 and future projections for 2021-2100. The results confirm that there has been significant warming of the area and that this warming has been particularly pronounced over the last few decades and will continue in the oncoming years. Climate change is most evident in the foothills; however, these are the highest summits which have experienced the most intensive increases in temperature during the recent period. Precipitation does not demonstrate any substantial trend and has high year-to-year variability. The distribution of the annual temperature contour lines modelled for selected periods provides evidence of the upward shift of vertical climate zones in the Polish Carpathians, which reach approximately 350 meters, on average, what indicates further ecological consequences as ecosystems expand or become extinct and when there are changes in the hydrological cycle.