Impacts of native vegetation on the hydraulic properties of the concentrated flows in bank gullies

To quantify the impacts of native vegetation on the spatial and temporal variations in hydraulic properties of bank gully concentrated flows,a series of in situ flume experiments in the bank gully were performed at the Yuanmou Gully Erosion and Collapse Experimental Station in the dry-hot valley region of the Jinsha River,Southwest China.This experiment involved upstream catchment areas withone-and two-year native grass(Heteropogon contortus)and bare land drained to bare gully headcuts,i.e.,Gullies 1,2 and 3.In Gully 4,Heteropogon contortus and Agave sisalana were planted in the upstream catchment area and gully bed,respectively.Among these experiments,the sediment concentration in runoff in Gully 3 was the highest and that in Gully 2 was the lowest,clearly indicating that the sediment concentration in runoff obviously decreased and the deposition of sediment obviously increased as the vegetation cover increased.The concentrated flows were turbulent in response to the flow discharge.The concentrated flows in the gully zones with native grass and bare land were sub-and supercritical,respectively.The flow rate and shear stress in Gully 3 upstream catchment area were highest among the four upstream catchment areas,while the flow rate and shear stress in the gully bed of Gully 4 were lowest among the four gully beds,indicating that native grass notably decreased the bank gully flow rate and shear stress.The Darcy–Weisbach friction factor(resistance f)and flow energy consumption in the gully bed of Gully 4 were notably higher than those in the other three gully beds,clearly indicating that native grass increased the bank gully surface resistance and flow energy consumption.The Reynolds number(Re),flow rate,shear stress,resistance f,and flow energy consumption in the gully beds and upstream areas increased over time,while the sediment concentration in runoff and Froude number(Fr)decreased.Overall,increasing vegetation cover in upstream catchment areas and downstream gully beds of the bank gully is essential for gully erosion mitigation.

Threshold effects of renewable energy consumption on economic growth under energy transformation

China proposed that non-fossil energy consumption account for 20% in total energy consumption. EU increased the target of renewable energy consumption share from 27% to 35% in 2030.Energy transformation and increasing renewable energy consumption are important energy strategies for all countries at present. Then, is the impact of renewable energy consumption on economic growth positive or negative? Are there any differences in the direction or magnitude of the impact among countries or regions, and what are the determinants behind them? We apply panel threshold effect model to test threshold effects of renewable energy consumption on economic growth of EU. Empirical result shows: first, the impact of renewable energy consumption on economic growth is negative. Second, renewable energy consumption has significant threshold effects on economic growth. Third, now, energy consumption intensity and GDP per capita of most EU members are in the appropriate threshold regimes. In contrast, more and more EU members are in the high-subsidy group. Fourth, the average annual growth rates of renewable energy consumption showed no significant difference between high-subsidy and lowsubsidy countries from 1990 to 2014. Therefore, subsidy with high economic cost is not the onlyeffective means to increase renewable energy consumption.

Research on energy structure and development strategy from 2010 to 2015 in Qingdao, China

With the fast development of Qingdao's economy, the energy consumption is increasing significantly. In this paper, based on the energy statistic data in Qingdao area from 2010 to 2015,energy consumption structure was analyzed, indicating the existence of single energy structure;that is, coal, petroleum, and natural gas are dominant in the area. Thus, some issues between energy supply and demand have been brought. To solve present problem, we put forward to formulate the development strategy of energy, including energy savings, the exploitation of petroleum and natural gas resources, the development and utilization of renewable energy sources, and energy policy. It is worthy of mentioning that, according to the geological investigation, the shale gas may be abundant in Qingdao area and the gas resource amount estimated is huge. This is our first finding, important for developing unconventional energy and adjusting the energy structure in Qingdao in the future. Therefore, we suggest that Qingdao government should take action to develop local new energy resources for satisfying the energy demand.

Industrial structure optimization in central China under the energy constraint

Optimizing industrial structure is an important research object of human-economic geography, and it is also the object of government departments to strengthen macro-control. This has become even greater problem that China has entered the "new normal" in recent years. The study uses a multi-regional input-output model, with linear programming to build an optimal model of industrial structure as well as a model of optimization degree under the energy constraint. The results of the study revealed that:(1) the degree of optimization of industrial structure in Anhui Province is optimal(0.763), while that of Shanxi Province is the lowest(0.662);(2) the degree of optimization of industrial structure is negatively related to energy consumption per unit output value and the proportion of heavy industry; and(3) overall, central China should maintain or moderately increase the proportions of resource-based industry, greatly increase the proportions of manufacturing, including transport and telecommunications equipment, computers and other electronic equipment, and moderately reduce the proportions of smelting and pressing of metals and non-metal mineral products. In terms of service industries, the region should greatly increase the proportions of the production and supply of natural gas and tap water, moderately reduce or maintain the proportions of transport and storage as well as tourism, and maintain or moderately reduce the proportions of wholesale trade, retail trade and catering services.