Planning conservation corridors in mountain areas based on integrated conservation planning models: A case study for a giant panda in the Qionglai Mountains

With the accelerated urbanization,human activities pose serious threats to species because of fragmentation.Planning conservation corridors between habitats could improve species mobility in order to address the human disturbance.However,there are a limited number of studies that focus on assessing the effect of human activities on species movement in mountain areas as well as how to integrate different conservation models relating to conservation corridors identification.In our study,we modified the resistance model and took land use data as input parameters to quantify the impacts of human activities in mountain areas.Meanwhile,different conservation planning models,including Circuit model and Least Cost Path(LCP)algorithm,were integrated.Moreover,our approach was applied to identify giant panda corridors in Miarro nature reserve,Caopo nature reserve,and Wolong nature reserve.The results suggested that the impacts of human activities were limited in valley regions due to topography by resistance model.Secondly,Circuit model demonstrated that the conservation corridors for giant panda could not be identified between the Miarro and the Caopo nature reserves.Additionally,more detailed corridors between habitats were planned by the LCP algorithm.Furthermore,we also identified bottlenecks for migration in each corridor,indicating that human activities’interference was the primary cause.Our approach not only could connect habitats for conservation in mountain areas but also found out that the corridor could not be identified between habitats.

Identification of Sustainability Indicators and Evaluation of Transportation Corridors during Construction Using Fuzzy VIKOR Method

Sustainability is popularly defined as meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Social, economic and environmental parameters are most commonly accepted as the three pillars of sustainability. In this paper, various sustainability indicators have been identified during the construction stage for elevated transportation corridors and thereafter classified under various categories. Using fuzzy VIKOR technique, sustainability evaluation of transportation corridors is made on two selected project sites of two different government organizations using various identified sustainability indicators, i.e., a 3.2-km long elevated road project under construction from Vikaspuri to Meerabagh in West Delhi by PWD （Public Works Department） and the metro rail elevated corridor （part） from Punjabi Bagh to Mayapuri as a part of Phase 3, Line 7 by DMRC （Delhi Metro Rail Corporation）. The study is made at both sites in the midst of the construction period and it is identified that during the construction stage, the sustainability of these transportation corridors is just not limited to three pillars, but in actuality, it is much beyond that. From the study, it is inferred that the metro rail elevated corridor is a more sustainable corridor, in the context of the identified sustainability indicators.

SPATIAL PATTERN AND FUNCTION OF CORRIDORS IN WETLANDS OF LIAOHE DELTA

Corridors are special patches with narrow and long shape, and often have the functions as transportation,protection, resources and aesthetics. Corridors in the study area can be classilied into 8 types, with a total length of 5167. 2 km, and conidor density of 1. 25 km/km2. The conidore are mainly composed of irrigation and drainag canals,the total length of which is 2794 km,about 54. 1% of all the corridors. The conidors have segmented the landscape, and changed the original situation of the natural landscapes. The types of conidors are clooely related to the landscape types they are distributed in. Canals are maily distributed in the wetland landscapes, while roads are mainly in the built-up area. Dikes are always along rivers or coastlines. The conidors are most densely distributed wherever human activity occurs most bouendy, such as in the artifical wedlands of paddy fields.

Travel modal choice analysis for traffic corridors based on decision-theoretic approaches

The rapid development of multimodal transportation system prompts travellers to choose multiple transportation modes, such as private vehicles or taxi, transit(subways or buses), or park-and-ride combinations for urban trips. Traffic corridor is a major scenario that supports travellers to commute from suburban residential areas to central working areas. Studying their modal choice behaviour is receiving more and more interests. On one hand, it will guide the travellers to rationally choose their most economic and beneficial mode for urban trips. On the other hand, it will help traffic operators to make more appropriate policies to enhance the share of public transit in order to alleviate the traffic congestion and produce more economic and social benefits. To analyze the travel modal choice, a generalized cost model for three typical modes is first established to evaluate each different travel alternative. Then, random utility theory(RUT) and decision field theory(DFT) are introduced to describe the decision-making process how travellers make their mode choices. Further, some important factors that may influence the modal choice behaviour are discussed as well. To test the feasibility of the proposed model, a field test in Beijing was conducted to collect the real-time data and estimate the model parameters. The improvements in the test results and analysis show new advances in the development of travel mode choice on multimodal transportation networks.

Integration control for traffic corridors considering guidance information

The problem of designing integration traffic strategies for traffic corridors with the use of ramp metering, speed limit, and route guidance is considered in this paper. As an improvement to the previous work, the presented approach has the following five features： 1） modeling traffic flow to analyze traffic characteristics under the influence of variable speed limit, on-ramp metering and guidance information; 2） building a hierarchy model to realize the integration design of traffic control and route guidance in traffic corridors; 3） devising a multi-class analytical dynamic traffic assignment （DTA） model for traffic corridors, where not only the route choice process will be different for each user-class, but also the traffic flow operations are user-class specific because the travel time characteristic for each user-class is considered; 4） predicting route choice probabilities adaptively with real-time traffic conditions and route choice behaviors corresponding to variant users, rather than assuming as pre-determined; and 5） suggesting a numerical solution algorithm of the hierarchy model presented in this paper based on the modified algorithm of iterative optimization assignment （IOA）. Preliminary numerical test demonstrates the potential of the developed model and algorithm for integration corridor control.

The Challenges Faced on Transit Transport Corridors by Landlocked Countries in Central Africa: Literature Review

The landlocked countries are the one without access to the sea and can be assimilate as countries around the world with a disadvantage of geography situation location. Chad and the Central African Republic are two of the 40 landlocked countries around the world that transport 80% of their goods by road and rail, and as much as almost more than 50% of their passengers through a transit country with a transit transport system which is crucial for their trade and exchanges. The study aims to introduce the importance to have a good and efficiency transport network infrastructure in Central Africa to facilitate the trade for the landlocked countries of Central Africa (Chad and the Central African Republic), member of CEMAC trade area and proposes some measures that can be adopted to improve their conditions and ameliorate the trade for those countries.

Spatial planning for urban ventilation corridors by urban climatology

Ventilation corridors in cities can decrease air pollution and alleviate heat island problems but there remains a need to fully assess their effectiveness.Few urban managers have been able to take city-scale approaches to the construction of urban ventilation corridors.This study aimed to introduced the Ventilation Corridor Planning(VCP)model,which is a multi-criteria evaluation method combined with a geographical information system(GIS)to determine where the ventilated environment is most appropriate.Specifically,the VCP model took Bozhou,China as the research object and contained two scales,including mesoscale and local scale.In mesoscale scale,we got three outputs to build urban ventilation corridors,including 1)background wind environment,2)ventilation potential,3)heat island intensity.In local scale,we used traditional computational fluid dynamics(CFD)model to verify the impact of VCP criteria.The results revealed that compared with the traditional CFD model,the proposed VCP model has advantages in establishing a comprehensive evaluation standard.In addition,the application of VCP model in macro and micro also enhances the efficiency of ventilation corridor construction.Overall,this study introduced a effective modeling method to urban ventilation corridors planning,and provide a way to study the urban climate.

Changes in vegetation and soil properties following 6 years of enclosure in riparian corridors

Aims Riparian corridors play vital roles in the maintenance of biodiversity.Nonetheless,plant species diversity and vegetation coverage in riparian corridors are seriously threatened by increasing pressure owing to livestock consumption and anthropogenic disturbance;even the stability of river courses has been threatened.The establishment of enclosures is a widely used strategy to restore degraded grassland ecosystems,but its impact on degraded herbaceous riparian vegetation and soil properties remains unclear.The aim of this study was to evaluate whether species composition,richness,diversity,and soil properties can be recovered by the enclosure.Methods Twenty long-term monitoring sample plots were set in the Liaohe main stream river,Liaohe main stream river was enclosed for grazing and farmland exclusion in 2012.The height,coverage and individual numbers of plant were recorded for species richness and diversity evaluation from 2012 to 2017;soil nutrients were measured for comparative analysis in 2012 and 2017.We examined the effects of the establishment of enclosures on plant species diversity and soil properties from 2012 to 2017 in the riparian corridors of the Liaohe River system in China.Important Findings Plant species richness and diversity significantly increased from 2012 to 2017.The dominance of Asteraceae plants increased,while the abundance of Gramineae plants decreased over time.The difference in abundance increased each year since enclosure was implemented in 2012.The concentrations of phosphorus and potassium in the soil significantly decreased as a result of the combined effects of vegetation restoration and prohibition of farming practices following the establishment of enclosures.There was also a lag time related to the response of soil organic matter to the establishment of enclosures.In conclusion,our study provides new evidence regarding the response of species diversity,species composition and soil properties following riparian vegetation restoration efforts through enclosure development.

Assessment of the socioeconomic development levels of six economic corridors in the Belt and Road region

Recent years have witnessed rapid and widespread economic growth in regions involved in China’s Belt and Road Initiative(BRI),mainly due to the construction of six economic corridors.This paper aims to quantify the levels of six economic corridors according to the socioeconomic development levels in the BRI regions.Here,a gridded socioeconomic development index was first created,and a dividing line was drawn to reveal the distribution characteristics of socioeconomic development in the BRI regions.A classification method was then applied to identify local development levels.Finally,we created an economic corridor development index(ECDI)to evaluate the progress of six economic corridors.The results reveal spatial heterogeneity within the socioeconomic groups of BRI regions,which can be roughly divided into offshore(or Part A,50.54%)and inland(or Part B,49.46%)areas.Although both parts comprise roughly the same area,over 95%of the population is located in offshore regions.The China–Mongolia–Russia Economic Corridor has the highest development index due to a stable political environment and long-running cooperation.The China–Pakistan Economic Corridor suffers from the lowest ECDI but with strong development potential.Our methods can provide critical reference and practice for the future evaluation of the level of regional development.The results of this study can offer policymakers some insight into reducing socioeconomic inequality in the BRI regions.

Spatiotemporal pattern of climate change in the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor from 1901 to 2018

The China-Myanmar Economic Corridor(CMEC) is an important part of China's Belt and Road Initiative and an important area for global ecology and biodiversity. In this study, the annual and seasonal spatiotemporal patterns of temperature and precipitation in the CMEC over the past century were investigated using linear tendency estimation, the Mann-Kendall mutation test, the T-test, and wavelet analysis based on the monthly mean climatic data from 1901 to 2018 released by the Climatic Research Unit(CRU) of the University of East Anglia, UK. The results show that the CMEC demonstrated a trend of warming and drying over the past 100 years, and the rate of change in Myanmar was stronger than that in Yunnan Province of China. The warming rate was 0.039 ℃/10a. Precipitation decreased at a rate of -6.1 mm/10a. From the perspective of spatial distribution, temperature was high in the central and southern, low in the north of the CMEC, and the high-temperature centers were mainly distributed in the southern plain and river valley. Precipitation decreased from west to east and from south to north of the CMEC. From the perspective of the rate of change, warming was stronger in central and northern CMEC than in southern and northeastern CMEC. The rate of precipitation decline was stronger in the central and western regions than in the eastern region. This study provides a scientific reference for the CMEC to address climate change and ensure sustainable social and economic development and ecological security.

Dynamic response of mountain tunnel,bridge,and embankment along the Sichuan-Tibet transportation corridor to active fault based on model tests

The Sichuan-Tibet transportation corridor is prone to numerous active faults and frequent strong earthquakes.While extensive studies have individually explored the effect of active faults and strong earthquakes on different engineering structures,their combined effect remains unclear.This research employed multiple physical model tests to investigate the dynamic response of various engineering structures,including tunnels,bridges,and embankments,under the simultaneous influence of cumulative earthquakes and stick-slip misalignment of an active fault.The prototype selected for this study was the Kanding No.2 tunnel,which crosses the Yunongxi fault zone within the Sichuan-Tibet transportation corridor.The results demonstrated that the tunnel,bridge,and embankment exhibited amplification in response to the input seismic wave,with the amplification effect gradually decreasing as the input peak ground acceleration(PGA)increased.The PGAs of different engineering structures were weakened by the fault rupture zone.Nevertheless,the misalignment of the active fault may decrease the overall stiffness of the engineering structure,leading to more severe damage,with a small contribution from seismic vibration.Additionally,the seismic vibration effect might be enlarged with the height of the engineering structure,and the tunnel is supposed to have a smaller PGA and lower dynamic earth pressure compared to bridges and embankments in strong earthquake zones crossing active faults.The findings contribute valuable insights for evaluating the dynamic response of various engineering structures crossing an active fault and provide an experimental reference for secure engineering design in the challenging conditions of the Sichuan-Tibet transportation corridor.

Experimental and numerical interpretation on composite foundation consisting of soil-cement column within warm and ice-rich frozen soil

Affected by climate warming and anthropogenic disturbances, the thermo-mechanical stability of warm and ice-rich frozen ground along the Qinghai-Tibet engineering corridor(QTEC) is continuously decreased, which may delay the construction of major projects in the future. In this study, based on chemical stabilization of warm and icerich frozen ground, the soil-cement column(SCC) for ground improvement was recommended to reinforce the foundations in warm and ice-rich permafrost regions. To explore the validity of countermeasures mentioned above, both the original foundation and the composite foundation consisting of SCC with soil temperature of -1.0℃ were prepared in the laboratory, and then the plate loading tests were carried out. The laboratory investigations indicated that the bearing capacity of composite foundation consisting of SCC was higher than that of original foundation, and the total deformation of original foundation was greater than that of composite foundation, meaning that overall stability of foundation with warm and ice-rich frozen soil can be improved by SCC installation. Meanwhile, a numerical model considering the interface interaction between frozen soil and SCC was established for interpretating the bearing mechanism of composite foundation. The numerical investigations revealed that the SCC within composite foundation was responsible for the more applied load, and the applied load can be delivered to deeper zone in depth due to the SCC installation, which was favorable for improving the bearing characteristic of composite foundation. The investigations provide the valuable guideline for the choice of engineering supporting techniques to major projects within the QTEC.

Impacts of road on plant invasions in the Middle Mountain region of central Nepal

Biological invasion is triggered by human development activities such as the construction and expansion of road networks.Road verges serve as important habitats and corridors for the distribution of invasive alien plant species(IAPS)between geographically distant habitats.However,the trajectory of plant invasion and the data regarding the impact of roads on IAPS distribution are relatively poor in Nepal.Here,we surveyed two road types(main roads and feeder road)in the Middle Mountain region of central Nepal in order to investigate how different road types are driving the dispersal of IAPS along road verges and the adjacent natural habitats.Systematic sampling was conducted at ca 2.5 km intervals along the roads.At each sampling site,paired plots(25 m×4 m)were sampled:one adjacent to and along the road,and another 20 m away and parallel to it in the interior habitat.Our results revealed that the main road verges had a higher cover(33%)and a larger number of IAPS(14 species)than the feeder road(25%;10 species).The IAPS cover and richness were significantly higher along verges than in the adjacent interior habitats for both road types,indicating that roads are contributing as corridors for the dispersal of IAPS in the Middle Mountain areas of central Nepal.Further,elevation,tree canopy,and disturbances(grazing/mowing/trampling)were found to be the key factors that determine spatial distribution of IAPS along road verges.We emphasize that regular monitoring of vegetation along the road verges can help with the early detection and control of potential IAPS in the region before they become problematic.

Genetically-and environmentally-dependent processes drive interspecific and intraspecific divergence in the Chinese relict endemic genus Dipteronia

China is a hotspot of relict plant species that were once widespread throughout the Northern Hemisphere.Recent research has demonstrated that the occurrence of long-term stable refugia in the mountainous regions of central and south-western China allowed their persistence through the late Neogene climate fluctuations.One of these relict lineages is Dipteronia,an oligotypic tree genus with a fossil record extending to the Paleocene.Here,we investigated the genetic variability,demographic dynamics and diversification patterns of the two currently recognized Dipteronia species(Dipteronia sinensis and D.dyeriana).Molecular data were obtained from 45 populations of Dipteronia by genotyping three cpDNA regions,two single copy nuclear genes and 15 simple sequence repeat loci.The genetic study was combined with niche comparison analyses on the environmental space,ecological niche modeling,and landscape connectivity analysis.We found that the two Dipteronia species have highly diverged both in genetic and ecological terms.Despite the incipient speciation processes that can be observed in D.sinensis,the occurrence of long-term stable refugia and,particularly,a dispersal corridor along Daba Shan-west Qinling,likely ensured its genetic and ecological integrity to date.Our study will not only help us to understand how populations of Dipteronia species responded to the tectonic and climatic changes of the Cenozoic,but also provide insight into how Arcto-Tertiary relict plants in East Asia survived,evolved,and diversified.

Genomic analysis provides insights into the westward expansion of domesticated peaches in China

Peach, an economically important model plant of the Rosaceae family, has been domesticated and cultivated in China for approximately5 000 years. The Hexi Corridor, an important corridor connecting east-central China and the Tarim Basin, is the starting point of the Silk Road that links China and the Eurasian region. As a globally distributed fruit tree, the spread of peach was accomplished through historical trade routes in the Hexi Corridor and the Tarim Basin. However, knowledge of peach genetic diversity in these regions remains limited. In this study,we examined the relationships and the spread history of domesticated peaches through sequencing and genomic analysis of 161 peach accessions collected from Northwest China, including 43 from the Hexi Corridor and 104 from the Tarim Basin. The results indicate that peach landraces in the Hexi Corridor and the Tarim Basin are derivatives of peaches from the east and south of China (ESC). Notably, the genetic diversity of accessions from both the Hexi Corridor and the Tarim Basin was lower than that of ESC accessions. Reduction of diversity (ROD) and linkage disequilibrium (LD) analyses detected a genetic bottleneck in peaches from these regions. Additionally, these peaches have undergone varying degrees of selection from natural environment. Moreover, genes responsive to biotic and abiotic stresses were under selection, which could be the result of the climate change of Northwest China after the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Our findings provide a better understanding of the genetic basis of peach migration in Northwest China. Furthermore, this study expands the available genomic data for peaches and provides critical information for future peach breeding programs.

The changes in the annual distribution of mountain runoff during the period of 1965-2018 in Hexi Corridor,Northwest China

The annual distribution characteristics of river runoff in arid regions have significant implications for water resource stability and management.Based on the mountain runoff data from 1965 to 2018,this study examines the annual change characteristics of monthly runoff of the Shiyang River Basin,Heihe River Basin,and Shule River Basin in the Hexi Corridor,Northwest China.Many indexes are used and analyzed,including the coefficient of variance,the complete regulation coefficient,the concentration degree and concentration period,the magnitude of change,the skewness coefficient,and the kurtosis coefficient of the annual distribution curves.The results reveal the following:(1)The inhomogeneity of annual runoff distribution in the Taolai River and the rivers to the west of it,except the Shiyou River,show an increasing trend.Conversely,the inhomogeneity of the rivers to the east of the Taolai River generally show a downward trend,but the coefficient of variance value is still very high.(2)In the Shiyang River Basin,the annual distribution of the concentration period is characterized by a relatively discrete pattern.Conversely,the Heihe River Basin exhibits a relatively concentrated pattern,and the distribution pattern of the Shule River Basin is quite different.Notably,all concentration periods in the three basins have shifted backward after the 2000s.(3)The Shiyang River Basin exhibits disordered annual distribution curves of runoff in different years.In contrast,the Heihe River Basin presents a typical‘single-peak’pattern with a prominent right-skewed.The Shule River Basin has regular distribution curves,with a gradually significant‘double-peak’pattern from east to west.Overall,there has been a slight change in runoff in the Shiyang River Basin,while the Heihe River Basin and Shule River Basin have experienced significant increases in runoff.The annual distribution curves of runoff in the Liyuan River and the rivers to the east of it exhibit a gentle peak pattern,and the appearance probability of extreme runoff during the year is low.Conversely,the rivers to the west of the Liyuan River,excluding the Danghe River,display a sharp peak and thick tail pattern,indicating that the appearance probability of extreme runoff during the year is high.These findings have practical implications for the planning and management of water resources in the Hexi Corridor.Moreover,they provide a solid foundation for predicting future changes in regional water resources.

AI动画如何解决“闪烁”缺陷

随着AI技术的不断突破,现阶段的AIGC软件已经具备了多种生成动画的功能。但是,由于每一帧画面的整体风格与形象细节不统一,传统AIGC软件所生成的动画往往存在画面“闪烁”的缺陷。针对这一问题,相关人士通过改善制作流程和动画生成算法的方式,对AI动画的创作模式进行了探索与改进。文章通过分析Corridor团队和Ebsynth插件的创作模式,总结出现今AI动画制作在稳定图像噪点、处理图像素材、动画自动补间等方面的技术升级特点,并在此基础上分析现今AIGC软件在自动化、智能化等方面的发展现状,并对AI动画的发展趋势进行了展望。

Lithostructural Control of the Gold Mineralization of the Douta Permit of African Star Resources (Kédougou-Kéniéba Inlier, Southeastern Senegal)

The Douta permit of African Star Resources/Thor Explorations, located in the southeast of Senegal, in the Kédougou-Kéniéba Inlier (western part of the West African Craton), is dominated to the East by metasedimentary formations such as greywackes, shales, graphitic shales, quartzites, cherts, claystones and breccias characteristic of the Dialé-Daléma basin. To the West, the mafic formations of the Mako volcanic belt are the most common. Metasedimentary rocks are associated with metavolcanosedimentary terms found at the contact zones between the two (2) Birimian groups. These different geological formations are cut by mafic dolerite and gabbro sills and/or dykes, as well as quartz and microgranite veins. The Douta gold project is crossed from North to South by the MTZ (Main Transcurrent Zone), generally oriented NE-SW and becoming N-S towards the North. The permit is characterized by several shear corridors. The rocks are affected by brittle, brittle-ductile to ductile deformations. The gold mineralization is hosted by a NE-trending shear corridor called the Makosa corridor (Makosa shear zone), therefore sub-parallel to the MTZ. It has a subvertical dip (75˚ to 85˚ to the NW). It is associated with a hydrothermal phase characterized by quartz-sericite-epidote-fine, disseminated pyrite and arsenopyrite ± albite ± chlorite paragenesis. These minerals testify to the existence of a low degree of metamorphism (greenschist facies, epizonal domain) in the area. However, metamorphism reaches amphibolite facies in some places, particularly in the vicinity of intrusive bodies, with the presence of hornblende (amphiboles) and plagioclase. The gold mineralization is mainly hosted by two (2) metasedimentary lithological units: meta-greywackes and shales.

A Study of the English Translation of Characteristic Cuisines of the Hexi Corridor from the Perspective of Multimodal Discourse Analysis

Given the diversity of geographical and cultural backgrounds,it is difficult to find precise counterparts of many food-related vocabularies in the unique dietary culture of the Hexi Corridor in the target language,making it challenging to fully convey the essence of its local dietary culture in translation.To achieve the purpose of translation,the theory of multimodal discourse analysis provides an ideal translation approach through the language mode,image mode,sound mode,and the synergistic effect of multimodalities,which can accurately address the deficiencies in the translation of dietary culture.Through this research,it is not only possible to highlight the unique charm of the dietary culture of the Hexi Corridor but also to build a bridge for its international dissemination,promoting cross-border cultural exchanges and mutual understanding.

Identifying ecological corridors for Amur tigers(Panthera tigris altaica)and Amur leopards(Panthera pardus orientalis)

The rapid explosion of human populations and the associated development of human-dominated landscapes have drastically reduced and fragmented habitat for tigers(Panthera tigris)and leopards(Panthera pardus)across Asia,resulting in multiple small populations.However,Amur tiger(Panthera tigris altaica)habitat in Russia has remained largely interconnected,except for a break between tigers in southwest Primorye and the southern Sikhote-Alin Mountains.This habitat patch in southwest Primorye also retains the last population of Amur leopards(Panthera pardus orientalis).Genetic differentiation of tigers in southwest Primorye and the Sikhote-Alin Mountains along with survey data suggest that habitat fragmentation is limiting movement of tigers and leopards across the Razdolnaya River basin.We looked at historical and recent survey data on tigers and leopards and mapped existing cover types to examine land-use patterns of both large felids and humans in the development strip along the Razdolnaya River.We then used least-cost distance analyses to identify the most effective potential corridor to retain connectivity for large felids between Land of the Leopard National Park and Ussuriskii Zapovednik(Reserve).We identified a single potential corridor that still exists with a total distance of 62.5 km from Land of the Leopard National Park to Ussuriskii Zapovednik,mostly(93%)through forested habitat.We recommend formal recognition of a Razdolnaya ecological corridor and provide specific recommendations for each of 3 proposed management sections.