SUSTAINABLE LAND USE PLANNING BASED ON ECOLOGICAL HEALTH——Case Study of Beiwenquan Town, Chongqing, China

This paper, taking Beiwenquan Town of Beibei, Chongqing as an example, assessed the impacts of land use on ecological health by comprehensive index method, and discussed methodological system of sustainable land use planning based on ecological health. Results indicated that: 1) From 1992 to 2002, land use changes focused on 12 patterns with the total conversion area of 92.11%, which were related to cultivated land, residential and industrial-mining area, and orchard land. Urbanization and economic reconstruction were the leading driving forces. 2) There was obvious difference of the areas of ecotypes driven by land use change in wide valley and mild slope between 1992 and 2002, while there were little or no difference in steep slope and very steep slope. 3) Both of the conditions of ecological health in 1992 and 2002 were sound, and the ecotypes focused on the types of health and sub-health. But, health ecosystem in 1992, with an area of 764.64ha, accounting for 38.51% of the total evaluation area, was better than that in 2002, with an area of 636.10ha, accounting for 34.19% of the total evaluation area. 4) The ecotypes involved into different ranges have already degenerated, due to humankind’s disturbance, while the conditions of ecological health in the same ranges in 1992, regardless of stability and reconstruction, were better than that in 2002. 5) The planning scenario based on ecological health was accorded with the practice condition of Beiwenquan Town: 388.29ha of cultivated land could meet the Beiwenquan demand of food and byproduct; 1045.26ha of forest land area, the Beiwenquan demand of ecological health; and 1004.73ha of the residential and industrial-mining area, the Beiwenquan building demand. 6) Sustainable land use planning based on ecological health had higher useful value, because it not only stood to ecological theory, but also satisfied the developmental demand of society and economy.

Application of pressure-state-response approach for developing criteria and indicators of ecological health assessment of wetlands:a multi-temporal study in Ichhamati floodplains,India

Background Tropical floodplain wetlands are among the most disturbed and intensively harvested ecosystems.Their sustainable management is often hindered due to the lack of comprehensive,coherent,and standardized assessment frameworks of wetland ecological health(WEH).In this study,a set of appropriate criteria and indicators(C&I)of WEH assessment was developed and tested on seven wetlands of River Ichhamati,eastern India.Methods Based on the pressure-state-response(PSR)approach,evaluation indicators representing ecological,socio-economic,and institutional sustainability issues of floodplain wetland systems were either selected or formulated through literature survey and stakeholder consensus.Weights of indicators were assigned by the entropy weighting method and then used in the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution model to determine the Euclidean distances of each wetland from the positive ideal solution and negative ideal solution.Subsequently,a comprehensive wetland ecological health index(CWEHI)was constructed from these distances to portray the condition of any PSR system component in a wetland under a fivefold classification scheme,namely‘excellent health’(CWEHI≥0.81),‘good health’(0.61-0.80),‘moderate health’(0.41-0.60),‘weak health’(0.21-0.40),and‘morbid’(≤0.20).Results The developed C&I set contains 8 criteria and 38 indicators under pressure component,7 criteria and 49 indicators under state component,as well as 4 criteria and 18 indicators under response component.When applied in 2016 and 2022,it was found that the Panchita and Aromdanga wetlands were continuously in weak and morbid health status,while the Madhabpur wetland always showed an excellent or good status for all components.Health of other wetlands oscillated between moderate and morbid health across assessment years and system components.Conclusions The developed C&I set was found to be a flexible,holistic,and refined framework that could be applied elsewhere in similar assessments with minor indicator-level adjustments.The present assessment inferred that agriculture-dominated wetlands were more affected by amplified environmental pressure than fishing-dominated wetlands.Absence of persistent water flow from main river channel,wide-spread jute-retting,agriculture-induced eutrophication,proliferation of aquatic weeds were identified as the major causes of rapid ecological deterioration.

Development of a phytoplankton-based index of biotic integrity for ecological health assessment in the Yangtze River

Background The application of index of biotic integrity(IBI)to evaluate river health can be an essential method for river ecosystem management.However,these types of methods were developed in small,low-order streams,and are therefore,infrequently applied to large rivers.To that end,phytoplankton communities and environmental variables were monitored in 30 sampling segments of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River,China during the wet(July-August)and dry(November-December)seasons in 2017-2018.We developed a phytoplankton-based index of biotic integrity(P-IBI)and used the index to assess the ecological health of the Yangtze River.Relationships among P-IBI,its component metrics,and environmental factors were analyzed across different seasons.Results Results obtained from the P-IBI indicated that the phytoplankton-based ecological health of the Yangtze River was rated as“good”during both seasons,with an overall better condition in the dry season.During the wet season,there were scattered river segments with P-IBI ratings of“fair”or below.Water quality and land use appeared to shape the patterns of P-IBI.In the wet season,P-IBI negatively correlated with total phosphorus,nitrate,total suspended solids,turbidity,conductivity,and dissolved oxygen.In the dry season,P-IBI positively correlated with total nitrogen,ammonium,and nitrite,and negatively correlated with water temperature.Conclusions The ecological health of the Yangtze River as reflected by the P-IBI exhibited spatial and temporal variability,with the effect of water quality being greater than that of local land use.This study indicated the importance of considering seasonal effects in detecting large river ecological health.These findings enhanced our understanding of the ecological health and characterized potential benchmarks for management of the Yangtze River.These findings also may be applicable to other large rivers elsewhere.

Model for Evaluating the Ecological Health of Municipal Solid Waste Treatment System

Ecological municipal solid waste (MSW) treatment systems are complex systems engineering concerning with multiple objectives and hierarchical levels. By combining an extension method with fuzzy logic theory, this paper investigated key technologies required by the comprehensive evaluation of ecological health. The method includes the construction of an evaluation system, quantification of evaluation indices, development of a matter-element model, development of an extension evaluation method, and assignment of a blended weight that combines subjectively and objectively estimated weights. This approach was used to develop a comprehensive model for evaluating the ecological health of an ecological treatment system for MSW. The model was then applied to a case study, and the results demonstrated that the model is a reasonable and effective.

Assessment of macrobenthic community function and ecological quality after reclamation in the Changjiang(Yangtze)River Estuary wetland

An ecological optimization project(semi-closed reclamation project)was implemented to control the invasion of Spartina alterniflora,and optimize the habitat of the Chongming Dongtan wetland,in the Changjiang(Yangtze)River Estuary.After project implementation,a macrobenthic ecological survey was conducted in a natural tidal flat and a semi-closed reclamation restoration area within the Chongming Dongtan wetland from 2019 to 2020.Compared with historical data before reclamation,findings showed that the groups,numbers,and species diversity of the macrobenthos increased significantly,and the ecological optimization project resulted in good ecological benefits.In addition,compared to the natural tidal flat,the number of collected macrobenthic phyla,and the macrobenthic density and biomass were significantly lower in the restoration area.Furthermore,the biodiversity index and functional redundancy of natural tidal flats were generally higher,indicating that the community composition and function of natural tidal flats were relatively more stable.Even though the species composition differed between a number of restoration areas and natural tidal flats,there was no difference in functional diversity,indicating that the effect of restoring ecological functions in restoration areas was optimal.Among them,the biodiversity and functional redundancy of Site S2 were significantly reduced,and the ecosystem function was extremely unstable.Habitat heterogeneity,vegetation community and decreasing salinity were the main factors that affected the ecological functions of macrobenthos.The ecological quality was also evaluated;the Transects N3 and N4 showed good quality.The overall ecological quality of the restoration area was generally high,but that of Site S2 was poor and that of Site S2E was merely good,which was mainly due to modifications of the ecological function of macrobenthos.It is suggested that reeds mowing and freshwater species release should be adopted in restoration areas to improve the community function and the environmental disturbance resistance of the macrobenthos.

Spatiotemporal characteristics and Monte Carlo simulationbased human health risk of heavy metals in soils from a typical coal-mining city in eastern China

Mining activities typically discharge considerable amounts of heavy metals into the environment,raising concerns about soil metal pollution,environmental security,and human well-being.Therefore,a systematic regional-scale investigation of soil heavy metal pollution in mining areas is necessary for soil management.In this study,5817 soil samples from the Huainan coal mining area collected for studies conducted from 2000 to 2021 were compiled to quantify the pollution level and spatiotemporal variation of heavy metals(Cu,Pb,Zn,Cr,Cd,As,Hg,Ni,and Mn).The associated ecological health risk of heavy metals in soil was assessed using the Hakanson ecological hazard index,Monte Carlo simulation in conjunction with the total hazard quotient,and the hazard index.Cd was the top contaminant,followed by Hg.In terms of spatial distribution,heavy metal contamination was more severe in the eastern area of Fengtai and Datong districts,because these districts of Anhui Province are significant industrial regions.In addition,the results of the Monte Carlo evaluation of human health risks showed that the total noncarcinogenic risk of heavy metals in soil is below the acceptable level,while the carcinogenic risk was 5.97%for adults and 15.53%for children.As accounted for 57.4%of noncarcinogenic risk,Cr contributed 36.1%of carcinogenic risk.Compared with adults,children are more vulnerable to the carcinogenic and noncarcinogenic risks posed by heavy metals,with oral consumption being the primary exposure route.This research can provide useful details for protecting the environment and managing soil in a coal mining area.

Anthropogenic Impacts on Fish Populations in Lake Cayo (Republic of Congo, Central Africa)

Ichthyofaunal diversity and the impact of anthropogenic activities on fish population assemblages were studied in Lake Cayo, a small lake located in the coastal region of the Republic of Congo. Twelve stations were sampled twice over a two-year period. Fishing techniques following standardized methods utilizing monofilament gill nets, and nine environment variables were measured at each station. A total of 11,361 specimens comprising 30 species in 28 genera and 18 families were collected with the Cichlidae being the most diversified. Redundancy Analysis with forward selection coupled with Monte Carlo permutation tests identified depth, pH and substrate as accounting for 57.7% of the total variance among the nine variables sampled (p < 0.05). The low Shannon’s diversity (1.16 ± 0.33) and Equitability (0.43 ± 0.12) indices at all sites, suggest that the Lake Cayo system is in poor ecological health.

Questioning Ecosystem Assessment and Restoration Practices in a Major Urban Estuary： Perpetuating Myths of Degradation in Spite of the Facts

The Jamaica Bay ecosystem is a dichotomy. It encompasses more than 12,000 acres of coastal estuarine marshes and an ecological diversity rivaling any coastal environment in the world. It is considerably altered, and is affected by a variety of ecological insults directly related to the fact that more than 14 million people live in its vicinity. Environmental protection institutions responded to the challenge of protecting the bay, surrounding wetlands and recreational benefits by addressing the increasing load of contaminants into the ecosystem. Billions of dollars have been spent during the past five decades on restoration attempts, including upgrading wastewater treatment plantsand the closure of three major sanitary landfills. Even with the curtailment of untreated wastewater release and ending periodic dredging and filling programs, all activities that are necessary processes in maintaining an urban harbor, the Jamaica Bay ecosystem has reached a point where many believe it to be unrecoverable, requiring massive infusions of restoration dollars. This categorization has been perpetuated based on questionable data （the ＂myths＂） that, when investigated in rigorous scientific detail, prove to be unsubstantiated. In this paper, the origin of these myths and the scientific investigation that dispel them are discussed.

Two-step calculation method to enable the ecological and human health risk assessment of remediated soil treated through thermal curing

The centralized utilization of heavy-metal-contaminated soil has become the main strategy to remediate brownfield-site pollution.However,few studies have evaluated the ecological and human health risks of reusing these remediated soils.Considering Zn as the target metal,systematic pHdependent leaching and the Community Bureau of Reference(BCR)extraction were conducted at six pH values(pH=2,4,6,8,10,12)for the remediated soil treated through thermal curing.The pHdependent leaching results showed that with the formation of ZnCr2O4 spinel phases,the remediated soil exhibited strong inherent resistance to acidic attack over longer leaching periods.Furthermore,the BCR extraction results showed that the leaching agent pH value mainly affected the acid-soluble fraction content.Moreover,a strong complementary relationship was noted between the leaching and acid-soluble fraction contents,indicating that the sum of these two parameters is representative of the remediated soil risk value.Therefore,we proposed a two-step calculation method to determine the sum of the two heavy metal parameters as the risk value of remediated soil.In contrast to the traditional one-step calculation method,which only uses the leaching content as the risk value,this two-step calculation method can effectively avoid underestimating the risk of remediated soil.

Research on Health Evaluation of Sustainable Regional Innovation Ecosystems Based on Improved Niche Suitability Model

While researchers have used the traditional index system–part of the niche-fitness model–to evaluate the innovation ecosystem,this index system can be seen as not being sufficiently objective,with the consequent problem that it gives equal weight to the indicators and so does not specify the important factors.To remedy this problem of insufficient objectivity,this paper seeks to improve the traditional niche-fitness model in two ways,which are based on the theory of the innovation ecosystem.First,by introducing the principal components analytic method to solve multiple mutual linear problems.Second,by constructing a new evaluation index system from the four aspects of openness,synergy,sustainability,and growth.This new evaluation index system is closer to the characteristics of the organic and evolutionary nature of the sustainable innovation ecosystem compared with the traditional index system.By using the evaluation index system,the research carries out a health assessment for the sustainable innovation ecosystems in different regions of provincial and municipal China from the two perspectives of descriptive and quantitative analyses.Through these analyses,our findings suggest that the sustainable regional innovation ecosystems in China are,on the whole,in an imbalance:there is a gradual decreasing trend from the eastern coastal areas to the central and western regions,and then the northeast regions.