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.

Simulation of Natural Convection Flow with Magneto-Hydrodynamics in a Wavy Top Enclosure with a Semi-Circular Heater

Natural convection flow in enclosure has different applications such as room ventilation, heat exchangers, the cooling system of a building etc. The Finite-Element method based on the Galerkin weighted residual approach is used to solve two-dimensional governing mass, momentum and energy-equations for natural convection flow in the presence of a magnetic field on a roof top with semi-circular heater. In the enclosure the horizontal lower wall was heated, the vertical two walls were adiabatic, inside the semi-circular heater, the wavy top wall cooled. The parameters Rayleigh number, Hartmann number and Prandtl number are considered. The effects of the Hartmann number and Rayleigh number on the streamlines, isotherms, velocity profiles and average Nusselt number are examined graphically. The local Nusselt number and the average Nusselt number of the heated portion of the enclosure with the semi-circular heater are presented in this paper. Finally, for the validation of the existing work, the current results are compared with published results and the auspicious agreement is achieved.

EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES ON THE ROLE OF PLANKTIVOROUS FISHES IN THE ELIMINATION OF MICROCYSTIS BLOOM FROM DONGHU LAKE USING ENCLOSURE METHOD

The hypertrophic subtropic Donghu Lake’s dense water bloom(of mainly Microcystis Anaabaena andOscillatoria)that occurred annually from the beginning of the 1970s, has disappeared since 1985. The infiuenceof planktivorous fishes (silver and bighead carps) on the water bloom was studied for three years usingthe enclosure method. The enclosures stocked densely with bighead and/or silver carp were free of waterbloom during the experimental period. The water bloom that appeared in the fish-free enclosures was completelyeliminated in 10-20 days by introduction of silver and/or bighead carp(grass carp was not effectivein controlling water bloom).This study showed clearly that grazing pressure by planktivorous fishes is a keyfactor in eliminating water bloom from the lake.

Impact of enclosure management on soil properties and microbial biomass in a restored semi-arid rangeland, Kenya

Rangeland degradation is a serious problem throughout sub-Saharan Africa and its restoration is a challenge for the management of arid and semi-arid areas. In Lake Baringo Basin of Kenya, communities and individual farmers are restoring indigenous vegetation inside enclosures in an effort to combat severe land degradation and address their livelihood problems. This study evaluated the impact of enclosure management on soil properties and microbial biomass, being key indicators of soil ecosystem health. Six reseeded communal enclosures using soil embankments as water-harvesting structures and strictly regulated access were selected, varying in age from 13 to 23 years. In six private enclosures, ranging from 3 to 17 years in age, individual farmers emulated the communal enclosure strategy and restored areas for their exclusive use. Significant decreases in bulk density, and increases in the soil organic carbon, total nitrogen and microbial biomass contents and stocks were found in the enclosures as compared with the degraded open rangeland. In the private enclosures, the impact of rehabilitation on the soil quality was variable, and soil quality was in general lower than that obtained under communal management. The significant increase of absolute stocks of carbon, nitrogen and microbial biomass compared to the degraded open rangeland indicates the potential for the restoration of soil quality through range rehabilitation. Over-sowing with indigenous legume fodder species could improve total nitrogen content in the soil and nutritional value of the pastures as well.

Performance of masonry enclosure walls:lessons learned from recent earthquakes

This paper discusses the issue of performance requirements and construction criteria for masonry enclosure and infill walls. Vertical building enclosures in European countries are very often constituted by non-load-bearing masonry walls, using horizontally perforated clay bricks. These walls are generally supported and confined by a reinforced concrete frame structure of columns and beams/slabs. Since these walls are commonly considered to be nonstructural elements and their influence on the structural response is ignored, their consideration in the design of structures as well as their connection to the adjacent structural elements is frequently negligent or insufficiently detailed. As a consequence, nonstructural elements, as for wall enclosures, are relatively sensitive to drift and acceleration demands when buildings are subjected to seismic actions. Many international standards and technical documents stress the need for design acceptability criteria for nonstructural elements, however they do not specifically indicate how to prevent collapse and severe cracking, and how to enhance the overall stability in the case of moderate to high seismic loading. Furthermore, a review of appropriate measures to improve enclosure wall performance and both in-plane and out-of-plane integrity under seismic actions is addressed.

Enclosure enhancement of flight performance

We use a potential flow solver to investigate the aerodynamic aspects of flapping flights in enclosed spaces. The enclosure effects are simulated by the method of images. Our study complements previous aerodynamic analyses which considered only the near-ground flight. The present results show that flying in the proximity of an enclosure affects the aerodynamic performance of flapping wings in terms of lift and thrust generation and power consumption. It leads to higher flight efficiency and more than 5% increase of the generation of lift and thrust.

The Effect of the Fin Length on the Solidification Process in a Rectangular Enclosure with Internal Fins

The aim of the proposed work is to study the solidification process within a rectangular enclosure provided with three internal rectangular fins attached to the left vertical wall of the cavity.This latest is filled with a phase change material(PCM),initially liquid,at a temperature above its melting temperature.The solidification process was initiated by cooling the left wall and fins to a temperature lower than the melting temperature.In order to study and examine the thermal behavior and thermal performance of the proposed system,a mathematical model,based on the conservation equations of mass,momentum and energy was developed.The governing equations and their associated boundary and initial conditions were next adimensionalyzed.Therefore,several controlling parameters were appeared.The volume control method was used to discretize the equations.The resulting algebraic equations were solved iteratively.Numerical investigations were carried out to study and examine the effect of the dimensionless fin length on the hydrodynamic and thermal fields of the flow,the dimensionless heat flux,the solidified mass fraction and the dimensionless time of complete solidification.

Statistical characteristics of transient enclosure voltage in ultra-high-voltage gas-insulated switchgear

Transient enclosure voltage（TEV）,which is a phenomenon induced by the inner dielectric breakdown of SF_6 during disconnector operations in a gas-insulated switchgear（GIS）,may cause issues relating to shock hazard and electromagnetic interference to secondary equipment.This is a critical factor regarding the electromagnetic compatibility of ultra-high-voltage（UHV）substations.In this paper,the statistical characteristics of TEV at UHV level are collected from field experiments,and are analyzed and compared to those from a repeated strike process.The TEV waveforms during disconnector operations are recorded by a self-developed measurement system first.Then,statistical characteristics,such as the pulse number,duration of pulses,frequency components,magnitude and single pulse duration,are extracted.The transmission line theory is introduced to analyze the TEV and is validated by the experimental results.Finally,the relationship between the TEV and the repeated strike process is analyzed.This proves that the pulse voltage of the TEV is proportional to the corresponding breakdown voltage.The results contribute to the definition of the standard testing waveform of the TEV,and can aid the protection of electronic devices in substations by minimizing the threat of this phenomenon.

Effect of flow rate on environmental variables and phytoplankton dynamics:results from field enclosures

To investigate the effects of flow rate on phytoplankton dynamics and related environment variables,a set of enclosure experiments with different fl ow rates were conducted in an artificial lake. We monitored nutrients,temperature,dissolved oxygen,p H,conductivity,turbidity,chlorophyll-a and phytoplankton levels. The lower biomass in all flowing enclosures showed that flow rate significantly inhibited the growth of phytoplankton. A critical flow rate occurred near 0.06 m/s,which was the lowest relative inhibitory rate. Changes in flow conditions affected algal competition for light,resulting in a dramatic shift in phytoplankton composition,from blue-green algae in still waters to green algae in flowing conditions. These findings indicate that critical flow rate can be useful in developing methods to reduce algal bloom occurrence. However,flow rate significantly enhanced the inter-relationships among environmental variables,in particular by inducing higher water turbidity and vegetative reproduction of periphyton( Spirogyra). These changes were accompanied by a decrease in underwater light intensity,which consequently inhibited the photosynthetic intensity of phytoplankton. These results warn that a universal critical flow rate might not exist,because the effect of flow rate on phytoplankton is interlinked with many other environmental variables.

Finite Element Analysis of Magnetohydrodynamic Mixed Convection in a Lid-Driven Trapezoidal Enclosure Having Heated Triangular Block

A numerical research on magnetohydrodynamic mixed convection flow in a lid-driven trapezoidal enclosure at non-uniform heating of bottom wall has been studied numerically. The enclosure consists of insulated top wall and cold side walls, too. It also contains a heated triangular block (Rot = 0° - 90°) located somewhere inside the enclosure. The boundary top wall of the enclosure is moving through uniform speed U0. The geometry of the model has been represented mathematically by coupled governing equations in accordance with proper boundary conditions and then a two-dimensional Galerkin finite element based numerical approach has been adopted to solve this paper. The numerical computations have been carried out for the wide range of parameters Prandtl number (0.5 ≤ Pr ≤ 2), Reynolds number (60 ≤ Re ≤ 120), Rayleigh number (Ra = 103) and Hartmann number (Ha = 20) taking with different rotations of heated triangular block. The results have been shown in the form of streamlines, temperature patterns or isotherms, average Nusselt number and average bulk temperature of the fluid in the enclosure at non-uniform heating of bottom wall. It is also indicated that both the streamlines, isotherm patterns strongly depend on the aforesaid governing parameters and location of the triangular block but the thermal conductivity of the triangular block has a noteworthy role on the isotherm pattern lines. Moreover, the variation of Nuav of hot bottom wall and θav in the enclosure is demonstrated here to show the characteristics of heat transfer in the enclosure.

Unsustainable Land-Based Source Pollution in a Climate of Change: A Roadblock to the Conservation and Recovery of Elkhorn Coral <i>Acropora palmata</i>(Lamarck 1816)

Chronic eutrophication and turbidity are critical detrimental factors impacting coral reef ecosystems, adversely affecting their ecological functions, services, benefits, and resilience across multiple spatial scales and over prolonged periods of time. Inadequate land use practices and lack of appropriate sewage treatment can adversely contribute to increase land-based source pollution (LBSP) impacts in coastal waters and to magnify impacts by sea surface warming trends associated to climate change. Fringing coral reefs off Vega Baja, Puerto Rico, support extensive remnant patches of Elkhorn coral Acropora palmata (Lamarck 1816), which was listed in 2006 as a threatened species under the US Endangered Species Act. Chronic impacts by LBSP have significantly affected local downstream fringing reefs. We characterized the spatial extent of a water quality stress gradient across 12 reefs along the Vega Baja coast through monthly measurements of multiple physico-chemical parameters. Most parameters, particularly PO4, , chlorophyll-a, and the concentration of optical brighteners (OABs), showed a statistically significant increase (PERMANOVA, p < 0.05) in waters close to the main pollution sources, but also in waters adjacent to Cibuco River effluents. Dissolved oxygen also declined and turbidity increased on polluted sites. PO4, , and chlorophyll-a, exceeded recommended concentrations for coral reef ecosystems by factors of 7 - 50 times, 600 - 1240 times, and 17 - 83 times, respectively, depending on the source of the effluents and the distance from sewage pollution sources. Also, water turbidity exceeded 4 - 10 times the recommended value for pristine coral reefs. Coral reefs showed significant decline in close proximity to the polluted zone, showing a significantly different benthic community structure (PERMANOVA, p < 0.0001) dominated by non-reef building taxa (i.e., macroalgae, algal turf) and bare substrate. Percent coral cover and abundance of A. palmata, showed a significant increase with distance. Coral species richness, species diversity index, and the variance in taxonomic distinctness were very low on reef patches adjacent to the polluted zone, increased at a moderate distance with increasing coral cover and co-existence of multiple species, and declined far from the pollution source due to dominance exerted by A. palmata. This study suggests that chronic LBSP resulted in a major decline of one of the largest and most dense remnant stands of A. palmata across the northeastern Caribbean and that nutrient and chlorophyll-a concentrations were unsustainable for coral reefs. This situation requires immediate solution to prevent further damage to these unprecedented resources. It further suggests that chronic LBSP may synergistically magnify sea-surface warming impacts driving corals to an increased state of risk in face of forecasted climate change impacts. Actions to mitigate and adapt to climate change impacts on coral reefs must require a priori controls of LBSP to be effective.

Effect of enclosure and nutrient enrichment on Microcystis blooms in Donghu Lake

A nutrient enrichment experiment was conducted in situ in Donghu Lake (30°33′N, 114°23′E), a shallow hypereutrophic lake in Hubei, China through an enclosure(each 2.5×2.5m by 2 m depth) method from July 15 to September 21, 2000. Three duplicated groups, including two treatments and one control, were designed as unfertilized control (C), nitrogen enrichment (N) and phosphorus en- richment (P), and were also compared with neighboring lake water. Dense Microcystis bloom exclusively dominated in all the enclosures, while no bloom was observed in the lake. All the enclosures had much higher phytoplankton biomass, higher pH values, and higher transparency than the surrounding lake water. Neither nitrogen nor phosphorus addition had significant effect on phytoplankton composition and bio- mass due to very high nutrient concentration in the lake water. Suitable biological (absence of fil- ter-feeding silver carp and bighead carp) and physical environment (high transparency, high stability and high pH) associate with saturated nutrient concentration contribute to the nuisance Microcystis bloom in the enclosures.

SESTON AND DISSOLVED ORGANIC CARBON DYNAMICS DURING MICROCYSTIS BLOOM WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE EFFECTS OF THREE CHINESE DOMESTIC FISHES IN EXPERIMENTAL ENCLOSURES

The Microcystis bloom that once disappeared from Donghu Lake, a shallow eutrophic Chinese lake,was successfully resumed with the use of the enclosure method. Seston and dissolved organic carbon (DOC)dynamics during the Microcystis bloom were investigated with particular emphasis on the effect of three Chinese domestic fishes (silver carp, bighead carp and grass carp). The results showed that the change of chlorophyll a obviously reated to the fish species and its stocking density. Du to the relare of exracelular ogranic carbon and increased bacterial activity, DOC increased apparently after silver and bighead carps were introduced. POC/DOC dropped considerably in the enclosures containing silver and bighead carps and in the surrounding lake water, which implied that the bacterial acivity was more pronounced in such ecosystems. Statistical analytis indicated that the linear relationship between POC and chiorophyll a could reflect the state of algal growth and nutrient metabolism. It was expected that this study would provide some information on biomanipulation in the shallow eutrophic lakes.

Analysis of Combined Natural Convection and Radiation Heat Transfer in a Partitioned Rectangular Enclosure with Semitransparent Walls

In this paper, we present a two-dimensional numerical analysis of the conjugate natural convection and radiation heat transfer in a double-space enclosure with two semitransparent walls. Two kinds of boundary conditions are considered, the rst being the isothermal process of the opaque wall, and the other the incidence of a constant radiation ux in the left semitransparent wall. The renormalization group k ε model is adopted to simulate the turbulent ow in the enclosure. To compute the radia- tion heat transfer in a semitransparent medium, the discrete ordinates model is used. We compare the behaviors of enclosures with single and double semitransparent walls and determine the di erence in the results obtained for semitransparent and opaque partitions. The results indicate that a semitransparent partition facilitates a reduction in the heat loss or obtains a higher temperature distribution. The transmittance of a semitransparent wall has a great e ect on the thermal and ow char- acteristics in an enclosure. The change of wall temperature is found to be signi cant when the thermal conductivity values range from 0.05 to 0.5 W/(m K), and to be small when ranging from 0.5 to 10 W/(m K). These conclusions are helpful for green design and energy saving in solar buildings.

Acoustical Modal Calculation for Rectangular Enclosure and Its Experimental Verification

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Organic carbon budget in shrimp polyculture enclosure ecosystems

The organic carbon budget in shrimp polyculture ecosystems was studied with five experimental enclosures. The results showed that: (l ) the total Organic carbon income of the ecosystems varied from 4 847. 46 to 6 154. 67 g, averaged (5 646. 94 t 551.09) g, the average ratio among its components, i. e., (phytoplankton production ): (periphyte production ): (feed casted) was 0. 73: 0. 11: 0. 16; (2) the total output of organic carbon varied from 3 310. 28 to 3 974. 79 g, averaged (3 644. 21 281. 44) g, the average ratio among its components, i. e., (plankton community respiration): (periphyton respiration): (benthic community): (culture animal production): (culture animal respiration) was 0. 53: 0. 19: 0. 15: 0. 04:0. 09; (3) the organic carbon accumulation varied from 1 383. 45 to 2 707. 31 g, averaged (2 002. 73 546. 76) g, which was 26% --44 % of the total organic carbon income; the sequence of organic carbon accumulation in the ecosystems of different polyculture types was Y5 (Penaeus chinensis -- Argopecten irradians) > Y7 (P. chinensis -- Taiwan red tilapia) > Y4 (P. chinensis ) > T5 (P. chinensis -- Taiwan red tilapia -- Sinonovacula constricta ) > Y6 (P. chinensis S. constricta ); (4) the average conversion rate of organic carbon income to P. chinensis was (l. 77 0. 62) % (Y6>T5 > Y4 >YS > Y7), and that to total culture animals was (2. 18 0. 79) % (T5 >Y6 > Y5 > Y4 > Y7).

Radiation from finite cylindrical shell with irregular-shaped acoustic enclosure

In practical situations, large machinery is usually placed in an underwater vessel and changes the acoustic enclosure shape into an irregular one. The existence of machinery causes the difficulties in expressing sound transmission and radiation analytically. In this study, the sound radiation of a cylindrical shell excited by an internal acoustic source is modeled and analyzed. The cylindrical shell contains a machine modeled as a rectangular object, which is attached to a shell with a spring-mass system. The acoustic field of the cavity is computed by the integro-modal approach. The effect of object size on the coupling between acoustic mode and structural mode is investigated. The relationship between object volume and sound radiation is also studied. Numerical results show that the existence of objects inside vessels leads to a more effective coupling between the structure and acoustic enclosure than the existence of no objects in a regular-shaped cavity（i.e. empty vessel）.

Computing the Enclosures Eigenvalues Using the Quadratic Method

In this article, we compute the enclosures eigenvalues (upper and lower bounds) using the quadratic method. The Schrodinger operator (A) (harmonic and anharmonic oscillator model) has used as an example. We study a new technique to get more accurate bounds. We compare our results with Boulton and Strauss method.

Biomass of Natural Grassland under Different Enclosure Conditions

Taking natural grassland on the northern slope of the Qilian Mountain for example, this paper investigated and compared aboveground and belowground biomass of grassland in multi-year enclosure(20 years), one-year enclosure, control areas(natural grazing areas). The results showed that coverage and height of the enclosure sample plots were significantly higher than that of natural grazing area(P <0.05); mean aboveground biomass of grassland: multi-year enclosure(316.58 g/m^2) > one-year enclosure area(299.07 g/m^2) > multi-year enclosure control area(254.39 g/m^2) > one-year enclosure control area(187.37 g/m^2); belowground biomass: multi-year enclosure(2,906.90 g/m^2) > one-year enclosure area(2,587.26 g/m^2) > multi-year enclosure control area(2,378.93 g/m^2) > one-year enclosure control area(2,029.17 g/m^2); mean aboveground biomass of natural grassland was 263.60 g/m^2, mean belowground biomass 2,225.56 g/m^2; ratio of belowground biomass to aboveground biomass varied between 6.79 and 12.90, distribution of belowground biomass and aboveground biomass in each plot showed significant differences(P <0.05). Enclosure was favorable for improving the coverage and biomass of natural grassland plant communities in the Qilian Mountains.

Electromagnetic Pulse Coupling inside a Rectangular Enclosure with an Aperture

The transmission line matrix time domain (TLM-TD) method is used to simulate the electromagnetic pulse (EMP) cou-pled inside a shielding box with an aperture. Simulations for different electromagnetic pulses regarding to different rise time and fall time have been performed. The results for shielding effectiveness of these different excitations have been presented. A simple method that uses an extra metal for reducing the interference has also been proposed and tested.