Sustainability Assessment and Land Use Optimization of Oasis Agro-economic System Based on Emergy Analysis

Oases are important habitats for human survival and development in northwest arid China;however, they are fragile. To realize ecological construction and sustainable development in northwest China, an analysis of the economic and ecological benefits of the oasis system with a focus on sustainability and land use optimization of oasis agro-economic systems are needed. This paper selects Fukang City as a study area. It is located on the northern slope of Mt Tianshan, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The authors discuss the ecological and economic benefits of the oasis system, annual variation and establish an optimized allocation scheme of oasis land use structure in Fukang City based on emergy analysis and linear programming modeling. From 1996 to 2006 the oasis system was in a weak sustainable development state. Ecological and economic benefits analysis of the oasis system based on emergy analysis shows that the development of an oasis system in Fukang City is restricted by land, climate and water resources, being a typical example of the high-input and low-output type. The comparative advantage analysis of oasis cropping based on economics and ecological economics shows that the farming structure will vary across different goals. If the maximum ecological efficiency is pursued, farming structure is determined by emergy density;and if the maximum ecological and economic benefits with limited water resources are pursued, farming structure is determined by the emergy value per unit area of irrigation.

Isolation,Characterization,and Phylogenetic Analysis of Two New Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Virus Strains from the Northern Region of Xinjiang Province,China

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever(CCHF)caused by the CCHF virus(CCHFV)is a tick-borne natural focal disease with a mortality rate of approximately 50%.CCHFV is widely prevalent in Africa,southern Asia,the Middle East,and southeast Europe.CCHF outbreaks have been reported previously in Xinjiang province,China,especially in its southern region.Epidemiological surveys conducted on ticks and animals have revealed the presence of CCHFV strains in ticks,rodents,and infected individuals from cities and counties in southern Xinjiang.Phylogenetic analyses revealed that the Chinese CCHFV strains belong to one genotype,based on complete sequences of the S segments of its negative-stranded RNA genome.The present study reports two new CCHFV strains isolated from Hyalomma asiaticum asiaticum ticks collected from Fukang City and Wujiaqu City in the northern region of Xinjiang.Viral characteristics and their evolutionary relationships were analyzed through metagenomic and reverse-transcription PCR analyses;these analyses indicated that the genotype of both strains was different from that of other Chinese strains.Furthermore,previous reports of CCHFV in Xinjiang were reviewed and phylogenetic analyses were performed.CCHFV was found to prevail in Fukang City in Junggar Basin for more than 20 years,and that Fukang City and Wujiaqu City are considered natural reservoirs of different genotypes of CCHFV strains.Our findings facilitate the understanding of CCHFV distribution in Xinjiang province and provide insights into the evolutionary relationships among Chinese CCHFV strains.