Coastal Regions Of China Research Articles

Power, Apathy, and Failure of Participation

Public participation is widely regarded as a vital component for making environmental decisions more democratic, legitimate, and effective. Yet, research on this subject has largely focused on rights and principles instead of context and process, especially in non-Western settings. To address this gap, this article explores how local voices on environmental issues were muted in a Chinese rural context. It describes controversies surrounding a cultural and ecological tourism development in Heyang, a transforming village in the east coastal region of China. Based on semistructured group interviews, the article reveals that although many issues found in the Heyang case resonated with similar cases in Western settings, such as the lack of access to information and the problematic solicitation of public input, fundamentally, the local voices were muted by the village council’s blind adoption of an urban-centric ecological modernization agenda and its neglect of local villagers’ emotional attachment to their land properties. The above findings not only draw our attention to how participatory communication can be compromised by contextual factors but also invite us to reconsider how China’s existing urban–rural division fundamentally influences its ecological civilization.

Diurnal Variations of the Land–Sea Breeze and Its Related Precipitation over South China

Abstract Convection-permitting numerical experiments using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model are performed to examine the diurnal cycles of land and sea breeze and its related precipitation over the south China coastal region during the mei-yu season. The focus of the analyses is a 10-day simulation initialized with the average of the 0000 UTC gridded global analyses during the 2007–09 mei-yu seasons (11 May–24 June) with diurnally varying cyclic lateral boundary conditions. Despite differences in the rainfall intensity and locations, the simulation verified well against averages of 3-yr ground-based radar, surface, and CMORPH observations and successfully simulated the diurnal variation and propagation of rainfall associated with the land and sea breeze over the south China coastal region. The nocturnal offshore rainfall in this region is found to be induced by the convergence line between the prevailing low-level monsoonal wind and the land breeze. Inhomogeneity of rainfall intensity can be found along the coastline, with heavier rainfall occurring in the region with coastal orography. In the night, the mountain–plain solenoid produced by the coastal terrain can combine with the land breeze to enhance offshore convergence. In the daytime, rainfall propagates inland with the inland penetration of the sea breeze, which can be slowed by the coastal mountains. The cold pool dynamics also plays an essential role in the inland penetration of precipitation and the sea breeze. Dynamic lifting produced by the sea-breeze front is strong enough to produce precipitation, while the intensity of precipitation can be dramatically increased with the latent heating effect.

Comparisons of algorithms to estimate water turbidity in the coastal areas of China

ABSTRACTTurbidity is an important indicator of water environments and water-quality conditions. Ocean colour remote sensing has proved to be an efficient way of monitoring water turbidity because of its wide synoptic coverage and repeated regular sampling. However, operational tasks are still challenging in high-turbidity waters, especially in estuaries and the coastal regions of China. In these areas, the existing algorithms derived from remote-sensing reflectance (Rrs) are usually invalid because it is difficult to correctly estimate the reflectance Rrs from satellite data such as Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data. A new algorithm that uses Rayleigh-corrected reflectance (Rrc) instead of Rrs has been recently introduced and was used to estimate water turbidity in Zhejiang (ZJ) coastal areas from Geostationary Ocean Color Imager (GOCI) data. The Rrc algorithm has previously shown a capability to estimate water turbidity. However, its performance still requires careful evaluation. In this article, we compared the new Rrc algorithm with two other existing algorithms. Differences among the three algorithms were assessed by comparing the results from using Rrc data and Rrs reflectance data derived from both GOCI and MODIS imagery data. The capability of the new Rrc algorithm to estimate water turbidity in larger areas and extended seasons in the coastal seas of China was also estimated. The results showed that the new Rrc algorithm is suitable for the coastal waters of China, especially for highly turbid waters.

Impacts of nitrogen and zeolite managements on yield and physicochemical properties of rice grain

Zeolite (Z) can hold soil water and nutrient to obtain a higher yield on introduction into moist soil. However, the effects of Z and nitrogen (N) managements on rice grain quality is unclear. Therefore, the effects of different amounts of Z (Z0: 0 t/hm2; Z0.9 and Z0.22: 10 t/hm2 in different particle sizes of 0.45-0.9 mm and 0.17-0.22 mm in diameter) and N (N0, N52.5, N105, N157.5: 0 kg/hm2, 52.5 kg/hm2, 105 kg/hm2, 157.5 kg/hm2), and Z (Z0, Z10: 0 t/hm2, 10 t/hm2) and application frequencies of N on rice yield and grain quality were investigated in 2014 and 2015 in Northeast coastal region of China where Z10 was extended to use in large areas. Results showed that both N and Z applications significantly increased the yields of rough rice (RRY), brown rice, milled rice and head rice. However, there was no significant difference between Z0.9 and Z0.22. The chalkiness area, length-width ratio and head rice rate were not influenced by Z and N applications. However, Z application significantly decreased the chalk rate and slightly increased amylose content (AC) but mattered little to taste value (TV) of rice and rice cooking quality. N could significantly increase rice protein content (PC) but lessen the TV and breakdown value; the order of influence degree on rice yield increasing was as follows: CRF2 (third-split fertilization with Z10), CRF1 (basal fertilization one time with Z10), U2 (urea: third-split fertilization without Z) and U1 (basal fertilization one time without Z). Both CRF1 and CRF2 greatly enhanced the RRY. However, CRF1 was recommended for clear decrease in labor and fuel for growers. Compared with treatments of U1 and CRF1, CRF2 and U2 significantly decreased the AC. PC exhibited significant negative relation to TV and greatly determined the rice eating quality and cooking quality. Keywords: rice grain quality, rice yield, nitrogen, zeolite, physicochemical property DOI: 10.3965/j.ijabe.20160905.2535 Citation: Wu Q, Xia G M, Chen T T, Chi D C, Jin Y, Sun D H. Impacts of nitrogen and zeolite managements on yield and physicochemical properties of rice grain. Int J Agric & Biol Eng, 2016; 9(5): 93－100.

Environment-economy tradeoff for Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei’s exports

The trade of goods among regions or nations associated with large environmental consequences. Yet balancing economic gains and environmental consequences induced by trade is still hindered by a lack of quantification of these two factors, especially for the environmental problems those are more locally oriented, such as the atmospheric pollution. Based on an environmental input–output analysis for 2010, we contrast economic gains (value added) against atmospheric pollutant emissions (sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitric oxide (NOx), primary fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOC)) and the widely concerned CO2 emissions associated with international and interprovincial exports from Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei (BTH), the most polluted area in China. Our results show that exports contributed 55–62% of BTH’s production emissions and 54% of its total value added. BTH’s large exports of metals and metal products, nonmetal mineral products, chemical and transportation and warehousing, generated a larger share of pollutant emissions (36–46% of BTH’s total) than that of value added (17%) along the supply chain. Most of BTH’s embodied emissions in exports go to neighboring provinces and the developed east coastal regions in China, although the economic returns are comparatively low. Among BTH, industrial production in Beijing and Tianjin lead to more pollutant emission than value added in Hebei, due to reliance on pollution-intensive product imports from Hebei. Our results call for refocusing and restructuring of BTH’s industry and trade structures to balance the economic gains and environmental losses for each region.

Seasonal variations in aerosol optical thickness over eastern China determined from VIIRS data and ground measurements

ABSTRACTTwo-year records of Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) Intermediate Product (IP) data on aerosol optical thickness (AOT) at 550 nm were evaluated by comparing them to sun-sky radiometer measurements from the Chinese Sun Hazemeter Network (CSHNET) and the Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET). The monthly and seasonal variations in the aerosol optical properties over eastern China were then investigated using collocated VIIRS IP data and CSHNET and AERONET measurements. Between 59.2 and 62.1% of the retrieved VIIR IP values fell within the range defined for MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) and had similar values for the correlation coefficient (0.880–0.909). The performances of the current VIIRS IP AOT retrievals at the provisional stage were consistent with ground measurements. However, over urban areas, the VIIRS exhibits more scatter and therefore less precision than observed over marine and rural areas. Similar characteristics of seasonal and monthly variations were found among the measurements, though the observational methodologies were different, showing maxima in the summer and spring and minima in the winter and autumn. Although the intensities vary from season to season, the spatial AOT distribution patterns did not change. High-AOT centres were situated in the industrialized coastal regions of China and were related to the distribution of urban areas.

Detecting and assessing Spartina invasion in coastal region of China: A case study in the Xiangshan Bay

Spartina alterniflora is one of exotic plants along the coastal region in China. It was introduced as an important engineering approach to ecological restoration in the later 1970s. However, owing to its good adaptability and strong reproductive capacity, the introduced species is explosively spreading along the coastal region quickly and resulting in a significant impact on the health and safety of coastal wetland ecosystems. It is imperative to quantify the spatial extent and the rate of S. alterniflora sprawl in order to assess its ecological damages and economic impacts. Remote sensing techniques have been used to address these challenges but large unsuccessful due to mixed spectral properties. In this study, a hybrid method was proposed for S. alterniflora detection using medium resolution remote sensing images by integrating both spatial and spectral features of S. alterniflora. The hybrid method consists of two phases: (1) delineation of intertidal zone as the potential area of S. alterniflora distribution and (2) extraction of S. alterniflora fraction distribution with a mixture pixel analysis. The proposed method was tested at the Xiangshan Bay on the east coastal region of Zhejiang Province, China, and mapped the spatial extent of S. alterniflora with Landsat datasets in the 2003, 2009 and 2014. The results showed that, the S. alterniflora has grown exponentially over past 10 years. In 2003, the total area of S. alterniflora was about 590 hm2, but quickly reached to 1 745 hm2 in 2009, and 5 715 hm2 in 2014. With a rate of approximately 10-folds growth within a decade, the invasive species almost occupied all muddy beaches to become the most dominant coastal salt vegetation in this region. It is believed that the strong biological reproductive capacity was the primary reason for such quick spread and at the same time human reclamation activities were also believed to have facilitated the environmental conditions for S. alterniflora sprawl.

Spatial scaling of soil salinity indices along a temporal coastal reclamation area transect in China using wavelet analysis

ABSTRACTHigh spatial variability of soil salinity in coastal reclamation regions makes it difficult to obtain accurate scale-dependent information. The objectives of this study were to describe the spatial patterns of saline-sodic soil properties (using soil pH, electrical conductivity (EC1:5) and sodium ion content (SIC) as indicators) and to gain knowledge of the scaling relationships between those variables. The soil pH, EC1:5 and SIC data were measured at intervals of 285 m along a 13,965-m temporal transect in a coastal region of China. The spatial variability of soil pH was weak but it was strong for soil EC1:5 and SIC at the measurement scale. There was a significant positive correlation between soil EC1:5 and SIC, while correlations between soil pH and either EC1:5 or SIC were weak and negative. For each saline-sodic soil parameter, the variability changed with the decomposition scales. The high-variance area at the larger scales (≥570 m) occupied less than 10% of the total area in the local wavelet spectrum, which meant that the spatial variations of the salinity indicators were insignificant at these scales. For local wavelet coherency, at a scale of 1500–2800 m and a sampling distance of 0–4500 m, the covariance was statistically significant between any two of the saline-sodic soil parameters.

Spatiotemporal Variations of Meteorological Droughts in China During 1961–2014: An Investigation Based on Multi-Threshold Identification

As a major agricultural country, China suffers from severe meteorological drought almost every year. Previous studies have applied a single threshold to identify the onset of drought events, which may cause problems to adequately characterize long-term patterns of droughts. This study analyzes meteorological droughts in China based on a set of daily gridded (0.5° × 0.5°) precipitation data from 1961 to 2014. By using a multi-threshold run theory approach to evaluate the monthly percentage of precipitation anomalies index (Pa), a drought events sequence was identified at each grid cell. The spatiotemporal variations of drought in China were further investigated based on statistics of the frequency, duration, severity, and intensity of all drought events. Analysis of the results show that China has five distinct meteorological drought-prone regions: the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain, Northeast China, Southwest China, South China coastal region, and Northwest China. Seasonal analysis further indicates that there are evident spatial variations in the seasonal contribution to regional drought. But overall, most contribution to annual drought events in China come from the winter. Decadal variation analysis suggests that most of China’s water resource regions have undergone an increase in drought frequency, especially in the Liaohe, Haihe, and Yellow River basins, although drought duration and severity clearly have decreased after the 1960s.

Drivers, trends, and potential impacts of long-term coastal reclamation in China from 1985 to 2010

The reclamation of coastal land for agricultural, industrial, and urban land use—a common worldwide practice—has occurred extensively in the coastal region of China. In recent decades, all coastal provinces and metropolises in China have experienced severe coastal reclamation related to land scarcity caused by rapid economic growth and urbanization. However, the value of coastal wetlands and ecosystems has not been well understood and appreciated until recent development of advantageous methods of restoring reclaimed land to coastal wetlands in many developed countries. The overall objective of this study is to provide detailed spatial and temporal distributions of coastal reclamation; analyze drivers such as coastal economy, population growth, and urbanization; and understand the relationships among the drivers and land reclamation. We used long-term Landsat image time series from 1985 to 2010 in 5-year intervals, in combination with remotely sensed image interpretation and spatial analysis, to map the reclamation status and changes across the coastal region of China. The Landsat images time-series analysis was also conducted to evaluate the effects of the economy, population, and urbanization drivers on coastal reclamation. The analysis results indicated that 754,697 ha of coastal wetlands have been reclaimed across all coastal provinces and metropolises from 1985 to 2010, and the trend increased sharply after 2005. High-intensity coastal reclamation was mainly driven by the booming economy, especially after 2000, associated with urbanization and industrial development in China's coastal region; this was closely correlated with the gross domestic product (GDP) per capita. The continuous large-scale coastal reclamation of its coastal region now means China is facing a great challenge, including the enormous loss of vegetated coastal wetlands, negative environmental effects, and potential disaster risks related to coastal flooding under future change climate conditions. Long-term ecosystem-based coastal protection and management are critical to support sustainable coastal ecosystems in China in the future.

Production of unburned calcium silicon filter material (UCSFM) from oyster shell and its performance investigation in an A/O integrated biological aerated filter reactor (A/O-BAF)

A considerable amount of the oyster shells as a waste product of mariculture is produced every year, which leads to a major disposal problem with coastal regions of China.

Expansion and Management Implications of Invasive Alien <i>Spartina alterniflora</i> in Yancheng Salt Marshes, China

Improved understanding of the spatial dynamics of invasive plant species is critical for effective land management and control of future invasion. The Yancheng National Nature Reserve (YNNR), an internationally important wetland, has the largest distribution of alien Spartina alterniflora in China. This alien plant was intentionally introduced for erosion prevention and dike protection in China. However, it became an aggressive competitor with native salt marsh plants in the coastal regions in China. High resolution imagery, SPOT-5, was used to map plant communities including invasive species in the south core zone of YNNR with the natural ecosystem of salt marshes in 2003, 2005 and 2008. The fuzzy set assessment method significantly improved the classification accuracies over the conventional error matrix, i.e., from 73.8%, 73.5% and 81.4% to 91.5%, 91.6% and 93.4% in 2003, 2005 and 2008, respectively. It shows a great potential for mapping invasive plant species. Phragmites australis and S. alterniflora were the most accurately mapped classes, and sparse and dense Suaeda glauca were the least accurately mapped. From 2003 to 2008, S. alterniflora increased 28.8% from 1664.1 to 2142.6 ha in area size, and more than 2.5 times from 742 to 2608 patches. The highest increase in patch number occurred within the interval between 2001 and 3000 m from the eastern baseline. This increase was dominated by small patches with area less than 200 m2. During the study period, the mean spread width was 405 ± 80.7 m in the original large patch of area over 200 ha. The eastward/seaward spread was distinctively larger than the westward/landward. The results enhance the understanding of alien plant’s invasion patterns and help improve conservation efforts.

Genetic Population Structure of Macridiscus multifarius (Mollusca: Bivalvia) on the Basis of Mitochondrial Markers: Strong Population Structure in a Species with a Short Planktonic Larval Stage.

The clam Macridiscus multifarius with a planktonic larval stage of about 10 days is an ecologically and economically important species in the coastal regions of China. In this study, 3 mt-DNA markers (COI, 12S rRNA, and ND1) were used to investigate the population structure and demography of wild M. multifarius populations in 3 coastal localities of the East China Sea (ZS and ZP populations) and Beibu Gulf in the South China Sea (BH population). Sequences of 685 bp in COI, 350 bp in 12S rRNA, and 496 bp in ND1 were determined. High level and significant F ST values were obtained among the different localities on the basis of either COI (F ST = 0.100–0.444, p < 0.05) or 12S rRNA (F ST = 0.199–0.742, p < 0.05) gene, indicating a high degree of genetic differentiation among the populations. F ST values were significant but weak for the ND1 gene because it is highly conservative. The median-joining network suggested an obvious genetic differentiation between ZS and BH populations, and the finding is consistent with the results of our demographic analyses using the unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean. Our study unraveled the extant population genetic structure of M. multifarius and explained the strong population structure of a species with a short planktonic larval stage species; this information could be useful for fishery management measures, including artificial breeding and conservation.

Study on regional system of man-sea relationship and its synergetic development in the coastal regions of China

The oceans have long been recognized as increasingly important natural resources for humans. Humans, especially coastal residents, depend on ocean systems for essential and valuable life-supporting provisions, such as ocean resources, ocean traffic, seashore tourism,etc. Oceans are extremely sensitive and vulnerable, regardless of their substantial productivity.Long-term of ocean-and land-based human activities have increasingly threatened the oceans through direct and indirect means and caused the degradation of structure, function and provision service of ocean systems. Recently, theoretical and practical studies on man-land relationship have already become a research hotspot both at home and abroad. However, there are relatively few studies on man-sea relationship. Furthermore, regional system of man-sea relationship is a complex system that constitutes two relatively independent, but interactional subsystems, human and ocean. Yet, few studies have focused on the perspective of complex system. For decades, marine economy has been rapidly developing in China, and human impact on marine is gradually deepened. In this context, studies on regional system of man-sea relationship will be of important theoretical and practical significance to the coastal regions of China. Referring information entropy and synergetic theory, this study proposes a general concept of synergetic development mechanism of regional system of man-sea relationship, and sets up the index system of development level assessment. Then, the development levels of human-society and marine resources-environment subsystems were calculated by AHP-PP model from 1996 to 2012 in coastal regions of China. Information entropy scores and order degrees of regional system of man-sea relationship are calculated by using information entropy model in the article. The results indicate that information entropy scores of regional system of man-sea relationship go down with each passing year and order degrees show an upward trend,but regional differences are noticeable in coastal regions of China. Furthermore, the synergetic development model of regional system of man-sea relationship was established for recognizing the synergetic development classification of regional systems and parameters of the model are estimated by accelerating genetic algorithm. The findings confirm that three man-sea relationship patterns are recognized in the eleven coastal provinces. The man-sea relationship of Hubei, Guangxi and Hainan are conflicting; Tianjin, Liaoning, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Fujian are predatory; and Shanghai, Shandong, and Guangdong are cooperative. The causes for these different synergetic development patterns are analyzed and countermeasures for enhancing synergetic development are briefly put forward in this study.

Chinese rose (Rosa chinensis) growth and ion accumulation under irrigation with waters of different salt contents

Soil salinity and saline groundwater are major constraints to the cultivation of landscape plants in coastal regions. Soil tillage, drip-irrigation and a gravel–sand layer were used for reclamation of high saline silt-soils in a coastal region of China. Chinese roses (Rosa chinensis), a salt-sensitive species, were planted in the reclaimed soil under field conditions to determine the effects of salinity on rose growth and ion uptake, using five salinity levels of 0.8, 3.1, 4.7, 6.3 and 7.8dS/m of drip irrigation. Tensiometers were buried at a depth of 20cm to control the soil matric potential (SMP), keeping the SMP over −5kPa the first year, and over −10kPa the second year. Chinese rose relative leaf water deficit, dry matter production, number of flowers, root development and distribution and other plant growth parameters were assessed. Sodium (Na), chloride (Cl), potassium (K), magnesium (Mg) and calcium (Ca) concentrations in roots, stems and leaves were determined. The increasing salinity of irrigation water had adverse effects on rose growth and ion balance, and salt stress had the greatest impact on relative leaf water deficit value. When irrigated with saline water, most roots penetrated beyond 16–19cm depth into the high-salinity subsoil, which was disadvantageous to the absorption of water and nutrients. The SMP should be controlled at −5 to −10kPa in the second year for irrigation with saline water of >3dS/m, to promote a greater concentration of roots in the lower-salt top soil. Rose plants stored most absorbed Na and Cl ions in roots and stems, and Ca, Mg and K in leaves; however, leaf damage still occurred due to greater reductions in Ca/Na, Mg/Na and especially K/Na ratios. Increasing Na concentration and decreasing K/Na ratio had an adverse impact on dry matter production. Therefore, soluble potash should be applied for saline water irrigation to increase the selective absorption ratio of K, to better counteract the effect of the high Na concentrations in this soil.

Impacts of an unknown daytime HONO source on the mixing ratio and budget of HONO, and hydroxyl, hydroperoxyl, and organic peroxy radicals, in the coastal regions of China

Abstract. Many field experiments have found high nitrous acid (HONO) mixing ratios in both urban and rural areas during daytime, but these high daytime HONO mixing ratios cannot be explained well by gas-phase production, HONO emissions, and nighttime hydrolysis conversion of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) on aerosols, suggesting that an unknown daytime HONO source (Punknown) could exist. The formula Punknown &amp;amp;approx; 19.60[NO2] · J(NO2) was obtained using observed data from 13 field experiments across the globe. The three additional HONO sources (i.e., the Punknown, nighttime hydrolysis conversion of NO2 on aerosols, and HONO emissions) were coupled into the WRF-Chem model (Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with Chemistry) to assess the Punknown impacts on the concentrations and budgets of HONO and peroxy (hydroxyl, hydroperoxyl, and organic peroxy) radicals (ROx) (= OH + HO2 + RO2) in the coastal regions of China. Results indicated that the additional HONO sources produced a significant improvement in HONO and OH simulations, particularly in the daytime. High daytime average Punknown values were found in the coastal regions of China, with a maximum of 2.5 ppb h−1 in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region. The Punknown produced a 60–250 % increase of OH, HO2, and RO2 near the ground in the major cities of the coastal regions of China, and a 5–48 % increase of OH, HO2, and RO2 in the daytime meridional-mean mixing ratios within 1000 m above the ground. When the three additional HONO sources were included, the photolysis of HONO was the second most important source in the OH production rate in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou before 10:00 LST with a maximum of 3.72 ppb h−1 and a corresponding Punknown contribution of 3.06 ppb h−1 in Beijing, whereas the reaction of HO2 + NO (nitric oxide) was dominant after 10:00 LST with a maximum of 9.38 ppb h−1 and a corresponding Punknown contribution of 7.23 ppb h−1 in Beijing. The whole ROx cycle was accelerated by the three additional HONO sources, especially the Punknown. The daytime average OH production rate was enhanced by 0.67 due to the three additional HONO sources; [0.64], due to the Punknown, to 4.32 [3.86] ppb h−1, via the reaction of HO2 + NO, and by 0.49 [0.47] to 1.86 [1.86] ppb h−1, via the photolysis of HONO. The OH daytime average loss rate was enhanced by 0.58 [0.55] to 2.03 [1.92] ppb h−1, via the reaction of OH + NO2, and by 0.31 [0.28] to 1.78 [1.64] ppb h−1, via the reaction of OH + CO (carbon monoxide) in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou. Similarly, the three additional HONO sources produced an increase of 0.31 [0.28] (with a corresponding Punknown contribution) to 1.78 [1.64] ppb h−1, via the reaction of OH + CO, and 0.10 [0.09] to 0.63 [0.59] ppb h−1, via the reaction of CH3O2 (methylperoxy radical) + NO in the daytime average HO2 production rate, and 0.67 [0.61] to 4.32 [4.27] ppb h−1, via the reaction of HO2 + NO in the daytime average HO2 loss rate in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou. The above results suggest that the Punknown considerably enhanced the ROx concentrations and accelerated ROx cycles in the coastal regions of China, and could produce significant increases in concentrations of inorganic aerosols and secondary organic aerosols and further aggravate haze events in these regions.

Assessment and Evolution of the Sustainable Development Ability of Human–Ocean Systems in Coastal Regions of China

The oceans are a crucial source of natural resources for human development, as productive terrestrial resources increasingly reach their limits of economic and ecological exploitation. With increasing human impact on oceans, it is vital to maintain a sustainable human–ocean relationship. We present an indicator system and information entropy model to assess the evolution of human–ocean systems (HOSs) according to the dissipative structure theory. Sustainable development ability (SDA) scores for HOSs are calculated based on the combination-weighting model. Finally, the Richards model is used to depict the HOSs’ evolution states and periods in different coastal regions of China. The assessment indicates that total entropy is undergoing a process of negentropy; and that order degrees of HOSs are gradually improving. The results also suggest that the sustainable development levels of HOSs are continuously improving. The different coastal regions showed notable disparities of SDA and evolutionary processes, due to a differing resource base, environmental carrying capacity, and socio-economic development. Different limiting factors should determine regional policies for enhancing the SDA process; the key to sustainable development of HOS is achieving a balance between the exploitation of ocean resources for socio-economic development and conserving ecosystem services that are critical to wellbeing and livelihoods.

Genetic diversity and population connectivity of the Asian green mussel Perna viridis in South China Sea, inferred from mitochondria DNA markers

The Asian green mussel Perna viridis is ecologically and economically important in the coastal regions of China. In order to characterize the genetic diversity and population connectivity of P. viridis in South China Sea, a 664 bp region of mitochondrial COI gene and a 293 bp region of 16S rRNA gene were sequenced and analyzed for 78 and 92 individuals from four populations in South China Sea, respectively. A total of 15 haplotypes were defined by 14 variable nucleotide sites in COI gene, and 7 haplotypes by 6 variable nucleotide sites in 16S rRNA gene. High haplotype diversity and low nucleotide diversity were observed in COI gene, while moderate haplotype diversity and low nucleotide diversity were observed in 16S rRNA gene. Pairwise FST values of COI gene were all negative and those of 16S rRNA gene ranged from −0.01409 to 0.10289. The results showed that no significant genetic divergence (or shallow genetic structure) and high levels of population connectivity among the four populations of P. viridis in South China Sea.

Characterization of Mycobacterium leprae Genotypes in China--Identification of a New Polymorphism C251T in the 16S rRNA Gene.

Leprosy continues to be prevalent in some mountainous regions of China, and genotypes of leprosy strains endemic to the country are not known. Mycobacterium lepromatosis is a new species that was discovered in Mexico in 2008, and it remains unclear whether this species exists in China. Here, we conducted PCR- restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis to classify genotypes of 85 DNA samples collected from patients from 18 different provinces. All 171 DNA samples from skin biopsies of leprosy patients were tested for the presence of Mycobacterium leprae and Mycobacterium lepromatosis by amplifying the 16S rRNA gene using nested PCR, followed by DNA sequencing. The new species M. lepromatosis was not found among the 171 specimens from leprosy patients in 22 provinces in China. However, we found three SNP genotypes among 85 leprosy patients. A mutation at C251T in the 16S rRNA gene was found in 76% of the strains. We also found that the strains that showed the 16S rRNA C251T mutation belonged to SNP type 3, whereas strains without the point mutation belonged to SNP type 1. The SNP type 3 leprosy strains were observed in patients from both the inner and coastal regions of China, but the SNP type 1 strains were focused only in the coastal region. This indicated that the SNP type 3 leprosy strains were more prevalent than the SNP type 1 strains in China. In addition, the 16S rRNA gene sequence mutation at C251T also indicated a difference in the geographical distribution of the strains. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a new polymorphism in 16S rRNA gene in M. leprae in China. Our findings shed light on the prevalent genotypes and provide insight about leprosy transmission that are important for leprosy control in China.

New progress of high-efficiency and low-emission 9HA combine cycle gas turbine power generation demonstration project

On July 10, 2014 in China's Great Hall of the People, the Harbin Electric Corporation and the General Electric Company launched an “Eco-Partnership” to cooperate on the design, manufacture, and demonstration of the world's best gas turbine combined cycle power plant (hereinafter “gas turbine”). The 9HA gas turbine will feature world-class, highly advanced technology, incorporating leading levels of efficiency along with a flexible operating profile and extremely low emissions of harmful pollutants. Once this product is commercialized, it has the potential to replace a large proportion of the current generation of power plants typically found in industrial plants in China coastal regions and the U.S.