Coastal Regions Of China Research Articles

Modeling the typhoon disturbance effect on ecosystem carbon storage dynamics in a subtropical forest of China's coastal region

As an important ecological factor shaping terrestrial ecosystem states and destabilizing coastal forest ecosystems, typhoon events have become the focus of attention in recent years. However, there are limited studies on the change of carbon storage dynamics of subtropical forest ecosystems under typhoon disturbance. Here, we developed a theoretical ecosystem carbon cycle model combined with forest inventory data and measurements to evaluate pluriannual typhoon response of East Monsoon subtropical forest ecosystem carbon storage dynamics in Tiantong mountain (29°48′N, 121°47′E). We focused on the relationships between typhoon regime and ecosystem carbon storage dynamics, and forest resistance and resilience to typhoon disturbances. We showed that the disturbed plant biomass contributed to the reduced forest ecosystem carbon storage capacity. The modeling analyses underscored the critical role of biomass turnover time in forest ecosystem carbon storage capacity. The soil organic matter was highly stable under severe typhoons while the resistance of biomass and litter carbon amounts to increasingly severe typhoons decreased. The theoretical estimates provided by this study are instructive for the policy making of subtropical forest conservation and management under global environmental changes.

Organized Warm-Sector Rainfall in the Coastal Region of South China in an Anticyclone Synoptic Situation: Observational Analysis

The formation and regional difference of the organized warm-sector rainfall (OWSR) near the coast of South China in an anticyclone synoptic situation were investigated, by analyzing relevant events in recent years using high-resolution observational and reanalysis data. The results show that the anticyclone synoptic situation produces marked northerly boundary-layer winds inland, and obvious northeasterly, easterly/southwesterly and southeasterly boundary-layer winds near the coast of eastern and western Guangdong Province and Guangxi Province, respectively. Compared with the northeasterly boundary-layer winds, the southwesterly, southeasterly or easterly boundary-layer winds promote favorable environmental conditions and stronger convergence with the northerly boundary-layer winds for convection initiation. Consequently, OWSR is prone to occur near the coast of western Guangdong Province and Guangxi Province. The southeasterly boundary-layer winds tend to converge beside the mountains near the boundary between Guangxi and Guangdong provinces, promoting the formation of a stable convective line along the mountains. The convective line persists with the assistance of southwesterly upper-level winds, which encourage convective cells to propagate along the convective line, producing heavy OWSR along the mountains near the boundary between Guangxi and Guangdong provinces. In contrast, a west–east convective line tends to form and maintain near the coast of Yangjiang, owing to stable convergence between the easterly (or southwesterly) and northerly boundary-layer winds reinforced by the mountains near Yangjiang. Furthermore, the coupling of westerly upper-level winds with the easterly (southwesterly) boundary-layer winds facilitates an expansion (eastward propagation) of the convective line, causing west–east-oriented heavy OWSR near the coast of Yangjiang.

Distribution and Exposure Risk Assessment of Perfluorinated Alkyl Substances in Aquatic Products along the Coastal Region of the South China Sea

The purpose of the research was to monitor the contamination characters and spatial and temporal distributions of 23 Perfluorinated alkyl substances (PFASs) in seafood. Total of 844 samples, including 391 shellfish and 94 crustaceans, were collected from Guangdong, Guangxi, and Hainan provinces along South China Coastal Regions and analyzed by UPLC-MS/MS. Finally, 16 PFASs were detected in the survived samples and the total detection rates reached to 99.2%. The highest concentration of ∑PFASs in each sample was 28.3 μg/kg, and the average and medium values of ∑PFAS were 1.83 μg/kg and 1.18 μg/kg, respectively. Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorobutyric acid (PFBA) have been considered as predominant PFAS components with the corresponding pollution contribution rates of 29.1% and 24.7%, respectively. However, it is noted that perfluorohexane sulfonate (PFNA) and perfluorobutanesulfonic acid (PFBS) were primarily enriched in the oyster and mussel. During the period of this investigation (2014–2016), ∑PFAS average concentrations turned out constantly rising trend and new pollution component perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS) detected in 2016, indicating that the contamination status of PFASs was getting worse in South China Coastal Regions. ∑PFAS concentrations of Guangdong, Guangxi, and Hainan provinces were approximately at similar level (1.79 μg/kg, 1.91 μg/kg and 2.02 μg/kg), and the highest concentration sample contaminated with PFNA appeared in Guangxi province. The average and medium concentrations of ∑PFAS in samples collected from Guangzhou, Zhuhai, and Sanya were the top three. Safety and risk exposure assessments of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and PFOS via daily diet intakes showed relatively low potential to local residents.

Financial development, productivity, and high-quality development of the marine economy

This study explores how to effectively improve the productivity of the marine industry from a financial support perspective and to find new ideas for the high-quality development of the marine economy. The authors systematically sort out the real-life logic of financial influence on marine productivity improvement and empirically test it using panel data from 11 coastal regions in China from 2006 to 2016. The findings show that the level of financial development significantly contributes to increased productivity in the marine industry, and this finding holds true after accounting for potential endogeneity issues and a series of robustness tests. Furthermore, the regional heterogeneity analysis shows that the financial development of the eastern and southern marine economic circles has a more significant positive impact on the improvement of industrial efficiency. Further research also finds that the depth, efficiency, and environment of financial development have a positive effect on the efficiency of the industry, mainly in the current coastal areas, and that the breadth of financial development has not yet had an effect. The main reason for this is that the current financial coverage of the marine industry cannot match the financial needs of industrial development. Accordingly, the authors recommend enhancing financial support’s role in improving marine industry efficiency by establishing a financing system for marine-related industries and encouraging innovation in marine-related financial products to achieve high-quality development of the marine economy.

A new satellite-derived dataset for marine aquaculture areas in China's coastal region

Abstract. China has witnessed extensive development of the marine aquaculture industry over recent years. However, such rapid and disordered expansion posed risks to coastal environment, economic development, and biodiversity protection. This study aimed to produce an accurate national-scale marine aquaculture map at a spatial resolution of 16 m, using a proposed model based on deep convolution neural networks (CNNs) and applied it to satellite data from China's GF-1 sensor in an end-to-end way. The analyses used homogeneous CNNs to extract high-dimensional features from the input imagery and preserve information at full resolution. Then, a hierarchical cascade architecture was followed to capture multi-scale features and contextual information. This hierarchical cascade homogeneous neural network (HCHNet) was found to achieve better classification performance than current state-of-the-art models (FCN-32s, Deeplab V2, U-Net, and HCNet). The resulting marine aquaculture area map has an overall classification accuracy > 95 % (95.2 %–96.4, 95 % confidence interval). And marine aquaculture was found to cover a total area of ∼ 1100 km2 (1096.8–1110.6 km2, 95 % confidence interval) in China, of which more than 85 % is marine plant culture areas, with 87 % found in the Fujian, Shandong, Liaoning, and Jiangsu provinces. The results confirm the applicability and effectiveness of HCHNet when applied to GF-1 data, identifying notable spatial distributions of different marine aquaculture areas and supporting the sustainable management and ecological assessments of coastal resources at a national scale. The national-scale marine aquaculture map at 16 m spatial resolution is published in the Google Maps kmz file format with georeferencing information at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3881612 (Fu et al., 2020).

Dynamic Analysis of a Tripod Offshore Wind Turbine under Earthquakes

Earthquakes are non-negligible hazards for the designing of offshore wind farms in the coastal regions of China, such as Bohai Bay. So, it is necessary to analyze the response of offshore wind turbines (OWTs) under earthquakes. Fluid mechanics are applied to the model, the interactions of sea water and the substructure are based on fluid theory analysis in this paper. Moreover, it takes into account of the influence of fluid-solid coupling effect, radiation effect of wave loads and pile-soil interactions on the OWT. By establishing the finite element model (FEM) and dynamic equation of a tripod OWT, the measured onshore and offshore seismic waves are applied in the finite element analysis of the Tripod OWT respectively, and the numerical analysis of a tripod OWT structure under different measured seismic waves is carried out. More detailed comparison of the differences between onshore and offshore seismic waves is carried out in the paper. The result shows that the offshore seismic waves stimulate more significant responses than the onshore one, which can be attributed to that abundant seismic frequencies are found around the fundamental frequencies of the OWT. the seismic response analysis is conservative by using the onshore seismic waves, however, using the offshore seismic waves is closer to the actual situation.

Development of a high-resolution molecular marker for tracking Pseudo-nitzschia pungens genetic diversity through comparative analysis of mitochondrial genomes

The harmful algal bloom (HAB) species Pseudo-nitzschia pungens is widely distributed in almost all continents. Accumulating evidence suggests that P. pungens has high genetic diversity and many strains can produce the toxin domoic acid (DA) that harms animals and humans. Nevertheless, different P. pungens strains cannot be distinguished using morphological features or using common molecular markers including 18S rDNA, 28S rDNA, ITS, cox1, and rbcL. As such, high-resolution molecular markers need to be developed to resolve P. pungens genetic diversity, facilitating accurate tracking of toxic P. pungens strains. We hypothesized that molecular markers with high resolution and high specificity can be designed through identifying regions with high genomic variations in the mitochondrial genome. Here, we describe the development of a new molecular marker Pseudo-nitzschia pungens mitochondrial 1 (ppmt1) with high resolution and high specificity through comparative analysis of mitochondrial genomes of nine P. pungens strains isolated from coastal regions of China. In conclusion, we have developed ppmt1 as a high-resolution and high-specificity molecular marker for tracking strains and genetic diversity of the HAB species P. pungens.

Research for the Optimal Flux-Cored Arc Welding Process of 9% Nickel Steel Using Multi Object Optimization with Solidification Crack Susceptibility.

The environment of the global shipbuilding market is changing rapidly. Recently, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has tightened regulations on sulfur oxide content standards for marine fuels and tightened sulfur oxide emission standards for the entire coastal region of China to consider the environment globally and use LNG as a fuel. There is a tendency for the number of vessels to operate to increase significantly. To use cryogenic LNG fuel, various pieces of equipment, such as storage tanks or valves, are required, and equipment using steel, which has excellent impact toughness in cryogenic environments, is required. Four steel types are specified in the IGG Code, and 9% Ni steel is mostly used for LNG fuel equipment. However, to secure safety at cryogenic temperatures, a systematic study investigating the causes of quality deterioration occurring in the 9% Ni steel welding process is required and a discrimination function capable of quality evaluation is urgent. Therefore, this study proposes a plan where the uniform quality of 9% Nickel steel is secured by reviewing the tendency of the solidification crack susceptibility among the quality problems of cryogenic steel to establish the criteria for quality deterioration and to develop a system capable of quality discrimination and defect avoidance.

Definition of a High-Resolution Molecular Marker for Tracking the Genetic Diversity of the Harmful Algal Species Eucampia zodiacus Through Comparative Analysis of Mitochondrial Genomes.

The cosmopolitan phytoplankton species Eucampia zodiacus is a common harmful algal bloom (HAB) species that have been found to cause HABs in essentially all coastal regions except the Polar regions. However, molecular information for this HAB species is limited with only a few molecular markers. In this project, we constructed the mitochondrial genome (mtDNA) of E. zodiacus, which was also the first mtDNA constructed for any species in the order Hemiaulales that includes 145 reported species (including two additional HAB species Cerataulina bicornis and Cerataulina pelagica). Comparative analysis of eight E. zodiacus strains revealed that they could not be distinguished using common molecular markers, suggesting that common molecular markers do not have adequate resolution for distinguishing E. zodiacus strains. However, these E. zodiacus strains could be distinguished using whole mtDNAs, suggesting the presence of different genotypes due to evolutionary divergence. Through comparative analysis of the mtDNAs of multiple E. zodiacus strains, we identified a new molecular marker ezmt1 that could adequately distinguish different E. zodiacus strains isolated in various coastal regions in China. This molecular marker ezmt1, which was ∼400 bp in size, could be applied to identify causative genotypes during E. zodiacus HABs through tracking the dynamic changes of genetic diversity of E. zodiacus in HABs.

Parenting Self-Efficacy Mediates the Association between Chinese Parents’ Depression Symptoms and their Young Children’s Social and Emotional Competence

This study investigated the mediating role of parenting self-efficacy in the relationship between Chinese parents’ depressive symptoms and their young children’s social and emotional competence and tested whether the mediating relationship differed for fathers and mothers. Parents (N = 250) of children aged 3-to-8 years old in the eastern coastal region of China completed a cross-sectional survey. Questionnaires assessed parental depressive symptoms, parenting self-efficacy, and children’s social and emotional competence. Research questions were tested using mediation and moderated mediation within a multiple regression framework. Results supported a significant indirect effect of parental depressive symptoms on young children’s social and emotional competence through parenting self-efficacy, indicating that parenting self-efficacy served as a mediator. The mediational process did not differ for mothers and fathers. Parenting self-efficacy appears to be a mechanism in explaining the influence of parental depression on young children’s social and emotional development in a Chinese sample. Findings suggest that interventions with depressed parents should seek to improve parenting self-efficacy to support young children’s healthy development in the context of parental depression.

How do environmental regulation and technological innovation affect the sustainable development of marine economy: New evidence from China’s coastal provinces and cities

As marine economy has entered a new normal, the transformation and upgrading of marine economy has reached a crossroads in coastal regions, and there is an urgent need to change the development mode and the growth momentum of marine economy. Exploring reasonable environmental regulation means and appropriate environmental regulation intensity to promote green technological innovation and lead the transformation of marine economy is the only way for China's marine sustainable development in the future. Through theoretical analysis and empirical tests, this study examines the influential mechanisms of environmental regulation and technological innovation on GTFP of marine economy to provide a theoretical basis for local government and enterprises to make decisions under environmental regulation. The empirical process adopts a direct effect, an intermediary effect, and a threshold effect model based on panel data from 11 provinces and cities in China's coastal regions. The results show that China's marine environmental regulation is still in its initial stage, which is not conducive to the improvement of GTFP of marine economy. Technological innovation plays an intermediary role between environmental regulation and GTFP of marine economy, but the intermediary effect is very small-only 0.0920, so there is still significant room to improve. During the sample period, taking marine technological innovation as the threshold variable, environmental regulation has significant double threshold effect of technological innovation on GTFP of marine economy. Different levels of technological innovation decide which effect, either the “offset effect” or the “compensation effect” dominates. Finally, this paper puts forward the corresponding policy recommendations.

Assessment of cadmium pollution and subsequent ecological and health risks in Jiaozhou Bay of the Yellow Sea

Million tons of cadmium (Cd) are annually discharged into China's coastal regions, creating a persistent hazard to marine organisms and human health. This study assessed Cd residues in the Yellow Sea's semi-enclosed Jiaozhou Bay (JZB), finding concentrations of 0.05–0.94 μg/L in seawater and 0.03–0.18 mg/kg in sediment. For marine organisms, mollusks had the highest Cd concentration (0.44 ± 0.09 mg/kg), followed by crustaceans (0.26 ± 0.08 mg/kg) and fish (0.10 ± 0.02 mg/kg). Cd was clearly accumulated by mollusks, with biota-sediment accumulation factor (BSAF) values >1 and biota-water accumulation factor (BWAF) values >1000. Stable nitrogen isotope (δ15N) analysis showed that Cd underwent biomagnification in mollusks, but was significantly bio-diluted with increasing trophic level among other marine organisms. In general, Cd contamination levels were low in the JZB's seawater and sediment, and fish was estimated to be certainly polluted due to strict safety limitations on seafood in China. Current Cd residues mean that few aquatic species (<< 5%) would be affected by acute exposure, and ~ 10% of the species would be affected by chronic exposure. Based on target hazard quotients (THQ) and estimated weekly intakes (EWIs), urban residents around the JZB would experience higher health risks in comparison with rural residents due to higher seafood consumption rates, especially from mollusk consumption. Therefore, urban households in the area should increase their fish consumption rate and reduce that of mollusks.

New archaeobotanical evidence reveals synchronous rice domestication 7600 years ago on south Hangzhou Bay coast, eastern China

South Hangzhou Bay in eastern China occupies an important position in tracing the origins and dispersal of rice and rice cultures in ancient China. Existing literature suggests that early coastal rice domestication emerged ca. 8000−7400 years ago in the Kuahuqiao area, at the apex of the Bay, but no solid evidence implies a simultaneous domestication at any other places in this region. This paper presents new archaeobotanical and geological evidence of early rice domestication in the Yaojiang Valley from a well-dated sediment core retrieved near the Jingtoushan site, the earliest shell mound discovered in eastern coastal China. Phytolith combined with other microfossil evidence elucidated when and under what circumstance rice domestication became available in South Hangzhou Bay. Humans apparently started to occupy the site area 8200−7800 years ago, with rice domestication after ca. 7600 cal yr BP revealed by the emergence of charcoal and bulliform phytoliths with ≥ 9 fish-scale decorations. A marine-influenced setting transformed to a desalinized wetland environment would have encouraged the early arrivals to attempt rice domestication. Rice domestication became available in the Bay 7600 years ago, but human subsistence relied on hunting and gathering until rice farming became widespread during the later Hemudu occupation ( ca. 7000−5000 cal yr BP) along with demographic expansion. This new evidence sheds light on the synchronous early rice domestication around South Hangzhou Bay in the early mid-Holocene. It documents the trajectory of rice farming between the Kuahuqiao and Hemudu Cultures with implications for understanding the complex rice dispersal and domestication process in coastal regions of China.

Bioaccessibility-corrected health risk of heavy metal exposure via shellfish consumption in coastal region of China.

A systematic investigation into bioaccessible heavy metals in shellfish Crassostrea ariakensis, Chlamys farreri, and Sinonovacula constricta from coastal cities Shenzhen, Zhoushan, Qingdao, and Dandong was carried out to assess the potential health risk to residents in coastal regions in China. The bioaccessible fractions of heavy metals were (μg‧g-1): Zn (0.63-15.01), Cu (0.10-12.91), Cd (0.01-0.64), As (0.11-0.33), Cr (0.07-0.12), Pb (0.01-0.03). The bioaccessibilities of heavy metals were Cr 61.86%, inorganic As (iAs) 60.44%, Pb 55.74%, Cu 46.83%, Zn 28.16%, and Cd 24.99%. As for child and adult, the bioaccessibility-corrected estimated daily intakes were acceptable and the non-carcinogenic risks posed by heavy metals were not obvious. The carcinogenic risks posed by bioaccessible heavy metals at the fifth percentile were 10-fold higher than the acceptable level (10-4), with iAs and Cd to be the major contributors, regardless of child or adult. The probabilistic estimation showed the low risk of shellfish consumption, which was verified by higher values of maximum allowable consumption rate and monthly meals at the 95 percentile; while some control of consumption rate and monthly meals was necessary for reducing heavy metal exposure of most shellfish samples, except for the safe consumption of S.constricta for both child and adult in Qingdao and Shenzhen, China.

Urate crystal deposition in hyperuricemic children: a dual energy computed tomography study.

IntroductionThe incidence of hyperuricemia (HUA) at younger ages is increasing along the coastal regions of China. This study aimed to compare the frequency of dual energy CT (DECT) urate crystal deposition between symptomatic hyperuricemic children and asymptomatic hyperuricemic children.Material and methodsFifty-six hyperuricemic children were divided into a Joint Group (n = 33) and an Asymptomatic Group (n = 23) according to whether they had a history of arthritis symptoms, which includes rapid onset monoarthritis with intense pain and swelling. We analyzed DECT scans of their feet from the Joint Group and the Asymptomatic Group and compared their clinical features.ResultsDECT urate deposits were observed in 28/33 (84.8%) children with symptomatic HUA and 14/23 (60.9%) with asymptomatic HUA. We found 60 areas of urate deposition in the Joint Group; DECT urate crystal deposition was most frequently observed in the first metatarsophalangeal (MTP) joint (30.0%), ankle joint (15.0%), and calcaneus (13.3%). 39 urate deposits were found in the Asymptomatic Group; DECT urate crystal deposition was most frequently observed in the calcaneus (25.6%), the first MTP joint (17.9%), and the first phalanx (15.4%).ConclusionsUrate deposition can occur in children with HUA, and these deposits occur more frequently in hyperuricemic children with a history of arthritis symptoms. Also, the urate deposition in the first MTP joint and calcaneus was more prevalent than in other joints. It is important to give more attention to hyperuricemic children.

中国大陆沿海水鸟栖息地保护优先区及空缺分析

中国大陆沿海湿地是东亚-澳大利西亚候鸟迁徙的重要停歇地，自然湿地丧失与退化已经严重威胁到水鸟生物多样性的稳定性，急需开展物种及其栖息地的保护工作。识别中国大陆沿海水鸟保护优先区，针对保护优先区进行保护优先等级划分，确定目前尚存的保护空缺，是针对性开展水鸟栖息地保护的前提。以中国大陆沿海11省、自治区、直辖市沿岸湿地为研究区，整合鸟类网站、水鸟调查报告和文献中的水鸟调查数据，采用热点分析方法，确定水鸟保护优先区，将每个地块上满足水鸟保护优先区识别标准的物种数量占所有地块中满足标准的物种数量最大值的比例划分成0.5 ≤ P_i ≤ 1、0.25 ≤ P_i < 0.5、0 < P_i < 0.25三个区间，确定对应的I类、II类和III类水鸟保护优先区保护优先等级；结合国家自然保护地名录，确定水鸟保护优先区保护空缺。结果显示：共有65块中国大陆沿海水鸟保护优先区，记录到满足热点分析标准的水鸟物种共76种，其中受胁物种18种。水鸟保护优先区保护优先等级属于I、II、III类的分别有8块、10块、47块，且水鸟保护优先区保护优先等级属于I、II类的地块集中分布在上海以北的区域，水鸟保护优先区保护优先等级属于III类的地块主要分布在上海以南的区域。38块水鸟保护优先区存在保护空缺，占总数的58.46%，这些保护空缺地中保护优先等级属于I类和II类的地块共6块，建议针对这些地块单独建立保护机构或纳入现有周边的保护体系中。;Coastal wetlands in mainland China are home to rich fishery resources, mangroves and seagrass beds. They are recognized as key part of global biodiversity, providing natural eco-safety barrier for the development of economically developed coastal regions in China. They are not only known as precious natural resources, but also key components of a biotic community of mountains, rivers, forests, cropland, lakes and grasslands for their important ecological functions and values. These wetlands provide important stopover sites for migratory waterbirds along the East Asian-Australasian Flyway (EAAF), supporting millions of migratory waterbirds of international importance along the EAAF. Since 1960, large areas of natural landscapes in mainland China's coastal zones have lost as a result of rapid economic development activities, such as over-exploitation of natural resources and land reclamation for construction and farmland. These activities have led to a dramatic decline in waterbird populations in the area, and the loss and degradation of natural wetlands have threatened the stability of species and population of waterbirds. For this reason, it is necessary to protect waterbirds species and their habitats. Identifying conservation priority sites, conservation priority levels and gaps for the migratory waterbirds are important preconditions for targeted habitat conservation. Integrated survey data were derived from birding websites, survey reports of waterbirds and published literature along the 11 provinces/municipalities in China. Then we used hot-spot analysis to identify conservation priority sites of the waterbirds. We also calculated the proportion of the species number of conservation gap sites to the maximum species number, and divided these proportions into three conservation priority levels (0.5 ≤ P_i ≤ 1, I; 0.25 ≤ P_i < 0.5, II; and 0 < P_i < 0.25, III). Based on the list of national natural protected areas, we defined the conservation gap of waterbirds. The results showed 65 conservation priority sites were identified along coastal wetlands in mainland China, and 76 species (including 18 threatened species) meeting the criterion of hot-spot analysis were recorded in these sites. The conservation priority levels of these sites belong to Levels I, II and III, which had 8 sites, 10 sites and 47 sites, respectively. The sites with conservation priority levels of I and II are mainly distributed in the north of Shanghai, while the sites with conservation priority Level III mainly occur in the south of Shanghai. 38 sites are yet to be put under protection, accounting for 58.46 percent of the total number of conservation priority sites, in which six sites belong to the conservation priority levels of I and II. To address this problem, we recommend that new protected areas should be established for the conservation gap sites with the conservation priority levels I and II, and be incorporated into the existing network of protected areas.

Predicting the Potential Distribution of Three Allergenic Invasive Ambrosia (ragweed) Species in Asia

Three ragweed species native to North America (Ambrosia artemisiifolia L., A. psilostachya DC, and A. trifida L.) that have been introduced into Asia are now spreading quickly in many regions. Predicting which specific areas may be vulnerable to the invasion of these allergenic Ambrosia species can provide valuable insights for early detection and for prioritizing preventive actions. Species distribution models, based on native and non-Asian occurrence records for these three Ambrosia species, were generated with the maximum entropy (Maxent) approach respectively. Spatial filtering and target-group background methods were used to address sampling bias. Models fitted with different levels of complexity under present conditions were compared and evaluated with independent Asian records. Models showing lower over-fitting and higher performance were then selected to assess their future distribution under two types of Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5), using four General Circulation Models (GCMs). Predicted habitats for A. artemisiifolia in 2050 would contract in regions having been colonized, despite a limited increase in parts of China. This species may experience a southward range shift in China. Under all future climate scenarios, A. trifida was predicted to decrease its potential establishment while A. psilostachya would expand its range, especially in habitats being colonized currently. Special attention should be given to Hunan, Jiangxi Provinces and scattered along southeastern coastal regions of China as well as parts of Turkey and northwest Iran, Azerbaijan, considering that future potential distribution of A. artemisiifolia and A. psilostachya might increase in these areas respectively. The findings provide valuable information for assessing the risk that these three Ambrosia species pose to many Asian countries and for prioritizing early detection and prevention strategies.

Ground Validation and Error Sources Identification for GPM IMERG Product over the Southeast Coastal Regions of China

The Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for the Global Precipitation Measurement mission (IMERG) has been widely evaluated. However, most of these studies focus on the ultimate merged satellite-gauge precipitation estimate and neglect the valuable intermediate estimates which directly guide the improvement of the IMERG product. This research aims to identify the error sources of the latest IMERG version 6 by evaluating the intermediate and ultimate precipitation estimates, and further examine the influences of regional topography and surface type on these errors. Results show that among six passive microwave (PMW) sensors, the Microwave Humidity Sounder (MHS) has outstanding comprehensive behavior, and Special Sensor Microwave Imager/Sounder (SSMIS) operates advanced at precipitation detection, while the Sounder for Atmospheric Profiling of Humidity in the Intertropics by Radiometry (SAPHIR) has the worst performance. More precipitation events are detected with larger quantitative uncertainty in low-lying places than in highlands, in urban and water body areas than in other places, and more in coastal areas than in inland regions. Infrared (IR) estimate has worse performance than PMW, and the precipitation detectability of IR is more sensitive to the factors of elevation and the distance to the coast, as larger critical successful index (CSI) over lowlands and coastal areas. PMW morphing and the mixing of PMW and IR algorithms partly reverse the conservative feature of the precipitation detection of PMW and IR estimates, resulting in higher probability of detection (POD) and false alert ratio (FAR). Finally, monthly gauge calibration improves most of the statistical indicators and reduces the influence of elevation and surface type factor on these errors.

Regional differences in the industrial water use efficiency of China: The spatial spillover effect and relevant factors

Increasing industrial water use efficiency is key to achieving sustainable industrial development. This study employed bootstrap-data envelopment analysis to calculate the industrial water use efficiency in 31 Chinese provinces from 2005 to 2015. The regional differences and spatial spillover effect of the industrial water efficiency of the 31 provinces were analyzed. Moreover, a spatial Tobit model was used to examine the factors that influence industrial water efficiency. The results showed that the industrial water use efficiency values of all the 31 provinces were less than 1 during the study period, which implied that industrial water use has not reached optimal status and can be further improved. The regional differences in industrial water use efficiency exhibited a U-shaped trend (convergence followed by diffusion). Provinces with high industrial water use efficiency were distributed in the eastern and coastal regions of China, whereas those with low industrial water use efficiency were concentrated in the western regions. Furthermore, regional backgrounds influenced the spatial spillover effect of industrial water efficiency. The transition probabilities of different industrial water use efficiency values varied under various regional conditions. Analysis of the influential factors indicated that the water resources per capita, amount of R&D input, and strength of environmental regulation restrain the increase of industrial water efficiency, whereas the GDP per capita, industrial structure, and amount of foreign investments promote the increase of industrial water efficiency. Accordingly, countermeasures and suggestions are proposed for increasing the industrial water use efficiency in the studied provinces and in China as a whole.

Agglomeration and Development of Cultural Industry: A Comparative Study of Inland and Coastal Zones in China

Liang, J. and Li, M., 2020. Agglomeration and development of cultural industry: A comparative study of inland and coastal zones in China. In: Li, L. and Huang, X. (eds.), Sustainable Development in Coastal Regions: A Perspective of Environment, Economy, and Technology. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 112, pp. 152-157. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.This paper conducts a comparative study of the degree of agglomeration and development of cultural industries in 16 inland and coastal regions of China, using LQ as a unified evaluation criterion, and organizing and empirically analyzing the data of China's Fourth National Economic Census. The results show that 1) there is a significant difference in the degree of agglomeration and development of cultural industries between China's inland zone and coastal zone, especially in the cultural information transmission service industry, cultural creativity and design service industry, cultural industry manufacturing industry and wholesale and retail industry; 2) in the inland regions, Hunan is in the leading position; 3) in the coastal regions, Hainan has a weaker overall strength. This paper also provides suggestions to optimize the development path of cultural industries in inland zone according to the comparison of developments in coastal zone.