Research on sustainable development of small islands in China─taking 12 island counties for examples

Islands serve as the basis for marine exploitation,and the sustainable development of islands and that of marine exploitation are closely inter-connected. This article inquires into problems on the sustainable development of small islands by taking 12 island counties in China for examples.

Drivers,Trends,and Patterns of Changing Vegetation-greenness in Nansha Islands,China from 2016 to 2022

Changes in vegetation status generally also represents changes in the ecological health of islands and reefs(IRs).However,studies are limited of drivers and trends of vegetation change of Nansha Islands,China and how they relate to climate change and human activities.To resolve this limitation,we studied changes to the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index(NDVI)vegetation-greenness index for 22 IRs of Nansha Islands during normal and extreme conditions.Trends of vegetation greenness were analyzed using Sen's slope and Mann-Kendall test at two spatial scales(pixel and island),and driving factor analyses were performed by time-lagged partial correlation analyses.These were related to impacts from human activities and climatic factors under normal(temperature,precipitation,radiation,and Normalized Difference Built-up Index(NDBI))and extreme conditions(wind speed and latitude of IRs)from 2016 to 2022.Results showed:1)among the 22 IRs,NDVI increased/decreased significantly in 15/4 IRs,respectively.Huayang Reef had the highest NDVI change-rate(0.48%/mon),and Zhongye Island had the lowest(–0.29%/mon).Local spatial patterns were in one of two forms:dotted-form,and degradation in banded-form.2)Under normal conditions,human activities(characterized by NDBI)had higher impacts on vegetation-greenness than other factors.3)Under extreme conditions,wind speed(R^(2)=0.2337,P<0.05)and latitude(R^(2)=0.2769,P<0.05)provided limited explanation for changes from typhoon events.Our results provide scientific support for the sustainable development of Nansha Islands and the United Nations‘Ocean Decade’initiative.

Macroinvertebrate Community in Streams on the Canary Islands: Gradient Analysis and Stressors

This study describes the gradient analysis of the freshwater macroinvertebrate assemblages in eight streams of Tenerife and La Gomera (Canary Islands) over a 16-year period. During this period, a total of 75 taxa belonging to 34 taxonomic families were found. Endemism has an important presence in the streams on both islands, especially regarding Trichoptera and Coleoptera. The overall status of freshwater macroinvertebrates is rather uncertain as recent data on these communities are scarce and focused on a limited number of sites. Overexploitation of aquifers and the diversion of natural water flows for irrigation have resulted in the drying up of numerous natural streams, inevitably endangering the fauna that inhabits them. A reduction in number and abundance of endemic and sensitive species was observed in the majority of the sampled streams resulting in a lower ecological rating. Therefore, it is proposed that the protection of streams of high conservation value is essential to conserve freshwater macroinvertebrate fauna native to the Canary Islands.

U-Pb zircon geochronology of basaltic pyroclastic rocks from the basement beneath the Xisha Islands in the northwestern South China Sea and its geological significance

As one of the micro-blocks dispersed in the South China Sea(SCS), the basement of the Xisha Islands has rarely been drilled because of the thick overlying Cenozoic sediments, which has led to a confused understanding of the pre-Cenozoic basement of the Xisha Islands. Well CK-1, a kilometer-scale major scientific drill in the Xisha Islands in the northwestern SCS, penetrated thick reefal limestone(0–888.4 m) and the underlying basement rocks(888.4–901.4 m). In this study, we present the zircon U-Pb ages of basement basaltic pyroclastic rocks from Well CK-1 in the Xisha Islands of the northwestern SCS to investigate the basement nature of the Xisha microblock. The basement of Well CK-1 consists of basaltic pyroclastic rocks on the seamount. The zircon grains yielded apparent ages ranging from ca. 2 138.9 Ma to ca. 36 Ma. The old group of zircon grains from Well CK-1 was considered to be inherited zircons. Two Cenozoic zircons gave a weighted mean 206Pb/238U age of(36.3 ± 1.1) Ma,Mean Squared Weighted Deviations(MSWD) = 1.2, which may represent the maximum age of the volcano eruption. The Yanshanian inherited zircons(116.9–105.7 Ma and 146.1–130.2 Ma) from Well CK-1 are consistent with the zircons from Well XK-1, indicating that the basement of Chenhang Island may be similar to that of Well XK-1. We propose that the Xisha micro-block may have developed on a uniform Late Jurassic metamorphic crystalline basement, intruded by Cretaceous granitic magma.

Science and Technology Commissioners Supporting High-Quality Development Project for Hundreds of Counties, Thousands of Towns, and Myriads of Villages in the Context of Rural Revitalization

This paper discusses the important role of science and technology commissioners in the high-quality development of hundreds of counties,thousands of towns,and myriads of villages in the context of rural revitalization,including building bridges,accelerating the transformation of achievements,promoting the value-added of the whole agricultural industry chain,and promoting the rapid development of rural industrial economy.It also discusses the working achievements of science and technology commissioners,in order to promote further development of rural revitalization in Guangdong Province.

Spatiotemporal Evolution of Urban Heat Islands and Optimization of Spatial Network Construction in the Central Urban Area of Fuzhou City, China

Although accelerated urbanization has led to economic prosperity,it has also resulted in urban heat island effects.Therefore,identifying methods of using limited urban spaces to alleviate heat islands has become an urgent issue.In this study,we assessed the spatiotemporal evolution of urban heat islands within the central urban area of Fuzhou City,China from 2010 to 2019.This assessment was based on a morphological spatial pattern analysis(MSPA)model and an urban thermal environment spatial network constructed us-ing the minimum cumulative resistance(MCR)model.Optimization measures for the spatial network were proposed to provide a theor-etical basis for alleviating urban heat islands.The results show that the heat island area within the study area gradually increased while that of urban cold island area gradually decreased.The core area was the largest of the urban heat island patch landscape elements with a significant impact on other landscape elements,and represented an important factor underlying urban heat island network stability.The thermal environment network revealed a total of 197 thermal environment corridors and 93 heat island sources.These locations were then optimized according to the current land use,which maximized the potential of 1599.83 ha.Optimization based on current land use led to an increase in climate resilience,with effective measures showing reduction in thermal environment spatial network structure and function,contributing to the mitigation of urban heat island.These findings support the use of current land use patterns during urban heat island mitigation measure planning,thus providing an important reference basis for alleviating urban heat island effects.

Fish Assemblage and Abundance Distribution in Nanji Islands Marine Nature Reserve in Relation to Season Change

The fishing survey station located in the warm waters of the East China Sea is one of the abundant fishery resources of waters;with a large number of economic fish breeding grounds and economic juvenile feeding grounds. Several fish species according to this bottom trawl survey results which appear in the annual survey from winter to autumn give us a total of 58 species, which have appeared throughout the year. But the vast majority of species appears only in certain seasons, according to the sea fish survey and based on seasonal migratory species or species mainly small endemic species. The survey of fish is tropical and subtropical warm water species and warm temperate species, and the history of the area has several types of 397 different species. There are many reasons, in addition to recent years, human disturbance and adverse consequences of environmental changes brought about, but also with the relevant sampling methods and sampler time, the survey sampled only trawl based, from Ping yang Ocean and Fisheries Bureau, the waters are still other jobs method net, gill nets, fishing industry, etc. Survey results show that the type of fish in the summer (58 species) > spring (55 species) > winter (51 species) > autumn (42 species). The type of season was among spring to summer rose, summer to autumn decline. The survey found that in the reef area of the Nanji Islands, no one species of fish is the dominant species throughout the year (according to the dominant species, each species is dominant only in one season). From the dominant species turnover accounting for the four seasons, in winter it has 53.72% of the total biomass or annual biomass, spring it has 41.53% of the overall biomass, summer it has 31.85% and autumn it has 38.56% of total biomass. Visible, seasonal succession of dominant species of fish phenomenon is very obvious, especially in the spring and winter, summer transfers dominate species at this stage show the greatest change, but winter, the transfer of this dominant species changes in minimal. Seasonal changes from biomass and the average annual marine fish survey biomass were 4832.25 g/h. From different seasons, the average biomass in winter (10779.88 g/h) > of the average biomass in spring (3624.1 g/hour) > of the mean biomass in autumn (3158 g/h) > the average Biomass in summer (1767 g/h). All of them show significant seasonal variation of the biomass, in winter and spring, the biomass is generally not high, but significantly higher than in the summer and autumn seasons. Each season, around the coast of southern Zhejiang, is less than the biomass and other catches off, which involves investigating sea location, size range, and the survey ship different network related tools. Another change from the area of biomass, some studies found that the survey of four-season fish of waters above the biological capacity of several kilograms only in some stations, namely stations and the highest biomass in summer appeared in stations 3, 7 and 11. In autumn the highest biomass appeared in stations 3, 6, 20 and 23.

Using Circular Economics Strategies to Manage Tourism on Remote Islands:A SMART Approach

Circular economics theory offers destination managers of remote islands a solution-oriented approach to environmental sustainability. This paper examines the practical benefits of this theory that will support the development of a circular economy regarding sustainable island tourism (SIT). The aim of this paper is to inform discussions regarding the feasibility of applying a practice theory that emphasises changes in the behaviours across three segments, visitors, residents, and enterprises using SMART technologies. To achieve this objective, a SMART indicator system (SIS) was used to identify current practices that would support a circular economy (CE). The key innovation of this study is the creation of a proposed framework that may inform best practices for SIT in the future. The findings highlight the potential opportunity of evidenced-based planning to deliver a circular economy strategy (CES) for remote islands in the future. These insights can potentially impact the way that local authorities and destination managers approach the planning of tourism for six islands along the west coast of Ireland.

TIL20: A review of island biogeography and habitat fragmentation studies on subtropical reservoir islands of Thousand Island Lake, China

Reservoir islands formed by dam construction have the same history,clear boundaries,and large numbers that provide a natural platform for testing theories in ecology and biogeography.In this paper,we review studies of multiple zoological taxa on reservoir islands of a large lake in eastern China(Thousand Island Lake).This lake,created in 1959,has 1078 artificial land-bridge islands of varying areas and isolation.Our review summarizes the decades-long studies in island biogeography and habitat fragmentation from this island system,grouped into three topics:species richness(“how many species are there”),community structure(“who are they”),and species interaction(“how they interact with each other”).Our findings support the predictions of the Equilibrium Theory of Island Biogeography and extend this theory to predict community structure of island faunas by moving beyond assumptions of species equivalency.In addition,the extensive studies on ecological networks,including mutualistic,antagonistic,and parasitic interactions,reveal the negative impacts of habitat loss on the maintenance of such networks,even as increasing forest edge enhances the robustness of pollination networks.At the end of this review,we proposed several future research directions based on current studies that are simultaneously at the frontier of ecology and biogeography.

Research on Tourism Competitiveness of Chinese Island Counties:Based on Factor and Cluster Analysis

From the perspective of tourism competitiveness,the paper takes 12 island counties of China as the research object,and applies the method of factor analysis to study their competitiveness.The result shows that Putuo and Dinghai are more competitive while Pingtan and Nan'ao are less competitive.Finally,the 12 island counties are divided into four styles:first-class competitive county (Putuo),seond-class competitive counties (Dinghai,Yuhuan),third-class competitive counties (Chongming,Daishan,Changdao,Changhai and Shengsi),fourth-class competitive counties (Dongshan,Dongtou,Pingtan and Nan'ao) by cluster analysis.The classification of island counties is to clear their relative position,then to promote their development.

Physical and Mechanical Properties of Coral Sand in the Nansha Islands

Coral sand is a unique material developed in the tropical ocean environment, which is mainly composed of coral and other marine organism debris, with the CaCO3 content up to 96 %. It has special physical and mechanical properties due to its composition, structure and sedimentary environment. In this contribution, we discuss its specific gravity, porosity ratio compressibility, crushing, shearing and intensity for coral sand samples from the Nansha islands based on laboratory mechanical tests. Our results show distinct high porosity ratio, high friction angle and low intensity as compared with the quartz sand. We believe that grain crushing is the main factor that influences the deformation and strength of coral sand. Comprehensive study on the physical and mechanical properties of coral sands is significant in providing reliable scientific parameters to construction on coral islet, and thus avoids accidents in construction.

The Evolutionary Characteristics of the Temperature in Typical Counties in Southwest China——Taking Meitan County in Guizhou Province as an Example

Based on the method of linear trending,analysis was made upon the daily temperature statistics of Meitan County from 1951 to 2009,and the results showed that the temperature in general was on the rise.With 1980 as the turning point,it was on the decline before while later the temperature increased quickly.Among these figures,the variation rates of annual average temperature,annual maximum temperature,and annual minimum temperature are 0.11 ℃/10 a,0.08 ℃/10 a,and 0.36 ℃/10 a.The variation rates of average temperature in spring,summer,fall and winter are respectively 0.12 ℃/10 a,0.07 ℃/10 a,0.12 ℃/10 a,and 0.13 ℃/10 a.Morlet wavelet was adopted to analyze the periodicity of temperature change which has periods of different scales.But since 2000,during different time scales most of the areas have been in the period of temperature rises.Besides,certain rule exists in the periodicity of maximum temperature and minimum temperature.Before 1970s,they had opposite changing rules,and the alteration of the peak value occurred.However,in the late 1980s,they had similar changing rules,and their peak values appeared at the same time.It means that against the background of global warming,the reaction of temperature evolution in Meitan County is quite remarkable.

Discussion on Calculation Method of Poverty Incidence in the Exit Evaluation of Poverty-Stricken Counties and Villages

Poverty incidence is the key index that needs to be measured in the poverty exit examination and evaluation of 832 poverty-stricken counties and 128 000 poverty-stricken villages. In this paper, based on the statement of general concept and conventional calculation method of the poverty incidence, the calculation method of poverty incidence in the exit evaluation of poverty-stricken counties （also including poverty-stricken township and poverty-stricken villages） was investigated through the view of the third-party evaluation. In addition to considering the previous ＂number of planned poverty remaining population＂, the method also needed to give consideration to the exiting mistaken population, evaluation missing population. Based on the case in Yuanyang County, Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province, the poverty incidences of 10 exit planning villages by the end of 2017 in Yuanyang County were investigated and estimated, and suggestions were proposed to promote the precise poverty alleviation and poverty relief of the county.

SWOT Analysis of Tourist Resources in Underdeveloped Counties—With Pingle County in Guilin City as the Study Case

Strengths,weaknesses,opportunities and threats of tourism development in Pingle County were analyzed to give a pertinent guide for its under developed tourism industry and economy,moreover,suggestions were proposed for the further development of local tourist resources.

Numerical modeling of seabed morphological effects from the construction of artificial islands in Danzhou, Hainan

Haihua Islands is a large artificial island in Danzhou, Hainan. The construction of Haihua Islands changes the hYdrodynamic environment of Yangpu waters, and further affects its morphological change. Delft3D is used to set up a two dimensional nested hydrodynamic and sediment model for Yangpu waters in this paper, and this paper focuses on simulating the velocity and morphological change due to the construction of Haihua Islands after the verification of the model. The seabed deposition is small because of low suspended sediment concentration and less sand source near Yangpu waters. The bed level erodes in the south area of Xiaochan Reef and the Yangpu channel due to the velocity increase in the area.

Agricultural Development of Nanjing Suburban Counties based on Contribution Models of Production Factors

According to data in Nanjing Statistical Yearbook, contribution made by agricultural production factors was analyzed with contribution models of agricultural factors and the results showed that with restriction of labor force and land, Nanjing suburban counties have entered into a stage of ＂high input-high output＂, considering no matter from agricultural total value of output or from agricultural added value. In future, structure configuration of agricultural input factors should be optimized in Nanjing suburban counties by technology input to improve agricultural technology and technical efficiency in order to further achieve sustainable development of agriculture.

Evaluation of Typhoon Waves Simulated by Wave Watch-Ⅲ Model in Shallow Waters Around Zhoushan Islands

In this study, we simulated typhoon waves in the shallow waters around the Zhoushan Islands using the WaveWatch-Ⅲ(WW3) model version 5.16, the latest version released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Specifically, we used in-situ measurements to evaluate the performance of seven packages of input/dissipation source terms in the WW3 model. We forced the WW3 model by wind fields derived from a combination of the parametric Holland model and high-resolution European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts(ECMWF) wind data in a 0.125? grid, herein called H-E winds. We trained the H-E winds by fitting a shape parameter B to buoy-measured observations, which resulted in a smallest root mean square error(RMSE) of 3 m s^(-1) for B, when treated as a constant 0.4. Then, we applied the seven input/dissipation terms of WW3, labelled ST1, ST2, ST2+STAB2, ST3, ST3+STAB3, ST4, and ST6, to simulate the significant wave height(SWH) up to 5 m during typhoons Fungwong and Chan-hom around the Zhoushan Islands. We then compared the SWHs of the simulated waves with those measured by the in-situ buoys. The results indicate that the simulation using ST2 performs best with an RMSE of 0.79 m for typhoon Fung-wong and an RMSE of 1.12 m for typhoon Chan-hom. Interestingly, we found the simulated SWH results to be relatively higher than those of the observations in the area between Hangzhou Bay and the Zhoushan Islands. This behavior is worthy of further investigation in the future.

Impact factors identification of spatial heterogeneity of herbaceous plant diversity on five southern islands of Miaodao Archipelago in North China

Herbaceous plants are widely distributed on islands and where they exhibit spatial heterogeneity.Accurately identifying the impact factors that drive spatial heterogeneity can reveal typical island biodiversity patterns.Five southern islands in the Miaodao Archipelago,North China were studied herein.The spatial distribution of herbaceous plant diversity on these islands was analyzed,and the impact factors and their degree of impact on spatial heterogeneity were identified using CCA ordination and ANOVA.The results reveal 114 herbaceous plant species,belonging to 94 genera from 34 families in the50 plots sampled.The total species numbers on different islands were significantly positively correlated with island area,and the average a diversity was correlated with human activities,while the(3 diversity among islands was more affected by island area than mutual distances.Spatial heterogeneity within islands indicated that the diversities were generally high in areas with higher altitude,slope,total nitrogen,total carbon,and canopy density,and lower moisture content,pH,total phosphorus,total potassium,and aspect.Among the environmental factors,pH,canopy density,total K,total P,moisture content,altitude,and slope had significant gross effects,but only canopy density exhibited a significant net effect.Terrain affected diversity by restricting plantation,plantation in turn influenced soil properties and the two together affected diversity.Therefore,plantation was ultimately the fundamental driving factor for spatial heterogeneity in herbaceous plant diversity on the five islands.

Ferroan dolomites in Miocene sediments of the Xisha Islands and their genetic model

Carbonate rocks are important reservoirs for global petroleum exploration.The largest oilfield in the South China Sea,Liuhua 11-1,is distributed in the massive carbonate reef area of the Zhujiang(Pearl)River Mouth Basin.Previous studies showed that one 802.17-m-long core from well Xichen-1 in the South China Sea mainly consisted of white and light gray-white organic reefs.Recently,a Miocene whole core(161.9 m long)of well Xiyong-2,near well Xichen-1,was found to contain six layers of yellowish brown,light yellowish gray,iron black,or light yellowish gray-white organic reefs.Scanning electron microscope images of these layers reveal a typical ferroan dolomite rich in Fe(up to 29%),with the high concentrations of Mn,Cu,W,Zn,Cr,Ni,and Co.Systematic X-ray powder diffraction analysis yields a 1.9–6.1 match in phase ratio with ankerite,5.4–26.9 with dolomite,and zero with calcite,which indicate that the samples can be classified as ferroan dolomite.The iron and heavy metals are inferred to be originated from multiple volcanic eruptions of Gaojianshi Island in the Dongdao Atoll during the middle-late Miocene.These elements were dissolved in seawater,likely as a sol,and carried to Yongxing Island in the Xuande Atoll by sea currents and tides enhanced by prevailing winds,and deposited as a part of the sedimentation process in the study area.The ferroan dolomite has Sr content of (125–285)×10^(-6),which is lower than the accepted Sr boundary value of dolomite.This finding suggests that dolomitization occurred during large-scale global glacial regression in the late Miocene.The isolated Xisha carbonate platform,exposed to air,underwent freshwater leaching and dolomitization induced by mixed water,and caused the extensive Fe-Mg exchange along the organic reef profile to form ankerite and ferroan dolomite.These results may help to understand paleoceanographic environmental changes in the South China Sea during the Miocene.

Survey of reefs based on Landsat 8 operational land imager(OLI)images in the Nansha Islands, South China Sea

A detailed survey of the reefs in the Nansha Islands＇ sea that are of strategic importance is conducive to their future development. In this study, a total of 50 Landsat 8 operational land imager（OLI） images were used to analyze the geological features and spectral characteristics of the Nansha reefs. The exposed islands/sandbanks,reef flats and sub-tidal reefs were identified with the near-infrared band, the red and green bands, and the blue band, respectively. Based on the relationships among various characteristics and bands illustrated in the OLI images, the maximum between-cluster variance threshold algorithm（OTSU method） and the mathematical morphology were employed to extract characteristic parameters of the spatial geometry of the reefs from top to bottom, which were subsequently operated by a series of post-processing methods such as vectorization,simplification and topological analysis. Among the 132 standalone reefs and 16 atolls that are identified in the study, four reefs have yet to be named in the Standard Names of Various Islands in the South China Sea and the website Nansha Islands Online（http：//www.nansha.org/）. Another 24 ones are exposed to the atmosphere even during high tides. Taiping Island with an area of 0.57 km^2 represents the largest exposed geological feature. This study demonstrated the applicability of medium-resolution satellite images to derive the coral reef information effectively and thus provided information for the related departments that are responsible to manage the coast.An improved resolution of multispectral bands with the panchromatic band in higher spatial resolution（15 m for OLI image） is expected to provide an optimum satellite based approach to map marine habitats.