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.

Ecological environmental quality evaluation and driving factor analysis of the Lijiang River Basin,based on Google Earth Engine

For regional ecological management,it is important to evaluate the quality of ecosystems and analyze the underlying causes of ecological changes.Using the Google Earth Engine(GEE)platform,the remote sensing ecological index(RSEI)was calculated for the Lijiang River Basin in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region for 1991,2001,2011,and 2021.Spatial autocorrelation analysis was employed to investigate spatiotemporal variations in the ecological environmental quality of the Lijiang River Basin.Furthermore,geographic detectors were used to quantitatively analyze influencing factors and their interaction effects on ecological environmental quality.The results verified that:1)From 1991 to 2021,the ecological environmental quality of the Lijiang River Basin demonstrated significant improvement.The area with good and excellent ecological environmental quality in proportion increased by 19.69%(3406.57 km^(2)),while the area with fair and poor ecological environmental quality in proportion decreased by 10.76%(1860.36 km^(2)).2)Spatially,the ecological environmental quality of the Lijiang River Basin exhibited a pattern of low quality in the central region and high quality in the periphery.Specifically,poor ecological environmental quality characterized the Guilin urban area,Pingle County,and Lingchuan County.3)From 1991 to 2021,a significant positive spatial correlation was observed in ecological environmental quality of the Lijiang River Basin.Areas with high-high agglomeration were predominantly forests and grasslands,indicating good ecological environmental quality,whereas areas with low-low agglomeration were dominated by cultivated land and construction land,indicating poor ecological environmental quality.4)Annual average precipitation and temperature exerted the most significant influence on the ecological environmental quality of the basin,and their interactions with other factors had the great influence.This study aimed to enhance understanding of the evolution of the ecological environment in the Lijiang River Basin of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and provide scientific guidance for decision-making and management related to ecology in the region.

Spatiotemporal variation of ecological environment quality and extreme climate drivers on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

Protecting the ecological security of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau(QTP)is of great importance for global ecology and climate.Over the past few decades,climate extremes have posed a significant challenge to the ecological environment of the QTP.However,there are few studies that explored the effects of climate extremes on ecological environment quality of the QTP,and few researchers have made quantitative analysis.Hereby,this paper proposed the Ecological Environmental Quality Index(EEQI)for analyzing the spatial and temporal variation of ecological environment quality on the QTP from 2000 to 2020,and explored the effects of climate extremes on EEQI based on Geographically and Temporally Weighted Regression(GTWR)model.The results showed that the ecological environment quality in QTP was poor in the west,but good in the east.Between 2000 and 2020,the area of EEQI variation was large(34.61%of the total area),but the intensity of EEQI variation was relatively low and occurred mainly by a slightly increasing level(EEQI change range of 0.05-0.1).The overall ecological environment quality of the QTP exhibited spatial and temporal fluctuations,which may be attributed to climate extremes.Significant spatial heterogeneity was observed in the effects of the climate extremes on ecological environment quality.Specifically,the effects of daily temperature range(DTR),number of frost days(FD0),maximum 5-day precipitation(RX5day),and moderate precipitation days(R10)on ecological environment quality were positive in most regions.Furthermore,there were significant temporal differences in the effects of consecutive dry days(CDD),consecutive wet days(CWD),R10,and FD0 on ecological environment quality.These differences may be attributed to variances in ecological environment quality,climate extremes,and vegetation types across different regions.In conclusion,the impact of climate extremes on ecological environment quality exhibits complex patterns.These findings will assist managers in identifying changes in the ecological environment quality of the QTP and addressing the effects of climate extremes.

Perception of the Residential Environmental Quality of Yenagoa Metropolis,Nigeria

Residential environmental quality(REQ)affects human health and quality of life(QoL).Therefore,this study as­sessed residents’perception of the REQ of the Yenagoa metropolis.Data for the study were sourced from the 400 ad­ministered questionnaires,which required respondents to rate their REQ based on seven selected indicators(air quality,drinking water quality,housing location,sanitation,waste management,housing accessibility and noise pollution).The respondents were sampled using the multistage sampling technique.The data were analyzed using frequency,percent­age,t-test,ANOVA and REQ model.The findings show that the overall calculated REQ of Yenagoa was classified as“good quality”.The best-rated indicator was drinking water quality,while the least-rated was noise pollution.Ratings based on respondents’sex,income and educational status recorded similar results.Also,the respondents’perception of the REQ across the four zones was similar as the calculated ratings of all the zones fell under the“good quality”classification.Furthermore,the hypotheses tested revealed that there were no significant differences in the perception of the REQ by sex and income status,while significant variation exists by education status.Despite the general“good quality”rating,there is still room for improvement,especially in the areas of noise pollution,sanitation and housing location,which received relatively low ratings.

Analysis and Evaluation of Heavy Metal Environmental Quality of Irrigation Water in Vegetable Farmlands of Shandong Province

[Objective] The aim was to evaluate heavy metal environmental quality of irrigation water in vegetable farmlands of Shandong Province. [Method] Heavy metal contents including Hg,Cd,As,Cr (+6),Pb,Cu and Zn in irrigation water of main vegetable farmlands of Shandong Province were investigated by randomly sampling,and the environmental quality conditions of these heavy metals were evaluated by methods of single quality index and complex quality index. [Result] The results showed that the average contents of heavy metals in irrigation water of Shouguang,Laiyang,Jinxiang and Zhangqiu were all far lower than the limit values prescribed by 'Farmland Environmental Quality Evaluation Standards for Edible Agricultural Products' (HJ332-2006),and no heavy metal was found beyond the limit value in every sample. The single quality indices of the 7 elements in the studied 4 places were all lower than 0.5. The comprehensive quality index of the seven elements was 0.317 8 in Shouguang,0.320 4 in Laiyang,0.232 6 in Jinxiang,and 0.260 7 in Zhangqiu. The environmental quality of irrigation water in the studied four places were all set at the first class. [Conclusion] The environmental quality of irrigation water in the 4 places belonged to clean level and were fit for the plantation of no pollution vegetables.

Soil Environmental Quality Evaluation for Wasteland of Coalmine Tailing Polluted by Heavy Metals in Mingshan of Guangdong

ln order to appraise scientifical y the heavy metal contamination in waste-land of coalmine tailing in Mingshan of Guangdong, the 5 soil samples in wasteland of coalmine tailing were col ected in November 2010 to March 2011. The 7 heavy metals content in the contaminated soil was measured by atomic absorption spec-trophotometry. The results showed the pH of the wasteland soil ranged from 2.87 to 6.16, and the soil was relatively infertile. The soil was mainly pol uted by Cd and Mn. The Cd content in wasteland soil ranged from 0.759 mg/kg to 3.109 mg/kg with an average content of 2.052 mg/kg, which was much higher than the standard content. The Mn content ranged from 387.057 to 488.660 mg/kg with an average content of 421.215 mg/kg, which was much higher than the standard content. The Nemerow integrated pol ution indexes showed the sample 1, sample 4 and sample 5 were of heavy pol ution, and sample 2 and sample 3 were of moderate pol ution.

A Comparative Study of Different Methods on Quality Assessment of Soil Environment Polluted by Zinc in Agricultural Production Areas——A Case Study in Shulan City of Jilin Province

[Objective] The aim was to explore evaluated precision on quality of soil environment polluted with zinc in agricultural production areas and to provide references for verification of production area.[Method] In Shulan City in Jilin Province,soils were sampled and analyzed in a laboratory using single-factor pollution index and GIS based spatial interpolation.The quality of environment polluted with zinc was assessed and related methods were compared according to Environment Quality Standard of Green Food Production Area.[Result] Spatial interpolation of zinc in soils based on GIS proved more precise than traditional methods;cokriging method with co-factors was higher in precision than common cokriging;cokriging method with zinc and organic matter was higher in precision than cokriging with zinc alone.[Conclusion] Quality assessment on environment polluted with zinc based on GIS interpolation is more scientific and reasonable than traditional methods.

Fuzzy Comprehensive Evaluation of Urban Traffic Environment Quality

In this paper, traffic environment quality assessment is achieved by applying fuzzy mathematics methods. Set up an assessment system, determine assessment criterion, formulate membership function, make program designs and conduct example analysis. The evaluation result is consistent with the real case. So that the method of the fuzzy evaluation is a good one for the environment quality assessment.

Assessment and mapping of environmental quality in agricultural soils of Zhejiang Province, China

Heavy metal concentrations in agricultural soils of Zhejiang Province were monitored to indicate the status of heavy metal contamination and assess environmental quality of agricultural soils. A total of 908 soil samples were collected from 38 counties in Zbejiang Province and eight heavy metal （Cd, Cr, Pb, Hg, Cu, Zn, Ni and As） concentrations had been evaluated in agricultural soil. It was found 775 samples were unpolluted and 133 samples were slightly polluted and more respectively, that is approximately 14.65% agricultural soil samples had the heavy metal concentration above the threshold level in this province by means of Nemerow＇s synthetical pollution index method according to the second grade of Standards for Soil Environmental Quality of China （GB15618- 1995）. Contamination of Cd was the highest, followed by Ni, As and Zn were lower correspondingly. Moreover, Inverse Distance Weighted （IDW） interpolation method was used to make an assessment map of soil environmental quality based on the Nemerow＇s pollution index and the soil environmental quality was categorized into five grades. Moreover, ten indices were calculated as input parameters for principal component analysis （PCA） and the principal components （PCs） were created to compare environmental quality of different soils and regions. The results revealed that environmental quality of tea soils was better than that of paddy soils, vegetable soils and fruit soils. This study indicated that GIS combined with multivariate statistical approaches proved to be effective and powerful tool in the mapping of soil contamination distribution and the assessment of soil environmental quality on provincial scale, which is beneficial to environmental protection and management decision-making by local government.

Impact of Urbanization on Shanghai's Soil Environmental Quality

Heavy metal contents in the soils in the Baoshan District of Shanghai were monitored to evaluate the risk of soil environmental quality degradation due to rapid urbanization and to reveal the ways of heavy metal accumulation in soil during rapid urban sprawl. It was found that the soils in this district were commonly contaminated by Pb, Zn and Cd. Evaluated with a geo-accumulation index (Igeo), the rate of Pb contamination in soils was 100% with 59% of these graded as moderate-severe or severe; Zn contamination reached 59% with 6% graded as moderate-severe or severe; and Cd contamination was over 50%, with one site graded as moderate-severe and another severe-extremely severe. Metal contamination of soils around the Shanghai metropolis was mainly attributed to traffic, industrial production, wastewater irrigation and improper disposal of solid wastes. Because of continuing urbanization, the cultivated land around the metropolis should be comprehensively planned and carefully managed. Also the soil environmental quality of vegetable production bases in this area should be monitored regularly, with vegetables to be grown selected according to the degrees and types of soil contamination.

Influence of environment and substrate quality on the decomposition of wetland plant root in the Sanjiang Plain,Northeast China

The litterbag method was used to study the decomposition of wetland plant root in three wetlands along a water level gradient in the Sanjiang Plain,Northeast China.These wetlands are Calamagrostis angustifolia(C.aa),Carex meyeriana(C.ma)and Carex lasiocarpa (C.la).The objective of our study is to evaluate the influence of environment and substrate quality on decomposition rates in the three wetlands.Calico material was used as a standard substrate to evaluate environmental influences.Roots native to each we...

Resource and Environmental Quality Changes and Adjustment Principles for Sustainable Development in Rapidly Developing Coastal Region of Southeastern China

Problems in water-land resources and environmental quality increase with the fast economic development in the coastal region of southeastern China. This region has the highest density in population, industry and towns in China, and the large export-oriented economy makes itself a strategic importance while China enters into international markets. The problems facing to this region include arable land reduction, land degradation aggravation, high percentage of built-up land with high rate of expansion, expanded non-point pollution, deteriorated water quality, decreasing biodiversity, destroyed ecosystems, severe air pollution, frequently occurred acid rain, and multi-pollutants. The important research fields in the near future should include a) influence of high-intensity exploitation of resources on changes of environment quality and its feedback; b) interface processes, key mechanisms and adjustment principles for degradation of water-, land-, and air-resources and environmental quality; c) evolvement processes and nurturing theory of biodiversity and ecological resources; and d) spatio-temporal variation and human-induced effects on regional resources and environment quality. Strategies for sustainable development in the region are as follows: a) controlling to ensure basic cultivated land area; b) enforcing remediation of polluted water environment, and controlling non-point pollution; c) strengthening ecological construction and ecological security; and d) controlling multi-pollution and preventing trace toxic pollutants.

Using benthic macrofauna to assess environmental quality of four intertidal mudflats in Hong Kong and Shenzhen Coast

Intertidal zone is a significant wetland between land and ocean. It plays an important rolein maintaining local ecological balance. Both Mai Po and Futian intertidal mudflats are located in Shenzhen Bay and are important 'refueling' point along the East Asian/Australian flyway of migratory birds. The environmental quality of Mai Po and Futian mudflats have aroused great concern due to rapid economic developments in Hong Kong and Shenzhen in recent decades. Macroinfauna of Mai Po and Futian mudflats was investigated in December 2000 and the faunal data were used to assess their environmental quality. Two other mudflats, namely Ma Wan Typhoon Shelter (a more disturbed area) and Luk Keng intertidal mudflat (a place with relatively less human disturbance), were also sampled for macroinfauna and used as reference mudflats. Shannon - Weaver species diversity index (Isd), biotic coefficient (Cb) and macrofaunal pollution index (Imp) of the macrofauna community on four intertidal mudflats were used to determine their environmental quality. The results showed that Luk Keng intertidal mudflat was unpolluted, Mai Po and Futian mudflats were slightly polluted, and Ma Wan was moderately polluted. The pollution in Ma Wan Typhoon Shelter mainly came from various types of rubbish and fishing boats that disturbed the sediment, while pollution sources in Mai Po and Futian mudflats were discharges of industrial water, municipal sewage and from nearby rivers.

Improved AHP method and its application in lake environmental comprehensive quality evaluation—a case study of Xuanwu Lake, Nanjing, China

The relative importance of each pollution factor in analytical hierarchy process (AHP) method comes from pooling expert opinions in general. Because expert opinions are based on information and judgment criteria, determining their weight may lead to uncertainty.. Therefore, an improved AHP method had been developed. The process of the improved AHP method involved four key procedures. The weights of pollution factors were completely related to the objective monitoring data through the standardization of these procedures. The environmental comprehensive quality of water and sediment of Xuanwu Lake, Nanjing, China had been evaluated. The environmental quality comprehensive indices (EQCI) of the water in 1991-1995 and 1996-2000 were 3.32 and 1.85, respectively, indicating that the water quality improved. The EQCI of the sediment in 1995 and 2000 indicates that the sediment contamination decreased from 1995 to 2000. Such results agreed with the fact that the lake had been under comprehensive control. However, with the classical AHP method, the EQCI of the sediment in the northwestern part of the lake may have indicated that sediment contamination increased from 1995 to 2000. The discrepancy may have resulted from the judgment difference of the experts. The improved AHP method can avoid arbitrariness of subjective judgment and can reflect the real influential factors of environment pollution in different periods or regions.

Impact of Electronic Wastes Recycling on Environmental Quality

Objective To evaluate the environmental quality of Guiyu, Guangdong impacted by the electronic waste recycling industry. Methods The surface water, ground water and sediment samples taken separately from two sites that recycle E-wastes and other rubbish relevant to the E-waste recycling, and an agricultural area, were analyzed, and the data were used to evaluate the impact of E-waste recycling on the environmental quality of Guiyu based on environmental quality standards in China. Results The concentrations of lead and iron in the surface water samples significantly different in the three locations. The maximum value of lead in the first site was 8 times higher than the threshold of environmental quality standards for surface water. The concentration of iron in polluted sample was 22 times that of the background sample. Manganese and iron also showed a significant difference in ground water samples between the three sites. The amount of iron was 22 times that of the threshold of the quality standard for ground water, and 120 times that of the background sample. Moreover, the results of all the eight heavy metals showed significant differences among the sediment samples. The concentrations of copper, cadmium, nickel, and lead in the polluted samples were above the median benchmarks of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration （NOAA）. The copper concentration of 2670 mg/kg was 10 times that of the median benchmark. Conclusion E-waste recycling has led to the severe pollution Guiyu.

Relationship Between Economic Growth and Water Environmental Quality of Anshan City in Northeast China

Based on the decomposition model of environmental quality and univariate regression model,the relationships of industrial wastewater drainage with economic scale,economic structure,and technological level in Anshan,a mining city in Northeast China,were studied. The results showed that,due to scale effect,the drainage of three important industrial wastewater pollutants(COD,NH3-N and petroleum) increased 8505t,671t and 384t,respectively,and due to structure effect,those pollutants drainage increased 3996t,174t and 120t from 2001 to 2006. While due to technological effect,the drainage of COD,NH3-N and petroleum reduced 4452t,458t and 331t,and due to cross effect,those pollutants drainage reduced 7270t,575t and 476t simultaneously. Meantime,the relationships between household consumption structure and domestic sewage discharge were analyzed,and domestic sewage discharges in different income levels were also compared. The results showed that,the domestic sewage discharges would increase 376t with 1000 yuan(RMB) increased in the traffic and communication consumption,and they would be 344t,219t,428t,1873t,respectively,in housing consumption,food consumption,medical consumption,miscellaneous commodity consumption. The proportion of domestic sewage discharge increased for high income residents significantly,but reduced for lower income residents. The industrial wastewater pollutants drainage tends to be reduced by technical progress,while domestic sewage discharge will be a more important factor for urban water environment quality.

ANALYSIS ON THE SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION VARIATION CHARACTERISTIC OF URBAN HEAT ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY AND ITS MECHANISM——A Case Study of Hangzhou City

Urban heat environmental quality (UHEQ) is affected by the interacting of weather condition and underlying surface framework of urban area. In the last two decades, many researchers from domestic and overseas have studied many problems at the aspect of urban heat environment such as urban heat islands, urban air temperature and their relation with urban land cover, city population, air pollution etc. In the recent years, Hangzhou, acting as a center city of Zhejiang Province in China, its urbanization quantum and quantity have both changed greatly, in particular, representing as business affairs building, resident real property and all kinds of specialty market having arisen in built-up zone. Based on Landsat TM images data in 1991 and 1999, urban underlying surface temperature value and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) were calculated using image interpreting and supervised classification technique by remote sensing software ERDAS image 8.4. The relation model between urban underlying surface temperature (UUST) and urban air temperature was setup according to the certain correlation pattern. Reference to the relational standard of assessing human comfort and other meteorology data of Hangzhou City in summer, the spatial distribution characteristic and the spatial variation degree of human comfort of heat environmental quality are estimated and mapped on a middle scale, that is, in six districts of Hangzhou City . Then the paper reveals the main characteristic of spatial variation from 1991 to 1999. Lastly, the change mechanism is analyzed and discussed from the viewpoint of city planning, construction and environmental protection.

Energy consumption,indoor environmental quality,and benchmark for office buildings in Hainan Province of China

With rapid economy growth,building energy consumption in China has been gradually increased.The energy consumption and indoor environmental quality of 51 office buildings in Hainan Province,a hot and humid area,were studied through collection of verified data in site visits and field tests.The result revealed that,electricity accounted for 99.79% of the total energy consumption,natural gas 0.17%,and diesel 0.04%.The air conditioning dominated the energy use with a share of 43.18%,equipment in the particular areas 26.90%,equipment in the office rooms 11.95%,lighting system 8.67%,general service system 7.57%,and miscellaneous items 1.73%.Statistical method including six indicators obtained the energy consumption benchmark with upper limit of 98.31 kW-h/m2 and lower limit of 55.26 kW-h/m2.According to ASHRAE standard(comfortable standard) and GB/T 18883-2002(acceptable standard),the indoor environmental quality of 51 sampled office buildings was classified into three ranks:good,normal and bad.With benchmark of building energy consumption combined with indoor environmental quality,it was found that only 3.92% of sampled buildings can be identified as the best performance buildings with low energy consumption and advanced indoor environmental quality,and the buildings classified into normal level accounted for the maximum ratio.

The Fuzzy Synthesizing Evaluation of City's Environmental Quality Based on GIOWA Operator:A Case of 13 Cities of Jiangsu Province

In this paper, the generally induced ordered weighted averaging (GIOWA) operator is used to construct the fuzzy evaluating system of the quality of a city’s environment including air, water and noise. Based on the part data of air, water and noise of the 13 cities under the jurisdiction of Jiangsu provincial government in 2002, a case study is given. The evaluating results show that the evaluating system of the quality of a city’s environment based on the GIOWA operator can reflect the condition of pollution controlled and environmental quality of a city in a period of time.

Effects of China's OFDI on Host Countries' Environmental Quality

From a FDI source country perspective, this paper reveals the effect of Chinas OFDI on host countries' environmental quality. Based on the Copeland-Taylor model, this paper creates a theoretical mechanism to demonstrate how Chinas OFDI affects host countries' pollution intensity and environmental quality and carries out an empirical analysis based on Chinas OFDI data of 2003-2014 and the economic development index data of 168 host countries. Since Chinas OFDI is differentiated for countries of various income levels, this paper f Urther conducts a sub-sample empirical test on the income level of host countries. The result shows that Chinas OFDI growth generally induces an increase in total pollution emissions in host countries but significantly reduces per capita emissions and thus improves local environmental quality. Sub-sample regression result shows that whether in terms of total or per capita emissions, Chinas OFDI has a much more significant effect in improving the environmental quality of high-income countries.