Ecological-Living-Productive Land Classification System in China

Rapid economic development, industrialization, and urbanization aggravates the tense relationship between human beings and the land. With multiple demands for food security, ecological protection and economic development, frequent conflicts and competition occur between multiple different functional land types. The current land use classification system focuses on the productive and living functions of land, but gives little consideration to ecological functions. This study builds a national Ecological-Living-Productive Land Classification System based on land functions emphasizing the concept and position of ecological land. So-called ecological land uses are types of land use regulating, maintaining and protecting ecological security. The new land classification is more flexible for overall planning purposes and for making arrangements for ecological, living and productive land spaces. The Ecological-Living-Productive Land Classification System includes three levels. The first level has four major types: ecological land, ecological-productive land, productive-ecological land, and living-productive land. The second level subdivides the major types into 15 functional land categories, including major ecological regulation land, common ecological regulation land, and ecological conservation land for ecological lands; pasture land, timber land and aquaculture land for ecological-productive lands; arable land and orchard for productive-ecological lands; and urban built-up area, rural living land, and industrial land for living-productive lands. The third level is based on land cover types. Based on multiple data sources, and using a strategy of zoning and re-classification, we extracted the spatial distribution of ecological-living-productive lands on a national scale. The areas of ecological land, ecological-productive land, productive land, and living-productive land area are 6,037,000 km², 1,353,800 km², 2,001,900 km² and 207,300 km², respectively; accounting for 62.89%, 14.10%, 20.85% and 2.16% of total area, respectively. For the second-level classification, the area of ecological conservation land is the largest, accounting for 20.17% of the total area. Ecological land is located mainly in central and western China. Ecological-productive land is distributed in various areas throughout the country, and productive-ecological land and living-productive land are concentrated in eastern China.     

Influencing mechanism of energy-related carbon emissions in Xinjiang based on the input-output and structural decomposition analysis

Analysis of carbon emission mechanism based on regional perspectives is an important research method capable of achieving energy savings and emission reductions. Xinjiang, an important Chinese energy production base, is currently going through a period of strategic opportunities for rapid development. Ensuring stable socio-economic development while achieving energy savings and meeting emission reductions targets, is the key issue currently facing the region. This paper is based on the input-output theory, and conducts a structural decomposition analysis on the factors affecting energy-related carbon emissions in Xinjiang from 1997 to 2007; this analysis employs a hybrid input-output analysis framework of “energy - economy - carbon emissions”. (1) Xinjiang’s carbon emissions from energy consumption increased from 20.70 million tons in 1997 to 40.34 million tons in 2007; carbon emissions growth was mainly concentrated in the production and processing of energy resources, the mining of mineral resources, and the processing industry. (2) The analysis of the direct effects of the influencing factors on carbon emissions showed that the change in per capita GDP, the final demand structure, the population scale, and the production structure were the important factors causing an increase in carbon emissions, while the decrease in carbon emission intensity during this period was the important influencing factor in stopping the growth of carbon emissions. This showed that while the sizes of Xinjiang’s economy and population were growing, the economic structure had not been effectively optimized and the production technology had not been efficiently improved, resulting in a rapid growth of carbon emissions from energy consumption. (3) The analysis of the indirect effects of the influencing factors of carbon emission showed that the inter-provincial export, fixed capital formation, and the consumption by urban residents had significant influence on the changes in carbon emissions from energy consumption in Xinjiang. (4) The growth of investments in fixed assets of carbon intensive industry sectors, in addition to the growth of inter-provincial exports of energy resource products, makes the transfer effect of inter-provincial “embodied carbon” very significant.     

Study of Ecological Compensation for Paddy Fields: Oriented towards Eco-environmental Restoration

Agricultural land provides not only food and fiber (an important element of food security), but also serves as a non-market commodity with characteristic externalities and public services. However, there are also many negative impacts on environment of the paddy production. Thus, Payments for paddy ecosystem services encourage farmers to engage in ecological or organic agricultural practices and agro-ecological/environmental supply. However, compared with forest, wetland, and pasture, the eco-function and ecosystem services of paddy fields have gotten insufficient attention. It is necessary to establish an eco-compensation mechanism for paddy fields that boosts behavior that protects farms to benefit the ecosystem. Based on a review of eco-compensation for paddy fields, this paper proposes the policy game framework of eco-compensation for paddy fields, which is oriented to ecological restoration. Secondly, this paper introduces methods for determination of compensation standards, including the cost the farmers’ willingness to accept, and the ecological benefits of adopting environmental friendly farming practices. And finally, this paper puts forward policy recommendations for eco-compensation for paddy ecosystems.     

Assessment of Terrestrial Ecosystem Sensitivity and Vulnerability in Tibet

The Tibetan Plateau serves an important shelter function for the ecological security of Asia, and especially China. Here, we proposed and improved indicators and methods for assessing the ecological sensitivity and vulnerability of the terrestrial alpine Plateau ecosystems and assessed the freeze-thaw erosion, land desertification, water-caused soil loss, and land salinization sensitivity, together with ecological vulnerability, from the overall ecological sensitivity, ecological pressure, and elasticity aspects in Tibet. The results indicate that the terrestrial ecosystem of Tibet is quite sensitive to freeze-thaw erosion, land desertification and water-caused soil loss. Extremely and highly sensitive regions account for 9.62% and 83.69%, respectively, of the total area of the Tibet Autonomous Region. Extremely and highly vulnerable areas account for 0.09% and 52.61%, respectively, primarily distributed in the Himalayan and Gangdise mountain regions in west Tibet; the Nyainqentanglha, Tanggula, Hoh Xil, and Kunlun mountain regions; and the northwest and northern regions of the Changtang Plateau. The results will aid the development of customized protection schedules according to different ecological issues in each region.     

Overview of Ecological Restoration Technologies and Evaluation Systems

Ecological degradation is a global problem, and ecological restoration technologies have played and will continue to play an important role in its mitigation. However, the lack of systematic research and evaluations of ecological technologies has thus far affected their effective application in vulnerable ecological regions. This study therefore provides an overview of the main technologies for remediating soil and water erosion, desertification, and rock desertification in China and throughout the world. It addresses key issues and recommends approaches for evaluating ecological restoration technologies. Restoration technology emerged as early as 1800. Over the years such technology has changed from single objective applications to multi-purpose, multi-objective applications employing strategies that take into account ecosystem rehabilitation and integrated ecological and socioeconomic development. Along with this technological evolution, different countries have taken pertinent actions as part of their restoration initiatives. However, key issues remain, including the lack of location-specific restoration technologies and a methodological strategy to assess and prioritize existing technologies. This study proposes a four-level analytical hierarchical framework in conjunction with an indicator system that highlights the establishment and adaptation of associative indicators, while also recommending a three-phase evaluation method (TheMert), targeting TheMert to qualitative (quick and extensive) and quantitative (detailed) evaluations in order to select the most appropriate restoration technologies available. This study can also be used as a basis for understanding the evaluation and prioritization of restoration technologies, while increasing the awareness of decision makers and the public on the role of technology in restoring degraded ecosystems.     

Influence of Ecological Technology Measures on the Annual Sediment Load of the Wuding River

The influence of ecological technology measures on the annual sediment loads of rivers complies with the principles of statistics. In this paper, the annual sediment load of the Wuding River is taken as the dependent variable and the rainfall, rainstorms during the flood period of the Wuding River and areas of ecological technology measures are taken as the independent variables to analyze the influence of ecological technology measures on the annual sediment load of the Wuding River during the years 1956 to 2007. This research uses a stepwise regression method. The result shows that 1) the non-linear regression equation composed of three independent variables including 7-8 monthly rainfalls along the Wuding River, areas of ecological technology measures and maximum daily rainfall along the Wuding River has been calculated and set up; the correlation coefficient is R²=0.857 and the significance level is α=0.001. 2) R²=0.717 is adjusted and the regression equation reveals a change of annual sediment load exceeding 71.7% over 52 years; 3) The standardized regression coefficient for ecological technology measure area has the maximum absolute value of the three independent variables shows maximum influence on the change of annual sediment load; and 4) Because of implementing the ecological technology measures, until to year of 2007, when the 7-8 monthly rainfall and maximum daily rainfall are the maximum values in the research section, the annual sediment load is calculated as 149million ton, which is 36% of the maximum value in the history.     

麦盖提斜坡奥陶系碳酸盐岩碳氧同位素特征及其意义

依据实测的塔里木盆地麦盖提斜坡玉北地区41个碳酸盐岩碳氧同位素数据,结合岩石学方法,研究了碳氧同位素的组成、演化及其地质意义。数据显示,δ~(13) C值主要分布在-2.6‰~0.7‰,均值为-1.0‰;δ~(18) O值分布在-9.4‰~-3.5‰,均值为-6.9‰。玉北地区古盐度为118.39~126.34,平均为121.94。奥陶系碳酸盐岩淡水改造作用明显。碳氧同位素的组成和演化不但可以指示沉积环境,而且还与生物生产率以及古海平面变化呈正相关性:δ~(13) C的低值对应于局限台地台内滩亚相沉积环境;δ~(13) C的高值对应于开阔台地滩间海、台内滩亚相沉积环境。碳氧同位素组成还对成岩环境有明显响应:鹰山组δ~(13) C与δ~(18) O均向高负值偏移,表明经历过强烈的表生岩溶作用;蓬莱坝组δ~(13) C低—中负值,δ~(18) O表现为高负值,在白云岩储层中可见鞍状白云石及燧石,主要为深埋藏成岩环境;良里塔格组同位素特征为δ~(18) O高负值,δ~(13) C低正值,并且在进入埋藏岩溶阶段之前还经历过风化壳岩溶作用。     

产业内部结构升级对碳排放的影响——基于OECD主要成员国面板数据的实证分析

人类活动所引起的全球变暖已经成为当前世界各国需共同面对的问题。经济结构性特征是受到广泛认可的区域发展阶段替代指标,因而本文分别选用制造业和服务业产业内部结构为基本视角,对其细化信息进行挖掘,并在经济合作与发展组织（OECD）各主要成员国背景下对碳排放随经济发展阶段推进而演化的过程进行计量分析。结果显示：第一,产业内部结构具备更加丰富的区域经济发展阶段信息,能够在普遍意义上提供判别区域经济发展所处时期的良好标准,为处于不同发展阶段的国家进行差异化碳配额权分配提供参考;第二,制造业和服务业内部产业结构升级的阶段性对照结果说明,碳排放峰值时点滞后于工业化的顶峰位置;第三,人为碳排放在经济发展过程中呈现倒U型的固有演化规律,在工业化顶峰前的碳排放逐步增长是为了维持基本经济发展路径的不可抗趋势。因此,发展中国家在工业化顶峰前不承诺排放达峰具有较高合理性,但仍应通过推进产业结构高级化、发展生产性服务业等举措抑制碳排放增速、尽早实现达峰。     

全球实施碳税政策对碳减排及世界经济的影响评估

该研究模拟了全球各区域2008-2050年的经济发展和碳排放状况,并将该模拟结果设定为基准情景。在基准情景中全球GDP随时间增长,而全球的碳排放同样表现出增长趋势。为了模拟碳税政策的减排效应及其对经济的影响,本文构建了其他3种碳税政策情景。情景1,将碳税收入作为一般性财政收入,此时全球升温减缓,世界碳排放下降显著,但中国、印度、俄罗斯、马来西亚和印度尼西亚等发展中国家经济发展严重受创,世界经济不均衡加剧。情景2,将各区域的碳税收入汇总之后按照比例统一分配,该情景下,世界碳减排规模较情景1略有下降,但世界各区域的经济较基准情景得到更好的发展。情景3,碳税税率随时间阶段性增长,此时,碳税政策对全球升温的控制更显著;世界各区域,尤其是发展中国家（地区）,经济增长更迅速。另外,碳税收入用来提升区域技术进步,在一定程度上促进了产业的优化升级。碳税政策与技术进步的协同减排政策,考虑了区域经济发展的不均衡性,兼顾了气候治理的公平性,是一种有效、可行的全球气候治理政策。     

国际碳税格局及其对中国的启示

本文在总结分析全球已经实施碳税的国家碳税实施情况及其效果,评价分析国内外学者对中国征收碳税的相关研究和科学观点的基础上,针对中国碳税设计提出如下建议：目前实施碳税的大多是发达国家,国际上征收碳税的舆论日益高涨,但国内对碳税征收要素研究还不透彻,依据中国的国情开征碳税环境尚不成熟,未来需要进一步加强对碳税开征各要素的调研。