Seismic response of a mid-story isolated structure considering SSI in mountainous areas under long-period earthquakes

At present,there is not much research on mid-story isolated structures in mountainous areas.In this study,a model of a mid-story isolated structure considering soil-structure interaction(SSI)in mountainous areas is established along with a model that does not consider SSI.Eight long-period earthquake waves and two ordinary earthquake waves are selected as inputs for the dynamic time history analysis of the structure.The results show that the seismic response of a mid-story isolated structure considering SSI in mountainous areas can be amplified when compared with a structure that does not consider SSI.The structure response under long-period earthquakes is larger than that of ordinary earthquakes.The structure response under far-field harmonic-like earthquakes is larger than that of near-fault pulse-type earthquakes.The structure response under near-fault pulse-type earthquakes is larger than that of far-field non-harmonic earthquakes.When subjected to long-period earthquakes,the displacement of the isolated bearings exceeded the limit value,which led to instability and overturning of the structure.The structure with dampers in the isolated story could adequately control the nonlinear response of the structure,effectively reduce the displacement of the isolated bearings,and provide a convenient,efficient and economic method not only for new construction but also to retrofit existing structures.

Spatio-temporal Evolution and Optimization of Landscape Ecological Risk in Karst Mountainous Areas

[Objective]The ecological vulnerability and landscape ecological risk of karst mountainous areas have increased as a result of enhanced disturbance of natural resources by human activities.This paper aimed to explore the characteristics of ecological risk evolution under different landscape patterns in the region,with a view to providing reference for land classification protection,sustainable use of resources and regional ecological risk optimization in karst mountainous areas.[Method]Taking Huangping County,a typical karst mountainous area,as an example,eight evaluation factors of natural and landscape patterns were selected to construct a landscape ecological risk evaluation model,to quantitatively explore the spatio-temporal evolution of landscape ecological risk and the trend of risk level transfer in the study area from^(2)010-2018,and to reveal the complex relationship between ecological risk and topography in karst mountainous areas.[Result]①From 2010 to 2018,land use types changed to different degrees,with the most amount of woodland transferred out(1627.37 hm^(2))and the most amount of construction land transferred in(1303.93 hm^(2));a total of 3552.31 hm^(2) of land was transferred,with a change ratio of 2.13%,and there was a significant conversion between construction land,arable land,and woodland.②From 2010 to 2018,the landscape ecological risk in the study area changed significantly,and the landscape ecological risk index decreased from 0.3441 to 0.1733,showing an upward and then downward trend;the landscape ecological risk of the whole region was dominated by low-risk and lower-risk zones,and the ecological risk level generally shifted from a high level to a low level,and the ecological environment was improved.③There was a negative correlation between ecological risk and topographic position,and high-risk zones were mainly distributed among low topographic zones;with the change of time,the advantage of risk level for the selection of topography was gradually weakened,and the influence of anthropogenic factors on the ecological risk of the landscape was becoming more and more prominent.[Conclusion]This paper can provide theoretical basis for land use optimization and ecological protection in karst mountainous areas.

Climate-Vegetation Coverage Interactions in the Hengduan Mountains Area, Southeastern Tibetan Plateau, and Their Downstream Effects

Little is known about the mechanism of climate-vegetation coverage coupled changes in the Tibetan Plateau(TP)region,which is the most climatically sensitive and ecologically fragile region with the highest terrain in the world.This study,using multisource datasets(including satellite data and meteorological observations and reanalysis data)revealed the mutual feedback mechanisms between changes in climate(temperature and precipitation)and vegetation coverage in recent decades in the Hengduan Mountains Area(HMA)of the southeastern TP and their influences on climate in the downstream region,the Sichuan Basin(SCB).There is mutual facilitation between rising air temperature and increasing vegetation coverage in the HMA,which is most significant during winter,and then during spring,but insignificant during summer and autumn.Rising temperature significantly enhances local vegetation coverage,and vegetation greening in turn heats the atmosphere via enhancing net heat flux from the surface to the atmosphere.The atmospheric heating anomaly over the HMA thickens the atmospheric column and increases upper air pressure.The high pressure anomaly disperses downstream via the westerly flow,expands across the SCB,and eventually increases the SCB temperature.This effect lasts from winter to the following spring,which may cause the maximum increasing trend of the SCB temperature and vegetation coverage in spring.These results are helpful for estimating future trends in climate and eco-environmental variations in the HMA and SCB under warming scenarios,as well as seasonal forecasting based on the connection between the HMA eco-environment and SCB climate.

Dry Breeding and Dry Planting Techniques for Indica Hybrid Rice in Karst Mountain Areas of Gejiu City

Based on the arable land situation in Gejiu City,upland dry planting of indica hybrid rice is being expanded in Karst mountain areas with a rainfall of over 1400 mm and an altitude of 1100-1600 m to develop grain production.This paper gives a specific description of hybrid rice upland dry seedling technology,upland transplanting technology,fertilization technology,field management,weed prevention and control technology,and disease and pest control.

Performance evaluation of CLM5.0 in simulating liquid soil water in high mountainous area,Northwest China

The model performance in simulating soil water content(SWC) is crucial for successfully modeling earth’s system,especially in high mountainous areas.In this study,the performance of Community Land Model 5.0(CLM5.0) in simulating liquid SWC was evaluated against observations from nine in-situ sites in the upper reach of the Heihe River Watershed(HRW),Northwest China.The CLM5.0 shows reliable performance in the study area with correlation coefficients(R) ranging between 0.79–0.93,root mean standard errors(RMSE)ranging between 0.044–0.097 m^(3)/m^(3),and the mean bias(BIAS) ranging between-0.084–0.061 m^(3)/m^(3).The slightly worse performance of CLM5.0 than CLM4.5 on alpine meadow and grassland is mainly caused by the revised canopy interception parameterization.The CLM5.0 overestimates interception and underestimates evapotranspiration(ET) on both alpine meadow and grassland during the growth period.The systematical overestimations at all the grassland sites indicate that the underestimation of ET is much larger than the overestimation of interception on grassland during growth period,while the errors of simulated interception and ET are partially canceled out on alpine meadow.Moreover,the underestimation of ET is more responsible for the overestimation of SWC than the overestimation of interception in the high mountainous area.It is necessary to estimate reasonable empirical parameter α(proportion of leaf water collection area) in interception parameterization scheme and further improve the dry surface layerbased soil evaporation resistance parameterization introduced in CLM5.0 in future researches.The performance of CLM5.0 is better under completely frozen stage than thawing stage and freezing stage,because of low variations of liquid SWC caused by extremely low hydraulic conductivity of soils.The underestimation of liquid SWC under frozen state is caused by underestimation of soil temperature,which leads to more ice mass and less liquid water in total water content.

Spatiotemporal Interaction Between Rural Settlements and Cultivated Land in Karst Mountainous Area,China

Settlements and cultivated land are important production and living spaces in promoting rural revitalization.However,few studies have explored the relationship between rural settlements and cultivated land from spatiotemporal interaction perspective.This paper analyzed the spatiotemporal conversion and the interactive mechanism between rural settlements and cultivated land in a karst mountainous area(Qixingguan District of Guizhou Province)with fragile ecological environment in China during 2009–2018.The results showed that the expansion of rural settlements and the loss of cultivated land coexisted in Qixingguan District.Only 2.68%of the new cultivated land was reclaimed from rural settlements,whereas 85.45%of the new rural settlements occupied cultivated land.Six spatial expansion modes of rural settlements when occupying cultivated land were identified.Among these six modes,the area of the edge-expansion&along traffic roads(EA)mode accounted for 52.75%.The occupation by rural settlements made the cultivated land landscape more fragmented.The area ratio index of cultivated land to rural settlements(ARICR)of Qixingguan District averaged 18.75in 2009 and 17.21 in 2018,respectively.The ARICR reduced in all township administrative regions.Cultivated land with suitable slope condition for farming or without rocky desertification was more likely to be occupied by rural settlements.The probability of cultivated land occupied by rural settlements increased with the decrease of the distance to traffic roads,towns,and old rural settlements.The better the economic and social development of the township administrative regions,the more the ARICR decreased,while the richer the agricultural resources and the better the rural development of the township administrative regions,the less the ARICR decreased.The optimal reconstruction path of rural settlements,the comprehensive conservation path of cultivated land and the urban-rural integration development path in karst mountainous area were proposed.The findings would contribute to our understanding of the spatiotemporal interaction between rural settlements and cultivated land,and would provide a theoretical basis for promoting the coordinated development of rural man-land relationship and rural revitalization in karst areas.

Moderate scale and realization potential of new citrus-planting business entities in hilly and mountainous areas in China

The natural and economic conditions of agricultural resources vary greatly in China,especially in hilly and mountainous areas.The phenomenon of land fragmentation has become increasingly prominent,so that large-scale operations cannot be fully achieved in a short period of time,and the centralized and continuous scale of operations cannot be realized in China.In addition,with increasingly strict farmland protection and agricultural land use control systems,the issues of nongrain production and nonagricultural cultivated land use have become increasingly restricted.Thus,it is quite necessary to determine the appropriate scale of operations and the means to achieve moderately scaled operations for the new business entities.On the basis of microsurvey data for 108 new citrus-planting business entities in the modern agricultural park in the Chongqing's Jiangjin District,an area with long citrus-planting history,we measured the moderate scale of new citrus-planting business entities to maximize profit using a translog growth model.According to the projection pursuit model,we evaluated the suitability conditions of citrus planting in garden land,woodland,grassland,and general cultivated land in the study area.We then explored the potential for new moderate-scale business entities within different farming radii.The results showed that large-scale planting conditions of citrus in garden land,forest land,grassland,and general cultivated land in the study area were suitable,and the proportion of high-suitable and mediumsuitable land was 73.42%.Under the existing social and economic conditions,the moderate scale of new citrus-planting business entities in the study area was 1.8–2.7 hm^(2).In particular,its rankings from large to small were agricultural enterprises(17.19–25.78 hm^(2)),farmer cooperatives(16.88–25.33 hm^(2)),big growers and breeders(6.39–9.59 hm^(2)),and family farms(5.02–7.53 hm^(2)).In the sample of 108 households,only 47.22%of the entities achieved moderate-scale operation,of which 25%of the entities achieved a scale greater than moderate operation.However,52.78%of the entities achieved a scale of less than moderate operation.These entities would have to transfer the surrounding adjacent garden land,forest land,grassland,or general cultivated land to achieve largescale land management.The land area of the adjacent gardens in a 1000 m farming radius could meet the moderate-scale operation demand of the vast majority of new business entities.For the vast majority of new business entities,the land area of the adjacent woodland,grassland,and general cultivated land could supplement the garden land to achieve moderate-scale operation in a 500 m farming radius.If the land area with moderate suitability and high suitability is prioritized,the land area in the adjacent gardens in the 1000 m farming radius could meet the moderate-scale operation demand for the vast majority of new business entities.Within the 500 m farming radius,the vast majority of new business entities have achieved moderate-scale operations if the land area adjacent to forest land,grassland,and general arable land was supplemented by gardens;however,a few entities could not achieve moderate-scale operations.From the village perspective,gardens were prioritized.Sixteen villages had planting areas and planting suitability that exceeded the average level of the study area,accounting for 23.53%.If combined with the reserve potential of the garden land,eight villages could improve their potential,accounting for 11.76%.Therefore,the conditions of large-scale citrus planting in the study area should be further improved,and the scale expansion of new citrus-planting business entities should receive additional scientific guidance.

Preliminary Study on Forest Fire Prevention and Extinguishing in Townships in the Southern Mountainous Areas of Zhejiang Province:A Case Study of Lishui

Forest fires seriously threaten forestry resources and the life and property safety of people in mountainous areas of Lishui City. In this paper, a fire prevention concept with refined forecast and early warning of forest fire danger weather ratings in townships as the starting point, satellite real-time observation of fire spots, monitoring of the Internet of Things and other high-tech products as an implementation means, and strengthening forest fire prevention equipment and personnel in townships as a guarantee was established. The command system for rapid emergency response by cities, counties and townships should be improved. During the forest fire prevention period, fire sources should be strictly controlled, and the basic principles of forest fire fighting in townships should be implemented into the actual fire prevention and fire fighting work to eliminate forest fires in time at the initial stage and before the disaster.

Analysis of Damage Pattern of Road Bridge Landslide in Mountainous Area

Through on-site defect investigation,special inspection,and finite element simulation calculation of a high-speed upper-span(30+32+30)m prestressed concrete box girder bridge,the overall sliding force of the bridge on the right side of platform 0#is analyzed.In this situation,typical defects such as overall girder slippage,support dislocation,pier column deviation,and pier bottom side cracks have occurred in the overpass.At the same time,combined with simulation calculation analysis,it is interpreted that the 0#and 1#foundation has been damaged at a certain position below the ground line.The occurrence of broken piles has provided a reliable basis for the later reinforcement and maintenance of the bridge and ideas for emergency inspection and analysis of bridges damaged by the same type of landslides.

Optimal livelihood strategy for different poverty groups among farmers: a case study of the Qin-Ba Mountain area in South-Shaanxi, China

Achieving sustainable livelihood is the ultimate goal of poverty alleviation efforts in mountainous areas,and selecting an optimal livelihood strategy for different poverty-type farmers greatly improves farmers’livelihood capital,resists livelihood risks,and promotes sustainable development.For farmers,optimal livelihood strategy means better employment opportunities,higher family income(or better income structure),and stronger employability or development potential.This paper classifies different types of farmers’poverty on the basis of a quantitative evaluation of farmers’livelihood capital in the Qin-ba Mountain Area in South-Shaanxi by using the k-means clustering method and subsequently the fuzzy evaluation method to evaluate the effectiveness of farmers’livelihood strategies.Then,the multi-attribute decision-making model is used to analyze the selection of optimal livelihood strategies for different poverty-type farmers.The results suggest a significant difference in the selection of the optimal livelihood strategy for different poverty-type farmers.Farmers without financial and human capital choose to"go out to work,"farmers lacking natural capital choose to"acquire social insurance and government relief,"farmers without physical capital choose to"use loans,"and farmers lacking social capital choose to"use savings."Studying the selection of optimal livelihood strategies for different poverty-type farmers can help to propose targeted sustainable livelihood optimization programs for farmers and accelerate efforts to overcome poverty in mountainous areas.

NUMERICAL SIMULATION ON THE WIND FIELD STRUCTURE OF A MOUNTAINOUS AREA BESIDE SOUTH CHINA SEA DURING THE LANDFALL OF TYPHOON MOLAVE

Leveraging the commercial CFD software FLUENT,the fine-scale three-dimensional wind structure over the Paiya Mountains on the Dapeng Peninsula near Shenzhen,a city on the seashore of South China Sea,during the landfall of Typhoon Molave has been simulated and analyzed.Through the study,a conceptual wind structure model for mountainous areas under strong wind condition is established and the following conclusions are obtained as follows:(1)FLUENT can reasonably simulate a three-dimensional wind structure over mountainous areas under strong wind conditions;(2)the kinetic effect of a mountain can intensify wind speed in the windward side of the mountain and the area over the mountain peak;and(3)in the leeward side of the mountain,wind speed is relatively lower with relatively stronger wind shear and turbulence.

Disaster Reduction Decision Support System Against Debris Flows and Landslides Along Highway in Mountainous Area

Highways in mountainous areas are easy to be damaged by such natural disasters as debris flows and landslides and disaster reduction decision support system (DRDSS) is one of the important means to mitigate these disasters. Guided by the theories and technologies of debris flow and landslide reduction and supported by geographical information system (GIS), remote sensing and database techniques, a DRDSS against debris flow and landslide along highways in mountainous areas has been established on the basis of such principles as pertinence, systematicness, effectiveness, easy to use, open and expandability. The system consists of database, disaster analysis models and decisions on reduction of debris flows and landslides, mainly functioning to zone disaster dangerous degree, analyze debris flow activity, simulate debris flow deposition and diffusion, analyze landslide stability, select optimal highway renovation scheme and plan disaster prevention and control engineering. This system has been applied successfully to the debris flow and landslide treatment works along Palongzangbu Section of Sichuan-Tibet Highway.

Effects of Land Management Practices on Soil Water in Southwestern Mountainous Area, China

The effects of selected land management practices （cross-sloping tillage, ridge culture, organic manure, and straw mulch） on soil water conservation in a southwestern mountainous area, China, were studied during November 2002 to November 2004. The experimental field is divided into three parts based on soil layer depths, 0-60 cm （part Ⅰ）, 0-40 cm （part Ⅱ）, and 0- 20 cm （part Ⅲ）, and they all had the same slope azimuth （SE）, slope （10°）, and slope type （linear）. The experimental plots were subjected to the following treatments： cross-sloping tillage （CST）; cross-sloping tillage with organic manure （CST/ OM）; cross-sloping tillage with straw mulch （CST/SM）; contour ridge culture （CRC）; contour ridge culture with organic manure （CRC/OM）; and contour ridge culture with straw mulch （CRC/SM）, to identify the effects of management practices on soil water. Water contents were determined for soil samples collected, using a 2.2 cm diameter manual probe. Soil water was monitored once every five days from Nov. 20, 2002 to Nov. 20, 2004. The results indicated that, in the study stages, an integration of rainfall, evaporative losses, and crop transcription controlled the basic tendencies of profile （mean） soil water, while land management practices, to a certain extent, only modified its amount, distribution, and routing. Moreover, these modifications also mainly focused on the first 20 cm depth of topsoil layer. When each management practice was compared with control treatment, season changes of profile （mean） soil water were pronounced, while interannual changes among them were not significant. More comparisons indicated that, in the study stages, contour ridge culture had better effects than cross-sloping tillage. And under the same tillage, the combination of organic manure could achieve more than straw mulch. These management practices should be recommended considering the effectiveness of soil and water management techniques in the southwestern mountainous area, China.

Spatiotemporal evolution of land transportation networks and accessibility in inland mountainous areas 1917-2017:A case study of Southwest China

Located in the western hinterland,Southwest China is a typical mountainous area covered by plateaus,mountains and hills.Its ruggedness hinders regional internal and external connections,and its poor transportation infrastructure has long constrained the socioeconomic development of Southwest China.Based on the GIS transportation database,this paper explored the spatiotemporal evolution and characteristics of the land transportation networks and the accessibility of Southwest China from 1917 to 2017.Regional accessibility in Southwest China has significantly improved,and transportation infrastructure has gradually integrated the transportation circles of the52 central cities.The transportation network has followed an evolutionary process from a"hub-spoke pattern"to a"network pattern",while the construction of a high-speed railway(HSR)has brought about significant spatial polarization.We argue that innovation in transportation technology is one of the most effective factors for promoting a significant change in regional accessibility.In addition,the spatial distribution and evolution of accessibility in Southwest China presents a verticalcharacteristic that distinguishes it from the plains,as the spillover effects of new transportation infrastructure on accessibility improvement are partly offset by the mountainous terrain.Additionally,in Southwest China,there is significant"path dependence"in the evolution of the transportation network,since a large portion of the population is concentrated along transportation corridors in mountainous areas.

Integrating multisource RS data and GIS techniques to assist the evaluation of resource-environment carrying capacity in karst mountainous area

The karst mountainous area is an ecologically fragile region with prominent humanland contradictions.The resource-environment carrying capacity(RECC)of this region needs to be further clarified.The development of remote sensing(RS)and geographic information system(GIS)provides data sources and processing platform for RECC monitoring.This study analyzed and established the evaluation index system of RECC by considering particularity in the karst mountainous area of Southwest China;processed multisource RS data(Sentinel-2,Aster-DEM and Landsat-8)to extract the spatial distributions of nine key indexes by GIS techniques(information classification,overlay analysis and raster calculation);proposed the methods of index integration and fuzzy comprehensive evaluation of the RECC by GIS;and took a typical area,Guangnan County in Yunnan Province of China,as an experimental area to explore the effectiveness of the indexes and methods.The results showed that:(1)The important indexes affecting the RECC of karst mountainous area are water resources,tourism resources,position resources,geographical environment and soil erosion environment.(2)Data on cultivated land,construction land,minerals,transportation,water conservancy,ecosystem services,topography,soil erosion and rocky desertification can be obtained from RS data.GIS techniques integrate the information into the RECC results.The data extraction and processing methods are feasible on evaluating RECC.(3)The RECC of Guangnan County was in the mid-carrying level in 2018.The midcarrying and low-carrying levels were the main types,accounting for more than 80.00%of the total study area.The areas with high carrying capacity were mainly distributed in the northern regions of the northwest-southeast line of the county,and other areas have a low carrying capacity comparatively.The coordination between regional resource-environment status and socioeconomic development is the key to improve RECC.This study explores the evaluation index system of RECC in karst mountainous area and the application of multisource RS data and GIS techniques in the comprehensive evaluation.The methods can be applied in related fields to provide suggestions for data/information extraction and integration,and sustainable development.

Industrial Poverty Alleviation Model in Southwestern High-altitude Mountainous Areas of China——A Case Study of Industrial Poverty Alleviation of Xueshan Township in Luquan County of Yunnan Province through Planting Codonopsis pilosula

Due to the severe restrictions of natural conditions and ecological environment,high-altitude mountainous areas usually become the " hard bones" in the battle against poverty. Xueshan Township,Luquan Yi and Miao Autonomous County of Yunnan Province,located in the alpine valley of Jinsha River,is a major township with wide and deep poverty,and the incidence of poverty is up to 45. 00%. In recent years,Xueshan Township has insisted on the battle against poverty,made effort to develop the Codonopsis pilosula industry,and successfully developed a road to poverty alleviation through C. pilosula industry,and formed a unique industrial poverty alleviation model by the end of 2018,the incidence of poverty dropped to 0. 74%. Based on field survey and interview,this paper analyzes and summarizes the specific practices,main results,practical experience and promotion and application measures of the poverty alleviation model of C. pilosula planting industry in Xueshan Township,in the hope of providing certain reference for the targeted poverty alleviation in similar areas in Yunnan Province and other provinces of China.

Integrated Evaluation on Highway Engineering Geological Hazard in Mountainous Area of Enshi, Hubei

Aiming at the geological features of highway engineering in mountainous area of Enshi, Hubei Province, the principles to set up an integrated evaluation system for highway engineering geological hazard are formulated. Then, the integrated evaluation system for highway engineering geological hazard in mountainous area of Enshi is established. In the evaluation system, the first-level evaluation indices are geological development degree, geological conditions, and damaging power, whereas the second-level indices including key factors affecting main kinds of geological hazard. Meanwhile, the borders of indices are determined. At last, the method of Fuzzy Comprehensive Evaluation （FCE） is adopted to quantitatively evaluate the highway engineering geological hazard in mountainous area of Enshi.

Spatial patterns of the main trees in a plant micro-reserve constructed in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics mountainous competition zone

Several plant micro-reserves were established to preserve the vegetation in local mountain areas during the construction of the Yanqing competition zone of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.The spatial patterns of the main species in one of the micro-reserves and the factors affecting these patterns were characterized in this study.The distribution of arbor species was found to be mostly aggregated,especially at fine scales(<5 m).Minor species were found to be more aggregated than the major species in each forest layer.The spatial patterns were found to be affected by habitat heterogeneity,intraspecific relationships,interspecific competition,and seed dispersal limitation.Habitat heterogeneity was found to affect large-scale spatial patterns,and its effects were observed throughout population development.Interspecific competition is another factor affecting the distribution of the species,and its effects were stronger during the later stages of population development.Habitat heterogeneity was found to affect competition among species and is key for species coexistence.Both these processes are affected by the seed dispersal limitation,and intraspecific relationships are a legacy of seed dispersal.The point patterns can be used as a tool for the initial assessment of the status of communities within micro-reserves.The consideration of these relationships in the development,management,and formulation of policies for micro-reserves in mountainous areas will facilitate the achievement of conservation goals.The careful consideration of habitat conditions when selecting sites for micro-reserves establishment can promote species conservation.

Can Multiple Livelihood Interventions Improve Livelihood Resilience of Out-of-poverty Farmers in Mountain Areas?A Case Study of Longnan Mountain Area,China

Clarifying the impact of livelihood interventions on the livelihood resilience of farmers in undeveloped mountain areas can not only optimize interventions,but also provide experiential support for global poverty alleviation.To analyze the impact of multiple livelihood interventions on livelihood resilience,we constructed an analytical framework and analyzed the enjoyment of livelihood interventions and the heterogeneity of livelihood resilience among out-of-poverty farmers in the Longnan mountain areas,China.Then,we studied the impact of intervention intensity on livelihood resilience through the multiple linear regression model.The results revealed that:1)the livelihood interventions enjoyed by out-of-poverty farmer in mountain areas were multiple.The proportion of farmers enjoyed diversified livelihood interventions was in descending order of high mountain areas,semi-mountain area and Chuanba valley areas.2)The overall livelihood resilience of farmers in Longnan mountain areas was generally low,with an average of 0.299.There were significant differences in the livelihood resilience of farmers across different geographic areas in the study area and types of interventions.3)The effects of industry interventions,employment interventions and education interventions were significant.The endogenous power of farmers not only had a significant positive effect on livelihood resilience,but also positively moderated the impact of the intensity of interventions on livelihood resilience.In addition,the household dependency ratio and the average altitude of the village area had a significant negative impact on their livelihood resilience.

An ethnobotanical study of forage plants in Zhuxi County in the Qinba mountainous area of central China

In the Qinba mountainous area of Central China,pig farming has a significant impact on the growth of the rural economy and has substantially increased farmer incomes.Traditional knowledge plays an important role in the selection of forage plant species for pig farming by local people.This study aimed to identify the forage plants used for pig feeding and to catalog indigenous knowledge regarding their use.During 2016 and 2017,ethnobotanical surveys and inventories were conducted in Zhuxi County,Hubei Province,China.Data were collected using semi-structured interviews,key informant reports,free listings,guided field walks,and participatory observations with 77 households in 16 villages in 13 towns/townships.The obtained data were analyzed using a relative frequency citation(RFC)index.Overall,145 wild forage plants from 91 genera and 31 families were recorded.The most cited families were Asteraceae,Polygonaceae,Urticaceae,Amaranthaceae,Fabaceae,Cruciferae,Caryophyllaceae,and Lamiaceae.Whole plants(75.9%)and tender leaves(12.4%)were the most frequently used parts of the plants.Most of the forage plants were herbaceous(88.9%).Almost all forage plants could be collected throughout the year(62.7%).Raw and cooked were the two main preparation methods.The most frequently cited species were Taraxacum mongolicum,Bidens pilosa,Sonchus oleraceus,Pilea verrucosa,and Pilea pumila var.obtusifolia.A total of 14 species were identified as the top forage plants in Zhuxi County based on their RFC values(RFC value greater than 0.5).Local people possess rich traditional knowledge about the utilization and management of forage plants for pig feeding.However,the maintenance of this traditional knowledge may be seriously threatened by changes in pig feeding modes and the lack of successors.Appropriate strategies and action plans have been suggested for the conservation of traditional knowledge associated with biodiversity and the sustainable use of forage species resources.These include 1)taking targeted measures to protect forage resources and associated traditional knowledge;2)strengthening research on the forage plants with the highest RFC values for nutritional value,digestibility,other functions,and ecological status;and 3)enhancing the identification of poisonous forage plants.