Temporal and spatial responses of ecological resilience to climate change and human activities in the economic belt on the northern slope of the Tianshan Mountains, China

In the Anthropocene era,human activities have become increasingly complex and diversified.The natural ecosystems need higher ecological resilience to ensure regional sustainable development due to rapid urbanization and industrialization as well as other intensified human activities,especially in arid and semi-arid areas.In the study,we chose the economic belt on the northern slope of the Tianshan Mountains(EBNSTM)in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China as a case study.By collecting geographic data and statistical data from 2010 and 2020,we constructed an ecological resilience assessment model based on the ecosystem habitat quality(EHQ),ecosystem landscape stability(ELS),and ecosystem service value(ESV).Further,we analyzed the temporal and spatial variation characteristics of ecological resilience in the EBNSTM from 2010 to 2020 by spatial autocorrelation analysis,and explored its responses to climate change and human activities using the geographically weighted regression(GWR)model.The results showed that the ecological resilience of the EBNSTM was at a low level and increased from 0.2732 to 0.2773 during 2010–2020.The spatial autocorrelation analysis of ecological resilience exhibited a spatial heterogeneity characteristic of"high in the western region and low in the eastern region",and the spatial clustering trend was enhanced during the study period.Desert,Gobi and rapidly urbanized areas showed low level of ecological resilience,and oasis and mountain areas exhibited high level of ecological resilience.Climate factors had an important impact on ecological resilience.Specifically,average annual temperature and annual precipitation were the key climate factors that improved ecological resilience,while average annual evapotranspiration was the main factor that blocked ecological resilience.Among the human activity factors,the distance from the main road showed a negative correlation with ecological resilience.Both night light index and PM2.5 concentration were negatively correlated with ecological resilience in the areas with better ecological conditions,whereas in the areas with poorer ecological conditions,the correlations were positive.The research findings could provide a scientific reference for protecting the ecological environment and promoting the harmony and stability of the human-land relationship in arid and semi-arid areas.

Ecological Resilience Restoration in the Watershed of the Hancang River

Hancang River is a river on the eastern border of Jinan City. In recent years, with the development of cities, river flow has dropped sharply, river water has been polluted, and the ecological environment of the basin has declined. Improving the water ecological environment and enhancing the resilience of the water ecology of the river basin were set as the research goals, especially coupling of hydrological and ecological processes and the recycling of sewage resources. The “patch-corridor-matrix” theory of landscape ecology, the Least-cost distance model and the Arc Hydro Tools module of the ArcGIS platform were used to describe the river system and basin boundaries, optimize the current water network and the path network of the ecosystem. A novel ecological network and water network were proposed to form the final aquatic ecosystem, which combines the hydrological process with the ecosystem, and three decentralized wastewater treatment systems were designed to reduce the wastewater directly flowing into the river. The ecosystem resilience of the basin will be enhanced.

Use of the Biostimulant Based on the Mycorrhizae Consortium of the Glomeraceae Family in the Field to Improve the Production and Nutritional Status of Maize (Zea mays L.) Plants in Central Benin

Excessive use of mineral fertilizers in maize farming negatively affects farmers’ income and impacts long-term soil health. This study aims to appreciate the effectiveness of biostimulant based on native Glomeraceae arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on the production and uptake of phosphorus, nitrogen and potassium of maize (Zea mays L.) plants in central Benin. The trials were set up in a farming environment with thirty-four producers. The experimental design was composed of three treatments installed at 34 producers. Three growth parameters were evaluated on 60 ème days after sowing. Grain yield, nutritional status of maize plants and mycorrhization parameters were determined at harvest. The results showed that the Glomeraceae + 50% NPK (NPK: azote-phosphore-potassium)_Urea treatment improved the height, the crown diameter and the leaf area by 17.85%, 21.79% and 28.32% compared to the absolute control and by 0.41%, 1.11% and 1.46% compared to the 100% NPK_Urea treatment, respectively. Similarly, grain yield improved by 45.87% with the use of Glomeraceae + 50% NPK_Urea compared to the absolute control and by 3.96% compared to the 100% NPK_Urea treatment. The Glomeraceae + 50% NPK_Urea significantly improved the phosphorus and potassium uptake of maize plants. With respect to nitrogen uptake, no statistical difference was observed between treatments. The mycorrhizae strains used improved root infection in the maize plants. We recorded 66% frequency and 40.5% intensity of mycorrhization. The biostimulant based on indigenous Glomeraceae combined with 50% NPK_Urea can be used as a strategy to restore soil health and improve maize productivity in Benin.

Key drivers of ecosystem recovery after disturbance in a neotropical forest Long-term lessons from the Paracou experiment, French Guiana

Background： Natural disturbance is a fundamental component of the functioning of tropical rainforests let to natural dynamics, with tree mortality the driving force of forest renewal. With ongoing global （i.e. land-use and climate） changes, tropical forests are currently facing deep and rapid modifications in disturbance regimes that may hamper their recovering capacity so that developing robust predictive model able to predict ecosystem resilience and recovery becomes of primary importance for decision-making： （i） Do regenerating forests recover faster than mature forests given the same level of disturbance？ （ii） is the local topography an important predictor of the post-disturbance forest trajectories？ （iii） Is the community functional composition, assessed with community weighted-mean functional traits, a good predictor of carbon stock recovery？ （iv） How important is the climate stress （seasonal drought and/or soil water saturation） in shaping the recovery trajectory？ Methods： Paracou is a large scale forest disturbance experiment set up in 1984 with nine 6.25 ha plots spanning on a large disturbance gradient where 15 to 60% of the initial forest ecosystem biomass were removed. More than 70,000 trees belonging to ca. 700 tree species have then been censused every 2 years up today. Using this unique dataset, we aim at deciphering the endogenous （forest structure and composition） and exogenous （local environment and climate stress） drivers of ecosystem recovery in time. To do so, we disentangle carbon recovery into demographic processes （recruitment, growth, mortality fluxes） and cohorts （recruited trees, survivors）. Results： Variations in the pre-disturbance forest structure or in local environment do not shape significantly the ecosystem recovery rates. Variations in the pre-disturbance forest composition and in the post-disturbance climate significantly change the forest recovery trajectory. Pioneer-rich forests have slower recovery rates than assemblages of late-successional species. Soil water saturation during the wet season strongly impedes ecosystem recovery but not seasonal drought. From a sensitivity analysis, we highlight the pre-disturbance forest composition and the post-disturbance climate conditions as the primary factors controlling the recovery trajectory. Conclusions＂ Highly-disturbed forests and secondary forests because they are composed of a lot of pioneer species will be less able to cope with new disturbance. In the context of increasing tree mortality due to both （i） severe droughts imputable to climate change and （ii） human-induced perturbations, tropical forest management should focus on reducing disturbances by developing Reduced Impact Logging techniques.

珠江三角洲地区城镇化与生态韧性的耦合协调研究

Urban resilience is an emerging research topic of urban studies, and its essence is described by the ability of cities to resist, recover, and adapt to uncertain disturbances. This paper constructs a "Size-Density-Morphology" urban ecological resilience evaluation system, uses a coupling coordination degree model to measure the degree of coupling coordination between urbanization and ecological resilience in the Pearl River Delta from 2000 to 2015, and conducts an in-depth discussion on its spatiotemporal characteristics. The results show the following.(1) From 2000 to 2015, the urbanization level of cities in the study area generally increased while the level of ecological resilience declined. The coupling coordination degree between the two systems decreased from basic coordination to basic imbalance.(2) In terms of spatial distribution, the coupling coordination degree between urbanization and ecological resilience of cities presented a circular pattern that centered on the cities at the estuary of the Pearl River and increased toward the periphery.(3) Ecological resilience sub-systems played variable roles in the coupling coordination between urbanization and ecological resilience. Specifically, size resilience mainly played a reverse blocking role;the influence of morphology resilience was generally positive and continued to increase over time;the effect of density resilience was positive and continued to decline and further became negative after falling below zero. The main pathways for achieving coordinated and sustainable development of future urbanization and ecological resilience in the Pearl River Delta include: leading the coordinated development of regions with new urbanization, improving ecological resilience by strictly observing the three areas and three lines, adapting to ecological carrying capacity, and rationally arranging urban green spaces.