Preliminary Study on the Effect of Different Ecological Cultivation Modes on the Water Stability of Soil Aggregates in Rubber Based Agroforestry Systems

Rubber trees (Hevea brasiliensis Müll. Arg.) have been commercially cultivated for a century and a half in Asia, particularly in China, and they constitute a common element of plantation ecosystems in tropical regions. Soil health is fundamental to the sustainable development of rubber plantations. The objective of the study is to explore the influence of different complex ecological cultivation modes on the stability of soil aggregates in rubber based agroforestry systems. In this study, the ecological cultivation mode of rubber—Alpinia oxyphylla plantation, the ecological cultivation mode of rubber—Phrynium hainanense plantations, the ecological cultivation mode of rubber—Homalium ceylanicum plantations and monoculture rubber plantations were selected, and the particle size distribution of soil aggregates and their water stability characteristics were analyzed. The soil depth of 0 - 20 cm and 20 - 40 cm was collected for four cultivation modes. Soil was divided into 6 particle levels > 20 cm. soil was divided into 6 particle levels > 5 mm, 2 - 5 mm, 1 - 2 mm, 0.5 - 1 mm, 0.25 - 0.5 mm, and 0.053 - 0.25 mm according to the wet sieve method. The particle size proportion and water stability of soil aggregates were determined by the wet sieve method. The particle size proportion and water stability of soil aggregates under different ecological cultivation modes were analyzed. The results showed that under different ecological cultivation modes in the shallow soil layer (0 - 20 cm), the rubber—Alpinia oxyphylla plantation and the rubber—Phrynium hainanense plantation promoted the development of dominant soil aggregates towards larger size classes, whereas the situation is the opposite for rubber—Homalium ceylanicum plantation. In soil layer (20 - 40 cm), the ecological cultivation mode of rubber—Phrynium hainanense plantation developed the dominant radial level of soil aggregates to the diameter level of large aggregates. Rubber—Alpinia oxyphylla plantation and rubber—Homalium ceylanicum plantation, three indicators, including the water-stable aggregate content R0.25 (>0.25 mm water-stable aggregates), mean weight diameter (MWD), and geometric mean diameter (GMD), were all lower than those in the rubber monoculture mode. However, in the rubber—Phrynium hainanense plantation, the water-stable aggregate content R0.25, mean weight diameter, and geometric mean diameter were higher than in the rubber monoculture mode, although these differences did not reach statistical significance.

Marx’s Ontology of Social Power System for Ecological Justice

Historical materialism provides the ontology basis to understand the contemporary ecological justice problem,which is the perspective for analyzing ecological interests from the nature,structure,and transition of the social power system.The transcendence of Marx’s thoughts on western mainstream environmental justice theory lies that it does not based on the“speculative ontology”of metaphysics,but on the basis of“realistic ontology”of social power system.

Ecology and social behavior of the tamarisk gerbil Meriones tamariscinus: insights from long-term research in the wild and semi-natural environments

The present review provides a compilation of the published data on the ecology and social behavior of tamarisk gerbils. Both field studies anddirect observations under semi-natural conditions provide evidence that the tamarisk gerbil is a nocturnal herbivorous rodent that lives in highlyseasonal habitats and displays seasonal fluctuations in reproduction and spatial organization. A typical feature of the tamarisk gerbils’ spatialorganization is higher mobility of males during the breeding season (as compared with the nonbreeding period) and formation of temporaryaggregations of males competing for access to receptive females;the composition of these aggregations was variable and depended on thereproductive condition of the females. Females tend to occupy exclusive home ranges irrespective of their reproductive condition. The matingsystem of the species can be defined as scramble competition polygyny with some features of polygynandry and promiscuity. The tamariskgerbil has distinct features of a solitary species and its social structure is primarily based on aggressive interactions or mutual avoidance ofconspecifics resulting in a dominance hierarchy among males and site-dependent dominance among females during the breeding season. Bythe end of the breeding season, males become less mobile and occupy nearly exclusive home ranges, consistent with solitary living. The mainfeatures of the spatial and social organization of this species, which distinguish it from other solitary rodents, are the higher mobility of malesand the formation of temporary multimale–multifemale aggregations during the breeding season. Overall, the data presented expand our understanding of socioecology of gerbils.

Analysis and Modeling of Mobile Phone Activity Data Using Interactive Cyber-Physical Social System

Mobile networks possess significant information and thus are considered a gold mine for the researcher’s community.The call detail records(CDR)of a mobile network are used to identify the network’s efficacy and the mobile user’s behavior.It is evident from the recent literature that cyber-physical systems(CPS)were used in the analytics and modeling of telecom data.In addition,CPS is used to provide valuable services in smart cities.In general,a typical telecom company hasmillions of subscribers and thus generatesmassive amounts of data.From this aspect,data storage,analysis,and processing are the key concerns.To solve these issues,herein we propose a multilevel cyber-physical social system(CPSS)for the analysis and modeling of large internet data.Our proposed multilevel system has three levels and each level has a specific functionality.Initially,raw Call Detail Data(CDR)was collected at the first level.Herein,the data preprocessing,cleaning,and error removal operations were performed.In the second level,data processing,cleaning,reduction,integration,processing,and storage were performed.Herein,suggested internet activity record measures were applied.Our proposed system initially constructs a graph and then performs network analysis.Thus proposed CPSS system accurately identifies different areas of internet peak usage in a city(Milan city).Our research is helpful for the network operators to plan effective network configuration,management,and optimization of resources.

Emerging Trends in Social Networking Systems and Generation Gap with Neutrosophic Crisp Soft Mapping

This paper aims to introduce the novel concept of neutrosophic crisp soft set(NCSS),including various types of neutrosophic crisp soft sets(NCSSs)and their fundamental operations.We define NCS-mapping and its inverse NCS-mapping between two NCS-classes.We develop a robust mathematical modeling with the help of NCS-mapping to analyze the emerging trends in social networking systems(SNSs)for our various generations.We investigate the advantages,disadvantages,and natural aspects of SNSs for five generations.With the changing of the generations,it is analyzed that emerging trends and the benefits of SNSs are increasing day by day.The suggested modeling with NCS-mapping is applicable in solving various decision-making problems.

Role of permafrost in resilience of social-ecological system and its spatio-temporal dynamics in the source regions of Yangtze and Yellow Rivers

Permafrost is one of the key components of terrestrial ecosystem in cold regions. In the context of climate change, few studies have investigated resilience of social ecological system(SER) from the perspective of permafrost that restricts the hydrothermal condition of alpine grassland ecosystem. In this paper, based on the structural dynamics, we developed the numerical model for the SER in the permafrost regions of the source of Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, analyzed the spatial-temporal characteristics and sensitivity of the SER, and estimated the effect of permafrost change on the SER. The results indicate that: 1) the SER has an increasing trend, especially after 1997, which is the joint effect of precipitation, temperature, NPP and ecological conservation projects; 2) the SER shows the spatial feature of high in southeast and low in northwest,which is consistent with the variation trends of high southeast and low northwest for the precipitation, temperature and NPP, and low southeast and high northwest for the altitude; 3) the high sensitive regions of SER to the permafrost change have gradually transited from the island distribution to zonal and planar distribution since 1980, moreover, the sensitive degree has gradually reduced; relatively, the sensitivity has high value in the north and south, and low value in the south and east; 4) the thickness of permafrost active layer shows a highly negative correlation with the SER. The contribution rate of permafrost change to the SER is-4.3%, that is, once the thickness of permafrost active layer increases 1 unit, the SER would decrease 0.04 units.

Vulnerability and adaptation of an oasis social–ecological system affected by glacier change in an arid region of northwestern China

The Hexi Inland River Basin in an arid region of northwestern China was chosen as the study area for this research. The authors define the vulnerability of an oasis social-ecological system to glacier change; select 16 indicators from natural and socioeconomic systems according to exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity; and construct a vulnerability-assessment indicator system aimed at an inland river basin in the arid region of Northwestern China. Vulnerability of the oasis socialecological system affected by glacier change in the study area is evaluated by Spatial Principal Component Analysis(SPCA) under the circumstance of glacier change. The key factors affecting the vulnerability are analyzed. The vulnerability of the oasis social-ecological system in the Hexi Inland River Basin affected by glacier change is of more than medium grade, accounting for about 48.0% of the total number of counties in the study area. In terms of the spatial pattern of the vulnerability, the oasis economic belt is the most vulnerable. With the rapid development of the area's society and economy, the exposure of the system to glacial changes is significantly increased; and an increase in glacial meltwater is not enough to overcome the impact of increased exposure, which is the main reason for the high vulnerability. Based on the result of the vulnerability analysis and combined with the present industrial structure in the Hexi Inland River Basin, near-,medium-, and long-term adaptation initiatives are put forward in the article.

Ecological environment analysis of Abies holophylla plantations under different cutting systems

Different types of plantations were observed in Baishilazi National Nature Reserve, Liaoning Province, for 34 a. The environmental quality ofAbies holophylla plantations was analyzed under different cutting systems. Analysis factors included soil erosion rate, humification degree of litters, and water hold capacity. The surface soil loss of clear cutting area was 19000t·km?2·a?1 more than that of selective cutting area. The content of soil organic matter in board-leaved—Abies holophylla forest was 4.62% more than that in pure stand, and the water hold capacity of the mixed forest was 1.43 time of that of pure stand. The mixed forest of board-leaved—Abies holophylla by selective cutting can upgrade the ecological environment quality.

Ecological water demand:the case of the slope systems in the East Liaohe River Basin

The ecological water demand (EWD) is the least water amount required to maintain the structure and the function of the special eco-system and the temporal scale of a study on the EWD must be a season's time. Based on GIS and RS with the source information of hydrological data of 46 hydrological gauges covering 52 years and the digital images of Landsat TM in 1986, 1996 and 2000, the landscape patterns, precipitation and runoff in the East Liaohe River Basin were analyzed. With the result of the above analysis, the spatial and temporal changes of the ecological water demand in the slope systems (EWDSS) of the East Liaohe River Basin (ELRB) were derived. Landscapes in the ELRB are dispersed and strongly disturbed by human actions. The hydrological regime in ELRB has distinct spatial variations. The average annual EWDSS in the ELRB is 504.72 mm (324.08-618.89 mm), and the average EWDSS in the growth season (from May to September) is 88.29% of the year's total EWDSS .The ultimate guaranteeing ratio of the EWDSS in ELRB is 90%. The scarce EWDSS area in the whole year and in the growth season are 60.47% and 74.01% of the entire basin respectively. The trend of scarce EWDSS area is most serious according to the quantity and area of scarce EWDSS regions.

Evaluation on Regional Ecological Benefits of Windbreak Systems

This paper studied how dynamically to evaluate regional ecological benefits of windbreak systems in a county scale. Data of air temperature. humidity. wind speed, crop yield and forest cover percentage were investigated and collected in some of counties of Heilongjiang Province, where windbreak systems were established in the last thirty years. Through analysis, an evaluation index system estimating regional ecological benetits of windbreak systems was set up, which consists of both a vegetation index system and a climate index systeln. The former includes a forest cover percentage index and a crop yield index; the later does three variable indexes of wind speed, air temperature and humidity. An integrated regional ecological benefit index.was developed through combinations of some coined evaluation indexes from the evaluation system.And to take Zhaozhou County and Anda County as a case study, the regional ecological benetits since establishment of windbreak systems of the two counties were evaluated dynamically using the integrated index.

The Construction and Practice of Ecological Villages and Aquatic Biological Systems

This paper selects Xiaowangliu Village,Banquan Town,Junan County,Linyi City as the test point to explore the construction of he ecological village. The ecological village is divided into two sub-systems: land and waters. The water resource of the ecological village is divided into the village water source,village water system,village pond wetland and water resource output sub-systems. The organic waste in villages is related to the industrialization of insect resources.

ECOLOGICAL LANDSCAPE EFFECTS OF WINDBREAK SYSTEMS IN DESERT ZONE OF WESTERN CHINA

This paper, by applying the theories of landscape ecology, illustrates the role and mechanism of windbreak system in the establishment and maintenance of oasis ecosystem on the basis of systematic analysis of characteristics and ecological crises of China's desert, and especially of desert zone in western China. Furthermore, direct economic benefits are summarized.

Ecological engineering land treatment systems──A new development in China

This paper elucidated the necessity and possibility of developing the technology of land treatment on the basis of the analysis of shortage and pollution status of water resources in China.The historical development of this technology in the world was briefly reviewed and the distinction between land treatment and conventional wastewater irrigation was discussed in details. The fundamental characteristics and functions as well as the integrity and compatibility of this ecological engineering were also summarized. It was finally concluded that this technology for wastewater treatment has broad prospects of application in China.

Ecology and social system of northern gibbons living in cold seasonal forests

Gibbons in China represent the northernmost margin of present day gibbon species distribution （around N25°）. Compared to tropical habitats, northern gibbon habitats are characterized by low temperatures and remarkable seasonal variation in fruit abundance How gibbons adapt to their cold and seasonal habitats and what ecological factors affect their sociality are key questions for understanding their ecology and social system evolution, the elucidation of which will contribute to the conservation of these special populations/species. According to preliminary short-term studies, northern gibbons consume more leaves and use larger home ranges than tropical gibbons. Interestingly, some Nomascus groups consist of more than one adult female. However, these preliminary results are not well understood or incorporated into current socio-ecological theories regarding gibbon species. To better understand northern gibbons, our team has systematically studied three habituated groups of Nomascus concolor, three groups of N. nasutus, and two habituated groups of Hoolock tianxing since 2002. In this paper, we stress the challenges facing gibbons living in northern habitats and summarize their behavioral adaptations to their harsh environments. We also describe the northern gibbon social system and discuss the potential relationships between their ecology and sociality. Finally, we highlight future research questions related to northern gibbons in China.

Associations between individual and environmental factors and habitual physical activity among older Chinese adults:A social–ecological perspective

Purpose: To examine, within a social–ecological framework, associations between multifaceted individual and environmental factors and habitual physical activity(HPA) among older Chinese adults.Methods: Through a mix of qualitative and quantitative methods, a survey instrument assessing various factors underlying 3 social–ecological dimensions of intrapersonal, interpersonal, and community and environmental resources was developed. Using a cross-sectional design, older adults(n = 1580, aged 67 ± 7 years) recruited from 10 communities in Shandong province completed the social–ecological survey of HPA. Data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Path Modeling.Results: Factors related to intrapersonal(medical knowledge, motivation, physical function, sport skills, socioeconomic status, and education),interpersonal(social support, social activity, and social norms), and community and physical environmental resources(safety, capacity, availability of and access to physical activity facilities) were found to be significantly associated with older adults' participation in HPA.Conclusion: The findings provide an initial validation of a social–ecological approach to the study of HPA in China, suggesting that strategies aimed at promoting physical activity in older adults should address multiple levels of factors that may contribute to the likelihood of older Chinese adults being physically active.

Environmental and ecological water requirement of river system: a case study of Haihe-Luanhe river system

In order to reduce the environmental and ecological problems induced by water resources development and utilization, this paper proposes a concept of environmental and ecological water requirement. It is defined as the minimum water amount to be consumed by the natural water bodies to conserve its environmental and ecological functions. Based on the definition, the methods on calculating the amount of environmental and ecological water requirement are determined. In the case study on Haihe-Luanhe river system, the water requirement is divided into three parts, i.e., the basic in-stream flow, water requirement for sediment transfer and water consumption by evaporation of the lakes or everglades. The results of the calculation show that the environmental and ecological water requirement in the river system is about 124×108 m3, including 57×108 m3 for basic in-stream flow, 63×108 m3 for sediment transfer and 4×108 m3 for net evaporation loss of lakes. The total amount of environmental and ecological water requirement accounts for 54% of the amount of runoff (228×108 m3). However, it should be realized that the amount of environmental and ecological water requirement must be more than that we have calculated. According to this result, we consider that the rational utilization rate of the runoff in the river systems must not be more than 40%. Since the current utilization rate of the river system, which is over 80%, has been far beyond the limitation, the problems of environment and ecology are quite serious. It is imperative to control and adjust water development and utilization to eliminate the existing problems and to avoid the potential ecological or environmental crisis.

Cyber-Physical-Social System Between a Humanoid Robot and a Virtual Human Through a Shared Platform for Adaptive Agent Ecology

Two artificial agents(a humanoid robot and a virtual human) are enriched with various similar intelligence,autonomy, functionalities and interaction modalities. The agents are integrated in the form of a cyber-physical-social system(CPSS) through a shared communication platform to create a social ecology. In the ecology, the agents collaborate(assist each other) to perform a real-world task(search for a hidden object)for the benefits of humans. A robot-virtual human bilateral trust model is derived and a real-time trust measurement method is developed. The role of taking initiative in the collaboration is switched between the agents following a finite state machine model triggered by bilateral trust, which results in a mixedinitiative collaboration. A scheme is developed to evaluate the performance of the agents in the ecology through the CPSS.The results show that the robot and the virtual human perform satisfactorily in the collaboration through the CPSS. The results thus prove the effectiveness of the real-world ecology between artificial agents of heterogeneous realities through a shared platform based on trust-triggered mixed-initiatives. The results can help develop adaptive social ecology comprising intelligent agents of heterogeneous realities to assist humans in various tasks through collaboration between the agents in the form of a CPSS.

Research on Coupling Relationship between Social Economy and Ecological Environment in Jinghe County of Aiby Lake Basin,Xinjiang

Based on the theory of sustainable development,using the theory and method of coupling relationship,the main city of Aiby Lake basin——Jinghe County in Xinjiang is selected. Based on the analyses of natural condition,population growth,land use type and ecological environment,the comprehensive evaluation index systems of socio-economic development level and eco-environment quality in Jinghe County are constructed. Using principal component analysis,a comprehensive evaluation of socio-economic development level and ecological environment quality in Jinghe County is conducted by combining with Excel. Their coupling relationship is studied,and quantitative coordination degree between social economy and ecological environment in Jinghe County is obtained. The results show that in recent 50 years,socio-economic development level in Jinghe County is rising,but the ecological environment quality is falling. Their coupling degree C changes during [- 1. 260, ＋ 0. 482],in other words,their coupling relationship is changing between ＂ reluctant coordination＂ and ＂ not coordination＂. After entering into the 21 stcentury,their coupling relationship is basically ＂ reluctant coordination＂. On this basis,the existing problems in the process of sustainable development in Jinghe County are analyzed,and the suggestions about promoting coordinated development between social economy and ecological environment are put forward.

Methodology of Marx for Ecological Justice

Historical materialism provides a methodology for solving the problem of ecological justice,that is,consciously constructing the socialist power system is the prerequisite and foundation for realizing ecological justice.In essence,the fundamental nature of the socialist power system,namely,“affinity to the people”,determines the realistic possibility of ecological justice.

Social Sensors (S^2ensors): A Kind of Hardware-Software-Integrated Mediators for Social Manufacturing Systems Under Mass Individualization

Currently, little work has been devoted to the mediators and tools for multi-role production interactions in the mass individualization environment. This paper proposes a kind of hardware-software-integrated mediators called social sensors （S2ensors） to facilitate the production interactions among customers, manufacturers, and other stakeholders in the social manufacturing systems （SMS）. The concept, classification, operational logics, and for- malization of S2ensors are clarified. S2ensors collect sub- jective data from physical sensors and objective data from sensory input in mobile Apps, merge them into meaningful information for decision-making, and finally feed the decisions back for reaction and execution. Then, an S2en- sors-Cloud platform is discussed to integrate different S2- ensors to work for SMSs in an autonomous way. A demonstrative case is studied by developing a prototype system and the results show that S2ensors and S2ensors- Cloud platform can assist multi-role stakeholders interact and collaborate for the production tasks. It reveals the mediator-enabled mechanisms and methods for production interactions among stakeholders in SMS.