The Climate Impact of Large-Scale Distributors:Acting on the Supply Chain

This work aims to analyse the actions that companies working in large-scale distribution carry along their value chains to minimise impacts on climate change.Companies operating in this field are aware that it is less effective to act directly on the core processes and need to involve the upstream value chain in their carbon reduction strategy.These businesses,in fact,need to focus on the indirect GHG(Greenhouse Gases)emissions and depend on how suppliers manage their impacts.In this sector,virtuous companies collaborate with their suppliers to get involved in a common path of quantifying and cutting said impacts together.This aspect is particularly relevant in the case of large-scale retailers.However,the process is not immediate since the supply chain is usually very dense and diverse,for instance,adopting various approaches that do not always coincide.In any case,the key aspect is mapping these suppliers:one of the tools mostly used for this purpose is the survey,as a quick instrument able to reach hundreds of suppliers at the same time,receiving a fast and standardized response,which can easily be processed to form a comprehensive and harmonized mapping of the results as the first step for the subsequent implementation of mitigation strategies.

Modeling Study of the Evolution of the Climate Crisis over Time

The research proposal has the following scope. In relation to the general objective, the aim is to model the evolution of the climate crisis over time taking as variables global warming, greenhouse gases, atmospheric temperature and ocean temperature, as well as the continuity of the natural phenomena in terms of their measurement, temporality and projection. To achieve the above, the description of the following specific objectives is proposed: - Identify the variables corresponding to the climate crisis, their relationship and correlation between them;- Develop projection models with mathematical and statistical arrangements to project them in a given time and, in this way, - Propose mitigation measures for different unfavorable scenarios. The main variables that are currently directly linked to Climate Change are: CO2, the atmospheric index, precipitation, temperature and wind speed. The correlation that exists between climatic elements is very high, both in historical behavior and projected behavior for 2035, their correlation is estimated at 0.90, 0.95, 0.93 and 91 respectively. The mathematical models used to manipulate the historical and projected analysis of the variables studied: are the normal arrangements, this ensures that the values can be used on a common scale;Then there is the analysis of the historical variables using the linear trend, and finally there is the analysis of the variables projected to the year 2035 using the polynomial trend. In both situations, the direct relationship of greenhouse gases, mainly CO2, is directly related to the variations of the variables over time, which is a very worrying result because we can no longer talk about climate change, but rather about CLIMATE CRISIS. To a large extent, a change in the paradigm of exploitation of the resources of our mother earth is required. Alert in an SOS manner to the great powers, which make reasonable use of technology, for this attenuation measures are proposed.

A new classification of large-scale climate regimes around the Tibetan Plateau based on seasonal circulation patterns

This study aims to develop a large-scale climate classification for investigating the characteristics of the climate regimes around the Tibetan Plateau based on seasonal precipitation, moisture transport and moisture divergence using in situ observations and ERA40 reanalysis data. The results indicate that the climate can be attributed to four regimes around the Plateau. They situate in East Asia, South Asia, Central Asia and the semi-arid zone in northern Central Asia throughout the dryland of northwestern China, in addition to the K?oppen climate classification. There are different collocations of seasonal temperature and precipitation: 1) in phase for the East and South Asia monsoon regimes, 2) anti-phase for theCentral Asia regime, 3) out-of-phase for the westerly regime. The seasonal precipitation concentrations are coupled with moisture divergence, i.e., moisture convergence coincides with the Asian monsoon zone and divergence appears over the Mediterranean-like arid climate region and westerly controlled area in the warm season, while it reverses course in the cold season. In addition, moisture divergence is associated with meridional moisture transport. The northward/southward moisture transport corresponds to moisture convergence/divergence, indicating that the wet and dry seasons are, to a great extent, dominated by meridional moisture transport in these regions. The climate mean southward transport results in the dry-cold season of the Asian monsoon zone and the dry-warm season, leading to desertification or land degradation in Central Asia and the westerly regime zone. The mean-wind moisture transport (MMT) is the major contributor to total moisture transport, while persistent northward transient eddy moisture transport (TEMT) plays a key role in dry season precipitation, especially in the Asian monsoon zone. The persistent TEMT divergence is an additional mechanism of the out-of-phase collocation in the westerly regime zone. In addition, the climatemean MMTand TEMTare associated with the atmospheric stationary wave and storm track, which results from the uplift of orography and landsea thermal contrast. Therefore, the paleoclimate changes in mid-latitude arid-semi-arid regions are linked to the different phases of uplift of mountains and plate motion tied to the evolution of the Mediterranean.

CLIMATE PREDICTION EXPERIMENT FOR TROPICAL CYCLONE GENESIS FREQUENCY USING THE LARGE-SCALE CIRCULATION FORECAST BY A COUPLED GLOBAL CIRCULATION MODEL

Based on an analysis of the relationship between the tropical cyclone genesis frequency and large-scale circulation anomaly in NCEP reanalysis, large-scale atmosphere circulation information forecast by the JAMSTEC SINTEX-F coupled model is used to build a statistical model to predict the cyclogenesis frequency over the South China Sea and the western North Pacific. The SINTEX-F coupled model has relatively good prediction skill for some circulation features associated with the cyclogenesis frequency including sea level pressure, wind vertical shear, Intertropical Convergence Zone and cross-equatorial air flows. Predictors derived from these large-scale circulations have good relationships with the cyclogenesis frequency over the South China Sea and the western North Pacific. A multivariate linear regression(MLR) model is further designed using these predictors. This model shows good prediction skill with the anomaly correlation coefficient reaching, based on the cross validation, 0.71 between the observed and predicted cyclogenesis frequency. However, it also shows relatively large prediction errors in extreme tropical cyclone years(1994 and 1998, for example).

Climate change in the Sanjiang Plain disturbed by large-scale reclamation

Up to 1949, wetlands stretched continuously and accounted for 80.17% of the total area of plain part of the Sanjiang Plain. However, wetlands in the plain have gone through 4 periods (1956–1960, 1960–1977, 1980–1986, 1986-the present) of large-scale reclamation from 1956 to the present. Over 50% wetlands had changed into agricultural fields. The underlying surface of the plain has changed tremendously. This study investigated the regional climate change by analyzing regional climatic variation and tendency and examining climate jumps over the last 45 years. Monthly records of 5 climatic factors (air temperature, precipitation, atmospheric pressure, sunshine time and wind speed) for 26 meteorological stations covering the period 1955–1999 were used. The annual mean temperature of the study region was tending to go up and increased by 1.2–2.3 °C during the last 45 years. The maximum of annual precipitation decrease in the region was 90 mm over the last 45 years. An abrupt warming of the annual mean temperature occurred in the mid-1980s, which had an increase amplitude of 0.9 °C. Of increase amplitudes of all the seasonal abrupt warming, the largest one was 1.8 °C in the winter since 1987. The plain used to be cold and humid with center of Heilongjiang province even till the late 1960s, for it had an underlying surface of wetlands in the main. However, based on the facts of the climate changes of the plain over the last 45 years, it is held that the plain had a larger warming amplitude than that of area around it in recent years probably resulted from the large-scale reclamation of various kinds of wetlands.

Drought Change Trend Using MODIS TVDI and Its Relationship with Climate Factors in China from 2001 to 2010

Changes in drought trends and its relationship with climate change in China were examined in this study. The temperature vegetation drought index （TVDI） datasets recorded during 2001 to 2010 in China were constructed by using the moderate-resolution imaging spectroradiometer （MODIS） data, and the temporal and spatial variations in drought were analyzed. In addition, the mean temperature, mean precipitation, mean relative humidity, and mean sunshine duration data collected from 557 local weather stations in China were analyzed. The relationships between drought and these climate factors were also analyzed by using correlation analysis and partial correlation analysis. Changes in drought tendency were shown to differ among four regions throughout the country. The lfuctuations in climate in the regions of northeastern China, Qinling-Huaihe, and central Qinghai were caused by the increase in soil moisture, and that in southern Tibet was caused by the intensiifcation of drought. Meteorological factors exhibited varied effects on drought among the regions. In southern China, the main inlfuential factor was temperature;other factors only showed minimal effects. That in the northern and northwestern regions was sunshine duration, and those in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau were relative humidity and temperature.

Impact of climate factors on runoff in the Kaidu River watershed:path analysis of 50-year data

Runoff formation is a complex meteorological-hydrological process impacted by many factors,especially in the inland river basin.Based on the data of daily mean air temperature,precipitation and runoff during the period of 1958-2007 in the Kaidu River watershed,this paper analyzed the changes in air temperature,precipitation and runoff and revealed the direct and indirect impacts of daily air temperature and precipitation on daily runoff by path analysis.The results showed that mean temperature time series of the annual,summer and autumn had a significant fluctuant increase during the last 50 years（P 0.05）.Only winter precipitation increased significantly（P 0.05） with a rate of 1.337 mm/10a.The annual and winter runoff depthes in the last 50 years significantly increased with the rates of 7.11 mm/10a and 1.85 mm/10a,respectively.The driving function of both daily temperature and precipitation on daily runoff in annual and seasonal levels is significant in the Kaidu River watershed by correlation analysis.The result of path analysis showed that the positive effect of daily air temperature on daily runoff depth is much higher than that of daily precipitation in annual,spring,autumn and winter,however,the trend is opposite in summer.

Influence of Climate and Socio-Economic Factors on the Spatio-Temporal Variability of Soil Organic Matter: A Case Study of Central Heilongjiang Province, China

For the scientific management of farmland, it is significant to understand the spatio-temporal variability of soil organic matter and to study the influences of related factors. Using geostatistical theory, GIS spatial analysis, trend analysis and a Geographically Weighted Regression （GWR） model, this study analyzed the response of soil organic matter to climate and socio-economic factors in central Heilongjiang Province during the past 25 years. Second soil survey data of China for 1979-1985, 2005 field sampling data, climate observations and socio-economic data for 1980-2005 were analyzed. First, soil organic matter in 2005 was spatially interpolated using the Co-Kriging method along with auxiliary data sets of soil type and pH. The spatio-temporal variability was then studied by comparison with the 1980s second soil census data. Next, the temporal trends in climate and socio-economic factors over the past 25 years were investigated. Finally, we examined the variation of the response of soil organic matter to climate and socio-economic factors using the GWR model spatially and temporally. The model showed that 53.82% area of the organic matter content remained constant and 29.39% has decreased during the past 25 years. The impact of precipitation on organic matter content is mainly negative, with increasing absolute values of the regression coefficient. The absolute value of regression coefficient of annual average temperature has decreased, and more areas are now under its negative effects. In addition, the areas of positive regression coefficient of annual sunshine hours have northward shifted, with the increasing absolute value of positive coefficient and decreasing absolute value of negative coefficient. The areas of positive regression coefficient of mechanized farming as a socio-economic factor have westward shifted, with the increasing absolute value of negative coefficient and decreasing absolute value of positive coefficient. The area of regions with the positive regression coefficient of irrigation has expanded. The regions with positive regression coefficient of fertilizer use have shrinked. The positive regression coefficient of mulch film consumption has significantly increased. The regression coefficient of pesticide consumption was mainly positive in the west of the study area, while it was negative to the east. Generally, GWR model is capable to investigate the influence of both climatic and socio-economic factors, avoided the insufficiency of other research based on the single perspective of climatic or socio-economic factors. Therefore, we can conclude that GWR model could provide methodological support for global change research and serve as basic reference for cultivated land quality improvement and agricultural decision making.

Effects of soil nutrients and climate factors on belowground biomass in an alpine meadow in the source region of the Yangtze-Yellow rivers, Tibetan Plateau of China

Improving our knowledge of the effects of environmental factors （e.g. soil conditions, precipitation and temperature） on belowground biomass in an alpine grassland is essential for understanding the consequences of carbon storage in this biome. The object of this study is to investigate the relative importance of soil nutrients and climate factors on belowground biomass in an alpine meadow in the source region of the Yangtze and Yellow rivers, Tibetan Plateau. Soil organic carbon （SOC）, total nitrogen （TN） and total phosphorous （TP） contents and belowground biomass were measured at 22 sampling sites across an alpine meadow on the Tibetan Plateau. We analyzed the data by using the redundancy analysis to determine the main environmental factors affecting the belowground biomass and the contribution of each factor. The results showed that SOC, TN and TP were the main factors that influenced belowground biomass, and the contribution of SOC, TN and TP on biomass was in the range of 47.87%-72.06% at soil depths of 0-30 cm. Moreover, the combined contribution of annual mean temperature （AMT） and mean annual precipitation （MAP） on belowground biomass ranged from 0.92% to 4.10%. A potential mechanism for the differences in belowground biomass was caused by the variations in soil nitrogen and phosphorous, which were coupled with SOC. A significant correlation was observed between MAP and soil nutrients （SOC, TN and TP） at the soil depth of 0-10 cm （P〈0.05）. We concluded that precipitation is an important driving force in regulating ecosystem functioning as reflected in variations of soil nutrients （SOC, TN and TP） and dynamics of belowground biomass in alpine grassland ecosystems.

The role of climate factors in geographic variation in body mass and wing length in a passerine bird

Background: Geographic variation in body size is assumed to reflect adaptation to local environmental conditions. Although Bergmann's rule is usually sufficient to explain such variation in homeotherms, some exceptions have been documented. The relationship between altitude, latitude and body size, has been well documented for some vertebrate taxa during the past decades. However, relatively little information is available on the effects of climate variables on body size in birds.Methods: We collected the data of 267 adult Eurasian Tree Sparrow(Passer montanus) specimens sampled at 48 localities in China's mainland, and further investigated the relationships between two response variables, body mass and wing length, as well as a suit of explanatory variables, i.e. altitude, latitude, mean annual temperature(MAT), annual precipitation(PRC), annual sunshine hours(SUN), average annual wind speed(WS), air pressure(AP) and relative humidity(RH).Results: Our study showed that(1) although the sexes did not differ significantly in body mass, males had longer wings than females;(2) body mass and wing length were positively correlated with altitude but not with latitude;(3) body mass and wing length were negatively correlated with AP and RH, but not significantly correlated with WS. Body mass was positively correlated with SUN and inversely correlated with MAT. Wing length was not correlated with MAT in either sex, but was positively correlated with SUN and negatively correlated with PRC in male sparrows;(4) variation in body mass could be best explained by AP and SUN, whereas variation in wing length could be explained by RH and AP in both sexes. In addition, variation in male sparrows can be explained by SUN, WS and PRC but not in females.Conclusions: Two different proxies of body size, body mass and wing length, correlated with same geographic factors and different climate factors. These differences may reflect selection for heat conservation in the case of body mass, and for efficient flight in the case of wing length.

Relative importance of climate factors and human activities in impacting vegetation dynamics during 2000–2015 in the Otindag Sandy Land,northern China

In recent years, there has been increasing research interests in differentiating the relative importance of climate factors and human activities in impacting vegetation dynamics. In this study, based on residual trend method, we used MOD13A3（MODIS vegetation index product）, MCD12Q1（MODIS land cover product） and meteorological datasets to differentiate the relative importance of climate factors and human activities in impacting vegetation dynamics during 2000–2015 in the Otindag Sandy Land, northern China. Results show that during the study period（2000–2015）, the overall vegetation condition had improved in the Otindag Sandy Land. The driving forces of vegetation dynamics differed spatially in the whole study area over the study period. The area with vegetation degradation solely resulted from human activities accounted for 8.23% of the study area, while the area with vegetation degradation resulted from others（including climate factors and combination of climate factors and human activities） occupied 1.53%. The area with vegetation recovery benefitted from human activities occurred over 26.02% of the study area; the area benefitted from climate factors accounted for 23.69%; and the area benefitted from both climate factors and human activities occupied 37.74%. All in all, impacts of climate factors and human activities on vegetation dynamics varied at the county/city/banner scales and locality-specific measures should be adopted to protect the environments.

Epigenetic modification associated with climate regulates betulin biosynthesis in birch

The Betula genus contains pentacyclic triterpenoid betulin known for its environmental adaptation and medicinal properties.However,the mechanisms underlying betulin biosynthesis responding to climate change remain unclear.In this study,the role of epigenetic modification(DNA methylation) in betulin biosynthesis was examined and how climatic factors influence it.Whole-genome bisulfite sequencing was performed for greenhouse-grown Chinese white birch(Betula platyphylla Sukaczev) treated with DNA methylation inhibitor zebularine(ZEB) and a natural birch population in Northeast China.ZEB treatment significantly affected the CHH methylation level of transposable elements and betulin content in a hormesis dose-dependent manner.The methylation and expression of bHLH9,a key transcriptional factor controlling betulin biosynthesis,were also consistently affected by ZEB treatment as a hormetic dose-response.In the natural population,there was a positive correlation between promoter methylation of bHLH9 and summer precipitation,while winter temperature was negatively correlated.Thus climate-dependent methylation of bHLH9 regulates the expression of downstream genes involved in betulin biosynthesis.This study highlights the role of environmental signals to induce epigenetic changes that result in betulin production,possibly helping to develop resilient plants to combat ongoing climate change and enhance secondary metabolite production.

Diurnal and Seasonal Variations of CO2Fluxes and Their Climate Controlling Factors for a Subtropical Forest in Ningxiang

In this study, the diurnal and seasonal variations of CO2 fluxes in a subtropical mixed evergreen forest in Ningxiang of Hunan Province, part of the East Asian monsoon region, were quantified for the first time. The fluxes were based on eddy covariance measurements from a newly initiated flux tower. The relationship between the CO2 fluxes and climate factors was also analyzed. The results showed that the target ecosystem appeared to be a clear carbon sink in 2013, with integrated net ecosystem CO2exchange（NEE）, ecosystem respiration（RE）, and gross ecosystem productivity（GEP） of-428.8, 1534.8 and1963.6 g C m^-2yr^-1, respectively. The net carbon uptake（i.e. the-NEE）, RE and GEP showed obvious seasonal variability,and were lower in winter and under drought conditions and higher in the growing season. The minimum NEE occurred on12 June（-7.4 g C m^-2d^-1）, due mainly to strong radiation, adequate moisture, and moderate temperature; while a very low net CO2 uptake occurred in August（9 g C m^-2month^-1）, attributable to extreme summer drought. In addition, the NEE and GEP showed obvious diurnal variability that changed with the seasons. In winter, solar radiation and temperature were the main controlling factors for GEP, while the soil water content and vapor pressure deficit were the controlling factors in summer. Furthermore, the daytime NEE was mainly limited by the water-stress effect under dry and warm atmospheric conditions, rather than by the direct temperature-stress effect.

Changes in Climatic Factors and Extreme Climate Events in Northeast China during 1961-2010

This study focuses on examining the characteristics of climate factors and extreme climate events in Northeast China during 1961-2010 by using daily data from 104 stations, including surface air temperature, precipitation, wind speed, sunshine duration, and snow depth. Results show that annual mean temperature increased at a significant rate of 0.35°C per decade, most notably in the Lesser Khingan Mountains and in winter. Annual rainfall had no obvious linear trend, while rainy days had a significant decreasing trend. So, the rain intensity increased. High-temperature days had a weak increasing trend, and low-temperature days and cold wave showed significant decreasing trends with rates of -3.9 d per decade and -0.64 times per decade, respectively. Frequency and spatial scope of low-temperature hazard reduced significantly. Warm days and warm nights significantly increased at 1.0 and 2.4 d per decade, while cold days and cold nights decreased significantly at -1.8 and -4.1 d per decade, respectively. The nighttime warming rate was much higher than that for daytime, indicating that nighttime warming had a greater contribution to the overall warming trend than daytime warming. The annual mean wind speed, gale days, and sunshine duration had significant decreasing trends at rates of -0.21 m s-1 per decade, -4.0 d per decade and -43.3 h per decade, respectively. The snow cover onset dates postponed at a rate of 1.2 d per decade, and the snow cover end date advanced at 1.5 d per decade, which leads to shorter snow cover duration by -2.7 d per decade. Meanwhile, the maximum snow depth decreased at -0.52 cm per decade. In addition, the snow cover duration shows a higher correlation with precipitation than with temperature, which suggests that precipitation plays a more important role in maintaining snow cover duration than temperature.

Changes in Climate Factors and Extreme Climate Events in South China during 1961-2010

Daily climate data at 110 stations during 1961-2010 were selected to examine the changing characteristics of climate factors and extreme climate events in South China. The annual mean surface air temperature has increased significantly by 0.16℃ per decade, most notably in the Pearl River Delta and in winter. The increase rate of the annual extreme minimum temperature (0.48℃ per decade) is over twice that of the annual extreme maximum temperature (0.20℃ per decade), and the increase of the mean temperature is mainly the result of the increase of the extreme minimum temperature. The increase rate of high-temperature days (1.1 d per decade) is close to the decrease rate of low-temperature days (-1.3 d per decade). The rainfall has not shown any significant trend, but the number of rainy days has decreased and the rain intensity has increased. The regional mean sunshine duration has a significant decreasing trend of -40.9 h per decade, and the number of hazy days has a significant increasing trend of 6.3 d per decade. The decrease of sunshine duration is mainly caused by the increase of total cloud, not by the increase of hazy days in South China. Both the regional mean pan evaporation and mean wind speed have significant decreasing trends of -65.9 mm per decade and -0.11 m s-1 per decade, respectively. The decrease of both sunshine duration and mean wind speed plays an important role in the decrease of pan evaporation. The number of landing tropical cyclones has an insignificant decreasing trend of -0.6 per decade, but their intensities show a weak increasing trend. The formation location of tropical cyclones landing in South China has converged towards 10-19°N, and the landing position has shown a northward trend. The date of the first landfall tropical cyclone postpones 1.8 d per decade, and the date of the last landfall advances 3.6 d per decade, resulting in reduction of the typhoon season by 5.4 d per decade.

Numerical experimental study on the potential climatic impacts oflarge-scale wind farms in China

Wind energy has been rapidly developed in China during the past decades and the installed capacity has been the largest in the world. In the future, utilization of wind power is still expected to carry out in China mainly with a large-scale centralized layout. Here, we examine the potential climatic impacts of large-scale windfarms associated with deployment scale in China using numerical experiments, in which four deployment scenarios were designed. These four scenarios represented relatively small- (484 GW), medium- (2165 GW) and large-scale (3490 GW and 5412 GW) installed wind power capacities, respectively. Results showed that turbulent kinetic energy, wind velocity, and air temperature varied consistently within those windfarms with the largest changes in turbine hub heights. Moreover, the above relatively large- scale windfarms could induce regional wanning with a maximum of above 0.8 °C in North China. This regional warming may be linked to an anomalous circulation pattern with a negative pressure anomaly center in Northeast China and a positive pressure anomaly center in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze-Huaihe River Basin.

The Influence of Climate Factors on the Stability of Infrastructures: Case of Forest Ecosystem in Southern Cameroon

The southern forest ecosystem of Cameroon extends from latitude 2° to 6°N and from 10° to 16°E. In order to investigate about the influence of climate factors on the infrastructures, the main parameters of local climate of that ecosystem have been evaluated. The results show that, the factors are stable and have a common trend. But, the abundance of precipitations;the important hydrographic network and the presence of dense forest appear as the majors climatic constraints that may be taken in account to ensure the stability of the infrastructures in forest ecosystem.

Correlation between Climate Factors and Vegetation Cover in Qinghai Province, China

The Qinghai Province, situated in the northwest of China, is experiencing a continuous warming which is approximately three times more than the rate of global warming. This ongoing warming has a direct connection to vegetation cover, with significant societal and economic impacts in this region. In the present study, we investigate the correlation between climate change and vegetation cover in Qinghai Province. Analysis shows that in the Qinghai Province, order of NDVI is highest in summer followed by autumn, spring and winter. By calculating the average annual and seasonal-NDVI values, it is deduced that the main type of vegetation cover in the Qinghai Province has an upward trend at the rate of 0.013/10a, 0.016/10a, 0.035/10a and 0.058/10a for annual, winter, spring and summer, respectively. While a downward trend at a rate of 0.056/10a is present in autumn-NDVI. At the 0.01% significance level, a significant positive relationship of winter-NDVI with mean winter precipitation and temperature is revealed. Mean NDVI of spring and autumn show a significant positive relationship with respective seasonal mean precipitation. However, a significant difference is present between mean summer-NDVI and mean summer precipitation. Furthermore, mean NDVI of summer and autumn has a significant negative relationship with respective seasonal mean temperature.

Modeling Analysis of Factors Influencing Wind-Borne Seed Dispersal: A Case Study on Dandelion

A weed is a plant that thrives in areas of human disturbance, such as gardens, fields, pastures, waysides, and waste places where it is not intentionally cultivated. Dispersal affects community dynamics and vegetation response to global change. The process of seed disposal is influenced by wind, which plays a crucial role in determining the distance and probability of seed dispersal. Existing models of seed dispersal consider wind direction but fail to incorporate wind intensity. In this paper, a novel seed disposal model was proposed in this paper, incorporating wind intensity based on relevant references. According to various climatic conditions, including temperate, arid, and tropical regions, three specific regions were selected to establish a wind dispersal model that accurately reflects the density function distribution of dispersal distance. Additionally, dandelions growth is influenced by a multitude of factors, encompassing temperature, humidity, climate, and various environmental variables that necessitate meticulous consideration. Based on Factor Analysis model, which completely considers temperature, precipitation, solar radiation, wind, and land carrying capacity, a conclusion is presented, indicating that the growth of seeds is primarily influenced by plant attributes and climate conditions, with the former exerting a relatively stronger impact. Subsequently, the remaining two plants were chosen based on seed weight, yielding consistent conclusion.

Temporal variations of heavy metals in coral Porites lutea from Guangdong Province, China: Influences from industrial pollution, climate and economic factors

The eight heavy metals Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, and Pb have been determined in samples of coral Porites lutea collected from Dafangji Island waters (21°21′N, 111°11′E), Dianbai County, Guangdong Province, China, by the ICP-MS method. The samples represent the growth of coral in the period of 1982-2001. The results showed that the waters were polluted by the heavy metals Cu, Ni, Zn, and Pb in certain years, but not by other metals. The contamination may have come from industrial sources, including electroplating, metallurgy, mining, and aquatic industries in the coastal areas.; The correlation coefficients among the metals and climatic and economic factors indicate that the metals Ni, Zn, and Cd behave similarly. Copper and Mn are positively correlated, and cobalt is negatively correlated with Cr, Ni, Zn, and Cd. Lead is not correlated with any other metals but is correlated with sea surface water temperature, air temperature, GDP and industrial-agricultural production in Dianbai County. Lead in corals is related to the enhanced pollution level of ocean waters as a result of increased industrial activities.