Ecological Protection Measures Research Articles

Spatial-temporal changes in ecosystem services and social-ecological drivers in a typical coastal tourism city: A case study of Sanya, China

Tourism is an important economic and social activity with distinct characteristics of human-land interaction, which creates increasingly pronounced ecological and environmental challenges. The changes in four ecosystem services, including water yield (WY), carbon storage (CS), soil retention (SR) and habitat quality (HQ) in the coastal and noncoastal zones of Sanya were analysed, and the influencing factors were discussed. We found that from 2000 to 2018, the built-up land area of the coastal zone of Sanya quadrupled; CS, SR and HQ of the coastal zone were lower than those of the non-coastal zone with a clear downwards trend; and WY was higher than that of the noncoastal zone, indicating that the development of coastal tourism in Sanya damaged the surrounding ecological environment. The decline in ecosystem services in Sanya from 2010 to 2018 was smaller than that from 2000 to 2010, indicating that Sanya's ecological and environmental protection measures have been effective in recent years. The ecosystem services of Sanya were mainly affected by the natural environment, such as precipitation(P), and fractional vegetation coverage (FVC), but the impact of tourism factors, such as total tourism attraction (TA) and accommodation capacity (AC) also gradually became significant. Based on these findings, we propose to adhere to the sustainable development of coastal ecotourism, implement dynamic planning and dynamic monitoring, and strengthen the protection of coastal and its buffer zone. This study is of great significance to the scientific decision-making and comprehensive regulation of tourism-oriented cities and towns to improve ecosystem services.

Temporal and spatial variation of ecosystem service value and its response to landscape pattern change in Guizhou Province, China.

Guizhou Province is a test area of ecological civilization in China, and one of the most typical areas of karst landform development in the world. Exploring the change of ecosystem service value and its spatial correlation distribution characteristics with landscape pattern is conducive to formulating ecological environment improvement and protection measures according to local conditions. We analyzed the spatial and temporal variations of landscape pattern and ecosystem services in Guizhou Province from 2005 to 2018 and constructed a geographically weighted regression model to explore the spatial changes of their correlation coefficients. The results showed that the transfer of landscape types in Guizhou Province from 2005 to 2018 mainly occurred in the five landscapes of construction land, forest, water, grassland, and cropland. The landscape fragmentation and diversity increased. The value of ecosystem services was increasing year by year. Forests were the main contributors to the value of ecosystem services in Guizhou Province, with regulation services as the main ecosystem services. For high-value landscape types, the increase of diversity and the reduction of fragmentation were conducive to the increases of ecosystem service value. In the area with concentrated low-value landscape types, it showed the opposite effect. The direction of landscape transfer and the spatial distribution of diversity and fragmentation of different landscape types should be adjusted according to the characteristics of ecological environment in different regions of Guizhou Province, to realize the increases of ecosystem service value.

Study on the Spatial Differences in Land-Use Change and Driving Factors in Tibet

As the main body of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau, the Tibet Autonomous Region is an important ecological security barrier for the surrounding areas and even for Asia. However, the ecological environment is very fragile, and slight changes in land use may seriously affect the stability of the ecosystem. Therefore, it is necessary to deeply explore the driving factors of change in the various land-use types to stabilize the ecological structure and function of Tibet. In this paper, the transition matrix, land dynamic degree and Geodetector model are introduced to obtain the land-use change in the whole Tibetan region and its four subregions from 1990 to 2020. Based on the elevation, slope, temperature, precipitation, population and GDP, the driving factors of conversions between land-use types are explored. The results showed that during the study period, farmland, grassland and forest all showed a decreasing trend in area size. The grassland is large in the northwest region and is the main land-use type in Tibet, and its conversion to water area is the largest. The area of construction land has increased significantly, and its occupation of farmland is the largest, especially in the southwest region. The Geodetector results show that there are differences in the driving factors of the conversions between the whole region and each subregion. In the whole region, the increase in precipitation and temperature were the main drivers of unutilized land and grassland-to-water area conversions, whereas the growth of GDP and population were the dominant drivers of built-up land expansion; however, at the subregional scale, the driving effects of topographic and climatic factors in the two conversions were enhanced. In addition, under the implementation of different ecological protection measures, the productivity of vegetation has been improved. Based on the study results, ecological protection and restoration projects can be implemented in a targeted manner by guiding human activities and formulating reasonable plans to achieve the purpose of strengthening the sustainability of land use and protecting the ecological environment regionally.

Study on the Performance Optimization Algorithm Strategy of Resource and Environment Audit Based on Computer Network Technology

In order to better control and repair resource and environmental problems, the state has invested a lot of manpower, material resources, and funds and issued corresponding ecological and environmental protection measures. As the national environmental supervision mechanism, the resource and environmental audit department is responsible for the supervision of national environmental governance. With the continuous development of computer technology, it brings convenience to resource and environment audit and improves the extraction of data processing, storage, and processing capacity. Because there are many departments involved in resource and environment audit, the cooperation between different departments will inevitably have errors. Using computer technology to mine the relevance of relevant data is conducive to the cooperation between departments. This study builds relevant algorithms and uses new technologies to collect data so as to improve the efficiency of audit work and better promote the construction of ecological civilization.

Are Farmers in National Park Communities Willing to Reallocate Their Lands? A Situational Analysis

Limited by China’s mixed land ownership model, which is divided into collective and state ownership, national parks’ strict ecological protection measures of restricting land use patterns and intensity are subject to the decisions made by collective landowners and contract operators, namely, rural households in national park communities. The disposition and intention of community farmers regarding collective land ownership is related to the nature conservation effect of the national park. In the context of national park land functions for ecological conservation, environmental education, leisure and recreation, scientific research, and “nest eggs” (basic living guarantees), the research on the influencing factors of farmers’ intentions to reallocate their land (expropriated or transferred) will provide a basis for a National Parks Administration (NPA) to develop supporting policies for collective land reallocation in different functional zones and to prevent community conflicts. The research took Shennongjia National Park as an example and, combined with literature analysis, used the Structural Equation Model (SEM) to explore the influencing factors of community farmers’ land reallocation intentions and drew the following conclusions: farmers’ intentions to leave their land for nature conservation purposes and for urbanization purposes are different. In the five land function situations above, farmers’ perceptions of land function in national parks did not directly affect their land reallocation intentions, while their trust in the land management ability of NPA was a complete mediator. Farmers’ preferences for the economic value of land had no significant moderating effect on land reallocation intentions. Farmers’ characteristics have a moderating effect on different land function situation models. Older and less educated farmers are more likely to receive livelihood compensation rather than monetary compensation after leaving their land. Therefore, some management suggestions are put forward, such as strengthening the capacity for building national park land and other natural resources management, adapting to the collective land policy in different function zones, and paying attention to the livelihood compensation of community farmers after they leave the land.

Analysis on the Evolution and Resilience of Ecological Network Structure in Wuhan Metropolitan Area

With the accelerated urbanization and frequent occurrence of climate extremes, the regional ecosystem service level has ushered in a great challenge, and the resilience of the ecological network has gradually weakened, leading to lower ecological benefits and production levels. As a core ecologically sensitive area in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, Wuhan metropolitan area has been expanding outward with rapid urbanization, crowding out surrounding arable and ecological land, and facing serious challenges to the sustainable development of the national space, while current cross-regional ecological protection measures need to be strengthened urgently, and exploring the structural resilience of its ecological network is of great significance to promote regional stability. In this study, Wuhan metropolitan area is taken as an example, and we explore the evolution and laws of ecological network structure from the perspective of network analysis by constructing ecological networks in Wuhan metropolitan area in 2000, 2010, and 2020. Firstly, we select regions from the ecological control line developed in China as ecological source sites, and also select multivariate data to supplement them. Then, the ecological network was established using the MCR model. Finally, network analysis was applied to discuss the evolution of network structure under multiple times and propose corresponding conservation strategies. The results show that (1) the major ecological resistance of Wuhan urban area has increased by 5.24% in 20 years. (2) The centrality and connectivity of the network nodes have increased over the 20-year period, and the overall structure of the network has stabilized and the resilience of the network has increased. (3) There is a strong link between changes in the network as a whole and local resilience. The results of the study will help analyze the relationship between the network as a whole and the region, and provide reference for optimizing the ecological network and constructing the systematic management of ecological security pattern.

Assessment of Changes in Key Ecosystem Factors and Water Conservation with Remote Sensing in the Zoige

As the largest alpine peat swamp wetland distribution area in the world, the Zoige has important ecological functions, including water conservation and biodiversity maintenance. In the past 20 years, the regional ecological protection and restoration measures continuously strengthened under the leadership of the local government have led to gradual improvements in the ecological environment of the region. In this study, multisource satellite remote-sensing image data were used to carry out quantitative monitoring and assessment of the main ecological elements (vegetation and water), as well as the regional leading ecosystem service function in the Zoige. Combined with local ecological protection management policies and measures, we analyzed the characteristics and effectiveness of ecological protection. We compared the ecosystem change trends of the Zoige reserve and the county, from 2001 to 2020, and found that the fractional vegetation cover (FVC) of Zoige county has increased at a rate of 0.25%/year. The growth rate was highest between 2015 and 2020, and the growth rate of FVC in the Zoige Wetland National Nature Reserve is approximately 1.89-fold that of the whole county. The water area also shows similar variation characteristics. On the whole, the water conservation capacity of the Zoige showed a significant increase from 2001 to 2020. We used high-resolution satellite remote-sensing images to capture the details of land use changes brought about by local ecological protection policies and measures, and together with macroecological indicators, we reflected on the effectiveness of regional ecological protection measures. We observed that the ecological effects of nature reserves are more direct and rapid, and the amount of water conservation within the nature reserve is about 1 × 104 m3/km2 higher than that of the surrounding grasslands. Satellite remote-sensing images can not only capture the multiscale change information of ecological indicators, such as vegetation and water, in a timely manner, but can also help us to identify the effectiveness of conservation measures by distinguishing and analyzing the causes of these changes.

Assessment of Spatial Temporal Changes of Ecological Environment Quality: A Case Study in Huaibei City, China

Under the short-term economic development goal, the excessive exploitation of natural resources and the destruction of the ecological environment make the ecological environment of Huaibei cities increasingly fragile. This study constructed the Remote Sensing Ecological Index (RSEI) to evaluate the ecological environment change trend and its driving factors in Huaibei City from 2000 to 2020. The barycenter migration model was used to determine the RSEI spatial change trend, and the geographic detector was used to analyze the influencing factors of the RSEI value change. The results showed that: (1) the average RSEI value of Huaibei City generally fluctuates within the range of good and excellent grades. (2) The migration direction of the barycenter of RSEI is similar when the level of RSEI improves or decreases from 2000 to 2020, and the barycenter migration is most severe from 2005 to 2015. (3) The driving factors of RSEI change were population density (0.47) > land use (0.24) > slope (0.14) > precipitation (0.08) > temperature (0.04) > altitude (0.03). All the factors had interaction effects on the RSEI, mainly with nonlinear enhancement. (4) From 2000 to 2010, urban construction encroached on all kinds of land, which was the direct reason for the decline in ecological environment quality. From 2010 to 2020, the surge of water and meadow areas improved the ecological environment quality of Huaibei city. Therefore, reducing the expansion of artificial land, returning farmland to forests and meadows, wetland park construction, and other ecological protection measures are the keys to ensuring the sustainable development of regional social and economic development. This study can provide a reference and scientific basis for sustainable development strategy and ecological protection planning to improve the ecological environment quality of Huaibei City.

Study on Stability Analysis of Soil-Rock-Mixture Slopes under Freeze-Thaw Erosion in Greater Khingan Mountains

Abstract Under the action of freeze-thaw erosion, slopes in permafrost regions frequently suffer from geological disasters. The unique properties of soil-rock-mixture slopes further complicate this freeze-thaw stability problem. To study the effects of freeze-thaw erosion on the stability of soil-rock-mixture slopes, several indoor tests were first carried out on the specimens collected from the target bare slope at the K105+750~K105+850 section of the Ali River to the Kubuchun Forest Farm along National Highway 332 in permafrost regions of Greater Khingan Mountains, and then, according to the test results, damage theory, strength reduction method, Python script, and ABAQUS numerical analysis software, the slippage and safety factor of the bare slope under freeze-thaw cycles were obtained, and finally, the damage degree of freeze-thaw erosion to the bare slope was quantified. To improve the stability of bare slope in the freeze-thaw environment, the composite ecological slope protection measures of arched skeleton + three-dimensional net + grass planting were finally selected, and its feasibility is verified with the help of on-site monitoring and numerical simulation; then, the long-term freeze-thaw stability of the slope after revetment was studied. Key findings indicated that (1) the threshold between soil and rock in the target slope was 5 mm, the soil-to-rock mass and volume ratios of the slope were 55.04% : 44.96% and 69.38% : 30.62%, respectively. (2) After the 150 freeze-thaw cycles, the peak strength and elastic modulus of the specimens decreased 59.7% and 79.50%, respectively. (3) Meanwhile, the freeze-thaw damage was 0.79. (4) The slope safety factor was inversely proportional to the number of freeze-thaw cycles. The target bare slope was unstable after 150 freeze-thaw cycles, and the safety stability reduction rate was 41%. (5) Compared with the bare slope, the shallow horizontal slip of the slope after revetment decreased from 1.528 m to 4.971 cm, and the slope safety factor increased from 0.997 to 4.501, which shows that the slope protection measures are initially feasible. In addition, the numerical analysis results are consistent with the field monitoring data, and the error between the two is ≤2.01%, which proves the rationality of the numerical model established in this paper and provides data support for subsequent research.

Spatiotemporal Evolution and Simulation Prediction of Ecosystem Service Function in the Western Sichuan Plateau Based on Land Use Changes

Being closely related to ecosystem services, land use changes can affect ecosystem service functions by acting on ecosystem patterns and its processes, thus having impact on regional sustainable development. Taking the Western Sichuan Plateau as the study area based on land use data from 1990 to 2020, the CA-Markov model was employed to predict the land use pattern under natural change scenarios, and the improved InVEST model and equivalent method were used to evaluate the ecosystem services in the study area from two different perspectives, as to analyze the evolution trend. The results show that: 1) From 1990 to 2020, the carbon storage in the Western Sichuan Plateau showed a fluctuating increase, with an average annual increase of 3.17 × 107 t, of which the total contribution rate of woodland and grassland to the total carbon storage exceeded 95%. In recent 30 years, the carbon storage of the Western Sichuan Plateau has little spatial variation, with the increase and decrease regions accounting for less than 5% with overall sporadically dots-like distribution. 2) Ecosystem Service Value (ESV) increased by 1.36 × 1010 yuan in the past 30 years, which was similar to carbon storage and showed a wave-like increase; the contribution rate of woodland to the total ESV of the study area was more than 68%, occupying the dominant position. ESV was generally stable in the past 30 years, and the area with significant changes accounted for less than 9%, mainly located in the northeast and southwest of the study area. 3) In the next 10 years, under the current ecological protection measures, the carbon storage and ESV of the Western Sichuan Plateau will increase by 5.3980 × 107 t and 2.4087 × 109 yuan compared with that of 2020, indicating a positive development of ecosystem service function. This study results provides a scientific basis for the adjustment of land use structure and the management decision of ecological environment protection in the Western Sichuan Plateau.

Vegetation dynamics in response to climate change and human activities in the Hulun Lake basin from 1981 to 2019

Monitoring long-term vegetation dynamics is essential for developing adaptation strategy to address the challenges to the ecosystem posed by climate change and human activities. This study analyzed spatio-temporal changes of normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) in the Hulun Lake Basin (HLB) from 1981 to 2019, and explored the relationship between climatic factors and NDVI datasets. Furthermore, the residual trend (RESTREND) method was used to distinguish between the impacts of changes in climate and human activities on vegetation dynamics. The results showed that NDVI of the basin initially increased to the 1990s, then decreased to the mid-2000s, and finally rebounded to 2019 owing to the periodic fluctuations in precipitation. There were 28.32% of the NDVI pixels significantly increasing and 13.85% of the pixels significantly decreasing. The increase proportion of vegetation coverage in forest, wetland and cultivated land was higher than other vegetation types. NDVI in the China Grass Zone (CGZ) significantly degraded by 20.39% compared with the Mongolia Grass Zone (MGZ) significantly degraded by 5.60%. NDVI was significantly correlated with precipitation and weakly correlated with temperature in the HLB, and precipitation was the principal factor influencing vegetation coverage. The results of RESTREND revealed that farmland reclamation, over-grazing, and open-pit mining led to greater browning of vegetation in the CGZ than in the MGZ. Meanwhile, the implementation of ecological protection and restoration projects have helped the greening of the vegetation in the CGZ (20.91%) compared with the MGZ (7.45%). China’s ecological restoration projects are important for Mongolia to reverse the trend of serious ecological degradation. Our results can provide scientific decision-making for the local government to formulate differentiated vegetation ecological protection and restoration measures.

Impacts of protected areas establishment on pastoralists’ livelihoods in the Three-River-Source Region on the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau

Proclaiming a protected area (PA) is an effective strategy for establishing a perdurable ecosystem, exerting trenchant socioeconomic impacts on local communities. Determining PAs’ effect on the household livelihoods of the residents is essential for harmonizing ecological protection measures and human livelihood development. Yet few studies concerning the socioeconomic effects of PAs on indigenous household livelihoods have been conducted in China’s protected areas. Therefore, household surveys were conducted in Three-River-Source Region (TRSR) to examine livelihood changes occurring before and after the establishment of the Three-River-Source National Park (TRSNP) and to limn the factors responsible for the changes of household livelihoods in the PA and the nearby non-protected area (NPA). Results showed that in TRSR, grazing activities were restricted in the PAs after the implementation of the TRSNP, yet the restrictions did not result in a significant decrease in grazing income. Subsidies from the PA were a large portion of total household income, partly resulting in higher total income in the PA than in the NPA. Once subsidies cease, household incomes in the PA may substantially decrease. The number of income sources increased in both the PA and NPA, but the PA stimulated households to find alternative income sources to secure livelihoods. The number of the labor force and livestock and the areas of farmland and grassland were the primary factors affecting total household income. Our results suggest that the policy of PAs’ establishment should be implemented continuing in TRSR to protect the environment. Prudent consideration and multifaceted guidance are still required to strengthen local livelihoods in TRSR. Balanced ecological and economic development is possible when appropriate management approaches such as franchising are adopted.

国家重点生态功能区县域环境空气质量时空变化分析

PDF HTML阅读 XML下载 导出引用 引用提醒 国家重点生态功能区县域环境空气质量时空变化分析 DOI: 10.5846/stxb202103300828 作者: 作者单位: 作者简介: 通讯作者: 中图分类号: 基金项目: 国家重点研发计划项目（2016YFC0500205）；国家自然科学基金项目（41571391） Spatiotemporal analysis of environmental air quality in counties of national key ecological function areas Author: Affiliation: Fund Project: 摘要 | 图/表 | 访问统计 | 参考文献 | 相似文献 | 引证文献 | 资源附件 | 文章评论 摘要:评估国家重点生态功能区县域空气质量改善状况，对落实国家生态文明建设与重点生态功能区转移支付制度具有现实意义。以国家重点生态功能区转移支付县域空气质量为评价对象，基于2015年至2019年的空气质量监测站点日均值数据，对环境空气质量状况和变化进行了评价分析。研究结果表明：国家重点生态功能区转移支付县域空气质量总体表现较好且仍在稳步提升，转移支付政策对2015-2019年国家重点功能区空气质量的改善有着明显的推动作用。优良天数比例超过90%的县域占比由2015年的33.77%提高到2019年的69.52%，水源涵养区的优良天数占比由2015年的72.71%提高到2019年的92.09%，空气质量改善效果最为显著。2015-2019年间，细颗粒物（PM2.5）污染占比明显下降，臭氧（O3）污染占比大幅上升，主要超标污染物由颗粒物逐渐转为颗粒物和臭氧。当前防风固沙区的主要超标污染物为可吸入颗粒物（PM10）和细颗粒物，其他三类生态功能区为细颗粒物和臭氧。重点生态功能区的空气质量存在着显著的空间差异，空气污染表现出显著的空间聚集特征。在四类国家重点生态功能区中，生物多样性区的空气质量最好，水源涵养区次之，水土保持区稍差，防风固沙区最差。国家重点生态功能区承担着保障国家生态安全的重要功能，今后仍需持续加强国家重点生态功能区空气质量监测力度，细化生态系统建设评估指标体系，为生态环境保护措施的有效实施和国家重点生态功能区生态环境建设的管理决策提供科学依据。 Abstract:Evaluation of the environmental air quality in counties of the national key ecological function areas is of practical significance to the implementation of the ecological civilization construction and transfer payment system for the national key ecological function areas. Took the air quality of transfer payment counties in the national key ecological function areas as the evaluation object, the status and changes of ambient air quality were evaluated and analyzed based on the daily average data of air quality monitoring stations from 2015 to 2019. The conclusion of the research indicated that the overall air quality of transfer payment counties in the national key ecological function areas was generally good and improving, transfer payment policy has a significant promoting effect on the improvement of air quality in the national key functional areas from 2015 to 2019. The proportion of counties with more than 90% good air quality days increased from 33.77% in 2015 to 69.52% in 2019, and the water conservation areas` proportion of excellent air quality days increased from 72.71% in 2015 to 92.09% in 2019, with the most significant improvement in air quality. Between 2015 and 2019, with the significantly decreased in proportion of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution, and increased in the proportion of ozone (O3) pollution, the main non-attainment pollutants were gradually changed from particulate matter to particulate matter and ozone. At present inhalable particles (PM10) and fine particulate matter were the main over standard pollutants in the sand fixation areas, and fine particulate matter and ozone were the other three types of the national key ecological function areas. There were significant spatial differences in air quality in the national key ecological function areas, and air pollution exhibited significant spatial aggregation characteristics. Among the four ecological function areas, the air quality of the biodiversity conservation areas was the best, followed by the water conservation areas, the water and soil conservation areas was slightly worse, and the sand fixation areas was the worst. The national key ecological function areas undertake the important function of guaranteeing national ecological safety. In the future, it is still necessary to continue to strengthen the air quality monitoring of the national key ecological function areas and refine the evaluation index system of ecosystem construction, so as to provide a scientific basis for the effective implementation of ecological environment protection measures and the management decision-making of ecological environment construction of the national key ecological functional areas. 参考文献 相似文献 引证文献

Analysis of Soil Pollution Remediation Technology and Soil Ecological Protection Measures

Analysis of Soil Pollution Remediation Technology and Soil Ecological Protection Measures

Landscape Evolution and It's Impact of Ecosystem Service Value of the Wuhan City, China.

Rapid urbanization and industrialization and enhanced ecological protection measures have greatly influenced landscape change, which has exacerbated regional landscape competition and conflicts and indirectly affected the supply of ecosystem services. Clarifying the relationship between ecosystem service change and landscape change is useful for understanding the impact of ecosystem conversion on socio-economic development and providing a knowledge base for relevant policy decisions. In this study, we used remote sensing technology to process Landsat TM/ETM+/OLI imageries, combined with transformation analysis and kernel density analysis to study the spatial and temporal characteristics of land use change in Wuhan City from 1980 to 2020. We also estimated the ESV in the region using the improved unit area value equivalent method to reveal the trends of ESV changes in Wuhan. The results showed that land use changes in Wuhan during 1980–2020 occurred mainly in terms of decreases in farmland, forestland, and bare land, as well as increases in built-up land and water bodies. The built-up land was mainly concentrated in the main urban areas, but its area in each suburban area has increased in recent years. In contrast, farmland was mainly distributed in suburban areas, and its area has been decreasing in recent years due to the impact of urban expansion. However, the reduction is compensated for by the reclamation of ecological land such as grassland and forestland, which has aggravated the loss of ecosystem service values in the study area. In addition, human activities such as urban expansion have increased the demand for water resources, while also leading to ecological problems such as water scarcity and water quality degradation, which have caused serious losses to key ecosystem services in Wuhan city. Therefore, in order to alleviate the competition and conflicts in the landscape and mitigate the loss of ecosystem service values in this area, we have proposed some constructive suggestions for future urban planning and water quality improvements in Wuhan. The focus of these suggestions is on controlling the expansion of built-up land, as well as the conservation of ecological land and resource protection. Meanwhile, our findings can also provide reference information for land resource planning and ecological monitoring, and help researchers to understand the contribution of ecosystem service functions in relation to socio-economic development.

How to achieve the ecological sustainability goal of UNESCO Global Geoparks? A multi-scenario simulation and ecological assessment approach using Dabieshan UGGp, China as a case study

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Global Geopark (UGGp) plays an important role in ecosystem services (ES) and geological diversity protection. However, the majority of the literature on UGGps focuses on geological heritage conservation, geological science and tourism development, little attention is paid to the simulation of land use change patterns in UGGps and the associated ES dynamics. In this study, we aim to explore whether the declaration and construction of the UGGp will contribute towards ecological sustainability. Since ES value (ESV) can directly reflect the sustaining status of ecosystems, it is both theoretically and practically important to examine changes in land use and ESV over time and space. By taking Dabieshan UGGp in China as an example, we first analyze the spatiotemporal evolutions of land use and ESV in Dabieshan during 2005–2018 before it was designated a UGGp. Then we use the future land use simulation model (FLUS) to predict the future landscape patterns and ESV in Dabieshan under three UGGp management scenarios, i.e., tourism development priority (TDP), core area protection (CAP) and strict ecological protection (SEP). The results show that: (1) high-intensity human activities negatively affect the provision of ES in Dabieshan UGGp, while ecological landscapes such as forest and water bodies have positive effects on ESV; (2) the ecological protection measures and regulations implemented by the local government during the declaration and construction of Dabieshan UGGp play an active role in preventing ecological landscapes from being occupied by construction land; and (3) under the TDP scenario that prioritizes tourism and economic development, ESV continues to fall as construction land expands during 2018–2031. Under the CAP scenario, the total ESV is lower than that in 2018, but the ESV in most core areas increases, which meets both economic development and ecological protection needs. In contrast, the ESV is constantly improving under the SEP scenario that maximizes ecological benefits. Therefore, it is crucial for UGGps to strike a balance between economic development and ecosystem protection. These findings shed new light on the impacts of UGGps' declaration and construction on ecosystems and provide valuable information for spatial planning and sustainable management of UGGps.

Relationship between net primary productivity and soil water content in the Shule River Basin

Soil water content (SWC) is the basic condition for the survival of terrestrial vegetation. Net primary productivity (NPP) directly reflects the status of vegetation growth. Therefore, studying the coupling relationship between NPP and SWC in the arid region of Northwest China is of great significance for vegetation restoration and the protection of fragile ecosystems. Based on remote sensing and SWC measured data, the CASA model and statistical downscaling methods were used to calculate the NPP and SWC, analyze the spatial and temporal evolution of them, and to explore their coupling relationship in the Shule River Basin (SRB) in China. Our results indicate that (1) an upward trend in NPP and SWC during the summers of 2001–2015. (2)The NPP and SWC were mainly positively correlated. There was a lag effect in the response of vegetation NPP to SWC in most areas of the basin. However, NPP had a greater impact on SWC in desert areas than in other regions. (3) Based on changes to SWC, two scenarios analyses of NPP were conducted to reveal how NPP responded to SWC. In scenario 1 (the SWC change only), as SWC increases, NPP gradually increases. Scenario 2 (increase of 1 °C temperature and 2% precipitation), compared with scenario 1, as SWC increases, the increase in NPP decreases. Based on the results, in scenario 2, the beneficial effect of SWC on vegetation growth was weakened. Thus, under future climate change, only by timely supplementing SWC can we better promote the growth of NPP, improve vegetation productivity, and effectively restore and protect the ecological environment of SRB. This study deepens our understanding of the coupling relationship between the ecological environment and water resources of the SRB and provides a scientific basis for formulating rational allocation of water resources and ecological environment restoration and protection measures in the arid regions of China.

Research on Ecological Protection and Restoration Measures in Altay Region based on the Coupling Perspective of the Mountains-Rivers-Forests-Farmlands-Lakes-Grasslands System

The adoption of both Nature-based Solutions (NbS) and a system perspective is a hot issue and an area in which there is much room for improvement in ecological protection and restoration. The study takes Altay region as an example, an area located in Xinjiang, China, which is an important ecological corridor of the national key functional area and the core area of the Belt and Road but has a fragile ecological environment and needs much enhancement in ecological protection and restoration. Guided by the concept of “mountains-rivers-forests-farmlands-lakes-grasslands (MRFFLG) system is a life community”, the coupling relationship of the various MRFFLG elements, the main ecological environmental problems and the integrated countermeasures for protection and restoration in Altay region have been analyzed in this study. The study shows that Altay region has a typical meta-ecosystem of mountain, oasis, and desert, and the connections by rivers and lakes make the ecosystem links within the region much closer. The interweaving of resource-environmental-ecological issues of the aquatic ecosystem, degradation of the quality of terrestrial ecosystems such as forests, grasslands and farmlands, the increased ecosystem fragmentation and ecological risks are the major ecological environmental issues in this region. This study takes the improvement of the ecosystem health and function in Altay region as the core goal of regional ecological protection and restoration. First, we establish a zoning governance pattern from the perspective of ecosystem integrity; second, we design governance strategies for different zones with the goal of synergistic improvements in the ecosystem functions; and finally, we clarify the key engineering tasks in different zones from the perspective of ecosystem services. Ecological conservation and restoration of the MRFFLG system is a prime example of the application and development of NbS in China. This paper constructs an analytical framework for identifying regional life communities, diagnosing ecological protection and restoration of zoning problems, and proposing classified solutions for ecological protection tasks for the protection of the MRFFLG system. This research will enrich the theory and technology for the protection and restoration of MRFFLG systems, and provide guidance for the practice of ecological protection and restoration in Altay region.

A novel Landsat-based automated mapping of marsh wetland in the headwaters of the Brahmaputra, Ganges and Indus Rivers, southwestern Tibetan Plateau

Wetlands not only affect the local hydrology and ecosystems, but also regulate the conditions of human-environment. However, the availability of accurate wetland data remains a key challenge in wetland research. This study attempts to address this problem through a novel mapping framework that is based on the Google Earth Engine (GEE), feature optimization, and the random forest (RF) model (GFORF). This framework was built to map high-accuracy wetland data on the headwaters of the Brahmaputra, Ganges, and Indus rivers (HBGIR) in the western Tibetan Plateau (TP). Four time periods were examined: 1990, 2000, 2010, and 2017. Our results showed that the overall accuracy for the acquired wetland data was 82.73%, 83.16%, 82.47%, and 88.14% in 1990, 2000, 2010, and 2017, respectively. Furthermore, the feature optimization results showed that the spectral indices feature was the main contributor to the accuracy of wetland mapping, with the highest value being 26.9%. The seasonal factors, surface reflectance, auxiliary data, and texture contributed 21.8%, 21.6%, 21.5%, and 8.1%, respectively. Combining the seasonal features and auxiliary data of distances to rivers significantly improved the mapping accuracy of the wetlands by approximately 14%, 24%, 11%, and 10% in 1990, 2000, 2010, and 2017, respectively. In addition, our analysis showed that the wetland areas in the HBGIR amounted to 5177.39 km2, accounting for 5.82% of the total area. Over the 30-year observation period, the overall consolidation of the wetlands was characterized by a slight expansionary phase, with an average increase of 0.16% per year from 1990 to 2017. As a result of the improvement in the accuracy of wetland mapping in alpine areas, the change dynamics of wetlands was revealed, which provides justification for implementing ongoing wetland ecological services and protection measures.

SSD Model Selection Method Based on Machine Learning Algorithm

The chemical pollutants produced by human activities often lead to the risk of ecological species diversity destruction by affecting the physiological activities of organisms in nature. Ecological risk assessment (ERA) can be used to evaluate the degree of adverse effects of external factors on the ecological environment, provide the basis for taking effective ecological protection measures and formulating reasonable environmental policies, and also an important means to understand the possible adverse effects of ecological health and pollutants on the ecological environment. The species sensitivity distribution (SSD) method is a widely used evaluation method, and its core step is to select the appropriate species toxicity data for curve fitting. In this paper, the basic concept of ecological risk assessment is briefly introduced, and the basic principle and implementation steps of species sensitivity distribution method are described in detail. Aiming at the problem of SSD model selection in water environment, machine learning algorithm is introduced, and corresponding neural network is constructed. Taking the root mean square (RMSE) and sum of squared error (SSE) were as the index, the optimal SSD model suitable for water environment is determined, The SSD model selection method based on machine learning algorithm is obtained. At last, the application of machine learning algorithm in SSD model selection is prospected, and the shortcomings of the existing research and the future research direction are pointed out.