Evaluation method of the ecological benefits of urban green spaces and application conditions

The importance of ecological benefit analyses about green space systems has been widely discussed on the basis of a perceived bias towards the landscaping effect of green spaces to be built in urban areas as opposed to the perception of comprehensive ecological benefits of designed plant communities. Given the basic principle of ecological benefit analyses and evaluation methods widely applied today, the methodology to calculate ecological benefits and to model the expansion of urban green spaces by CITY- green 5.0 and its conditions for application were explored. We propose that aerial images can be substituted by AutoCAD graphics of a green space containing detailed information of plant dispositions by digitizing the key features during the working process in order to evaluate the ecological benefits quickly and to offer proper guidance to the establishment of small scale green spaces in urban areas. The theoretical foundation, potential application range and prospects for extension of the method are introduced by using the analysis of ecological benefits of the green spaces on the campus of Southwest Forestry College, Kunming, as an example.

Ecological Benefits of Compound Ridge Culture in Hillside Orchard in the Three Gorge Reservoir Area

Based on contour tillage of wide ridge and furrow covering and agro-forestry, this paper sets up a compound ridge culture mode in hillside orchards and introduces a long-term observation to the mode＇s effects on ecological benefits of water and soil conservation. A five-year study shows that compound ridge culture in hillside orchards is effective in water and soil conservation, especially in reducing soil erosion. Compared with the traditional management modes of orchards, compound ridge culture has reduced runoff amount by 41.96%-57.96%, soil erosion amount by 55.47%-67.75%. Compound ridge culture also brings an obvious reduction of soil nutrient loss and of non-point source pollution, which is of great importance for keeping and increasing the productivity of hillside orchards in the Three Gorge Reservoir Area.

Evaluation on Regional Ecological Benefits of Windbreak Systems

This paper studied how dynamically to evaluate regional ecological benefits of windbreak systems in a county scale. Data of air temperature. humidity. wind speed, crop yield and forest cover percentage were investigated and collected in some of counties of Heilongjiang Province, where windbreak systems were established in the last thirty years. Through analysis, an evaluation index system estimating regional ecological benetits of windbreak systems was set up, which consists of both a vegetation index system and a climate index systeln. The former includes a forest cover percentage index and a crop yield index; the later does three variable indexes of wind speed, air temperature and humidity. An integrated regional ecological benefit index.was developed through combinations of some coined evaluation indexes from the evaluation system.And to take Zhaozhou County and Anda County as a case study, the regional ecological benetits since establishment of windbreak systems of the two counties were evaluated dynamically using the integrated index.

External Costs and Optimum Use of Nitrogen Fertilizer Based on the Balance of Economic and Ecological Benefits in the Paddy Field System of the Dongting Lake Area, China

The external costs and the optimum use of nitrogen fertilizer based on the balance of economic and ecological benefits was studied with the paddy field system of Dongting Lake area, one of the main food production regions in China. The environmental impact was economically evaluated using methods of the environmental impact economical evaluation. The optimum use of nitrogen fertilizer was calculated based on the exterior diseconomy theory and by using the production function model. Both ecological benefits and farmers＇ economic benefits were considered. It was calculated on the data from 2002 that the losses caused by inappropriate utilization of nitrogen fertilizer in the process of food production were fishery, 0.1 × 10^7 RMB yuan; water treatment, 1.02 × 10^8 RMB yuan; tour business, 0.11 ×10^8 RMB yuan, and habitation environment, 0.3 × 10^7 RMB yuan, totally equivalent to 0.41 RMB yuan kg^-1 N. The economically satisfactory and the ecological agronomic nitrogen fertilizer dose for current production was 138 and 137 kg ha^-1, respectively. The research showed that the actual nitrogen fertilizer application amount in the paddy field system of the Dongting Lake area already reached or exceeded the farmers＇ economic satisfaction and the ecological agronomic nitrogen fertilizer dose for current production. An environmental tax is suggested to impose on over-use of nitrogen fertilizer.

Effects of Enclosure on Grassland Ecological and Economic Benefits in Northern China

Grasslands in northern China serve the country as both an ecological barrier and a livestock production base.There,installing enclosures has been becoming the major grassland restoration measure adopted by many local governments.However,the effects of restoration on both ecological and production benefits of grassland remain unclear for implemented grassland restoration policies.Therefore,a representative rangeland in northern China,the Maodeng pasture in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region was selected as the study area,and remote sensing monitoring analyses were carried out to quantify the ecological benefits and economic benefits from 2015 to 2021.The results showed that:1) in terms of ecological benefits,the grassland area with a grassland coverage rate of more than 60% accounts for 32.3% of the regional area,and 86.4% of its grassland grew significantly better than the same period in2015,showing a significant improvement in grassland growth.Using the average amount of carbon per unit area as the ecological benefit evaluation index,it increased by 27.1% to 32.48Tg C/yr from 2015 to 2021.2) In terms of economic benefits,both theoretical grass production and livestock carrying capacity increased from 2015 to 2021.Compared to 2015,the theoretical grass production in 2021 increased by 24.8% to 71 900 t.The livestock carrying capacity reached 52 100 sheep units in 2021,nearly 11 000 sheep units more than that in 2015.During the study period,multiple economic indicators(on a per capita basis of permanent residents) for the pastoral area of Xilinhot City to which the Maodeng pasture belongs,have grown steadily.Per capita total income rose from 29 630 yuan(RMB) in2015 to 62 859 yuan(RMB) in 2021.Relying on grassland resources to develop the pastoral ecology also broadens the potential economic development space.Overall,the establishment of the reserve and the experiment of implanting an enclosure policy have had a significant and positive impact on Maodeng pasture’s development from both an ecological and economic perspective.With the support of scientific evidence,enclosure policy can be extended to more than 110 000 km~2 of grasslands in northern China with similar precipitation and temperature conditions,enhancing the productive and ecological potential of grasslands.The above research results will contribute to the scientific formulation of grassland pasture quality improvement plans in northern China.

Vegetation ecological benefts index (VEBI): a 3D spatial model for evaluating the ecological benefits of vegetation

Urban population explosion may increase ecological environment discomfort,thereby affecting negatively humans’mental and physical performance.Therefore,it is important to detect and monitor vegetation and predict its ecological benefits.The complex composition of urban environment ground objects,such as steel roofs,plastic courts,and building shadows,significantly interferes with vegetation detection and monitoring.The optimized hyperspectral image-based vegetation index(OHSVI)constructed in this study effectively solves this problem.However,it is difficult to accurately predict the ecological benefits of vegetation based on the two-dimensional vegetation information extracted based on remote sensing images;this is related to the three-dimensional(3D)structure of vegetation and the 3D pattern of buildings.Therefore,wefirst proposed the vegetation ecological benefits index(VEBI)based on the 3D structure of vegetation to reveal how vegetation acts on its 3D surroundings.The method was tested in a playground,an academic building,and a parking space.The results showed that the vegetation extraction accuracy of the OHSVI exceeded 93%,which is better than that of the existing indices.Ourfindings suggest that VEBI may be efficient in predicting 3D vegetation ecological benefits combined with remote sensing and lidar datasets.

Integrated agronomic practice management decreases soil carbon emission and increases environmental ecological benefits of summer maize

Integrated agronomic practice management(IAPM)is an effective strategy for increasing nitrogen(N)use efficiency(NUE)and yield during crop production.Although various studies have evaluated the mechanism of a single agronomic management practice to increase yield and production efficiency and decrease environmental costs,few have investigated the effects of IAPM systems.A field experiment was conducted using four IAPM systems,a local smallholder farmers’practice system(T1),an improved management system(T2),a high-yield production system(T3),and an optimized management system(OMS),to study the annual yield,greenhouse gas(GHG)emissions,carbon(C)footprint(CF),and net environmental ecological benefit(NEEB)of summer maize.The results revealed that OMS was the most advantageous choice of IAPM,which increased yield and NUE and reduced GHG emissions and CF.Under OMS,yield and NUE were 42.6%and 88.1%higher,and N_(2)O,CO_(2),and CH4 emissions were on average 35.4%,5.8%,and 156.5%lower,respectively,than those under T1.Of the four IAPM systems,OMS resulted in the best soil quality,the lowest soil bulk density,the highest soil C/N ratio,and the highest soil total organic C content,which contributed to reduced GHG emissions.Carbon footprint and cost were the lowest under OMS,which decreased fertilizer input and GHG emissions.Optimized management system reduced CF and C cost by 5.9%and 33.9%,respectively,and increased NEEB by 111.4%compared to T1.Although T3 had the highest yield,it also had the highest GHG emissions and CF.In conclusion,OMS delivered a high yield and NUE while mitigating negative environmental impacts and increasing NEEB.Therefore,OMS is a suitable management system to increase the productivity and sustainability of summer maize.

Potential Ecological Benefits of the Middle Route for the South-North Water Diversion Project

This paper presents a study of the middle route of the South-North Water Diversion Project. The middle route runs through the Northern China plain, where the water shortages are the most severe. There is not only a shortage of water for human usage, but also a shortage of ecological water. Although the current plan for the middle route is strictly focused on supplying water for residential and industrial use, the water can also potentially be used for ecological purposes. This paper evaluates the potential ecological benefits that can be brought to the fragile ecology in northern China by the middle route, in addition to the water supplied to residences and industry. The study describes ecological benefits of the middle route project, such as mitigation of groundwater extraction in the region and positive influences on the climate, the ecological uses of the middle route project itself, such as creating artificial niches along the channel and directly using the channel for ecological purposes, and the ecological uses of the water along the middle route such as diversion of the water into dyer channels that have suffered from drought conditions for decades.

Adopting an ecological view of metropolitan landscape: the case of “three circles" system for ecological construction and restoration in Beijing area

Ecological construction and restoration for sustainable development are now a driving paradigm. It is increasingly recognized that ecological principles, especially landscape ecology theory, are not only necessary but also essential to maintain the long-term sustainability worldwide. Key landscape ecology principles—element, structure and process, dynamics, heterogeneity, hierarchies, connectivity, place and time were reviewed, and use Beijing area as a case study to illustrate how these principles might be applied to ecological construction and restoration, to eventually achieve sustainability. An example to more effectively incorporate the ecological principles in sustainable planning in China was presented.

Ecosystem Health and Comprehensive Ecological Benefit Assessment of an Artificial Wetland in Western Jilin Province

[Objective] This research aimed to assess the state of ecosystem health and comprehensive ecological benefit of an artificial wetland in western Jilin Province. [Method] To investigate the effects of reclaimed water from Yingtai Oil Production Plant on the wetland ecosystem, a comprehensive ecological assessment index of an artificial wetland in the west of Jilin Province was established to measure the ecological economic and social benefits. The quantitative evaluation on the ecosystem health and comprehensive ecological benefit of the artificial wetland were carried out from 2003 to 2010 and were measured by means of the square difference method. [Result] After eight years of irrigation by reclaimed water, the levels of ecosystem health and benefit of the artificial wetland improved from Grade IV to Grade II, and the ecological environment, economic and social development of the wetland tended to improve. [Conclusion] The results indicated that the use of reclaimed water for irrigation of wetland ecosystems was a suitable way to control drought in arid and semi-arid regions.

The Ecological Effects of Young Elm Trees Belt-Pumpkin Strip Intercropping System at the Agro-Pastoral Ecotone in Northern China

Young elm trees belt-pumpkin strip intercropping was studied to solve the actual problem of resource losses in the large barren area resulted from reconverting cultivated land into forest in the agro-pastoral ecotone in northern China. The final objective was to realize effective utilization of the barren land with both ecological improvement and economic development. Field experiments were conducted together with laboratory analysis. The results indicated that the soil moisture level was remarkably increased in young elm trees belt-pumpkin strip intereropping because the pumpkin vines covered the gap between pumpkin planting-furrow and elm trees belt. The water use efficiency of the intercropping system was increased by 23.7-163.3% as compared with the single cropping. Elm trees belt-pumpkin strip intercropping changed the sequential succession trend of the grasses growing in the gap of the pumpkin planting-furrow. The annual grasses become the dominant vegetation. The nutritive value as fodder and yield of the annual grasses were also increased remarkably. The biomass of pumpkin, elm trees and grasses under intercropping increased by 24.4, 28.4 and 144.4%, respectively, as compared with those under single cropping. The land use efficiency was increased by 132%. It was also indicated that the soil erosion from the intercropping land was not increased due to pumpkin plantation. The differences in the soil erosion among intercropped area, elm trees belt and pumpkin strip with single cropping were not remarkable. Therefore, it was concluded that young elm trees belt-pumpkin strip intercropping is an effective way to utilize the barren land between the young elm trees belt and realize synergistic enhancement of ecological benefit and economic profit.

Optimization of Green Space Plant Configuration in Residential Areas of Chongqing Central Business District Based on Green Plot Ratio—A Case Study of Xuhui City Residential Community

The current urban green space construction was guided by a two-dimensional index evaluation system, resulting in weak ecological benefits of green space. Green plot ratio (GPR), as a three-dimensional indicator, can characterize the ecological benefits of green areas and the ability of green areas to participate in the operation and regulation of urban ecosystems. As an important component of urban green space, the GPR index was added to the two-dimensional index evaluation system to optimize the green space, which can promote the development of low-carbon, healthy and ecological green space. Based on the research of 22 residential districts in the central city of Chongqing, the Leaf area index (LAI) index of common native garden plants in Chongqing was formed to improve the accuracy of green capacity index measurement in Chongqing. The study also took the residential community of Sunrise City in Banan District of Chongqing as an example, and carried out the optimization design practice from four types of residential community green areas: green areas next to houses, road green areas, concentrated green areas, and green areas attached to public service facilities.

沈阳城市森林结构与生态效益

用样方调查方法对沈阳市建成区163.5km2范围的树木进行实地调查,并建立了基于Arc View 3.2以及CITYgreen模型的城市森林信息管理系统。应用该系统分析了沈阳市土地利用及树木分布的格局、树种柏成、树木密度、树高等级分布、胸径等级分布、健康状况等指标。

果茶人工群落的生态效应及经济效益评价

果茶人工群落的生态效应及经济效益评价魏国雄（贵州省茶叶研究所，潭５６４１００）ＥｓｔｉｍａｔｉｏｎｏｆＥｃｏｌｏｇｉｃａｌＥｆｆｅｃｔａｎｄＥｃｏｎｏｍｉｃＢｅｎｅｆｉｔｏｆＡｒｔｉｆｉｃｉａｌＴｅａ－ＦｒｕｉｔＣｏｍｍｕｎｉｔｙ．￥ＷｅｉＧｕｏｘｉ...

Seasonal dynamics and impact factors of urban forest CO2 concentration in Harbin,China

CO2 concentrations in different plant communities （larch, birch, lilac, and grassland） were measured during the growing season in the Heilongjiang Forest Botanical Garden to study diurnal variation, seasonal and annual dynamics and factors that impact CO2 concentration in different spaces. CO2 concentration in different communities in green lands had an obvious diurnal variation, chronically decreasing, and temperature influenced the lilac area and the grassland. Seasonally, CO2 was lowest in the larch green land （344.03 ±23.03 μmol/mol） and highest in the grassland （360.13 ± 22.43 μmol/mol）. The overall trend in CO2 concentration was autumn 〉 spring 〉 summer; temperature is the main factor controlling variation in CO2 concentrations during the growing season; the CO2 concentration at the larch, birch, lilac, and grassland types of sites was negatively correlated with land surface temperature and air temperature, and the CO2 concentration at the larch and birch sites was positively correlated with atmospheric pressure. Without any obvious annual change law, further study and observation are needed.

Dilemma in the Development of Modern Timber Architecture and Its Countermeasures

Under the context that“peak carbon emissions”and“carbon neutrality”are included in the overall plan for the construction of ecological civilization in China,this paper discusses the value of modern timber architecture as a form of low-carbon and environmental protection movement in the whole life cycle of the construction field.It mainly analyzes the reasons for the limited resources,misunderstandings of inherent concepts,the high cost of comprehensive construction,and the shortage of professionals.Based on that,several countermeasures have been proposed,such as perfecting relevant norms and policies,strengthening technology research and development as well as demonstration guidance,moderately developing forest resources,applying digital construction operation and maintenance technology,as well as cultivating compound professionals,all of which provide a reference for the development of ecological benefits in China’s construction industry.

Application of CITYgreen5.0 model to tender appraisement of small-scale green-space designs

Developed by the American Forests, CITYgreen5.0 model has been widely applied to urban forestry research and has played an important role in analyzing quantitatively the ecological benefits produced by varied green-space ecosystems. One of the functions of this model is to evaluate quickly and objectively on parts of the ecological benefits possibly produced by different design schemes for the same small-scale green-space project before the establishment. A comparative analysis was conducted by modeling partial ecological benefits potentially produced by green-spaces of two different design schemes for the same roof garden of Chuangfushidai-Junjingyuan in Shenzhen, given the growth status of plants both immediately after the establishment and 20 years later. Meanwhile, the project costs for each design scheme were also taken into consideration. The results showed that scheme II, mainly designed with a natural style of plant disposition, had a better greenery structure than that of scheme I, which was basically designed with a regular style of plant disposition. The estimated value of the partial ecological benefits produced by scheme II was larger than that of scheme I and the benefit-cost ratio of scheme II was more rational. It was suggested that scheme II be put into practice.

Recycled Aggregate Pervious Concrete: Analysis of Influence of Water-Cement Ratio and Fly Ash under Single Action and Optimal Design of Mix Proportion

Pervious concrete is recommended,which is of great benefit to the ecological environment and human living environment.In this paper,the influences of five water-cement ratios and four fly ash contents to replace the cement by mass with a water-cement ratio of 0.30 on the properties of Recycled Aggregate Pervious Concrete(RAPC)were studied.Following this,based on the Grey relational-Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution(TOPSIS)optimization method,the strength,permeability,abrasion loss rate,and material costs of RAPC were adopted as evaluation indices to establish a mix proportion optimization model.The results show that the increase of water-cement ratio and fly ash replacement level of RAPC leads to decreased compres-sive strength while an increase in the permeability and abrasion loss rate.According to test results based on the optimal model 0.30 was identified as the best mix proportion.In addition,ecological-economic analysis of RAPC raw materials was carried out by comparing different natural aggregates.The results of EE(embodied energy)and ECO 2e(embodied CO_(2) emission)pointed out that the combination of recycled aggregate and fly ash leads to sig-nificant ecological and economic benefits.

濮阳市城市森林生态功能价值评估

在2006年濮阳市城市林业资源调查的基础上,借鉴有关评价森林生态效益的方法,选取对城市环境影响较大的6个方面,即吸收CO2、释放O2、净化环境、旅游休闲、野生动物保护和节能减排,初步估算出濮阳市城市森林生态功能效益年总价值约为29.51亿元。

Agroecosystem functional assessment and its difficulties

Agroecosystem functional assessment indicators provide a necessary bridge between decision makers and scientists. The development of acceptable indicators, however, remains a difficult task because the current knowledge and understanding of ecosystems is not sufficient to allow an objective assessment of all ecosystem functions. These difficulties were summarized from three perspectives. First, there are difficulties in individual function assessment. Of the four functions associated with agroecosystems energy flow, materials cycling, information flow and value flow data on material cycling and information flow remain difficult to obtain and the indicators relatively immature. Secondly, there are difficulties of integration. During the assessment process, the integration of the agroecosystem functions remains the biggest obstacle. Until now, there has been no practical or effective methodology established to resolve the problem. At present, the makeshift approach has been to weight the various indicators and then add them together. Thirdly, there is the problem of obscure concepts and concept confusion. When assessments of agroecosystems are conducted, concepts such as structure, function, benefit, and resource utilization are used extensively. To date, no logical relationship(either real or implied) has been developed between any of these concepts. Are they causes and results such that the relationship between them is linear, or are they independent from one another such that the relationship is parallel? Thus far, the essence of this question is yet to be explored.