Research on Ecological Protection and Restoration Measures in Altay Region based on the Coupling Perspective of the Mountains-Rivers-Forests-Farmlands-Lakes-Grasslands System

The adoption of both Nature-based Solutions(NbS)and a system perspective is a hot issue and an area in which there is much room for improvement in ecological protection and restoration.The study takes Altay region as an example,an area located in Xinjiang,China,which is an important ecological corridor of the national key functional area and the core area of the Belt and Road but has a fragile ecological environment and needs much enhancement in ecological protection and restoration.Guided by the concept of"mountains-rivers-forestsfarmlands-lakes-grasslands(MRFFLG)system is a life community",the coupling relationship of the various MRFFLG elements,the main ecological environmental problems and the integrated countermeasures for protection and restoration in Altay region have been analyzed in this study.The study shows that Altay region has a typical meta-ecosystem of mountain,oasis,and desert,and the connections by rivers and lakes make the ecosystem links within the region much closer.The interweaving of resource-environmental-ecological issues of the aquatic ecosystem,degradation of the quality of terrestrial ecosystems such as forests,grasslands and farmlands,the increased ecosystem fragmentation and ecological risks are the major ecological environmental issues in this region.This study takes the improvement of the ecosystem health and function in Altay region as the core goal of regional ecological protection and restoration.First,we establish a zoning governance pattern from the perspective of ecosystem integrity;second,we design governance strategies for different zones with the goal of synergistic improvements in the ecosystem functions;and finally,we clarify the key engineering tasks in different zones from the perspective of ecosystem services.Ecological conservation and restoration of the MRFFLG system is a prime example of the application and development of NbS in China.This paper constructs an analytical framework for identifying regional life communities,diagnosing ecological protection and restoration of zoning problems,and proposing classified solutions for ecological protection tasks for the protection of the MRFFLG system.This research will enrich the theory and technology for the protection and restoration of MRFFLG systems,and provide guidance for the practice of ecological protection and restoration in Altay region.

Impact of Land Use Changes on Habitat Quality in Altay Region

Altay region is located in the northern part of Xinjiang,and has complex and diverse internal geomorphic types,undulating terrain and a fragile ecosystem.Studying the impact of land use changes on habitat quality is of great significance to regional ecological protection and development,rational planning and utilization,and ensuring the sustainable development of the ecological environment.Based on the InVEST model,combined with land use panel data and topographic relief data of the Altay region,this paper studied the habitat quality from 1995 to 2018.The results show that cultivated land,water area and construction land increased gradually from 1995 to 2018,while grassland and unused land decreased.Forestland remained stable in the first five periods,but increased significantly in 2018.During 1995-2018,all land use types were transferred,mainly between cultivated land,forestland,grassland and unused land in the flat and slightly undulating areas.Poor habitat quality was dominant during 1995-2018.Habitat quality decreased significantly in 2015,which was related to the rapid expansion of cultivated and construction land as threat sources,as well as the decrease of forest and grassland as sensitive factors.However,habitat quality improved significantly in 2018,because a large amount of cultivated land and unused land were converted into forest land and grassland with high habitat suitability.Land use type has an important influence on habitat quality.The distribution characteristics of habitat quality for topographic relief types from good to bad were:large undulating area>medium undulating area>small undulating area>flat area>slightly undulating area.The findings of this study are of great significance for coordinating social,economic,and ecological development in this region and in similar areas.

Evaluating the Ecological Security of Land Resources based on Multi-source Data in the Altay Region of China

As a material carrier contributing to human survival and social sustainable development,the ecological environment is declining in its integrity and overall health.With the rapid development of society and economy,it is currently very necessary to carry out ecological security evaluation research to provide scientific guidance and suggestions for the construction of ecological civilization and the harmonious co-existence between man and nature.Taking Altay region as the research area,this paper collected and integrated regional geological,geographical,cultural,socio-economic,and statistical data,as well as previous research results.Combined with DPSIR and EES framework model,the evaluation index system of land resource ecological security in Altay region was constructed by using the analytic hierarchy process,entropy method and linear weighted summation function method.Using this index system,the evaluation research work was carried out to determine the current state of the security situation and the major threats which should be addressed.(1)The overall ecological security situation of Altay region was relatively safe,while the local ecological security situation was relatively fragile.Among them,the areas with safe and safer ecological environment accounted for 38.72%,while the areas with critically safe status accounted for 30.83%,and the areas with a less safe and unsafe environment accounted for 30.45%.In terms of spatial characteristics,the areas with unsafe ecological environment were mainly distributed in the west and east of the study area,while the areas with good ecological environment were distributed in the north of the study area.(2)Large-scale mining activities,frequent geological disasters,large-scale reclamation and long-term cultivation of arable land,and long-term large-scale grazing activities resulting in the destruction of grassland and vegetation were the main factors leading to the prominent ecological security problems of land resources in the Altay region.Therefore,in the process of the continuous development of the urban economy,we should pay more attention to the harmony between man and nature,and also actively and effectively advocate and implement certain policies and measures,such as returning farmland to forest,returning grazing land to grassland and integrating the mining of mineral resources.

EARLY MESOZOIC COLLISION STRUCTURES IN THE ALTAI REGION

In the Early Mesozoic period intercontinental movements of the Junggar and Tuva-Mongolian lithosphere terranes were accompanied by the deformation of the Paleozoic tectonic substrate and by the formation of a new tectonic system of Inner Asia, the Altai collision belt. The qualitative change of the initial structure covered more than 30% ~35% of the region. and the zonal distribution of these new formations determined the belt configuration and inner peculiarities. Residual mosaic-block terranes of the Paleozoic substrate and specific collision systems are distinguished and described in this paper. The main elements of these structures are crumple zones (collision sutures). Analysis of the rock massif regional dynamometamorphism and the spatial distribution of stress-formations in Altai is the principal peculiarity of the method for recognizing the Early Mesozoic collision system. Tectonites of destruction zones (D-tectonites ) . cataclastic flow (C-tectonites ) and plastic flow (P-tectonites) are the members of these formations. Each kind of tectonites is specific for conditions of the initial substrate transformation during the collision and has its own indicator peculiarities. Isotopic dating of stress-formations in Altai gives 260~230 Ma.

Uranium in Saline Lakes of Mongolia and Adjacent Areas

1 Introduction Increasing demand for uranium raw materials for the nuclear industry has stimulated interest in non-traditional sources,including hydromineral ones[Qin,2009].Those are saline lakes located in the uranium ore districts.Accumulation of uranium in such lakes results from the leaching of uranium from the rocks by surface and ground