Spatial distribution and environmental characterization of sediment-associated metals from middle-downstream of Xiangjiang River,southern China

The contamination and environmental risk assessment of the toxic elements in sediments from the middle-downstream (Zhuzhou-Changsha section) of the Xiangjiang River in Hunan Province of China were studied. The results show that As, Cd, Pb and Zn are major contaminants in sediments, and average concentrations of these elements significantly exceed both the Control Standards for Pollutants in Sludge of China (GB4284-84) for agricultural use in acidic soils and the effect range median (ERM) values. The average concentrations of As, Cd and Pb in the river water slightly exceed the limit of Surface Water Environment Quality Standard (GB3838-2002). The concentrations of As and Cr in depth profiles extensively change, but slight changes are observed in Pb and Zn. Cd and Zn in most sediment samples can easily enter the food-chain and bring possible ecotoxicological risk to organisms living in sediments according to the risk assessment code.

Chemometric study of spatial variations of environmental and ecological characteristics in the Zhujiang River (Pearl River) Estuary and adjacent waters

Chemometric approach based on principal component analysis（PCA） was utilized to examine the spatial variances of environmental and ecological characteristics in the Zhujiang River（Pearl River） Estuary and adjacent waters（ZREAW） in the South China Sea. The PCA result shows that the ZREAW can be divided into different zones according to the principal components and geographical locations of the study stations,and indicates that there are distinct regional variances on environmental features and the corresponding phytoplankton biomass and community structures among different areas. The spatial distribution of ecological features was implied to be influenced by various degrees of the different water resources,such as the Pearl River discharges,the coastal current and the oceanic water from the South China Sea. The variation of the biomass maximum zone and the complex impacts on the spatial distributions of phytoplankton biomass and production were also evaluated.

Influence of Spatial-Temporal and Environmental Factors on Larimichthys polyactis, Octopus variabilis, and Species Aggregated Set-Net CPUEs in Haizhou Bay, China

Set-nets are common alongshore fishing gear used in Haizhou Bay, which rely on flow to catch fish. The catch per unit effort(CPUE) of set-net is affected by spatial-temporal and environmental factors but no research has been conducted on this subject. In this study, we used generalized additive models(GAMs) to explore the influence of spatial-temporal and environmental factors on CPUEs of species aggregated, small yellow croaker(Larimichthys polyactis), and octopus(Octopus variabilis) based on logbooks investigations conducted at 4 stations in an alongshore area of Haizhou Bay from 2011 to 2012. The results showed that all CPUEs exhibited significant spatial-temporal differences at various scales. Aggregated CPUE was high when the sea surface temperature(SST) was 15-18℃ and 20-23℃, which was mainly determined by life history traits of the octopus and small yellow croaker(optimal SSTs 14-17℃ and 19-24℃, respectively). Chlorophyll-a concentration had significant influences on the aggregated, small yellow croaker and octopus CPUEs at optimal ranges of 3.8-6.2 mg m^(-3), 4.2-4.8 mg m^(-3) and 4.5-5.5 mg m^(-3), respectively. Flow through the net had positive relationships with CPUEs. The approximate logarithmic trends in regression curves had a critical point of 2.5 Mm^3 d^(-1), which was the dividing point that differentiated whether the major factor affecting CPUEs was the flow velocity or the fishery resource. Our results from this study will help guide fishery production and improve catch rate of set-net fishing in Haizhou Bay.

Types, Metallogenic Environments and Characteristics of Temporal and Spatial Distribution of Copper Deposits in China

Based upon a comprehensive study of 123 copper deposits in China. this paper reaches the following conclusions: 1. The crust in China was solidified pretty late; with the accretion of the plate, the copper mineralization moved towards its margin in space and became successively younger in age. 2. The major copper ore types ever found in the world have mostly been discovered in China, in which the porphyry type seems to be the most important and the massive sulfide type in the transitional bed between marine clastic and carbonate rocks is clearly defined. 3. Carbonate strata are widespread in China and their deposition lasted for a long geological period, so the proportion of copper deposits occurring in them is large as compared with other parts of the world. 4. Seven metallogenic epochs can be recognized, in which the Mesozoic one plays the leading role and the middle(late) Palaeozoic and Cenozoic ones are next in importance. Mineralization was comparatively simple in the early geological period. and became diversified later on. In the early epochs copper deposits related to basaltic magmatism and metamorphosed marine sediments predominated, whereas in the later epochs those related to granitic magmatism and continental sedimentation were dominant. 5. There exist in China thirteen metallogenic provinces, of which the Lower Yangtze downwarping belt, Sanjiang fold system, Jiangnan axis and Xikang-Yunnan axis are of greater significance. 6. The crustal mobility in China was rather pronounced, the polycyclic evolution of the crust has resulted in such obvious phenomena as the inheritance of mineralization, the coexistence of various types and the superposition of different genetic types.

Relative Contributions of Spatial and Environmental Processes and Biotic Interactions in a Soil Collembolan Community

Understanding the underlying processes of how communities are structured remains a central question in community ecology. However, the mechanisms of the soil animal community are still unclear, especially for communities on a small scale. To evaluate the relative roles of biotic interactions and environmental and spatial processes in a soil collembolan community, a field experiment was carried out on a small scale(50 m) in the farmland ecosystem of the Sanjiang Plain, Northeast China. In August and October, 2011, we took 100 samples each month in a 50 m × 50 m plot using a spatially delimited sampling design. Variation partitioning was used to quantify the relative contributions of the spatial and environmental variables. A null model was selected to test for the non-randomness pattern of species co-occurrence and body size in assemblages of collembolans and to test whether the pattern observed was the result of environmental or biotic processes that structured the community on a small scale. The results showed that large variance was accounted for by spatial variables(18.99% in August and 21.83% in October, both were significant). There were relatively lower effects of environmental variation(3.56% in August and 1.45% in October, neither was significant), while the soil water content, soil p H and soybean height explained a significant portion of the variance that was observed in the spatial pattern of the collembolan community. Furthermore, the null model revealed more co-occurrence than expected by chance, suggesting that collembolan communities had a non-random co-occurrence pattern in both August and October. Additionally, environmental niche overlap and the body size ratio of co-occurrence showed that interspecific competition was not influential in collembolan community structuring. Considering all of the results together, the contributions of spatial and environmental processes were stronger than biotic interactions in the small-scale structuring of a soil collembolan community.

Spatial Design Strategies for Community Parks Based on Environmental Perception

By applying environmental perception theories, spatial configurations of community parks were analyzed, and spatial design strategies meeting perceptual psychology of users were proposed to integrate the community park environment into daily life of local residents, and create a harmonious and vital living environment.

Spatial distributions of tropical tree species in northern Vietnam under environmentally variable site conditions

Ecological interactions of species and thus their spatial pat- terns may differ between homogeneous and heterogeneous forests. To account for this, techniques of point pattern analysis were implemented on mapped locations of tree individuals from two 1-ha tropicalforest plots in Vietnam. We analyzed the effect of environmental heterogeneity on tree distributions; spatial distribution patterns of dominant species; inter-specific associations; and conspecific associations between life stages. Our analyses showed that： environmental conditions were homo- geneous at plot 1 but heterogeneous at plot 2; in both plots, all six domi- nant species were aggregated at various scales up to 30 m, and tree spe- cies were aggregated at larger scales in the homogeneous site than in the heterogeneous site; attraction between pairs of species was remarkably higher at the homogeneous site while negative associations were more frequent in the heterogeneous site; some species, H. kurzii, T. ilicifolia （homogeneous plot） and D. sylvatica, S. wightianum （heterogeneous plot） showed a lack of early life-stage individuals near conspecific adults. Moreover, additional clustering of young individuals was independent from conspecific adults, except D. sylvatica in both sites. These findings are consistent with the Janzen-ConneU hypothesis. Overall, habitat het- erogeneity influences spatial patterns and inter-specific associations of the tree species and evidences of self-thinning are shown in most species.

Spatial Effect of Environmental Regulation on Carbon Emissions

Based on Chinese provincial panel data from 2003 to 2014,the spatial dependence between the environment regulation and carbon emissions is tested by spatial autocorrelation analysis. Besides,spatial lag model and spatial error model are built to empirically test the marginal effect of environmental regulation on carbon emissions and its spatial effect. The result shows that the influence trajectory of environmental regulation on carbon emissions performances inverted ＂ U＂ type. It is ＂ green paradox effect＂ before the inflection point and ＂ reversed transmission reduction effect＂ after the inflection point. Moreover,the carbon emissions show significant spatial spillover effect. In order to achieve the desired effect of environmental regulation and promote carbon reduction,we should increase the environmental regulation intensity reasonably,select rational environmental regulation policy tools,and sufficiently consider the spatial spillover effect of carbon emissions.

Combining Environmental Factors and Lab VNIR Spectral Data to Predict SOM by Geospatial Techniques

Soil organic matter(SOM) is an important parameter related to soil nutrient and miscellaneous ecosystem services. This paper attempts to improve the performance of traditional partial least square regression(PLSR) model by considering the spatial autocorrelation and soil forming factors. Surface soil samples(n = 180) were collected from Honghu City located in the middle of Jianghan Plain, China. The visible and near infrared(VNIR) spectra and six environmental factors(elevation, land use types, roughness, relief amplitude, enhanced vegetation index, and land surface water index) were used as the auxiliary variables to construct the multiple linear regression(MLR), PLSR and geographically weighted regression(GWR) models. Results showed that: 1) the VNIR spectra can increase about 39.62% prediction accuracy than the environmental factors in predicting SOM; 2) the comprehensive variables of VNIR spectra and the environmental factors can improve about 5.78% and 44.90% relative to soil spectral models and soil environmental models, respectively; 3) the spatial model(GWR) can improve about 3.28% accuracy than MLR and PLSR. Our results suggest that the combination of spectral reflectance and the environmental variables can be used as the suitable auxiliary variables in predicting SOM, and GWR is a promising model for predicting soil properties.

Effect of FDI on China's environmental pollution: Evidence based on spatial panel data

It is clearly stated in the 19th people's congress that we should make the environmental protection as our national policy. Therefore, it is of great importance to study this issue. This article is going to consider 30 provinces of China as the cross-section, and utilize the data sample from 2006 to 2015 of these cross-sections to formulate a Spatial Panel Data Durbin Model to analyze the effect of FDI. By using these data, this article creates a comprehensive environmental pollution index with the help of entropy. The result indicates that the effect of FDI on environment has a non-linear and spatial spillover characteristic. Before reaching the critical value, FDI has a negative effect on environment; however, with the accumulation of FDI, it will create a significant positive effect on the environment.

Memantine combined with environmental enrichment improves spatial memory and alleviates Alzheimer's disease-like pathology in senescence-accelerated prone-8(SAMP8) mice

Memantine is a N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist approved for the treatment of moderate to severe Alzheimer's disease (AD). Environmental enrichment (EE) has shown significant beneficial effects on func- tional improvement in AD. In this study, we sought to determine whether combining these two distinct therapies would yield greater benefit than either drug used alone. We investigated the effect of memantine combined with EE on spatial learning and memory and AD-like pathology in a widely used AD model, the senescence-accelerated prone mice (SAMP8). The SAMP8 mice were randomly assigned to enriched housing (EH) or standard housing (SH), where either memantine (20 mg/kg) or saline was given by gastric lavage once daily continuously for eight weeks. Our results showed that, when provided separately, memantine and EE significantly improved spatial learning and memory by shortening escape latencies and increasing the frequency of entrance into the target quadrant. When combined, memantine and EE showed additive effect on learning and memory as evidenced by significant shorter escape latencies and higher frequency of target entrance than either drug alone. Consistent with the behavior results, pathological studies showed that both memantine and EE significantly reduced hippocampal CA1 neurofibrilliary tangles (NFTs) as well as amyloid beta precursor protein (APP) levels. Combining both therapies synergistically lessened NFTs and APP expression compared to either drug alone in SAMP8 mice, indicating that the combination of memantine with EE could offer a novel and efficient therapeutic strategy for the treatment of AD.

Impact of Holocene environmental change on temporal-spatial distribution of Neolithic sites in Huaihe River Basin, Anhui Province

The Huaihe River basin of Anhui is not only a transitional zone of physical geography, but also a convergent area of many cultures in China. It is one of the sensitive ecotones to global changes and the birthplace of Chinese civilization. Using the field archaeological data and the sporo-pollens and the age data of the drilling cores, we analysed Neolithic cultural development and environmental evolution in the Huaihe River basin of Anhui. According to the combination of some research results in archaeology with environmental evolution research, this paper discusses the relationship between culture and environment in the Huaihe River basin of Anhui. The Neolithic cultural development was strongly impacted by the environmental change. The primitive culture （Shishanzi） was developed in the beginning of the Holocene Megathermal Period with distinct regional feature of the culture. From 6.5 kaBP to 5.5 kaBP, the climate changed warmer and wetter. The frequent occurrence of flood and waterlog due to such a climate regime and high sea level caused the earth＇s surface environment deteriorated in the Huaihe River basin of Anhui and the interruption of the Neolithic cultural development, hence a lack of archaeological sites. From 5.5 kaBP to 4.0 kaBP, the climate changed from wet to dry, the natural environment was propitious to human survival. Dawenkou Culture and Longshan Culture flourished in this period. The Neolithic cultural development, the number of the sites and their distribution characteristics of the sites in the study area differed apparently from those in Central China and Shandong Province.

Systematized Literature Review on Spatial Analysis of Environmental Risk Factors of Malaria Transmission

Malaria is still the major parasitic disease in the world, with approximately 438,000 deaths in 2015. Environmental risk factors (ERF) have been widely studied, however, there are discrepancies in the results about their influence on malaria transmission. Recently, papers have been published about geospatial analysis of ERF of malaria to explain why malaria varies from place to place. Our primary objective was to identify the environmental variables most used in the geospatial analysis of malaria transmission. The secondary objective was to identify the geo-analytic methods and techniques, as well as geo-analytic statistics commonly related to ERF and malaria. We conducted a systematized review of articles published from January 2004 to March 2015, within Web of Science, Pubmed and LILACS databases. Initially 676 articles were found, after inclusion and exclusion criteria, 29 manuscripts were selected. Temperature, land use and land cover, surface moisture and vector breeding site were the most frequent included variables. As for geo-analytic methods, geostatistical models with Bayesian framework were the most applied. Kriging interpolations, Geographical Weighted Regression as well as Kulldorff’s spatial scan were the techniques more widely used. The main objective of many of these studies was to use these methods and techniques to create malaria risk maps. Spatial analysis performed with satellite images and georeferenced data are increasing in relevance due to the use of remote sensing and Geographic Information System. The combination of these new technologies identifies ERF more accurately, and the use of Bayesian geostatistical models allows a wide diffusion of malaria risk maps. It is known that temperature, humidity vegetation and vector breeding site play a critical role in malaria transmission;however, other environmental risk factors have also been identified. Risk maps have a tremendous potential to enhance the effectiveness of malaria-control programs.

Spatial Distribution of <i>Anopheles sinensis</i>and Its Relationship with Natural Environmental Factors in Wanning County on Hainan Island, China

Anopheles sinensis is widely distributed in Wanning County, it is necessary to understand the spatial distribution characteristics of Anopheles sinensis in order to maintain the elimination of malaria in Wanning. During May and October 2009, we sampled adult mosquitoes at 36 villages within Wanning County on Hainan island, and collected meteorological and geographical data at each sampling site. We used these data to analyze the spatial distribution of adult Anopheles sinensis mosquitoes, and logistic regression analysis was applied to explore the association of the spatial distribution of Anopheles sinensis with the geographical and meteorological factors. We found that the density of Anopheles sinensis showed a significant positive spatial correlation. From May to October, on the whole, the high-density area was located in the central part of Wanning County. But each month there was a relatively high-density cluster, and their location and range were not exactly the same. From east to west, the density of Anopheles sinensis increased initially and then decreased, but from south to north, there were different trends in the periods of May to August and September to October. Logistic regression analysis showed that the main environmental factors related with the distribution of Anopheles sinensis were land use type, soil type, distance to road, air pressure and relative humidity. These analysis results showed that the distribution of Anopheles sinensis had obvious spatial heterogeneity in Wanning County, which was related with geographical and meteorological factors. The mechanism of these environmental factors on the distribution of Anopheles sinensis needs to be further studied.

Environmental baseline evaluation of lead in shallow groundwater based on statistical and spatial outlier identification

A series of methods have been applied for evaluating the environmental baseline—especially on a regional scale—because of its importance for local environmental management. However, most of the methods have been statistical in nature, and spatial variability has not been considered simultaneously. In this study, the combined use of statistical and spatial methods has been carried out to analyse lead concentrations in the shallow groundwater in the urban area of Suzhou, northern Anhui Province, China. The environmental baseline of lead in the shallow groundwater has been evaluated to be3.836–8.240 lg/l after removal of either statistical or spatial outliers. The results are similar to those obtained by model-based objective methods, and further demonstrate that the combination method is more reasonable for environmental baseline evaluation.

Environmental Effects of Foreign Trade and Its Spatial Variations in Mid-eastern Provinces and Cities of China

The studies on environmental effects of foreign trade and its spatial variations are helpful to design and implement environmental protection countermeasures.In order to eliminate the adverse effects of insufficient observation values on the accuracy of regression results and dynamic information quantity of fitting equation during empirical study,panel data of the mid-eastern provinces and cities of China from 1985 to 2007 were selected based on the adjustment of classical regression model in this paper.Panel unit root test and panel cointegration analysis method were applied to investigating the environmental effects of foreign trade and its spatial variations in the mid-eastern provinces and cities of China and its three groups divided by foreign trade dependence.The results show that all scale effects are positive,while all technical effects are negative and unable to counteract positive scale effects.Foreign trade development is regarded as an important cause for outstanding eco-environmental problems in the mid-eastern provinces and cities of China.Total effects and structural effects are significantly different among different groups because of spatial variations in environmental policies,export destinations,source of FDI,etc.Following the principle of′coordinating generality and considering differences comprehensively′,it is essential to issue a series of policies and countermeasures corresponding to differences in regional environmental effect of foreign trade,in order to coordinate the relationship between foreign trade development and eco-environment in each region.

Spatial and environmental effects on plant communities in the Yellow River Delta,Eastern China

Types and structure of plant communities in the Yellow River Delta were investigated by using detrended canonical correspon-dence analyses(DCCAs) and a two-way indicator species analysis(TWINSPAN).The distribution pattern and influential factors of the plant communities were also analyzed by testing elevation, slope, soil characteristics, longitude and latitude of 134 vegetation samples collected by representative plot sampling methods.Results showed that all the 134 vegetation samples could be divided into seven vegetation groups, separately dominated by Robinia pseucdoacacia, Imperata cylindrical, Miscanthus saccharifleus, Suaeda salsa, Aeluropus sinensis, Phragmites australis and Tamarix chinensis.The vegetation distribution pattern was mainly related to elevation, ground water depth and soil characteristics such as salinity and soluble potassium.Among the factors affecting distribution pattern of the plant communities, the species matrix explained by non-spatial environmental variation accounts for 45.2% of total variation.Spatial variation and spatial-structured environmental variation explain 11.8%, and 2.2%, respectively.Remained 40.8% of undetermined variation is attributed to biological and stochastic factors.

Development of a Geographic Information Systems Baseline Spatial Geodatabase Template for Evaluating Potential and Predicted Environmental Impacts for Sustainable Environmental Impact Assessment of Mining in Sierra Leone

Baseline Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of mining projects in Sierra Leone creates a challenging environment for data collection and impact prediction. Application of geographic information systems provides suitable spatial analysis data collection methods to reduce the challenges created by mining environments. This research develops a baseline spatial geodatabase template for evaluating potential and predicted environmental impacts assessment of mining projects in Sierra Leone. It is observed that spatial analysis of impacts of mining projects on the environmental attributes, especially air, noise, water, land, and socio-economy in mining areas is largely unexplored in Sierra Leone. The literature review revealed that no complete GIS spatial data geodatabase collection template appears to have been developed to date to provide an integrated sustainable spatial analysis and modelling tool for EIA and environmental management of mining in Sierra Leone. Therefore developing a Geographic Information Systems baseline geodatabase template for the evaluation of potential and predicted environmental impact for sustainable environmental impact assessment of mining in Sierra Leone will: 1) provide support to the data acquisition process of environmental impact assessment, 2) offer a concept for developing analysis methods for environmental management of mining, 3) minimize the undesired environmental impacts of mining, and 4) give an optimal proposal for data collection and analysis of mining industry in attaining sustainable development in Sierra Leone. Due to the limited available data, a conceptual GIS database template has been developed rather than a database case study of a mining site. No site investigation and data collection were undertaken. The geospatial database template was designed using ArcCatalog, ArcGIS 10.7.1. software, through the following steps: exploration of the general data requirement of environmental impact assessment studies of mining, the definition of the general baseline datasets requirement of environmental impact assessment in mining, structuring of the environmental impact assessment baseline spatial geodatabase, creating the geographic geodatabase dictionary, selecting, matching geographic data with geodatabase structure, designing the feature class and attributes, creating the baseline GIS geodatabase template. The GIS spatial geodatabase template has several advantages for environmental impact assessment of mining including avoiding data redundancy, integrating data into a single database, creating uniformity in data collection, easy to find and track data, integrated spatial and non-spatial data, and reducing the volume of data.

Employment effect of China's environmental regulation: Evidence based on spatial panel data

This article considers 30 provinces of China as the cross-section subjects, and utilizes the data sample from 2009 to 2015 of these cross-sections to formulate a Spatial Panel Data Durbin Model to analyze the effect of environmental regulation on employment. The result indicates that environmental regulation has negative effect on employment with the consideration of spatial spillover effect, and this adverse effect is not significant mathematically. With the enhance of environmental regulation, the negative impact on employment will decrease accordingly, even may eventually promote job growth, which means there may be a non-linear relationship between them. Specifically, the direct effect of environmental regulation on employment indicates that it is beneficial for job growth whereas the indirect effect illustrate that it is detrimental for employment.

THE TEMPORAL AND SPATIAL PATTERNS OF ENVIRONMENTAL RISK EVENTS IN THE PAST 30 YEARS IN SHENYANG CITY

The index of Risk Frequency (RF) and other relative indices are used to analyze the temporal and spatial patterns of environmental riskevents in the past 30 years in Shenyang city. The results show that thereexists significant difference of the RFs between periods of 1966-1977 and1978-1991 (t=7.353**, t0.01=2.807). During the past 30 years, there areno significant changes of the spatial patterns of the environmental risk,while the proportions of environmental risk among the districts are extremely different. In Shenyang city, there exists a series of high riskenterprises, and the chemical industry is the one with highest risk.