Effects of thinning and understory removal on water use efficiency of Pinus massoniana:evidence from photosynthetic capacity and stable carbon isotope analyses

Understanding the relationship between forest management and water use efficiency(WUE)is important for evaluating forest adaptability to climate change.However,the effects of thinning and understory removal on WUE and its key controlling processes are not well understood,which limits our comprehension of the physiological mechanisms of various management practices.In this study,four forest management measures(no thinning:NT;understory removal:UR;light thinning:LT;and heavy thinning:HT)were carried out in Pinus massoniana plantations in a subtropical region of China.Photosynthetic capacity and needle stable carbon isotope composition(δ^(13)C)were measured to assess instantaneous water use efficiency(WUE_(inst))and long-term water use efficiency(WUE_(i)).Multiple regression models and structural equation modelling(SEM)identified the effects of soil properties and physiological performances on WUE_(inst)and WUE_(i).The results show that WUE_(inst)values among the four treatments were insignificant.However,compared with the NT stand(35.8μmol·mol^(-1)),WUE_(i)values significantly increased to 41.7μmol·mol^(-1)in the UR,50.1μmol·mol^(-1)in the LT and 46.6μmol·mol^(-1)in HT treatments,largely explained by photosynthetic capacity and soil water content.Understory removal did not change physiological performance(needle water potential and photosynthetic capacity).Thinning increased the net photosynthetic rate(A_n)but not stomatal conductance(g_s)or predawn needle water potential(ψ_(pd)),implying that the improvement in water use efficiency for thinned stands was largely driven by radiation interception than by soil water availability.In general,thinning may be an appropriate management measure to promote P.massoniana WUE to cope with seasonal droughts under future extreme climates.

Carrying Capacity and Coupling Coordination of Water and Land Resources Systems in Arid and Semi-arid Areas: A Case Study of Yulin City, China

Quantitatively assessing the carrying capacity of water and land resources systems in arid and semi-arid areas is crucial for achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.In this work,taking Yulin City in China as a case study and employing the Criteria Importance Through Intercriteria Correlation(CRITIC)method,a modified model of coupling degree was developed to evaluate the car-rying capacity of water and land resources systems endowment and utilization,as well as their coupling coordination degree from 2013 to 2020.Our findings indicate that the water and land resources of Yulin are diminishing due to declines in agriculture,higher industrial water use,and wetland shrinkage.However,reallocating domestic water for ecological sustainability and reducing sloping farmland can mitigate this trend of decline.Temporally,as the coupling coordination between water and land resources system endowment in Yulin continuously improved,the coupling coordination between water and land resources system utilization first decreased and then in-creased with 2016 as the turning point.Spatially,the carrying capacity of water and land resources systems,the coupling coordination degree between water and land resources system endowment,and the coupling coordination degree between water and land resources system utilization in Yulin exhibited the same pattern of being higher in the six northern counties than in the six southern counties.Improving the water resources endowment is vital for the highly efficient use of water and land resources.

Integrated water risk early warning framework of the semi-arid transitional zone based on the water environmental carrying capacity (WECC)

Water risk early warning systems based on the water environmental carrying capacity(WECC)are powerful and effective tools to guarantee the sustainability of rivers.Existing work on the early warning of WECC has mainly concerned the comprehensive evaluation of the status quo and lacked a quantitative prejudgement and warning of future overload.In addition,existing quantitative methods for short-term early warning have rarely focused on the integrated change trends of the early warning indicators.Given the periodicity of the socioeconomic system,however,the water environmental system also follows a trend of cyclical fluctuations.Thus,it is meaningful to monitor and use this periodicity for the early warning of the WECC.In this study,we first adopted and improved the prosperity index method to develop an integrated water risk early warning framework.We also constructed a forecast model to qualitatively and quantitatively prejudge and warn about the development trends of the water environmental system.We selected the North Canal Basin(an essential connection among the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region)in China as a case study and predicted the WECC in 25 water environmental management units of the basin in 2018–2023.We found that the analysis of the prosperity index was helpful in predicting the WECC,to some extent.The result demonstrated that the early warning system provided reliable prediction(root mean square error of 0.0651 and mean absolute error of 0.1418),and the calculation results of the comprehensive early warning index(CEWI)conformed to the actual situation and related research in the river basin.From 2008 to 2023,the WECC of most water environmental management units in the basin had improved but with some spatial differences:the CEWI was generally poor in areas with many human disturbances,while it was relatively good in the upstream regions with higher forest and grass covers as well as in the downstream areas with larger water volume.Finally,through a sensitivity analysis of the indicators,we proposed specific management measures for the sustainability of the water environmental system in the North Canal Basin.Overall,the integrated water risk early warning framework could provide an appropriate method for the water environmental administration department to predict the WECC of the basin in the future.This framework could also assist in implementing corresponding management measures in advance,especially for the performance evaluation and the arrangement of key short-term tasks in the River Chief System in China.

Evaluation of Water Resources Carrying Capacity in Gansu Section of Yellow River Basin Based on Fuzzy Comprehensive Evaluation Model

As a basic natural resource and strategic economic resource,the development and utilization of water resources is an important issue related to the national economy and people's livelihood.How to scientifically evaluate the water resources carrying capacity is the premise to improve the regional water resources carrying capacity and ensure the regional water security.The Gansu section of the Yellow River basin is an important water conservation and recharge area.Whether the water resources in this area can ensure the normal operation of the ecosystem and whether it can carry the sustainable development of social economy is the key to realize the high-quality development of the Yellow River basin.In this study,from the three dimensions of water consumption per capita,water consumption of 10000 yuan GDP and ecological water use rate,by constructing the evaluation index system and index grading standard of water resources carrying capacity,the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation model was used to evaluate the water resources carrying capacity of Gansu section of the Yellow River Basin,in order to provide theoretical decision-making basis for the comprehensive development,utilization and planning management of water resources in Gansu section of the Yellow River basin and even the whole basin,and help the high-quality development of the Yellow River basin.

Assessment on the Water Resources Carrying Capacity in Karst Area Based on the Cosine Vector Included Angle

[Objective] The research aimed to assess the water resources carrying capacity in Guizhou Province based on the cosine vector included angle method. [Method] By using the cosine vector included angle method, the index weight was determined. The projection value of water resources carrying capacity in Guizhou Province was counted by using the multi-objective gray relational projection method. Moreover, the projection value which was counted by the index weight determined by the mean-variance method was as the control. [Result] The projection values which were obtained by two kinds of methods were very close, and the ordering result was consistent. [Conclusion] In the assessment of water resources carrying capacity, it was feasible to use the cosine vector included angle method to determine the index weight.

Evaluation Model of Carrying Capacity of Water Resources Based on Standardized Indices of Radial Basis Function

[Objective] The aim was to study on RBF model about evaluation on carrying capacity of water resources based on standardized indices. [Method] The indices were transformed and the averages of standard values in different levels were taken as the standardized values of components of central vectors for basic functions of RBF hidden nodes. Hence, the basic functions are suitable for most indices, simplifying expression and calculation of basic functions. [Result] RBF models concluded through Monkey-king Genetic Algorithm with weights optimization are used in evaluation on water carrying capacity in three districts in Changwu County in Shaanxi Province, which were in consistent with that through fuzzy evaluation. [Conclusion] RBF, simple and practical, is universal and popular.

Effects of Addition of Bee Pollen on Water Holding Capacity of Pork

[ Objective] To explore the effects of different proportion of bee pollen on the water holding capacity of pork in Duroc Landrace x Yorkshire growing-finishing pigs in order to determine the optimal proportion. [ Method] A total of 80 Duroc x Landrace x Yorkshire growing-finishing pigs, weighing （10.0 ± 1.0） kg, were randomly divided into five groups. The experimental period was 120 d including the 5-day pre-feecling period. The corn-soybean meal was not replaced during the whole period. All pigs had free access to feed and water. The pigs were fasting for 24 h but not prohibited from feed before the beginning. Group I was the control group reared with the diet not supplemented bee pollen. The pigs in group II, III ,IV and V were reared with the diet supplemented bee pollen at the concentration of 1%, 3%, 5% and 7%, respectively. After slaughtering, eye muscle was used for determination of water holding capacity through fast filter paper method, drip loss method, cooking loss method and Na- pole yield determination method. [ Resultl With the increase of the proportion of bee pollen, the water holding capacity of pork was first good and then poor. The addition of bee pollen at the concentration of 5% significantly reduced the drip loss of pork and the water holding capacity which was detected by fast filter paper method, but the cooking loss and Napole yield were not significantly influenced. [ Condmion] The bee pollen can effectively improve the water holding capacity of pork in Duroc x Landrace x Yorkshire growing-finishing pigs, and the optimal proportion is 5%.

Distribution of available soil water capacity in China

The available soil water capacity (ASWC) is important for studying crop production, agro-ecological zoning, irrigation planning, and land cover changes. Laboratory determined data of ASWC are often not available for most of soil profiles and the nationwide ASWC largely remains lacking in relevant soil data in China. This work was to estimate ASWC based on physical and chemical properties and analyze the spatial distribution of ASWC in China. The pedo-transfer functions (PTFs), derived from 220 survey data of ASWC, and the empirical data of ASWC based on soil texture were applied to quantify the ASWC. GIS technology was used to develop a spatial file of ASWC in China and the spatial distribution of ASWC was also analyzed. The results showed the value of ASWC ranges from 15 × 10-2 cm3·cm-3 to 22 × 10-2 cm3·cm-3 for most soil types, and few soil types are lower than 15 × 10-2 cm3·cm-3 or higher than 22 × 10-2 cm3·cm-3. The ASWC is different according to the complex soil types and their distribution. It is higher in the east than that in the west, and the values reduce from south to north except the northeastern part of China. The "high" values of ASWC appear in southeast, northeastern mountain regions and Northeast China Plain. The relatively "high" values of ASWC appear in Sichuan basin, Huang-Huai-Hai plain and the east of Inner Mongolia. The relatively "low" values are distributed in the west and the Loess Plateau of China. The "very low" value regions are the northern Tibetan Plateau and the desertified areas in northern China. In some regions, the ASWC changes according to the complex topography and different types of soils. Though there remains precision limitation, the spatial data of ASWC derived from this study are improved on current data files of soil water retention properties for Chinese soils. This study presents basic data and analysis methods for estimation and evaluation of ASWC in China.

Fuzzy Comprehensive Evaluation Model for Water Resources Carrying Capacity in Tarim River Basin,Xinjiang,China

This paper explores the method of comprehensive evaluation of water resources carrying capacity and sets up an evaluation model applying the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method. Based on the data of nature,society,economics and water resources of the Tarim River Basin in 2002,we evaluated the water resources carrying capacity of the basin by means of the model. The results show that the comprehensive grades are 0.438 and 0.454 for Aksu and Kashi prefectures respectively,where the current water resources exploitation and utilization has reached a relative high degree and there is only a very limited water carrying capacity,0.620 for Kizilsu Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture,where water resources carrying capacity is much higher,and in between for Hotan Prefecture and Bayingolin Mongo-lian Autonomous Prefecture. As a whole,the comprehensive grade of the Tarim River Basin is 0.508 and the current water resources exploitation and utilization has reached a relative high degree. Thus,we suggest that the integrated management of the water resources in the basin should be strengthened in order to utilize water resources scientifically and sustainably.

System dynamics model of Suzhou water resources carrying capacity and its application

A model of Suzhou water resources carrying capacity （WRCC） was set up using the method of system dynamics （SD）. In the model, three different water resources utilization programs were adopted： （1） continuity of existing water utilization, （2） water conservation/saving, and （3） water exploitation. The dynamic variation of the Suzhou WRCC was simulated with the supply-decided principle for the time period of 2001 to 2030, and the results were characterized based on socio-economic factors. The corresponding Suzhou WRCC values for several target years were calculated by the model. Based on these results, proper ways to improve the Suzhou WRCC are proposed. The model also produced an optimized plan, which can provide a scientific basis for the sustainable utilization of Suzhou water resources and for the coordinated development of the society, economy, and water resources.

ON REGIONAL DIFFERENTIATION OF RIVER WATER ENVIRONMENT CAPACITY AND STRATEGIES TO CONTROL WATER ENVIRONMENT POLLUTION IN CHINA

China has large population and wide territory, the natural conditions of different regions are complicated. water resources are distributed unbalanced.economic developing states are unequal. For these reasons the variation of concerned water environment capacity has obvious character of regional differentiation. In this paper, from the economic development point of view, the regular pattern of regional differentiation of China's water environment capacity resources is analyzed. the concept of contradictory degree between water environment capacity and economic development is introduced, based on them, rivers in China are divided into three regions, and corresponding strategies to control water pollution are advanced. The aims are to use river water environment capacity resources effectively. to control pollution and to improve environmental quality.

Evaluation of regional water resources carrying capacity based on binary index method and reduction index method

Based on the regional water resources carrying capacity(WRCC)evaluation principles and evaluation index system in the National Technical Outline of Water Resources Carrying Capacity Monitoring and Early Warning(hereafter referred to as the Technical Outline),this paper elaborates on the collection and sorting of the basic data of water resources conditions,water resources development and utilization status,social and economic development in basins,analysis and examination of integrity,consistency,normativeness,and rationality of the basic data,and the necessity of WRCC evaluation.This paper also describes the technique of evaluating the WRCC in prefecture-level cities and city-level administrative divisions in the District of the Taihu Lake Basin,which is composed of the Taihu Lake Basin and the Southeastern River Basin.The evaluation process combines the binary index evaluation method and reduction index evaluation method.The former,recommended by the Technical Outline,uses the total water use and the amount of exploited groundwater as evaluation indices,showing stronger operability,while the latter is developed by simplifying and optimizing the comprehensive index system with greater systematicness and completeness.The mutual validation and adjustment of the results of the above-mentioned two evaluation methods indicate that the WRCC of the District of the Taihu Lake Basin is overloaded in general because some prefecture-level cities and city-level administrative divisions in the Taihu Lake Basin and the Southeastern River Basin are in a severely overloaded state.In order to explain this conclusion,this paper analyzes the causes of WRCC overloading from the aspects of basin water environment,water resources development and utilization,water resources regulation and control ability,water resources utilization efficiency,and water resources management.

Variation Characteristics of Water Environmental Capacity in Poyang Lake under the Scheduling of Three Gorges Reservoir

[Objective] The aim was to study the variation characteristics of water environmental capacity in Poyang Lake under the scheduling of Three Gorges Reservoir.[Method] Choosing chemical oxygen demand (COD),total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) as the control indexes of pollutants in Poyang Lake,the variation characteristics of water environmental capacity in Poyang Lake under the scheduling of Three Gorges Reservoir were analyzed based on the water environment mathematical models of organic compounds and nutrients.[Result] After the operation of Three Gorges Project,high water level in Poyang Lake lasted for a long time in flood season when Three Gorges Reservoir increased discharge volume,while water level went down obviously with the accelerating of recession flow when reservoir decreased discharge volume to store water,so Three Gorges Project had obvious effects on the hydrological regime of Poyang Lake.In 2009,when Three Gorges Reservoir stored water,the water environmental capacity of COD,TN and TP in Poyang Lake in October decreased by 14.0%,15.4% and 15.4% compared with those before operation,while they increased by 3.64%,4.88% and 4.88% in August when reservoir discharged water to prevent flood.[Conclusion] The study could provide scientific foundation for the water pollution control and water environment management of lakes.

Study on the Effects of Natural Factors on Water Conservation Capacity of Qilian Mountain

[Objective]The study aimed at analyzing the effects of natural factors on water conservation capacity of Qilian Mountain.[Method] Based on water conservation quantity,elevation data and SPOT-VEGETATION remote sensing data of Qilian Mountain in 2003,the relationship between water conservation quantity and influencing factors like elevation,slope,aspect and vegetation index varying greatly in the studied area was analyzed quantitatively by means of statistical method,and the effects of natural factors on water conservation capacity of Qilian Mountain were discussed on the basis of water conservation capacity.[Result]In water conservation district of Qilian Mountain,water conservation amount was higher in the region with elevation of 3 600-4 200 m or slope of 15°-40°;sunny slope (with slope of 90°-180°) and the area with high vegetation coverage had the strongest water conservation capacity.[Conclusion]The research could provide scientific references for the management of water resources and vegetation protection in Qilian Mountain.

Carrying Capacity of Water Leisure Environment in Eco-cities-A Case Study of Ancient Canal Scenic Area in Yangzhou City

Water leisure tourism is an emerging theme in urban planning, and its planning mode and operation level directly influence the eco-cycle degree of urban development. Tourism activities inevitably impact environmental quality of urban water spaces, and the research on the environmental carrying capacity of such spaces has also become an important prerequisite of tourism planning. Taking the Yangzhou Ancient Canal Scenic Area for an example, the paper constructed the estimated indicators of water leisure tourism environmental carrying capacity on the basis of analyzing scenic geographical resources and tourism economic conditions, and calculated the scenic area's water leisure tourism environmental integrated carrying capacity by the method of barrel extrapolation, providing a reasonable foundation for evaluating the planning conditions in the eco-cycle urban water leisure tourism planning.

Measurement and assessment of water resources carrying capacity in Henan Province, China

As demands on limited water resources intensify, concerns are being raised about water resources carrying capacity（WRCC）, which is defined as the maximum sustainable socioeconomic scale that can be supported by available water resources and while maintaining defined environmental conditions. This paper proposes a distributed quantitative model for WRCC, based on the principles of optimization, and considering hydro-economic interaction, water supply, water quality, and socioeconomic development constraints. With the model, the WRCCs of 60 subregions in Henan Province were determined for different development periods. The results showed that the water resources carrying level of Henan Province was suitably loaded in 2010, but that the province would be mildly overloaded in 2030 with respect to the socioeconomic development planning goals. The restricting factors for WRCC included the available water resources, the increasing rate of GDP, the urbanization ratio, the irrigation water utilization coefficient, the industrial water recycling rate, and the wastewater reuse rate, of which the available water resources was the most crucial factor. Because these factors varied temporally and spatially, the trends in predicted WRCC were inconsistent across different subregions and periods.

Evaluation of the water resources carrying capacity of Shandong peninsula, China

Research on the carrying capacity and security of water resources is vital for its contribution to implementing sustainable development goals. The limitation of water resources is one of the most important factors that influence the sustainable utilization of resources. Studying the carrying capacity of water resources will not only facilitate monitoring and forecast of national resources and environmental carrying capacity, but also be valuable for building ecological civilization. According to the principles of evaluation system, the carrying capacity of water resources on Shandong peninsula is explored. A comprehensive evaluation model of the carrying capacity of water resources is constructed based on the carrying capacity of water resources index and the composite of water resources index. The results show that the capacity of water resources on Shandong peninsula is generally consistent with overexploitation, and that the development and utilization of water resources has reached a considerable scale under existing economic and technological conditions. The carrying capacity of water resources in this region is relatively small, and the contradiction between supply and demand of water resources is alarming. Relative countermeasures are put forward, to improve the water resources carrying capacity and to provide a basis for future sustainable development and utilization of water resources in this region.

Comprehensive Assessment of Water Environment Carrying Capacity of Yunnan Province

Based on the concept and connotation of water environment carrying capacity, taking Yunnan Province as a case, this paper built water environment carrying capacity evaluation system from the perspectives of water resources, water environment carrying capacity and socio-economic development, and applied the index evaluation model to analyze the trends of water environment carrying capacity in Yunnan from 2006 to 2014. The results showed that, during those years, the evaluation value of water environment carrying capacity ranged from 0.23 to 0.46 in Yunnan Province.The minimum value was 0.23 in 2013, the maximum value was 0.46 in 2010. From 2006 to 2014, the evaluation value of water environment carrying capacity was less than 0.5 in general, and the water environment in a fragile state on the whole.

Determination of complexation capacity of trace metal-organic in natural water

The complexation capacity for heavy metals (Cu, Cd, Pb) were determined by anodic stripping voltammetry in South China Sea, Hulun Lake and Wuliang Suhai. The conditional stability constants and complexation capacity index were calculated. The data showed that the complexation capacity of the Hulun Lake was greater than that of seawater and Wuliang Suhai. The sequence of complexation capacity is C (CuL)> C (CdL)> C (PbL), the values are in concord with results of analysis on dissolved organic carbon. The conditional stability constants were in an opposite sequence: K (CuL)< K (CdL)< K (PbL). When log K are similar, the greater the complexation capacity, the greater the complexation capacity index.

Effects of clam size, food type, sediment characteristic, and seawater carbonate chemistry on grazing capacity of Venus clam Cyclina sinensis (Gmelin, 1791)

Aquaculture in saline-alkaline water has a major problem： microalgal blooming causes the pH of water to increase dramatically, thereby causing damage to the reared organisms. To solve this problem, we set out to find a candidate filter-feeding bivalve species suitable for saline-alkaline water to graze on microalgae and to control the pH. In the current study, we investigated the effect of carbonate alkalinity （CA, 2.5, 10.0, and 20.0 meq/L） and pH （8.0, 8.5, and 9.0） on the grazing capacity （GC） of the clam Cyclina sinensis. Additionally, the effect of clam size （small, medium, and large） and microalgae species （Nannochloropsis oculata, Chaetoceros miielleri, and lsochrysis galbana）, and the effect of bottom sediment characteristic （mud, sandy mud, and muddy sand） and thickness （3 and 6 cm） were analyzed as well. The results show that the GC on L galbana was the highest and small size had the maximum GC/W （W： wet weight including body and shells）. No significant differences were observed between sediment type and thickness. Regarding CA and pH, a significant decrease in GC by the pH or by their interaction was found. The GC ofC. sinensis was not greatly reduced in the treatments ofpH≤8.5 and CA≤20.0, and also not affected by bottom sediment type, indicating that this clam is capable to manage microalgal concentrations and might be a candidate species for pH reduction in saline-alkaline water ponds.