Urban Waterfront Space Design under the Concept of Ecological Conservation:A Case Study of Hefei Swan Lake

With the proposal of the concept that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets,ecological issues have become increasingly important issues of concern to people.The process of urbanization is accelerating,and the importance of urban waterfront space in improving the environmental quality of the city and people’s quality of life,enhancing the vitality of the city,the overall appearance of the city,and the competitiveness of the city,is receiving increasing attention.And how to properly handle the construction and development of urban waterfront space has become increasingly prominent in urban planning.Under the the concept of“ecological conservation”,it is thought that the construction of urban waterfront space should follow the principle of harmony between nature and man,and strengthen the multifaceted connection of the city.Through field research on Swan Lake,a comprehensive evaluation of the problems in the plank road and land ecology is conducted.It is proposed to improve the current situation of Swan Lake by grasping the two keywords of“waterfront”and“city”,and starting from the improvement of water body and the enhancement of urban cultural construction in the lake area.

Offering the win-win solutions between ecological conservation and livelihood development:National parks in Qinghai, China

National parks as protected areas have been on the spotlight because they are essential in achieving ecological civilization in China.Despite the profound achievements of national parks to conserve nature,the benefits of national parks for local residents remain lacking.Under the theory of harmonious coexistence between human and nature,this study focused on the development of local people’s livelihood in Qinghai’s national parks.We systematically explored the establishment of the national parks in Qinghai Province,analyzed the current prob-lems,and provided the main measures for developing people’s livelihood in protected areas in Qinghai.This study put forward the viewpoint that national parks should set a long-term goal,and gradually advance based on the environmental conditions and appropriately prioritize the improvement of local people’s wellbeing in the future.

Effects of an ecological conservation and restoration project in the Three-River Source Region, China

The first-stage of an ecological conservation and restoration project in the Three-River Source Region（TRSR）, China, has been in progress for eight years. However, because the ecological effects of this project remain unknown, decision making for future project implementation is hindered. Thus, in this study, we developed an index system to evaluate the effects of the ecological restoration project, by integrating field observations, remote sensing, and process-based models. Effects were assessed using trend analyses of ecosystem structures and services. Results showed positive trends in the TRSR since the beginning of the project, but not yet a return to the optima of the 1970 s. Specifically, while continued degradation in grassland has been initially contained, results are still far from the desired objective, ‘grassland coverage increasing by an average of 20%–40%＇. In contrast, wetlands and water bodies have generally been restored, while the water conservation and water supply capacity of watersheds have increased. Indeed, the volume of water conservation achieved in the project meets the objective of a 1.32 billion m^3 increase. The effects of ecological restoration inside project regions was more significant than outside, and, in addition to climate change projects, we concluded that the implementation of ecological conservation and restoration projects has substantially contributed to vegetation restoration. Nevertheless, the degradation of grasslands has not been fundamentally reversed, and to date the project has not prevented increasing soil erosion. In sum, the effects and challenges of this first-stage project highlight the necessity of continuous and long-term ecosystem conservation efforts in this region.

Ecological conservation, remediation and construction for building an ecological civilization in China: concepts for ecological activity

This paper explains and discusses the concepts of ecological conservation and construction in China in three parts. The first part provides a brief description of the historical background of ecological activities in China and their major achievements in the past. The second part is a comprehensive review of various types of ecological control activity aimed at the improvement of natural and artificially established ecosystems at the landscape,regional(watershed) and higher levels. The scope of and differences between some ecological terms used in China such as ecological protection, conservation, remediation(rehabilitation), restoration as well as the reestablishment of new ecosystems are elaborated. The review suggests that the term "ecological conservation and construction"should be used to embrace all types of ecological control activity in China. Finally, five guidelines are proposed for promoting the implementation of ecological conservation and construction in China based on the two important governmental documents related to the development of ecological civilization in China.

Relationship between the development of energy and mineral resources and ecological conservation redline

From a philosophical point of view,this study discusses the dialectical relationship between the development of energy and mineral resources and the ecological conservation redline.We propose that the ecological conservation redline and the development of energy and mineral resources should be guided by ecological civilization construction,that is,the energy and mineral resources should be rationally developed under the condition that the ecological environment is protected.This study analyzes the influence of the development of energy and mineral resources on the ecological environment.The handling of mining rights within the ecological conservation redline based on the law and the reduction of the influence of the development of energy mineral resources on the ecological environment by science and technology are presented.The environmental assessment system and technical standards for energy and mineral development are suggested to implement policies and measures for the disposal of mining rights within the redline and facilitate technological innovations of ecological conservation for energy and mineral development.Hence,a coordinated development between the ecological conservation redline and the development of energy and mineral resources can be promoted.

Agricultural Ecological Conservation in the Past 70 Years in China:Historical Review and Future Outlook

Agricultural ecological conservation is an internal demand for the development of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era,and a basic requirement for realizing rural revitalization and building a beautiful China.Over the past 70 years,agricultural ecological progress in China has gone through three stages:preliminary exploration,in-depth development,and quality improvement in the new era.It has gained valuable historical experience in terms of the premise of liberating and developing productive forces,the principle of coordinating economy and ecology,and the guarantee of systems and laws.Therefore,agricultural ecological conservation in the new era should adhere to the guidance of the Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era,strengthen the awareness of agricultural ecological conservation,stick to the path of green ecological agriculture development,improve the evaluation system of agricultural ecological conservation,and deepen international cooperation in this field.

Conservation Grading of Water Ecological Spaces in the Muling River Basin

Along with the urban construction and industrial development, the original continuous riverway of the Muling River has been dammed into river sections of different lengths, which has seriously destroyed ecological environment of the basin. In view of this, it is urgent to protect water ecological environment of the basin. This paper took the national ecological environment conservation instructions as the guidance, combined with the administrative division, planning and actual conditions of the basin, proposed principles and schemes for the grading of water spaces in the basin, as well as the hierarchic control requirements, to provide instructions for the conservation of the river basin.

Mangrove wetlands distribution status identification, changing trend analyzation and carbon storage assessment of China

This research investigates the ecological importance,changes,and status of mangrove wetlands along China’s coastline.Visual interpretation,geological surveys,and ISO clustering unsupervised classification methods are employed to interpret mangrove distribution from remote sensing images from 2021,utilizing ArcGIS software platform.Furthermore,the carbon storage capacity of mangrove wetlands is quantified using the carbon storage module of InVEST model.Results show that the mangrove wetlands in China covered an area of 278.85 km2 in 2021,predominantly distributed in Hainan,Guangxi,Guangdong,Fujian,Zhejiang,Taiwan,Hong Kong,and Macao.The total carbon storage is assessed at 2.11×10^(6) t,with specific regional data provided.Trends since the 1950s reveal periods of increase,decrease,sharp decrease,and slight-steady increases in mangrove areas in China.An important finding is the predominant replacement of natural coastlines adjacent to mangrove wetlands by artificial ones,highlighting the need for creating suitable spaces for mangrove restoration.This study is poised to guide future mangroverelated investigations and conservation strategies.

Quantifying impacts of climate and human activities on the grassland in the Three-River Headwater Region after two phases of Ecological Project

The Three-River Headwater Region(TRHR)of China is a typical representative of the alpine environment in the Central Asian plateau and the alpine grassland in the world.Grassland degradation is one of its serious eco-logical problems.The purpose of this study is to quantify the joint impacts of climate and human activities on grassland changes in TRHR after two phases of Ecological Conservation and Construction Project(Ecological Project).Grassland vegetation coverage is selected as an indicator for analyzing grassland changes.We adopt Sen+Mann-Kendall trend analysis,residual trend analysis and correlation analysis methods to analyze the trends in spatial-temporal changes and driving factors of grassland in TRHR from 2000 to 2019.The results show that:(1)The grassland has been mainly restored,and the degraded grassland area only accounts for 1.66%of TRHR.After the implementation of the first phase of the Ecological Project,the percentage of restored grassland area has significantly increased from 8.82%to 24.57%,and slightly decreased during the second phase.(2)The establish-ment of national nature reserves and the implementation of the Ecological Project have changed the situation that“the grassland inside the reserve is worse than that outside the reserve”.(3)Grassland restoration is mainly af-fected by the joint effects of climate and human activities.Nevertheless,grassland degradation is mainly affected by human activities such as overgrazing and grassland reclamation.All of these findings can enrich our under-standing of grassland restoration in TRHR.Artificial measures have certain limitations in promoting grassland restoration.Natural restoration should be considered when human beings strengthen ecological conservation and transform their production and life styles.

Analysis of the Capacity of Wellspring Conservation in Limestone Areas of Jinan

Spring water in the city of Jinan conies from the limestone areas. Understanding the capacity of wellspring conservation is a critical point to resume the perennial spewing of the spring water. The vegetation, soil, and other natural and human aspects related to the conservation are studied by using the methods of geographic information systems (GIS), remote sensing (RS), and field investigation. In the end, suggestions for administration and planning as well as countermeasures are put forward.

Exploring Green Development From the Perspective of Sociology:Logical Basis,Constraints,and Optimization Paths

With the advancement of ecological conservation in China,the concept of green development has gained extensive acceptance and recognition.Exploring green development from the perspectives of environmental protection and sociology holds great theoretical value and practical significance in studying the issues related to green development.Firstly,this paper examines green development in light of the objective needs of the economic and social transformation in the international community and China,and deconstructed its underlying social logic.Secondly,it further investigates the social factors that restrict green development,encompassing social structures,social concepts,social systems,and social behaviors.Finally,within the framework of the“green”discipline system in environmental sociology,this paper proposes specific measures such as restructuring social systems and transforming production modes,lifestyles,and consumption patterns to promote green development.

Study on Optimization of Tourism Resources in Wanzhou District,Chongqing Municipality Based on Eco-conserving Division

On the basis of analyzing current situation of tourism resources in ecological conservation zones of Wanzhou District, this study explored causes of the tourism resource problems, and proposed corresponding suggestions for the optimization of local tourism resources against the background of ecological civilization construction and integrated multiple planning.

Examining Rate of Built-Up Areas on the Vegetation Cover along River Riara Riparian within Kiambu Town, Kenya

Urban river riparian spaces and their natural systems are valuable to urban dwellers;but are increasingly affected and ruined by human activities and in particular, urbanization processes. In this research, land sat and sentinel satellite imagery apt for change detection in vegetation cover, both landsat and sentinel imagery, covering the period between 1970 and 2021 in epochs of 1973, 1984, 1993, 2003, 2015 and 2021 years were used to establish the correlation between vegetation cover and built-up area along River Riara river reserve. The images were analysed to extract the built-up areas along the river reserve, including the buildings, and the rate of human settlements, which influenced vegetation cover. Normalized Difference Built-Up Index (NDBI) and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) were computed using the Short-Wave Infrared (SWIR) and the Near Infra-Red (NIR) bands to show the rate of change over the years. Results indicate NDVI values were high, compared to NDBI values along river Riara in the years 1973 and 1993 implying that there was more vegetation cover then. However, in the year 2021, the NDVI indicated the highest value at 0.88, with the complementary NDBI indicating the highest NDBI value at 0.47. This represents a significant increase in built-up areas since 2015 more than in previous epochs. Either, there was a significant increase in NDBI values, from 0.24 in 1993 to 0.47 in 2021. More so, the R-squared value at 0.80 informed 80% relationship between NDBI and NDVI values indicating a negative correlation.

Review and perspective of expressway tunnels in Taiwan, China

Since the construction of the first expressway in the 1970s, the total length of expressways in Taiwan has increased to over 1 000 km, of which 40 km are aligned with tunnels. These twin-tube tunnels, which have two or three lanes in each tube, are characterized by large cross-sections. Due to the complicated topography and heterogeneous geological conditions of Taiwan, tunnel construction has encountered many difficulties. Thus, many advanced excavation methods were developed during tunnel construction. To satisfy the concurrent requirements of safety, economy and efficiency, new construction methods and techniques should be developed or introduced. Moreover, environmental protection and ecological conservation must be paid increasing attention to the goal of substantial development.

Impact of the Construction of Ecological Civilization Demonstration Areas on Carbon Emission Intensity

The development path from attaching importance to environmental protection to the theory of ecological conservation,then to piloting ecological civilization demonstration areas,marks that China’s ecological conservation has gradually moved from theoretical construction to practical exploration,based on the new idea that“lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets.”It is still an ordeal for China’s ecological conservation in the context of global warming how to reduce carbon emission intensity while maintaining sustained economic growth.Under the dual constraints of peaking carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality before 2060(“dual carbon”goals),this paper employs the five national ecological civilization pilot demonstration areas(ECDAs)established in 2014 as quasi-natural experiments based on the panel data of 30 Chinese provincial regions from 2003 to 2019.Based on the analysis of the policy implementation background and the theoretical mechanism of its impact on carbon emission intensity,the synthetic control method and difference in differences method are adopted to test the impact of the construction of ECDAs on carbon emission intensity and examine the spatial spillover effect of the pilot policies.The study shows that the construction of ECDAs has significantly reduced carbon emission intensity as a whole,especially in Fujian,Guizhou,and Yunnan Provinces.Moreover,the conclusions successfully pass the robustness test.The mechanism analysis results demonstrate that the construction of ECDAs can lower carbon emission intensity through the positive incentives from boosting technological progress and developing green finance,and the reversal pressure mechanism of optimizing the energy structure and improving the market segmentation.The analysis results of the spatial spillover effect indicate that the construction of ECDAs plays a significant role in reducing carbon emission intensity in the region and its adjacent areas.Therefore,China should introduce ECDAs and the experience gained to more regions.Meanwhile,China should spare no effort to seek multi-dimensional paths to reduce carbon emissions in view of regional differences in green development,and strengthen cross-regional communications and cooperation to realize the goals of carbon emission reduction.

International Journal of Molecular Ecology and Conservation(IJMEC)

International Journal of Molecular Ecology and Conservation(ISSN 1927-663X)is an international,open access,peer reviewed journal published online by Bio Publisher.The journal is considering all the latest and outstanding research articles,letters and reviews in all aspects of molecular ecology and conservation,

International Journal of Molecular Ecology and Conservation(IJMEC)

International Journal of Molecular Ecology and Conservation(ISSN 1927-663X)is an international,open access,peer reviewed journal published online by Bio Publisher.The journal is considering all the latest and outstanding research articles,letters and reviews in all aspects of molecular ecology and conservation,containing the contents of the ranges

International Journal of Molecular Ecology and Conservation(IJMEC)

International Journal of Molecular Ecology and Conservation(ISSN 1927-663X)is an international,open access,peer reviewed journal published online by Bio Publisher.The journal is considering all the latest and outstanding research articles,letters and reviews in all aspects of molecular ecology and conservation,containing the contents of the ranges from the applied to the theoretical in molecular ecology and nature conservation,the

Separating the effects of two dimensions on ecosystem services:Environmental variables and net trade-offs

Spatial and temporal changes in ecosystem services(ESs)are driven by two types of factors:environmental factors and trade-offs/synergies between services.In the ecological conservation red line(ECRL)area,in which national ecological security and social sustainable development are guaranteed,it is particularly important to clarify the driving mechanism of ESs for the management of ecosystems.In this study,soil conservation,water yield,and carbon sequestration in Beijing’s ECRL area are quantified,and GeoDetector is used to identify the factors influencing the trade-offs/synergies between ESs.Moreover,partial correlation analysis is used to calculate the net trade-offs/synergies and compare them with the extent to which environmental variables contribute to ESs.The results are as follows:environmental variables and trade-offs/synergies have different effects on the changes in ESs,and their interactions can enhance the determinative power of the corresponding individual variable.The land use intensity is an extremely important factor affecting the trade-offs/synergies between the three services,indicating that rational land use planning in Beijing’s ECRL area is crucial for avoiding the negative impacts of trade-offs and enabling coordinated optimization of ESs.After the elimination of the cross-influence of environmental variables,the trade-offs/synergies change significantly,and the impact of environmental variables on ESs is compared with the net trade-offs/synergies.Environmental variables are the driving forces of the spatiotemporal changes in soil conservation.Precipitation and carbon sequestration have similar effects on water yield.Spatiotemporal changes in carbon sequestration are closely related to the other two services,with smaller influences from environmental variables.