Bird species composition and conservation challenges in the Gaoligong Mountains, one of the most diverse bird areas in the world

The Gaoligong Mountains(GLGM),located in southwestern China,extend north to south along the western border of the Hengduan Mountains,spanning approximately 600 km.In this study,we consolidated findings from 17 bird surveys conducted in the GLGM between 2010 and 2022.We found that the GLGM harbors tremendous bird diversity,with a total of 796 documented bird species in the region.Nearly a quarter(23.0%)of these species are listed as state key protected species or as Chinese and global threatened species.Analysis of species richness at the county level showed a decreasing trend with increasing latitude,with the greatest diversity in Yingjiang(661 species).Observations indicated that the GLGM belongs to the Oriental realm,primarily composed of bird species from southern and southwestern China.The GLGM plays an important role in avian conservation by sheltering exceptional bird diversity,providing corridors and flyways for bird migration and dispersal,and mitigating the effects of climate change.In response to the conservation needs of birds and other wildlife,the Chinese government has established numerous protected areas within the GLGM.Despite these efforts,avian conservation still faces considerable challenges in the GLGM due to limitations in the protected area network,transboundary nature of the regions,and existing gaps in monitoring and research.

Phylogenetic pattern of alpine plants along latitude and longitude in Hengduan Mountains Region

To detect the horizontal pattern of phylogenetic structure shown by alpine plants, we measured phylogenetic structure using net related index(NRI) and net nearest taxon index(NTI), and analyzed the phylogenetic structure patterns of alpine plants along longitude, latitude and environmental gradients in the Hengduan Mountains Region(HDMR). Our results show that: 1) the phylogenetic structure tended to cluster with increasing latitude and longitude; 2) for NRI, latitude was closer related than longitude,while for NTI, longitude was closer related than latitude, though they both not significantly relate to NTI.The phylogenetic structure tended towards overdispersion in the southern HDMR, with good climate conditions of higher mean annual temperature and more mean annual precipitation. In contrast, with harsh climate conditions of lower mean annual temperature and less mean annual precipitation, the increasing environmental stress led to phylogenetic clustering in the northern HDMR. The results highlighted that in the alpine region of HDMR, environmental filters and geographical isolation had a great effect on the latitudinal and longitudinal alpine species distribution, respectively.

Spatial and temporal patterns of the sensitivity of radial growth response by Picea schrenkiana to regional climate change in the Tianshan Mountains

Climate change significantly impacts forest ecosystems in arid and semi-arid regions.However,spatiotemporal patterns of climate-sensitive changes in individual tree growth under increased climate warming and precipitation in north-west China is unclear.The dendrochronological method was used to study climate response sensitivity of radial growth of Picea schrenkiana from 158 trees at six sites during 1990-2020.The results show that climate warming and increased precipitation significantly promoted the growth of trees.The response to temperature first increased,then decreased.However,the response to increased precipitation and the self-calibrating Palmer Drought Severity Index(scPDSI)increased significantly.In most areas of the Tianshan Mountains,the proportion of trees under increased precipitation and scPDSI positive response was relatively high.Over time,small-diameter trees were strongly affected by drought stress.It is predicted that under continuous warming and increased precipitation,trees in most areas of the Tianshan Mountains,especially those with small diameters,will be more affected by precipitation.

Spatial-temporal Pattern and Population Driving Force of Land Use Change in Liupan Mountains Region, Southern Ningxia, China

The Liupan Mountains is located in the southern Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region of China, which forms an important dividing line between landforms and bio-geographic regions. The populated part of the Liupan Mountains region has suffered tremendous ecological damages over time due to population pressure, excessive demand and inappropriate use of agricultural land resources. In this paper, datasets of land use between 1990 and 2000 were obtained from Landsat TM imagery, and then spatial models were used to characterize landscape conditions. Also, the relationship between the population density and land use/cover change (LUCC) was analyzed. Results indicate that cropland, forestland, and urban areas have increased by 44,186ha, 9001ha and 1550ha, respectively while the grassland area has appreciably decreased by 54,025ha in the study period. The decrease in grassland was most notable. Of the grassland lost, 49.4% was converted into cropland. The largest annual land conversion rate in the study area was less than 2%. These changes are attributed to industrial and agricultural development and population growth. To improve the eco-economic conditions in the study region, population control, urbanization and development of an ecological friendly agriculture were suggested.

Forest disturbances and the attribution derived from yearly Landsat time series over 1990–2020 in the Hengduan Mountains Region of Southwest China

Background:Natural forests in the Hengduan Mountains Region(HDMR)have pivotal ecological functions and provide diverse ecosystem services.Capturing long-term forest disturbance and drivers at a regional scale is crucial for sustainable forest management and biodiversity conservation.Methods:We used 30-m resolution Landsat time series images and the LandTrendr algorithm on the Google Earth Engine cloud platform to map forest disturbances at an annual time scale between 1990 and 2020 and attributed causal agents of forest disturbance,including fire,logging,road construction and insects,using disturbance properties and spectral and topographic variables in the random forest model.Results:The conventional and area-adjusted overall accuracies(OAs)of the forest disturbance map were 92.3% and 97.70%±0.06%,respectively,and the OA of mapping disturbance agents was 85.80%.The estimated disturbed forest area totalled 3313.13 km^(2)(approximately 2.31% of the total forest area in 1990)from 1990 to 2020,with considerable interannual fluctuations and significant regional differences.The predominant disturbance agent was fire,which comprised approximately 83.33% of the forest area disturbance,followed by logging(12.2%),insects(2.4%)and road construction(2.0%).Massive forest disturbances occurred mainly before 2000,and the post-2000 annual disturbance area significantly dropped by 55% compared with the pre-2000 value.Conclusions:This study provided spatially explicit and retrospective information on annual forest disturbance and associated agents in the HDMR.The findings suggest that China’s logging bans in natural forests combined with other forest sustainability programmes have effectively curbed forest disturbances in the HDMR,which has implications for enhancing future forest management and biodiversity conservation.

Seasonal Characteristics of Forecasting Uncertainties in Surface PM_(2.5)Concentration Associated with Forecast Lead Time over the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region

Forecasting uncertainties among meteorological fields have long been recognized as the main limitation on the accuracy and predictability of air quality forecasts.However,the particular impact of meteorological forecasting uncertainties on air quality forecasts specific to different seasons is still not well known.In this study,a series of forecasts with different forecast lead times for January,April,July,and October of 2018 are conducted over the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei(BTH)region and the impacts of meteorological forecasting uncertainties on surface PM_(2.5)concentration forecasts with each lead time are investigated.With increased lead time,the forecasted PM_(2.5)concentrations significantly change and demonstrate obvious seasonal variations.In general,the forecasting uncertainties in monthly mean surface PM_(2.5)concentrations in the BTH region due to lead time are the largest(80%)in spring,followed by autumn(~50%),summer(~40%),and winter(20%).In winter,the forecasting uncertainties in total surface PM_(2.5)mass due to lead time are mainly due to the uncertainties in PBL heights and hence the PBL mixing of anthropogenic primary particles.In spring,the forecasting uncertainties are mainly from the impacts of lead time on lower-tropospheric northwesterly winds,thereby further enhancing the condensation production of anthropogenic secondary particles by the long-range transport of natural dust.In summer,the forecasting uncertainties result mainly from the decrease in dry and wet deposition rates,which are associated with the reduction of near-surface wind speed and precipitation rate.In autumn,the forecasting uncertainties arise mainly from the change in the transport of remote natural dust and anthropogenic particles,which is associated with changes in the large-scale circulation.

Study on Dominant Expression of Regional Culture of the Qinling Mountains in Local Residential Buildings

Regional culture of the Qinling Mountains shows distinct features since it was born in the local outstanding ecological environment, study on local architecture is significant for the dominant expression of regional culture, protection of local environment, and echoing with the theme of ecological civilization construction. This paper, on the basis of the mutual infl uence and evolution of regional culture and style of local residential buildings, explored the reasons for the weakening of local architectural style, and specified the signifi cance of promoting local style of the living environment. By studying the infl uence of local natural environment and humanistic environment on architectural style along the northern foot of the Qinling Mountains, the paper explored the expression of regional culture in residential buildings, with Xian Garden(Xi'an Yuanzi) as an example, and aimed at giving useful help to the dominant expression of regional culture in modern residential buildings.

Drought fluctuations based on dendrochronology since 1786 for the Lenglongling Mountains at the northwestern fringe of the East Asian summer monsoon region

The Lenglongling Mountains （LLM） located in northeastern part of the Tibet Plateau, belong to a marginal area of the East Asian summer monsoon （EASM） and are sensitive to monsoon dynamics. Two tree-ring width chronologies developed from six sites of Picea crassifolia in the LLM were employed to study the regional drought variability. Correlation and temporal correlation analyses showed that relationships between the two chronologies and self-calibrated Palmer Drought Severity Index （sc_PDSI） were significant and stable across time, demonstrating the strength of sc_PDSI in modeling drought conditions in this region. Based on the relationships, the mean sc_PDSI was reconstructed for the period from 1786 to 2013. Dry conditions prevailed during 1817-1819, 1829-1831, 1928-1931 and 1999-2001. Relatively wet periods were identified for 1792-1795 and 1954-1956. Spatial correlations with other fourteen precipitation/drought reconstructed series in previous studies revealed that in arid regions of Northwest China, long-term variability of moisture conditions was synchronous before the 1950s at a decadal scale （1791-1954）. In northwestern margin of the EASM, most of all selected reconstructions had better consistency in low-frequency variation, especially during dry periods, indicating similar regional moisture variations and analogous modes of climate forcing on tree growth in the region.

Hydrochemical characteristics of surface water in Hengduan mountain region of Eastern Tibet and its response to human activities:A case study of Duoqu Basin,Jinsha River

The analysis of hydrochemical characteristics and influencing factors of surface river on plateau is helpful to study water hydrological cycle and environmental evolution,which can scientifically guide rational development and utilization of water resources and planning of ecological environment protection.With the expansion and diversification of human activities,the quality of surface rivers will be more directly affected.Therefore,it is of great significance to pay attention to the hydrochemical characteristics of plateau surface rivers and the influence of human activities on their circulation and evolution.In this study,surface water in the Duoqu basin of Jinsha River located in Hengduan mountain region of Eastern Tibet was selected as the representative case.Twenty-three groups of surface water samples were collected to analyze the hydrochemical characteristics and ion sources based on correlation analysis,piper trigram,gibbs model,hydrogen and oxygen isotopic techniques.The results suggest the following:(1)The pH showed slight alkalinity with the value ranged from 7.25 to 8.62.Ca^(2+),Mg^(2+)and HCO_(3)^(–)were the main cations and anions.HCO_(3)^(-)Ca and HCO_(3)^(-)Ca·Mg were the primary hydrochemical types for the surface water of Duoqu River.The correlation analysis showed that TDS had the most significant correlation with Ca^(2+),Mg^(2+)and HCO_(3)^(–).Analysis on hydrogen and oxygen isotopes indicated that the surface rivers were mainly recharged by atmospheric precipitation and glacial melt water in this study area.(2)The surface water had a certain reverse cation alternating adsorption,and surface water ions were mainly derived from rock weathering,mainly controlled by weathering and dissolution of carbonates,and secondly by silicates and sodium rocks.(3)The influence of human activities was weak,while the development of cinnabar minerals had a certain impact on the hydrochemistry characteristics,which was the main factor for causing the increase of SO_(4)^(2–).The densely populated county towns and temples with frequent incense burning activities may cause some anomalies of surface water quality.At present,the Duoqu River watershed had gone through a certain influence of mineral exploitation,so the hydrological cycle and river eco-environment at watershed scale will still bound to be change.The results could provide basic support for better understanding water balance evolution as well as the ecological protection of Duoqu River watershed.

Influencing Factors and Prediction of Risk of Returning to Ecological Poverty in Liupan Mountain Region,China

China has resolved its overall regional poverty in 2020 by attaining moderate societal prosperity.The country has entered a new development stage designed to achieve its second centenary goal.However,ecological fragility and risk susceptibility have increased the risk of returning to ecological poverty.In this paper,the Liupan Mountain Region of China was used as a case study,and the counties were used as the scale to reveal the spatiotempora differentiation and influcing factors of the risk of returning to poverty in study area.The indicator data for returning to ecological poverty from 2011-2020 were collected and summarized in three dimensions:ecological,economic and social.The autoregressive integrated moving average model(ARIMA)time series and exponential smoothing method(ES)were used to predict the multidimensional indicators of returning to ecological poverty for 61 counties(districts)in the Liupan Mountain Region for 2021-2030.The back propagation neural network(BPNN)and geographic information system(GIS)were used to generate the spatial distribution and time variation for the index of the risk of returning to ecological poverty(RREP index).The results show that 1)ecological factors were the main factors in the risk of returning to ecological poverty in Liupan Mountain Region.2)The RREP index for the 61 counties(districts)exhibited a downward trend from 2021-2030.The RREP index declined more in medium-and high-risk areas than in low-risk areas.From 2021 to 2025,the RREP index exhibited a slight downward trend.From 2026 to2030,the RREP index was expected to decline faster,especially from 2029-2030.3)Based on the RREP index,it can be roughly divided into three types,namely,the high-risk areas,the medium-risk areas,and the low-risk areas.The natural resource conditions in lowrisk areas of returning to ecological poverty,were better than those in medium-and high-risk areas.

Geochemical Characteristics of C_5–C_7 Light Hydrocarbons in Gas Hydrates from the Permafrost Region of Qilian Mountains

As an important part of gas hydrates, light hydrocarbons （LHs）, especially C5 to C7 hydrocarbons with various monomer compounds, provide a wide variety of geological and geochemical information, which have received much attention from organic geochemists and petroleum geologists.

Gas Sources for Natural Gas Hydrates in the Permafrost Region of the Qilian Mountains

Objective As a new type of gas hydrates,the natural gas hydrates in the perfost region of the Qilian Mountains are characterized by their shallow burial depth,welldeveloped coal seam,high content of heavy hydrocarbons and multiple sets of mature and over-mature source rocks.Gas sources of these gas hydrates in the study area include coal-type gas and oil-type gas.

Organochlorine pesticides in soils from the Issyk-Kul region in the western Tian Shan Mountains,Kyrgyzstan：Implication for spatial distribution,source apportionment and ecological risk assessment

As organchlorine pesticides(OCPs) may be an ecologic threat to mountain environments due to their tendency to deposit and accumulate in mountain regions undergoing long-range air transport, OCPs were analyzed in soils collected from an intermontane basin of the western Tian Shan Mountains, which is the UNESCO protected natural reserve of Issyk-Kul. Total OCP concentrations in the Issyk-Kul region ranged from 4.63 to 414 ng/g dw, of which two extraordinary high OCP concentrations(414 ng/g dw and 213 ng/g dw, respectively) influenced by an abandoned dumping site and urban sewage, respectively, were found. Principal component analysis(PCA) and correlation analysis inferred that the OCP inputs in the east of the Issyk-Kul region were mainly from local endogenous sources, and exogenous input via LRAT processes were prominent in the west and south. Additionally, the isomeric and parent substance/metabolite ratios revealed most pesticides accumulated in this region were from old usage, while DDTs had fresh input because of possibly illegal regional application and a slow degradation from the dumping site. Furthermore, ecological risk assessment revealed that no frequently adverse ecological effects were observed in the Issyk-Kul region, but potential risks on neighbouring organisms induced by p,p'-DDT and γ-HCH in dumping site and urban sewage should be considered when devising an efficient management plan to prevent secondary pollution.

Plant Planning of Eco-park in Mountainous Regions

By studying the planning of Aoshan Park in Jianyang City,a typical eco-park in mountainous regions,the authors analyzed its topography and vegetations,specifically,vegetation types and plant species,and pointed out problems of its present vegetations based on the evaluation.By maintaining existing indigenous plant species,plant planning and ecological corridor design was carried out to rebuild the eco-forest belt of Mt.Aoshan and optimize landscapes in Aoshan Park.Plant landscaping of Aoshan Park,by following the principles of "ecological" and "right trees for right land",has 3 different styles:natural,regular and mixed.Regular style is mainly located in the cultural experience area by applying regular planting types,such as coupled planting and mass planting;natural style runs through the park from north to south,and takes seasonal changes of landscapes as the theme to show the attraction of nature;mixed style is mainly applied in the recreational vacation area,connecting all independent scenic spots by water.The design of ecological corridor should follow the principle of "integrated,protective and diversified",attach more importance to the construction of mountain corridor system,ecological road and river corridors.Several species were recommended for vegetation recovery and slope greening in the study area.And corresponding suggestions were given for the planning and design of eco-park in mountainous regions.

The value of vegetation ecosystem services:a case of Qinling-Daba Mountains

According to differences in vegetation types and their coverage, combining the latest research, using theory and method on the value of vegetation ecosystem services, this paper not only calculated goods produced by different types of vegetation but also estimated the value of various vegetation ecosystem services and set up database, GIS and eco-account of vegetation ecosystem. The result was as follows: the value of vegetation's primary productivity, soil and fertility conservation, water conservation, CO 2 fixation and O 2 release was 199.6 billion yuan/a, 22.64 billion yuan/a, 22.66 billion yuan/a, 352.24 billion yuan/a and 374.19 billion yuan/a, respectively. The total value of ecosystem services was 968.33 billion yuan/a. The temperate deciduous broad-leaved forest had the highest contribution rate, accounting for 16.42%. The result of value can reflect regional reality more exactly.

Spatial distribution of mountainous regions and classifications of economic development in China

China is a mountainous country with a great diversity of landform and geomorphology.This diversity underlines the need for regionalization and classification.This study defines the mountain terrains and regions with three criteria-elevation,relative height,and slope,and examines the extent of mountainous regions by using county as the basic administrative unit.According to the three parameters of economic base,resident income and development potential,we classified the economic development level in mountainous regions of China.The findings reveal that the extent of the mountainous region accounts for 74.9% of the China's Mainland's total area.The economic development of mountainous regions in China is classified into 4 main types and 23 subtypes.

Constructing a Core Collection for Maize (Zea mays L.) Landrace from Wuling Mountain Region in China

Based on the genetic clustering from 42 microsatellite （SSR） markers with a combination of their geographic origin and germplasm characteristics, 124 maize landraces from Wuling Mountain region in China were used for constructing a core collection. Four evaluating parameters for maize landrace core collection, including mean difference percentage （MD）, variance difference percentage （VD）, coincidence rate of range （CR）, and variable rate of coefficient of variation （VR）, were assessed With 20 quantitative traits. It was shown that genetic relationships among landraces in Wuling Mountain region had the tendency to associate with their geographic origins. The 124 landraces were clustered into 18 subgroups when the coefficient of genetic similarity （GS） is 0.28. Eighteen landraces, each of which was from one subgroup, were applied to construct the core collection with a sampling percentage of 15%. Comparison of the initial and core collection indicated that there existed no significant differences in most quantitative traits. An average of 6.3 and 6.5 alleles were detected in the initial and core collection, respectively. Mean polymorphism information content in the core collection （0.75） was higher than that in the initial one （0.72）. MD was lesser than 20% and CR was more than 80%. The results showed that the sampling strategy would be feasible for constructing the core collection that well represents the genetic diversity of the initial one.

Characteristics of soil seed bank in plantation forest in the rocky mountain region of Beijing, China

We investigated characteristics （scales and composition） of soil seed banks at eight study sites in the rocky mountain region of Beijing by seed identification and germination monitoring. We also surveyed the vegetation communities at the eight study sites to explore the role of soil seed banks in vegetation restoration. The storage capacity of soil seed banks at the eight sites ranked from 766.26 to 2461.92 seeds·m？2. A total of 23 plant species were found in soil seed banks, of which 63–80% of seeds were herbs in various soil layers and 60% of seeds were located in the soil layer at 0–5 cm depth. Biodiversity indices indicated clear differences in species diversity of soil seed banks among different plant communities. The species composition of aboveground vegetation showed low similarity with that based on soil seed banks. In the aboveground plant community, the afforestation tree species showed high importance values. The plant species originating from soil seed banks represented natural regeneration, which also showed relatively high importance values. This study suggests that in the rocky mountain region of Beijing the soil seed banks played a key role in the transformation from pure plantation forest to near-natural forest, promoting natural ecological processes, and the role of the seed banks in vegetation restoration was important to the improvement of ecological restoration methods.

Empirical Study on Effect of Industrial Structure Change on Regional Economic Growth of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Metropolitan Region

Based on the data of gross domestic product(GDP),industrial added value and the proportion of industrial employees from 2000 to 2008,this paper studies the effect of industrial structure change on the regional economic growth of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Metropolitan Region in China using the shift-share method.The results show that:1) In the 21st century,the industrial output of three industries,namely,primary,secondary,and tertiary,and the GDP grew rapidly in the study period.The tertiary industry grew the fastest;it had the largest contribution to the GDP and mean-while had become the most competitive industry in the metropolitan region.2) The development of cities within the region was not balanced.Firstly,compared with Tianjin,Beijing,as one of the two core cities,was more rational in the industrial structure.Secondly,the surrounding eight cities,which are Shijiazhuang,Qinhuangdao,Tangshan,Langfang,Baoding,Cangzhou,Zhangjiakou,and Chengde,were all uncompetitive than the two core cities.3) There was a great industrial gradient in the region(especially between the two core cities and the cities of Tangshan,Baoding,Zhangjia-kou,Chengde,Cangzhou,and Langfang).As a result,it is foreseeable that the industry transfer in the Bei-jing-Tianjin-Hebei Metropolitan Region will be one of the trends in regional development,and the industry transfer is inevitably to promote the regional integration.

Green Tourism in Mountain Regions-Reducing Vulnerability and Promoting People and Place Centric Development in the Himalayas

In recent years, mountain regions are attracting great attention to Indian tourists in general and foreign tourists in particular. The potential mountain resources for promoting green tourism are enormous in the form of natural and cultural heritage such as biosphere reserves, flora and fauna, lakes and rivers and traditional rural resources. In order to utilise tourism industry market, uncontrolled numbers of tourists and related haphazard infrastructural facilities in the vulnerable mountain regions pose serious environmental implications. The ecological pressures are threatening land, water and wild life resources through direct and indirect environmental impacts together with generation of solid and liquid wastes, so green tourism is emerging as an important task in order to develop new relationship between communities, government agencies and private sectors. The strategy focuses on ecological understanding, environmental protection and ecodevelopment. The major attributes of the green tourism include environmental conservation and education and distribution of income to local people based on strong partnership. Various knowledge systems go a long way for achieving the goals of the green tourism, which creates awareness about the value of environmental resources. Mountains have ecological, recreational, educational and scientific values, which need to be utilised in sustainable way. Various tourist activities and facilities need to be diversified in order to achieve multiple benefits including scientific field excursion, recreation in natural and cultural areas, community festivals and sport tourisms. Green tourism considers tourism development as an integral part of a national and regional development. The paper discusses the social, economic and environmental dimensions of the green tourism with particular reference to village tourism development programme taking empirical evidences from the Himalaya. Such programme also minimises biophysical and human vulnerability and risks in mountain regions. The environmental consciousness campaign and introduction of code through multi- purpose Tourist Resource Centres are gaining currency in above context.