Changing regularity of plant and insect community characteristics due to pest outbreaks in Larix principis- rupprechtii plantations

Research has indicated that simple forest eco-system composition,structure and diversity have uncompli-cated community relationships and insufficient pest control capabilities.To investigate changing characteristics of plant and insect communities in under pest outbreaks in Larix principis-rupprechtii plantations,the research areas were defined as mature(48–50 years)and young(24–29 years)infested stands along with healthy stands.The results show a reduction in the complexity and diversity of plant communi-ties and herbaceous plant guilds(polycultures of beneficial plants)and the complexity and dominance of insect com-munities,especially natural insect enemies.The results also show the relative simplicity of the main factors of commu-nity change and development that represent the characteris-tics of pest outbreaks in L.principis-rupprechtii plantations.The complexity and diversity of plant communities,particu-larly herbaceous plant guilds play a fundamental role in the regulation and development in forest ecosystems.

Succession of nine plateau lakes and regulation of ecological safety in Yunnan Province

The Nine plateau lakes are those lakes whose areas are larger than 30km2 in Yunnan province.These lakes are Dianchi Lake,Erhai Lake,Fuxian Lake,Chenghai Lake,Lugu Lake,Qilu Lake,Xingyun Lake,Yangzonghai Lake,and Yilong Lake.The nine plateau lakes are important for economic development and for ecological security.However,all lakes are facing different environmental issues such as eutrophication and water quality degradation.Different strategies should be proposed according to the various conditions of the lakes.Three types of prevention,control and treatment strategies were proposed based on the succession process,the ecology stages,the economic and social development,the eutrophication stages,the water qualities,and the dominant ecological functions.

Study on Planning an Ecological Stormwater Regulation System Based on Low Impact Development Mode： A Case Study in China

This paper sets Chaihu Town, Zhongxiang City of Hubei Province as an example, analyzing the ecological and hydrological conditions of Chaihu Town, applying LID （low impact development） mode and putting forward the ecological stormwater regulation system planning strategy which adapts to the development of small towns. The main conclusions are as follows： （1） The ＂three-low＂ development mode is put forward, which means low impact, low cost and low carbon, using this construction mode to minimize the ecological impact, relying on natural green space and water to achieve the function of rainstorm regulation; （2） Through the analysis and calculation of the local amount of precipitation, this paper scientifically calculates the required area of storage water and green space, taking the roads as trunks, green spaces as stems, water as veins, and building the green infrastructure system; （3） The author has been repairing and integrating the original drainage ditches of the planning area, replacing traditional rain drainage pipes, establishing ＂two-loop＂ water network system which aims at the detention and purification of rainwater, maximizing ecological benefit, economic benefit and landscape benefit.

Integrating beneficiaries into assessment of ecosystem services from managed forests at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest,USA

Background：Forests contribute to human wellbeing through the provision of important ecosystem services.Methods：In this study,we investigated how the perceived importance of ecosystem services may impact the overall benefit provided by managed watersheds at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest over a 45-year period,using standardized measures of service capacity weighted by service importance weights derived from a survey of beneficiaries.Results：The capacity of watersheds to regulate water flow and quality was high in all watersheds throughout the study period,whereas cultural services such as scenic beauty declined after harvest.Impacts on greenhouse gas regulation depended on the efficiency with which harvested biomass was used.Surveys revealed that stakeholders placed high value on all ecosystem services,with regulating and cultural services seen as more important than provisioning services.When service metrics were weighted by survey responses and aggregated into a single measure,total service provision followed the same overall trend as greenhouse gas regulation.Where biomass use was less efficient in terms of greenhouse gas emissions,harvesting resulted in an overall ＂ecosystem service debt＂;where use was more efficient,this ＂ecosystem service debt＂ was reduced.Beneficiaries＇ educational backgrounds significantly affected overall assessment of service provision.Beneficiaries with college or university degrees incurred smaller ＂ecosystem service debts＂ and were less negatively affected by harvesting overall.Conclusions：This study highlights the importance of including empirical measures of beneficiary preference when attempting to quantify overall provision of ecosystem services to human beneficiaries over time.

The homeodomain-containing transcription factor, Gh HOX3, is a key regulator of cotton fiber elongation

Recently,Chen and colleagues from Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology of Chinese Academy of Sciences,in collaboration with scientists from Nanjing Agricultural University and from the US,have identified a homeodomain（HOX）-containing transcription factor that plays a central role in controlling cotton fiber elongation.

Ecosystem Regulating Services and Their Valuation of Hainan Island,China

Ecosystem services were defined as the conditions and processes through which natural ecosystems, and the species that make them up, sustain and fulfill human life. They include provisioning, regulating, cultural, and supporting services. These form the basis on which regional environmental reserves and development are assessed and for the valuation of ecosystem services. In this paper Hainan Island is used as an example to explore methods of regulating services based on the structure and processes of a natural ecosystem. Ecosystems were classified into 13 types： valley rain forest, mountainous rain forest, tropical monsoon forest, mountainous coppice forest, mountainous evergreen forest, tropical coniferous forest, shrubs, plantation, timber forest, windbreak forest, mangrove, savanna, and crop land. Regulating services and their economic values for Hainan Island ecosystems were assessed and evaluated in terms of water-holding, soil conservancy, nutrient cycle, C fixation and windbreak functions. The economic value of the regulating services in 2002 were estimated at 2035.88×10^8 to 2153.39×10^8 Chinese Yuan （CNY）, which was eight times the value of provisioning services （wood and agricultural products）, estimated at just 254.06×10^8 CNY. Our analyses imply that ecosystem regulating services play a very important role in the sustainable development of Hainan Island＇s society and economy.

An EcoCity model for regulating urban land cover structure and thermal environment： Taking Beijing as an example

Urban land-use/cover changes and their effects on the eco-environment have long been an active research topic in the urbanization field. However, the characteristics of urban inner spatial heterogeneity and its quantitative relationship with thermal environment are still poorly understood, resulting in ineffective application in urban ecological planning and management.Through the integration of "spatial structure theory" in urban geography and "surface energy balance" in urban climatology, we proposed a new concept of urban surface structure and thermal environment regulation to reveal the mechanism between urban spatial structure and surface thermal environment. We developed the EcoCity model for regulating urban land cover structure and thermal environment, and established the eco-regulation thresholds of urban surface thermal environments. Based on the comprehensive analysis of experimental observation, remotely sensed and meteorological data, we examined the spatial patterns of urban habitation, industrial, infrastructure service, and ecological spaces. We examined the impacts of internal land-cover components(e.g., urban impervious surfaces, greenness, and water) on surface radiation and heat flux. This research indicated that difference of thermal environments among urban functional areas is closely related to the proportions of the land-cover components.The highly dense impervious surface areas in commercial and residential zones significantly increased land surface temperature through increasing sensible heat flux, while greenness and water decrease land surface temperature through increasing latent heat flux. We also found that different functional zones due to various proportions of green spaces have various heat dissipation roles and ecological thresholds. Urban greening projects in highly dense impervious surfaces areas such as commercial, transportation, and residential zones are especially effective in promoting latent heat dissipation efficiency of vegetation, leading to strongly cooling effect of unit vegetation coverage. This research indicates that the EcoCity model provides the fundamentals to understand the coupled mechanism between urban land use structure and surface flux and the analysis of their spatiotemporal characteristics. This model provides a general computational model system for defining urban heat island mitigation, the greening ratio indexes, and their regulating thresholds for different functional zones.