Ecological and hydrologic evolution history in the sensitive zone of both East Asian summer monsoon and Westerly since the Last Glacial Maximum

The Qilian Mountains,located in the northeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau,is a sensitive zone of both East Asian summer monsoon(EASM)and westerly winds(WW).The evolution history and driving mechanism of the ecosystem and hydrologic cycle in this region on long-term timescales have not yet been clarified.In this study,we comprehensively study the hydrologic and ecological evolution history in the sensitive zone since the Last Glacial Maximum(LGM)by integrating surface sediments,paleoclimate records,TraCE-21ka transient simulations,and PMIP3-CMIP5 multi-model simulation.Results show that hydrologic and ecological proxies from surface sediments are significantly different from west to east and mainly divided into three sections:the monsoonaffected region in the eastern Qilian Mountains,the intersection region in the central Qilian Mountains,and the westerly-affected region in the western Qilian Mountains.Meanwhile,paleo-ecological and paleohydrologic reconstructions from the surroundings uncover a synchronous climate evolution that the EASM mainly controls the eastern Qilian Mountains and penetrates the central Qilian Mountains in monsoon intensity maximum,while the WW dominates the central and western Qilian Mountains on both glacial-interglacial and millennial timescales.The simulation results further bear out the glacial humid climate in the central and western Qilian Mountains caused by the enhanced WW,and the humidity maximum in the eastern Qilian Mountains controlled by the strong mid-Holocene monsoon.In general,east-west differences in climate pattern and response for the EASM and the WW are integrally stable on both short-term and long-term timescales.

Reviewed Interpretations and Inspirations on the Development and Strategies of Garden City Theory in Singapore

Reconceptualising the construction of Garden Cities in Singapore from the perspective of the history of urban development and urbanization,in conjunction with the development and trends of vertical greening systems.To summarise the principles of development in modern ecosystems in the context of rapid urbanisation and high population density trends:1.Long-term planning and adherence to ecological principles are required for urban construction and development.2.Urban development should insist on controlling and guiding the urbanisation process.3.Strong executive and coordination capacity of the government is an essential force for the development of new cities.4.The cultivation of urban culture is required to be initiated by the government to promote social consensus and directing the power of the public.5.Respond to the trend of the times and make flexible use of science and technology(vertical ecosystems)to solve urban problems.

One hundred years of population ecology:Successes,failures and the road ahead

Population ecology is the most mature of the three subdisciplines of ecology partly because it has a solid mathematical foundation and partly because it can address the primary questions of distribution and abundance with experimental protocols.Yet there is much left to do to integrate our population knowledge into community and ecosystem ecology to help address the global issues of food security and the conservation of biodiversity.Many different approaches are now being developed to bring about this integration and much more research will be necessary to decide which if any will be most useful in achieving our goals of explaining the changes we see in the distribution and abundance of animals and plants.Food web ecology would appear to be the best approach at present because it uses the detailed information of the population ecology of particular species in combination with data on consumer-resource interactions to apply to the applied problems of biodiversity conservation,food security,pest management and disease prevention.If we can use our understanding of population ecology to address the practical problems of our time in a creative way,we will benefit both the human population and the Earth’s biodiversity.Much remains to be done.