Are Antarctic Specially Protected Areas safe from plastic pollution? a survey of plastic litter at Byers Peninsula, Livingston Island, Antarctica

A number of studies have reported in the last decades the presence of plastics in the Southern Ocean,which are liable to reach the coast and accumulate on the Antarctic Continent.Despite this,there are few data on the amount of plastic pollution on Antarctic beaches below 60°S.Here we provide valuable information about the presence of plastic debris in Byers Peninsula,Livingston Island,South Shetland Islands,an Antarctic Specially Protected Area(ASPA)and a hotspot for biodiversity.A total of 129 locations with between 1 and 5 items were recorded among the 3 survey sites on Byers Peninsula.Most of the observed items are likely to derive from fishing and local sources such as tourism and research activities.We discuss the potential impacts of their presence on local fauna and some of the consequences on the Antarctic ecosystem.From this survey of plastic accumulation in an ASPA,we propose the implementation of mitigation strategies,such as systematic monitoring of the abundance and distribution of plastic waste,in order to identify trends in marine debris and control the levels of plastic pollution in the Maritime Antarctic region.

Lesser Kestrel Foraging Habitats in Special Protection Areas in Agro-ecosystems

The European Union （EU） Wild Birds Directive recognises that the most serious threats to wild birds＇ conservation in Europe are habitat loss and degradation, and hence, habitats of threatened and migratory species must be protected with the establishment of the network of the special protection areas （SPAs） for migratory and endangered bird species in the EU member states. The major European population of the lesser kestrel Falco naumanni, a migratory falcon listed in Annex I of the Birds Directive, occurs in low-input farming systems in the Mediterranean basin, including Greece. The aim of this study was to identify foraging habitats of lesser kestrels and relate them to the delimited SPAs in the agro-ecosystems of Greece, where the stronghold of the species population for Greece occurs. Foraging habitat preferences were assessed using Poisson regression models （PRMs）. SPAs were examined on whether they can effectively protect foraging habitats for breeding lesser kestrels in the study area. Foraging lesser kestrel abundance was positively associated with grasslands and non-irrigated land （dry cereals）, and negatively associated with irrigated land （wet cotton）, scrubland and woodland. Electricity facilities were used as foraging perches by lesser kestrels. The current SPAs cover a small percentage of the species＇ foraging sites and cannot be considered coherent enough to support and protect the foraging habitats of lesser kestrels and other priority species in the agro-ecosystems of the study area. Proposals for effective conservation of low-input farming systems, supporting priority species, are also presented.

Special Economy In the Xigaze Area

More than 10 years ago, butter from Sangsang,potatoes from Aimagang and zanba (roasted highland barley flour) were the best food for local people. They loved their taste and nutritional value, and lived on them.However, it was only later that they came to learn the real value of these delicious and nutritious foods.

Facile Synthesis of Uniform Hollow Hematite Sub-micro Spheres with Controllable Shell Thickness

A simple method was developed to prepare the uniform hematite hollow submicro-spheres with controllable structure and different diameter based on monodisperse poly（styrene-co-acrylic acid） [P（St-co-AA）] particles. The structure and formation mechanism of the hollow spheres were investigated in detail. The control mechanism of shell thickness was also discussed. The results indicated that the shell thickness and coarseness of the synthesized core-shell hematite hollow spheres could be tuned simply by the surface carboxyl content of the P（St-co-AA） particles. This method provided a new approach for the structure control in the preparation of hollow spheres. A Brunauer-Emmett-Teller （BET） test shows that the prepared hollow spheres have large surface areas which were decreased along with the increase of the diameter. The magnetic properties of the as-obtained hematite hollow spheres were investigated. The result showed that the coercivity and saturated magnetization were increased along with the increase of the shell thickness, and the remanent magnetization was increased along with the decrease of the diameter.

The Fast Road of Shale Gas Development in China——Reflections on Building a Special Test Areas for National Shale Gas Development

China's shale gas development has had a good start. It is necessary that the developers take advantage of the opportunity to make further efforts to promote shale gas development in China, in particular by rolling out a comprehensive plan on a national level. The author makes a proposal to establish a special shale gas test area in and adjacent to the Sichuan Basin as the most important way to promote the rapid development of shale gas in China. For this purpose, the author analyzes the current situation and problems of shale gas development in China, addresses the necessity and feasibility of establishing a special test area for shale gas development, and draws up the scope of this shale gas special test area of about 450 thousand square kilometers, covering Sichuan, Chongqing, Guizhou, and part of Yunnan, Hunan, Hubei provinces, and proposes the establishment of a shale gas test area in China. This consists of an overall plan, targets, and contents in 10 aspects, along with organization and implementation modes. The shale gas exploration and development in the shale gas zones is promoted vigorously by introducing special policies and innovating exploration, development and utilization model. While at the same time, the shale gas zones of continental facies in the Ordos Basin and marineterrigenous facies in South Hubei Basin will be established.The experiences of the reform in the shale gas zones will be the good practice for the reform of petroleum organization system.

Guest editorial: special issue on wide area monitoring, protection and control in smart grid

Complexity of modern electrical power systems is steadily increasing.This is inspiring researchers and developers to propose new solutions capable to address a number of challenges,particularly those related to power system operation.A massive penetration of asynchronously connected renewable energy generation,the generation connected over inverters,is significantly changing the dynamics of modern power systems.From one hand,the power system response time is becoming shorter and at the same time the fault level is becoming smaller.This is significantly affecting requirements of control loops,as well as power system protection.

Enriching Farmers through Sharing: Improving People’s Livelihood and Well-Being in the Modernization of Agriculture and Rural Areas in China

Shared development is an important means by which to improve people’s livelihood and well-being in the new era. During the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016–2020), China has made great achievements in the three major aspects of targeted poverty alleviation through industrial development, development of special rural areas, and equalization of urban and rural infrastructure and basic public services. In addition, the important experience of multi-agent participation, multi-mode guidance, and multi-line promotion has been accumulated in the individual, regional and urbanrural dimensions. However, there remain some deficiencies, such as low policy efficiency, poor matching ability, and prominent structural problems. At the beginning of the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021–2025), the task of enriching farmers through sharing has been faced with many challenges, such as major changes in the focus of poverty governance, greater numbers of restraints on the development of special rural areas, and heavy responsibilities of equalizing urban and rural infrastructure and basic public services. Therefore, it is necessary to acquire a profound understanding of the new development concept, and to continuously enrich farmers through sharing in terms of accelerating the improvement of the institutionalized poverty reduction system in the new era, actively building a green development system of agriculture and animal husbandry in special rural areas, and striving to create a fair and complementary urban and rural infrastructure and basic public service system.