Influence of ecological function protection zone on the water conservation in Gansu-Qinghai Contiguous Region of the upper Yellow River

The implementation of Ecological Function Protection Zone(EFPZ)policy is significant for the ecological restoration and conservation of soil and water in the territory space.This manuscript analyzed and quantified the impact of EFPZ on the regional water conservation function,based on land use data from 2005,2008,2010,2015 and 2020,by conducting a counterfactual simulation along with the GeoSOS-FLUS model and the InVEST model.The results demonstrate that the delineation of EFPZ can significantly influence the water conservation.(1)From 2010 to 2020,as the EFPZ was implemented,the water conservation in the study area was increasing year by year,with a growth rate of 0.03×10^(8) m^(3)∙a^(-1).On the other hand,the simulated water conservation capacity without the implementation of EFPZ decreased year by year,with a decrease rate of 0.01×10^(8) m^(3)∙a^(-1).(2)The EFPZ accounts for only 23%of the total area,but the contribution rate of water conservation reaches 80%.The actual values of water conservation and average water yield per unit pixel in the EFPZ show an increasing trend both internally and externally,while the counterfactual simulation values exhibit a decreasing trend.(3)The water conservation is much higher within the EFPZ than without EFPZ.The implementation of EFPZ has a significant effect on the improvement of the water conservation capacity in Maqu EFPZ and Yellow River Source EFPZ.The protection effectiveness should be enhanced in Qilian Mountain EFPZ and afforestation activities need to be carefully considered in Loess Plateau EFPZ.

Study on Plant Community Characteristics and Ecological Functions of Mingyue Park in Jingzhou City

[Objectives]This study was conducted to analyze species composition, community appearance, plant life-type spectrum, flora distribution, plant community structure and plant diversity indexes of Mingyue Park in Jingzhou City, as well as the ecological functions of plants in cooling, humidification, shading, and noise reduction. [Methods] A quadart method was used to investigate plant communitues of Mingyue Park in Jingzhou City. [Results] There were 141 species in the park, including 44 tree speceies, 35 shrub speceies, and 62 herb speceies. The arber-shrub-grass structure was the dominant plant community structure. The Simpson index(D), Shannon-Wiener index(H) and Pielou index(J) of the herb layer were higher than those of the tree layer and the shrub layer, and the shrub layer was the lowest. The results of ecological function research showed that the plant communities had a significant shading effect and a certain ability to reduce noise. The comprehensive conclusion showed that the ecological function indexes of the arbor-shrub-grass structure in Mingyue Park were significantly higher than those of the arbor-shrub structure and the single-tree structure. In order to improve the ecological benefits of plant communities in Mingyue Park, the plant diversity can be increased in the later construction to enrich community structures. [Conclusions] This study evaluated the ecological benefits of plant communities in Mingyue Park, and provides a scientific basis for the plant configuration of parks in Jingzhou and other regions.

Ecological functions of bamboo forest： Research and Application

Bamboo forest is an important forest type in subtropical and tropical areas.Due to its biological characteristic and growth habits, bamboo is not only an ideal economicinvestment that can be utilized in many different manners but also has enormous potential foralleviating many environmental problems facing the world today. This review describes ecologicalfunctions of the bamboo forest on soil erosion control, water conservation, land rehabilitation, andcarbon sequestration.

Ecological function regionalization of fluvial corridor landscapes and measures for ecological regeneration in the middle and lower reaches of the Tarim River, Xinjiang of China

The middle and lower reaches of the Tarim River are currently one of the main regions of ecological restoration in the arid areas of western China.Using the principles and method of landscape ecology,this study has chosen the fluvial corridor landscape in the middle and lower reaches of the Tarim River,and discusses the region’s ecologically functional regionalization system and issues related to its practical classification.On this basis the corresponding regionalizing principles and standards were developed which were used to qualitatively divide the three main landscapes as the ecologically functional areas in the drainage basin.The paper has also analyzed the characteristic of the study areas,and has put forward the measures for its ecological restoration.

Spatial Identification of Urban Ecological Function on the North Slope of Qinling Mountains Based on Ecological Sensitivity—A Case Study in Baoji, China

Since the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, ecological civilization has been the key construction goal in China, which has a profound impact on the process of urbanization. In recent years, with the rapid development of urbanization and unreasonable land development and utilization, the ecological environment has deteriorated sharply, and the stability of ecological environment has always been a difficult problem in the process of regional development. The spatial division of urban ecological function can be divided into different types of spatial utilization according to the fragile state of ecological environment, which not only guarantees urban construction but also maintains the ecological environment health, and has great economic benefits and ecological value in formulating regional development strategies and ecological protection. In this paper, from four perspectives of “land, water, human and forest”, eight factors affecting ecological sensitivity were selected, and GIS spatial superposition method was used to conduct qualitative and quantitative analysis on the ecological sensitivity of Baoji City, and the evaluation results of single factor ecological sensitivity and comprehensive ecological sensitivity were obtained. The areas with different ecological sensitivity are divided into extremely sensitive areas, highly sensitive areas, moderately sensitive areas, slightly sensitive areas and non-sensitive areas. The research shows that the proportion of extreme, high, moderate, mild and insensitive areas in Baoji City is 7.32%, 10.57%, 22.25%, 42.91% and 16.95% respectively. Finally, the areas with different sensitivity grades are identified as three types of urban ecological function areas: ecological conservation area, ecological coordinated moderate utilization area and ecological suitable construction area, so as to provide scientific theoretical basis for urban construction and land use optimization in Baoji City.

A Study on Forest Species Diversity and Its Ecological Service Function in the Plateau Area of Western Sichuan

This paper presents a study on species diversity and its ecological service function in the plateau area in western Sichuan. The results show that species diversity in the plantations on the cutover land has a tendency to increase and that its ecological service function is to be improved with stand age growing. The species diversity in forest communities is also gradually increased on different succession stage till reaching a climax level. But the species diversity in the climax community is slightly decreased before it reaches a relatively constant status. Ecological service function of diversity is gradually strengthened with the progress of succession. In addition, species diversity in a stand in a similar site and at a same age differs among forest types. Species diversity index within a coniferous and broad-leaved mixed forest is larger than that within a coniferous forest. Meanwhile, species diversity enriches as the tree density increases.

An integrated approach to evaluation on ecological service functions for urban green space and its application

This methodological investigation deals with measurement and valuation of ecological service functions for urban green space. Social, economic and ecological dimensions for such types of function were analyzed and a concept “integrated ecological service functions” (IESF) was put forward for evaluation. Based upon this conceptual approach, an index system for measuring IESF for urban green space was established. With a methodological integration of fuzzy mathematics, decision making analysis and Delphi method, an AHP fuzzy evaluation techniques for IESF for urban green space, called AFIFUG method, was developed. Such a method has been directly applied to the land use strategic planning of Tianjin out ring green belt(TOGB), and its analysis results have been successfully put into operation.

Research Progress on Environmental Ecology and Human Health Benefits of Biogenic Volatile Organic Compounds(BVOCs)

Biogenic volatile organic compounds(BVOCs)have positive impact on environmental ecology and human physical and mental health.In this paper,the collection methods and components analysis,dynamic release mechanism,ecological function and the impact on human health of BVOCs were summarized.The purpose of this paper is to provide reference and suggestions for further study on the infl uence mechanism of BVOCs on human health,and to provide a theoretical basis for its application in landscape environment.

Response of runoff to climate change in the area of runoff yield in upstream Shiyang River Basin,Northwest China:A case study of the Xiying River

The objective of this study was to analyze the response of runoff in the area of runoff yield of the upstream Shiyang River basin to climate change and to promote sustainable development of regional water resources and ecological environment.As the biggest tributary of the Shiyang River,Xiying River is the only hydrological station(Jiutiaoling) that has provincial natural river and can achieve long time series monitoring data in the basin.The data obtained from this station is representative of natural conditions because it has little human activites.This study built a regression model through identifying the characteristics of runoff and climate change by using Mann-Kendall nonparametric statistical test,cumulative anomaly,and correlation analysis.The results show that the average annual runoff is 320.6 million m3/a with the coefficient of variation of 0.18 and shows slightly decrease during 1956-2020.It has a significant positive correlation the average annual precipitation(P<0.01).Runoff is sensitive to climate change,and the climate has becoming warm and wet and annual runoff has entering wet period from 2003.Compared to the earlier period(1955-2000),the increases of average annual temperature,precipitation and runoff in recent two decades were 15%,9.3%,and 7.8%,respectively.Runoff in the Shiyang River is affected by temperature and precipitation among climate factors,and the simulation results of the runoff-climate response model(R=0.0052P-0.1589T+2.373) indicate that higher temperature leads to a weakening of the ecological regulation of surface runoff in the flow-producing area.

Distinguishing ectomycorrhizal and saprophytic fungi using carbon and nitrogen isotopic compositions

Ectomycorrhizal fungi, a group of widespread symbiotic fungi with plant, obtain carbon source from trees and improve plant mineral nutrient uptake with their widespread hyphal network. Ectomycorrhizal fungi can be used as inoculants to improve the survival rates of plantation. Saprophytic fungi use the nutrition from the debris of plant or animals, and it is difficult to distinguish the saprophytic and ectomycorrhizal fungi by morphological and anatomic methods. In this research, the differences of stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic compositions of these fungi were analyzed. The results showed that the abundances of 13C of were higher than those of ectomycorrhizal fungi and the abundances of 15N of saprophytic fungi were lower than those of ectomycorrhizal fungi. Such differences of stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic compositions between ectomycorrhizal fungi and saprophytic fungi can be ascribed to their different nutrition sources and ecological functions. These results collectively indicate that stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic compositions are an effective proxy for distinguishing between ectomycorrhizal and saprophytic fungi.

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.

濮阳市城市森林生态功能价值评估

在2006年濮阳市城市林业资源调查的基础上,借鉴有关评价森林生态效益的方法,选取对城市环境影响较大的6个方面,即吸收CO2、释放O2、净化环境、旅游休闲、野生动物保护和节能减排,初步估算出濮阳市城市森林生态功能效益年总价值约为29.51亿元。

i-Tree Eco Analysis of Landscape Vegetation on Remediated Areas of Oak Ridge National Laboratory

The Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is the largest and most diverse energy, research, and development institution within the Department of Energy (DOE) system in the United States. As such, the site endures constant land development that creates rigorous growing conditions for urban vegetation. Natural resource managers at ORNL recognize that trees are an integral component of the landscape and are interested in characterizing the urban forest and their associated ecosystem services benefits. We evaluated the urban forest structure, quantified ecosystem services and benefits, and estimated economic value of resources using i-Tree Eco at ORNL. While this assessment captured over 1100 landscape trees, the ORNL Natural Resources Management for landscape vegetation can be expanded to include unmanaged landscapes, e.g. riparian areas, greenspace, and other vegetative attributes to increase ecosystem services benefits. Assigning a monetary value to urban forest benefits help to inform decisions about urban forest management, ideally on cost-benefit analysis.

Thoughts and Practice of Ecological Protection and Restoration of Mountains, Rivers, Forests, Farmlands, Lakes and Grasslands

The report of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China stated that it was necessary to establish and practice the concept that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets,treat the ecological environment as life,and coordinate the management of mountains,rivers,forests,farmlands,lakes and grasslands.In recent years,China has organized a series of pilot projects for the ecological protection and restoration of mountains,rivers,forests,farmlands,lakes and grasslands,breaking the boundary between administrative divisions,departmental management and ecological elements,and implementing conservation and restoration oriented towards the improvement of ecosystem services,so as to solve the problem of the lack of overall planning for ecological protection and restoration projects and the separated management of ecological elements.This study systematically elaborated the theoretical basis and connotation characteristics of ecological protection and restoration of mountains,rivers,forests,farmlands,lakes and grasslands.It proposed the implementation path of ecological protection and restoration project of mountains,rivers,forests,farmlands,lakes and grasslands by taking the water source conservation area of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei as a case,so as to provide reference for the implementation and decision-making management of ecological protection and restoration projects in various regions.

Ecological optimization for an irreversible magnetic Ericsson refrigeration cycle

An irreversible Ericsson refrigeration cycle model is established, in which multi-irreversibilities such as finite-rate heat transfer, regenerative loss, heat leakage, and the efficiency of the regenerator are taken into account. Expressions for several important performance parameters, such as the cooling rate, coefficient of performance （COP）, power input, exergy output rate, entropy generation rate, and ecological function are derived. The influences of the heat leakage and the time of the regenerative processes on the ecological performance of the refrigerator are analyzed. The optimal regions of the ecological function, cooling rate, and COP are determined and evaluated. Furthermore, some important parameter relations of the refrigerator are revealed and discussed in detail. The results obtained here have general significance and will be helpful in gaining a deep understanding of the magnetic Ericsson refrigeration cycle.

Temperature Regulation Effect of Desert Vegetation in Minqin Desert Area

[ Objective] The paper was to study the effects of desert vegetation on temperature regulation and stabilization in desert area. [ Method] The survey data of quadrats in five kinds of plant communities in Minqin desert area were preliminarily estimated. [Result] Desert vegetation had the ecological functions of regulating desert temperature and stabilizing sharp increase of temperature, especially the irreplaceable ecological function of slowing down sandstorm each spring in northwest China compared to physical sand-fixatian measures. The air humidity in forest region was relatively large, and the climate was more stable. The climate in desert area was dry, with intense changes in air temperature. Although the solar radiation utilization rate of desert vegetation per unit area in Minqin oasis fringe was 5.8% of that of 100% coverage vegetation, it had non-ignorable significance in regulating temperature of local desert. Regulating temperature was one of the ecological functions of desert vegetation. Previous studies only considered wind proof and sand-fixation functions of desert vegetation, but ignored its temperature regulation effect, and this was the ecological function of vegetation sand control different from physical sand-fixation measures such as sand barrier. [ Conclusion] It has important theoretical guiding significance and practical use value for prevention and control of desertification by studying ecological function of desert plants/vegetation.

Relative Ecological Value of Major Plants in Minqin Desert Area

This paper analyzed relative ecological value of several major plants in Minqin desert grassland using layered projection of plant canopy. The results showed that ecological functions of natural Nitraria tangutorum and Ephedra sinica woods of a unit area were much better than those of artifi cial Haloxylon ammodendron woods, relative ecological value of N. tangutorum, E. sinica and Artemisia desertorum were much higher than that of artifi cial H. ammodendron woods. Layered projection explains clearly the ecological functions and relative ecological value of desert vegetation of the same coverage. It is inaccurate to indicate wind prevention and sand fi xation of desert vegetation in deserts using ecological function service value and ecological niche calculated on the basis of two-dimensional vegetation coverage, but three-dimensional projection degree should be applied to indicate ecological functions and relative ecological value of vegetation. Application of layered projection of plants in calculating ecological functions and relative ecological value of desert plants(vegetation) is the innovation point of this research.

Researches of Street Greening Landscape Based on Plant Diversity Investigation in Jingzhou

Street greening effectively embodies the ecological and landscape functions of plants,and is of great significance to regional maintenance and ecological protection.In this study,an evaluation system was constructed based on plant diversity,and typical sampling method was used to study the landscape and evaluate the ecological function of main roads in Jingzhou City.The results showed that:①the average species richness of the 14 plot roads was 2,and the average Shannon-Wiener diversity index (H’) and average Pielou evenness index (Jsw) were 0.892 and 0.911,respectively;due to single street landscape and high homogeneity of landscape,there is a lack of landscape characteristics in Jingzhou;②the ecological functions of five streets were compared:shading > dust fall > humidity elimination > noise reduction > temperature reduction;street greening has significant shading effect and certain dust retention effect.The investigation and research will provide reference and improvement suggestions for street greening construction in Jingzhou City in the future.

The Application of Dead Trees or Dying Trees in Landscape Design

In the development of landscape design,plants have always been one of the important elements in the landscape design,and play a very important role in the landscape.In the selection and application of landscape plants,living plants have always occupied a dominant position,but the research and application of dead trees are few.People tend to think that dead plants are no longer valuable,and all dead trees should be removed or replaced.In a sense,this is a waste of resources,and also increases the cost of landscape.In fact,the proper use of dead trees in landscapes design is more likely to display the artistic conception and theme of the landscape.In many natural landscapes,large trees,ancient trees and precious tree die because of natural laws or natural disasters,forming withered trees.This kind of withered tree endows the site with certain historical connotation,which could narrate the history and ecological change of site to people and evoke the imagination of people to the past.In addition,these dead wood still have high economic,ornamental,ecological and cultural values.This study focused on dead trees and dying trees as its subject,analyzing the outstanding dead trees application cases in natural landscape,and discusses the different functions of dead tree,such as ecological function,ornamental function,cultural function and others.In addition,the Beijing Wild Duck Lake National Wetland Park will serve as a special experimental site,dead tree will be designed and applied in the lake of park.And based on these data analyses,the final chapter will return to address the research questions and offer advice on how to apply dead tree to urban landscape and further enhance the value of dead trees in landscape design.