Effects and underlying mechanisms of damming on carbon and nitrogen cycles and transport in rivers of Southwest China:project introduction

Southwest China is the primary area for damming rivers to produce hydroelectric energy and store water.River damming has changed hydrodynamic,chemical,and biological processes,which are related to sinks and sources of greenhouse gases and carbon and nitrogen fluxes of different interfaces.Here,I provide an introduction to a river damming-related foundation,the National Key R&D Program of China(2016YTA0601000).Supported by the foundation,we carried out research on multiprocesses/multi-interfaces of carbon and nitrogen biogeochemical cycles in a dammed river system and have produced important results,as presented in this issue of the journal.

Relationship between Water and Vegetation in the Ejina Delta

Water is the foundation of an arid ecological system, as the quantity and quality of surface water and groundwater determine its structure and function. The study on the relationship between water and ecosystem is the basis of ecosystem protection. Taking the Ejina delta, an extremely arid area located downstream of the Heihe River in northwestern China, as an example, this article gives an overviewe of the study in three aspects: (1) the groundwater table and salinity dynamics and their driving factors, (2) the groundwater depth and salt threshold of natural vegetation ecosystem, and (3) the impact evaluation of ecological flow control on Ejina natural vegetation. The authors point out the importance of the research into the relation between water and ecosystem and its key difficulties and weakness, and put forward strategies for promoting the study processes.

Crossing the River Frontier trade with Russia gives the Chinese border town of Heihe a taste of prosperity

Aglimpse at the Heihe Island International Trade Center offers a vivid insight into how far the business has progressed. The center

Occurrence and distribution of hexabromocyclododecane in sediments from seven major river drainage basins in China

The concentrations and geographical distribution of hexabromocyclododecane （HBCD） were investigated in 37 composite surface sediments from seven major river drainage basins in China, including Yangtze River, Yellow River, Pearl River, Liaohe River, Haihe River, Tarim River and Ertix River. The detection frequency of HBCD was 54%, with the concentrations ranged from below limit of detection （LOD） to 206 ng/g dry weight. In general, the geographical distribution showed increasing trends from the upper reaches to the lower reaches of the rivers and from North China to Southeast China. Compared to other regions in the world, the average concentration of HBCD in sediments from Yangtze River drainage basin was at relatively high level, whereas those from other six river drainage basins were at lower or similar level. The highest HBCD concentration in sediment from Yangtze River Delta and the highest detection frequency of t-IBCD in Pearl River drainage basins suggested that the industrial and urban activities could evidently affect the HBCD distribution. HBCD diastereoisomer profiles showed that y-HBCD dominated in most of the sediment samples, followed by ct- and [3-HBCD, which was consistent with those in the commercial HBCD mixtures. Further risk assessment reflected that the average inventories of HBCD were 18.3, 5.87, 3.92, 2.50, 1.77 ng/cm2 in sediments from Pearl River, Haihe River, Tarim River, Yellow River and Yangtze River, respectively.