Assessment on eco-environmental quality of the Yellow River Basin by considering desertification index

Desertification has had a significant impact on the ecological environment of the Yellow River Basin(YRB)in China.However,previous studies on the evaluation of the ecological environment quality(EEQ)in the YRB have paid limited attention to the indicator of desertification.It is of great significance to incorporate the desertification index into the spatiotemporal assessment of the EEQ in the YRB in order to protect the ecological environment in the region.In this study,based on multi-source remote sensing data from 91 cities in the YRB,this article proposes a desertification remote sensing ecological index(DRSEI)model,which builds upon the traditional Remote Sensing Ecological Index(RSEI)model,to analyze the spatiotemporal changes in the EEQ in the YRB from 2001 to 2021.Furthermore,using the geographic detector(GD),and geographically and temporally weighted regression(GTWR)model,the study assesses the impact of human and natural factors on the EEQ in the YRB.The research findings indicate that:(1)Compared to the traditional RSEI,the improved DRSEI shows a decreasing trend in the evaluation results of the EEQ.Among the 24 cities,the change in DRSEI exceeds 0.05 compared to RSEI,accounting for 26.37%of the YRB.The remaining 67 cities have changes within a range of less than 0.05,accounting for 73.63%of the YRB.(2)The results of the GD for individual and interactive effects reveal that rainfall and elevation have significant individual and interactive effects on the EEQ.Furthermore,after the interaction with natural factors,the explanatory power of human factors gradually increases over time.The spatial heterogeneity results of GTWR demonstrate that rainfall has a strong direct positive impact on the EEQ,accounting for 98.90%of the influence,while temperature exhibits a more pronounced direct inhibitory effect,accounting for 76.92%of the influence.Human activities have a strong negative impact on the EEQ and a weak positive impact.

Grey Clustering Evaluation on Regional Eco-environmental Quality Based on Normalized Index Value

[Objective] The aim was to assess regional eco-environmental quality by means of grey clustering method based on normalized index value. [Method] Eco-environmental quality in Chaohu basin was assessed by using grey clustering method based on normalized index value, and the evaluation results were compared with those of unascertained measure method to verify the feasibility of grey clustering method used to evaluate regional eco-environmental quality. [Result] In the grey clustering assessment method based on normalized index value, indices whose standard normalized values in the same grade were close to each other were classified into one class and had the same whitening function, which reduced the number of whitening functions. Grey clustering method based on normalized index value was used to assess eco-environmental quality in Chaohu basin, and the evaluation results were basically in accordance with those of unascertained measure method, namely eco-environmental quality in Hefei, Chaohu and Lu’an belonged to the third (pass), fourth (worse) and fifth grade (bad), except for one grade difference in overall basin, and the results showed that the method had practicality and could be applied to assess regional eco-environmental quality. [Conclusion] The study could provide theoretical foundation for the establishment of comprehensive management countermeasures of regional ecological environment.

Spatiotemporal changes of eco-environmental quality based on remote sensing-based ecological index in the Hotan Oasis,Xinjiang

The rapid economic development that the Hotan Oasis in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region,China has undergone in recent years may face some challenges in its ecological environment.Therefore,an analysis of the spatiotemporal changes in ecological environment of the Hotan Oasis is important for its sustainable development.First,we constructed an improved remote sensing-based ecological index(RSEI)in 1990,1995,2000,2005,2010,2015 and 2020 on the Google Earth Engine(GEE)platform and implemented change detection for their spatial distribution.Second,we performed a spatial autocorrelation analysis on RSEI distribution map and used land-use and land-cover change(LUCC)data to analyze the reasons of RSEI changes.Finally,we investigated the applicability of improved RSEI to arid area.The results showed that mean of RSEI rose from 0.41 to 0.50,showing a slight upward trend.During the 30-a period,2.66% of the regions improved significantly,10.74% improved moderately and 32.21% improved slightly,respectively.The global Moran's I were 0.891,0.889,0.847 and 0.777 for 1990,2000,2010 and 2020,respectively,and the local indicators of spatial autocorrelation(LISA)distribution map showed that the high-high cluster was mainly distributed in the central part of the Hotan Oasis,and the low-low cluster was mainly distributed in the outer edge of the oasis.RSEI at the periphery of the oasis changes from low to high with time,with the fragmentation of RSEI distribution within the oasis increasing.Its distribution and changes are predominantly driven by anthropologic factors,including the expansion of artificial oasis into the desert,the replacement of desert ecosystems by farmland ecosystems,and the increase in the distribution of impervious surfaces.The improved RSEI can reflect the eco-environmental quality effectively of the oasis in arid area with relatively high applicability.The high efficiency exhibited with this approach makes it convenient for rapid,high frequency and macroscopic monitoring of eco-environmental quality in study area.

Universal Index Formula of Parameterized Combination Operator for Eco-environmental Quality Evaluation

[Objective] The aim was to evaluate the regional eco-environmental quality by using the universal index formula of parameterization combination operator based normalized index values.[Method] Through setting reference values and normalized transformation formulae for typical ecological environmental indexes appropriately,the difference among the standard normalized values would become very small after normalized transformation,and the ecological environmental indices expressed by normalized values can be equivalent to normalized indices.Under certain optimization conditions,shuffled frog leaping based on immune evolutionary particle swarm optimization algorithm was applied to optimize the parameters in parameterization combination operator formula,and the universal index formula suited to eco-environmental quality assessment was established finally.[Result] The universal index formula of parameterization combination operator,appropriate for any m(1≤m≤23) ecological environmental indices,was used to assess the eco-environmental quality of towns surrounding Headland Reservoir,and the results were in full accordance with those of unascertained measure method,that is,the eco-environmental quality of five towns around Headland Reservoir was the fourth grade.[Conclusion]The universal index formula of parameterization combination operator,suited to eco-environmental quality evaluation,is simple and intuitive in form,easy in computation and universal in application.

Eco-environmental Quality Evaluation of Manasi River Basin in Recent 30 Years

Taking the Technical Specifications of Eco-environmental Quality Assessment enacted by the State Environmental Protection Administration in 2006 as the conceptual framework model and improving some indices and weights in the regulation,the eco-environmental assessment index system for Manas River Basin was established,and the eco-environmental quality index (EQI) of this basin from 1976 to 2005 was assessed based on the related data.The results indicated that the ecological quality index increased to 48.26 from 34.44 during 1976-2005.The biologic abundance index,vegetation coverage index and land deterioration index decreased,while there was an increase in water reticulation density index,environmental quality index and pollution load index,so the improvement and deterioration of the ecological environment coexisted in the basin.On the whole,the poor state of the basin ecological environment had turned into a general state,and the eco-environmental quality was developed towards favorable circle.The results also showed that the improved calculating method of EQI accorded with the actual situation of the research area.

Eco-environment Evolution and Its Sustainable Development Strategies in Western China

Natural condition in Western China is relatively poor and regional economy level is low. The ecological environment has been seriously damaged by population growth and over-exploitation of natural resources. It is very important for coordinating the regional development and safeguarding ecological security to discuss the eco-environment evolution trend and its sustainable development strategies in Western China. Based on analyzing documents and relative research,the changes of main ecological and environmental problems in the western region,such as degradation of forest and grassland ecosystems,shrinkage of wetland,desertification,water and soil erosion,etc. were synthetically discussed. Then,according to the development trend,some countermeasures for eco-environment protection and rehabilitation and sustainable development were proposed.

Effects of Southward Flow of Yellow River on Eco-environment of Xu-Huai River Basin

Based on the historical records,the flood disasters in Xu-Huai River Basin caused by southward flow of Yellow River were studied,while its effects on Xu-Huai regional economic,transportation and eco-environment were also highlighted,and finally historical natural disasters were presented in this study.

Eco-Environment Status of the Bohai Bay and the Impact of Coastal Exploitation

With the rapid economic development in the surrounding coastal zone, more and more wastewater has been discharged into the Bohai Bay. And with the scale of coastal exploitation being expanded year by year, the eco-environment of the Bohai Bay has been confronted with great pressure. In this paper, the main problems in the eco-environment of the Bohai Bay were summarized firstly. Red tides occurred more frequently and more seriously; salinity rose in inshore area, the fishery resources degenerated; all the above indicate that the eco-environment of the Bohai Bay is under a severe situation Next, to make a concrete study of the existing status of the Bohai Bay, the eco-environment index system was set up. Then the principal components analytic method and grey relation method were adopted to carry on a comprehensive analysis on the status. The results show that serious pollution of inorganic nitrogen and active phosphate, and poor species diversity are the main presentations of the bad quality of the inshore aquatic eco-environment of the Bohai Bay, which is mainly induced by the massive discharge of pollutant from land and the overexploitation in the surrounding coastal zone. At last, the variations of hydrodynamic characteristics and the pollutant transport caused by coastal exploitations such as reclamation and seawater desalination are analyzed. The results show that reclamation in coastal water not only decreases the tidal prism and weakens the tidal current action, but also influences the pollution distribution in the coastal water. The seawater desalination project would cause tremendous influence to the aquatic eco-environment of the Bohai Bay as the pollutant＇s pulse impact. Much more attention would be paid to the reasonable use of the coastal zone resources and the control of pollution from land-based sources.

Impact of Agricultural Eco-environment on the Architectural Form of Vernacular Dwellings

Through analyzing the form, materials, building techniques of vernacular dwellings in Jinzhai County, Anhui Province, this study tries to explore the influence of agricultural eco-environment on the form of folk houses, points out that vernacular dwellings are fully combined with local traditional agricultural environment from site selection, spatial form, architectural style, building materials and detail designs, which unifies the economic and environmental benefits of vernacular dwellings.

Land cover change and eco-environmental quality response of different geomorphic units on the Chinese Loess Plateau

Land cover in the Chinese Loess Plateau has undergone dramatic changes since the late 1980s.Revealing the trend in land cover change and eco-environmental quality response of different geomorphic units in this stage is a realistic requirement for promoting sustainable development of the Chinese Loess Plateau.Based on the data of geomorphic units and land cover in 1990,2000,2010 and 2018 of the Chinese Loess Plateau,we studied the trend of land cover change and eco-environmental quality response of different geomorphic units by using a significance index of land cover change,a proportion index of land cover change and an eco-environmental response model.The results indicated that from 1990 to 2018,the areas of forestland and construction land substantially increased,whereas those of cropland,grassland,wetland and unused land considerably decreased.Land cover change exhibited large geomorphic differences,and the main conversion of land cover was from cropland into other land types.Unstable trend of land cover change in the loess tablelands and sandy loess hills declined,whereas the unstable trends in the other geomorphic units enhanced.Eco-environmental quality varied among different geomorphic units.The expansion of construction land and degradation of forestland,grassland and wetland resulted in the deterioration of eco-environmental quality.The conversion of cropland and unused land into forestland and grassland,and the conversion of grassland into forestland were the main factors that drove the improvement of eco-environmental quality.The findings of this study may provide theoretical reference and support decision making for the optimization of land use structure and the improvement of eco-environmental quality on the Chinese Loess Plateau.

Exploration of Water and Soil Conservation's Function in Construction of Eco-environment

Eco-environment lays foundation for human existence and development, and social and economy evolvement. Therefore, it is a fundamental principle to pro- tact and construct eco-environment and achieve sustainable development. With ur- ban development, and destruction on natural environment, however, the issue of water and soil losses has become a serious problem, affecting people＇s life and production. The research, therefore, explored the role of water and soil conservation in ecological civilization construction, including bomprehensive treatment of water storage and sand reduction, improving agricultural structure and advancing rural econ- omy, relieving the conflict between supply and demand of water resources, improv- ing eco-environment in mountainous regions and accelerating eco-construction.

A Theoretical Analysis of Interactive Coercing Effects Between Urbanization and Eco-environment

Objectively, a complex interactive coercing relationship exists between urbanization and eco-environment, and the research of this relationship is primarily divided into three schools, i.e., interactive coercion theory, interactive promotion theory and coupling symbiosis theory. Harmonizing the relationship between urbanization and eco-environment is not only an important proposition for the national development plan but also the only way to promote healthy urbanization. Based on an analysis of urbanization process and its relationship with the eco-environment, this article analyzes interactive coercing effects between urbanization and eco-environment from three perspectives of population urbanization, economic urbanization and spatial urbanization, respectively, and analyzes risk effects of the interactive coercion. Further, it shows six basic laws followed by interactive coercion between urbanization and eco-environment, namely, coupling fission law, dynamic hierarchy law, stochastic fluctuation law, non-linear synergetic law, threshold value law and forewarning law, and divides the interactive coercing process into five stages, namely, low-level coordinate, antagonistic, break-in, ameliorative and high-grade coordinate. Based on the geometric derivation, the interactive coercing relationship between urbanization and eco-environment is judged to be non-linear and it can be explained by a double-exponential function formed by the combination of power and exponential functions. Then, the evolutionary types of the interactive coercing relationship are divided into nine ones: rudimentary coordinating, ecology-dominated, synchronal coordinating, urbanization lagging, stepwise break-in, exorbitant urbanization, fragile ecology, rudimentary break-in and unsustainable types. Finally, based on an interactive coercion model, the degree of interactive coercion can be examined, and then, an evolutionary cycle can be divided into four phases, namely rudimentary symbiosis, harmonious development, utmost increasing and spiral type rising. The study results offer a scientific decision-making of healthy urbanization for achieving the goal of eco-environment protection and promoting urbanization.

Quantitative Analysis of the Coupling Coordination Degree Between Urbanization and Eco-environment in Mongolia

Mongolia is an important country in the Economic Corridor of China-Mongolia-Russia, a deep understanding of the coupling relationship between urbanization and the eco-environment in Mongolia is meaningful to achieve green development of the Belt and Road. The entropy method and coupling coordination degree model were integrated to evaluate the coupling coordination degree between urbanization and the eco-environment in Mongolia during 2000-2016. The results showed that the coupling coordination degree between urbanization and the eco-environment in Mongolia was generally at the stage of seriously unbalanced development, and that the main contributor of the urbanization and the eco-environment subsystem were demographic urbanization and eco-environment endowment, respectively. The southern part of Mongolia central zone should be paid more attention due to the lower degree of coupling coordination between urbanization and the eco-environment. To promote the healthy urbanization development in Mongolia, six-layer eco-city establishing green development pattern is proposed to provide scientific support for Mongolia.

CATASTROPHIC ECO-ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE IN THE SONGNEN PLAIN,NORTHEASTERN CHINA SINCE 1900S

Although the Songnen Plain in the northeastern China was developed relatively late in the temperate zone of the world, its eco-environment has changed greatly. This paper analyzes the changes of land cover and the rates and trends ofdesertification during the past 100 years in the Songnen Plain. According to the macroscopic analysis, we find that the eco-environment in the plain has reached to the threshold of catastrophic change since the 1950s. The Thom Needle Catastrophic Model was used to determine and validate this conclusion. Human activities, including large-scale construction projects, such as huge dams and dikes, and excessive grazing were the primary factors contributing to regional eco-environmental catastrophe. And irrational reclamation of the wilderness also affected the eco-environmental change. The results reveal the complex human-land interactions.

SCENARIOS SIMULATION OF COUPLING SYSTEM BETWEEN URBANIZATION AND ECO-ENVIRONMENT IN JIANGSU PROVINCE BASED ON SYSTEM DYNAMICS MODEL

By means of ISM (Interpretative Structural Modeling) and SD (System Dynamics) methods, this paper made a system dynamics model of urbanization and eco-environment coupling in Jiangsu Province according to the implication and PSR (Pressure State Response) framework of urbanization and eco-environment coupling. Moreover, five typical scenarios during 2000-2015 have been simulated and analyzed based on the time serial statistical data during 1990-2003 in Jiangsu, which indicates: firstly, there are significant differences between the results and the scenarios, and the five coupling models all have comparative advantages and drawbacks; secondly, in terms of the characteristics and regional development disparities of Jiangsu and the general rule of world urbanization process, this paper reveals that only when either population urbanization model or social urbanization model to be correspondingly adopted, the sustainable development among population, economy, urbanization and eco-environment can be realized.

Land Use/Land Cover Change(LUCC) and Eco-Environment Response to LUCC in Farming-Pastoral Zone,China

In order to understand land use/land cover changes （LUCC） and the eco-environment response to LUCC in farming- pastoral zone of the northern China during the recent twenty years, Baotou prefecture was selected as a case study area for investigation and quantitative evaluation. Technologies of remote sensing （RS）, global positioning system （GPS）, geographic information system （GIS）, and other statistical methods were employed to implement. Results showed that： （1） During the recent twenty years, the areas of forest lands, grasslands and water were reduced, whereas the areas of other types were enlarged. Parts of forest lands, grasslands, and waters had become farmlands, and about 31.5% of the changed grasslands transferred into unused lands. The newly increased farmlands mainly came from grasslands and unused lands. And the newly increased construction lands mainly came from grasslands and farmlands. （2） Regional eco- environmental quality decreased by 12.6%, for which the land degradation （especially the meadow degeneration） and the developing of the cultivated land were mainly responsible, and their contributions to the regional eco-environment changes were 51.84 and 23.63% respectively. （3） The tendency of LUCC and the eco-environment response to LUCC displayed spatial heterogeneity. It can be concluded that the present agricultural production mode was not sustainable in farming-pastoral zone of northern China. Land degradation, especially meadow degradation induced by over-trampling and overgrazing, and developing of cultivated land were mainly responsible for regional eco-environment deterioration. Changing the cultivated land to forest or grass, however, can relieve deterioration of local eco-environment to some extents. And in the farming-pastoral zone in the northern China, evaluating regional eco-environment responses to LUCC was very necessary due to its fragile eco-environments.

Use of rural energy resources and eco-environmental degradation in Tibet

Cattle dung, firewood, and crop straw have being used as survival necessities by farmers and herdsmen for thousands of years in Tibet. Until recently such biotic energy source still constitutes more than 92 per cent of total rural energy consumption due to lack of petroleum, coal and new alternative energy sources. As a result, environmental degradation such as land desertification, soil erosion, grassland degradation and soil fertility reduction is increasingly aggravated, the area of desertified land has increased 1467.5 km2 from 1991 to 1997. Degraded area of grassland has reached 2.60×107hm2, increased by 116.1% from 1987 to 1996. To prevent further deterioration of eco-environment in Tibet great efforts should be made to make full use of ample solar energy, wind energy and other biotic energy of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The solar cooking stoves and solar hothouse, expand forest area and replace existing abiotic energy sources with firewood forest should be popularized. This is an urgent task to protect the eco-environment of Tibet today.

Exploring harmonious development between urbanization and eco-environment based on climate analysis—A study in Changsha, China

The process of urbanization affects the urban warming.The change of urban warming was investigated by several urbanization factors in Changsha,China.The data of surface temperature(minimum,maximum and mean) of Changsha were analyzed to understand the possible effects of urbanization on the climate of this region owing to the population growth,built-up area expansion and energy consumption increases.The weights of these three factors were calculated by the analytical hierarchy process(AHP).Then,three weights were simulated with nonlinear method to obtain the urbanization development rate which was utilized to reveal the influence of the urbanization factors on the surface temperature.The result shows that there is a significant upward trend in the urban temperatures of Changsha.The temperature increase seems to be closely related to the rate of urbanization between 1993 and 2008,and there is an evidential increase trend of the influence on urban temperature by urbanization during 16 years.It is a quantifiable approach measuring the relationship between urbanization and urban eco-environment,and can be applied for the urban sustainability.

Quantitative evaluation and spatial differentiation of eco-environmental livability in Zhejiang Province, China

The scientific analyses of the spatial patterns of regional eco-environment livability,along with the explorations of the correlations between ecoenvironments and population and economic activity distributions,are of major significance in the guidance of the coordinated development between social economies,natural resources,and environments.In this study,the topography,climate,hydrology,land cover,air quality,and the dangers presented by natural hazards in the study area were investigated in order to establish an evaluation model for the regional eco-environmental livability.Then,the observed spatial patterns and regional differences in the eco-environmental livability,as well as their relationships with the distributions of population and economic activities in Zhejiang Province,were investigated.The results showed that the ecoenvironmental livability in Zhejiang Province displayed a gradual decreasing trend from southwest to northeast,as well as from the mountains to the hills,valleys,and plains areas.During the compartmentalization of the eco-environmental livability,it was observed that the lowest livable area covered the largest population,accounting for approximately 29.64%of the total population in the study area.The higher livable areas covered the widest land areas,accounting for approximately 26.15%of the total area.Moreover,it was found that the eco-environmental livability in the mountain areas was higher than that in the plain areas in Zhejiang Province.Furthermore,the ecoenvironmental livability was found to have a significant exponential relationship with the population and GDP densities of Zhejiang Province,with the R^2 of the curve-fittings reaching 0.835 and 0.656,respectively.However,it was determined that the coefficient of the exponential function was negative,which indicated that a strong negative relationship existed between the eco-environmental livability and densities of the population and economic activities.It was assumed that the impacts of anthropogenic factors were the fundamental causes of this negative correlation.This study introduced two new factors(air quality and natural hazards)into the evaluation framework of eco-environmental livability.As a result,a more comprehensive model was established for the evaluation of eco-environmenta livability in certain segments of the study area Additionally,the correlation between ecoenvironment livability and human activities was discussed in-depth,which can potentially provide theoretical and practical guidance for the implementation of eco-livability in China,and possibly even those of other vast developing countries.

Impact of coal resource development on eco-environment and its restoration in west of China

West China has rich mineral resources, especially in coal resources with very good mining conditions. Coal resource development is the one of important tasks in the Chinese “West Development”. Thus, the impact of coal resources development on eco-environment and its restoration is worth studying. This study shows that there are many environmental problems such as land damage, coal wastes, damage of hydro-geological condition and pollution of water resource, airborne effluents (industrial exhausts and methane emission from underground), dust, waste, water. Land damage and land desertification are the most important environmental issue in west China. Therefore, the stress of environmental restoration should be desert presentation and disturbed-land reclamation. To control environmental damages and rehabilitate the eco-environment, environmental restoration techniques are also discussed.