Levels Of Supply Research Articles

Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Water Ecological Restoration Based on the Relationship between the Supply and Demand of Ecological Products—A Case Study of the Yellow River Delta

The imbalance between the supply and demand of ecological products between society and ecosystems is an important cause of a series of water ecological problems, and water ecological restoration projects aim to improve the above supply–demand relationship by means of inputs from the social side. For this reason, this paper takes the Yellow River Delta region as an example to launch a study on the assessment of the effectiveness of water ecological restoration projects from the perspective of the supply and demand of ecological products. Specifically, the level of the supply and demand of ecological products, as well as the relationship between the supply and the demand in the studied area, were measured using the equivalent factor approach and the water footprint approach, and the effects of the Yellow River Delta hydro-ecological restoration project were assessed by integrating the following four metrics: land use, supply of ecological products (ecosystem services), demand for ecological products, and the relationship between the supply of and demand for ecological products. The results of this study show that although the hydro-ecological restoration project continues to replenish water resources in the Yellow River Delta region, and promotes the level of ecological product supply in the study area through the restoration of wetlands and water, the growing and excessive demand for ecological products in the study area still puts the local ecosystems at risk of degradation. In the future, the Yellow River Delta region should continue to control the scale of land for production and living on the supply side of ecological products and increase its investment in water ecological restoration, while establishing a highly efficient mode of ecological product development and utilization and a reasonable mechanism for the payment of ecological products on the demand side. In addition, the Yellow River Delta region needs to pay attention to the impacts of rising sea levels and other climatic problems on ecological restoration.

Heat Stress Recovery of Chlorophyll Fluorescence in Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) Leaves through Nitrogen Levels

To study the impact of nitrogen application on the photosynthetic structure and photosystem activity of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) leaves during the recovery stage after heat stress, the OJIP curve and JIP parameters were determined through a control experiment in an artificial climate chamber. The tomato variety was “Jinfen No. 1”. Four day/night temperature levels (25 °C/15 °C as control CKT; 30 °C/20 °C, lightly high-temperature LHT; 35 °C/25 °C, moderate high-temperature MHT; 40 °C/30 °C, severe high-temperature SHT) were set for a duration of 7 days. Five nitrogen supply levels (N1–N5: 0, 1.3, 1.95, 2.6 and 3.75 g/plant, respectively; 2.6 g/plant is the recommended nitrogen application rate, CKTN4) were applied. The results showed that the O, K, J, I and P phases on the chlorophyll a fluorescence curve were significantly affected by different nitrogen treatments in heat stress recovery. Compared with CKT, with the increase in nitrogen supply, the fluorescence intensity of SHTN2-SHTN5 treatment increased significantly at P, I and J phases, while that of MHTN1-MHTN4 treatment decreased. The fluorescence intensity of SHTN5 and SHTN3 increased by 13.27% and 10.10% in the P phase, 13.52% and 12.1% in the I phase and 20.16% and 26.18% in the J phase, respectively. There were highly significant differences (p < 0.01) in the impact of high temperatures and nitrogen levels on the fluorescence parameters. On the 1st day after short-term heat stress, N had no significant effect on Fv/FM, Fv, Fo and FM; however, their interaction was significant (p < 0.05). On the 8th day, there were no significant interaction effects between HT and N for Fv/Fo, ABS/RC and DIo/RC. Fv/Fo proved to be sensitive to the application of both high temperatures and nitrogen. Under all five nitrogen applications, temperature played a significant role in increasing DIo/RC, especially for N2 and N3. The results indicated that decreasing the nitrogen application under SHT resulted in a higher number of active RCs and an increased value of specific energy flux (ABS/RC, TRo/RC and DIo/RC), indicating the enhanced ability of RC to reduce plastoquinone. The study provides a reference for the diagnosis of nitrogen nutrition under high-temperature stress using chlorophyll fluorescence methods.

Independensi Kebijakan Moneter dalam Jangka Pendek: Kasus Indonesia

Using Capital Flow Model and Central Bank Reaction Function for the case of Indonesia before the current crisis, this paper found that during Indonesia implemented fixed exchange rate regime the monetary policy which was done by Bank of Indonesia has lost its independence. The regression results using Two Stage Least Square method show that the monetary policy during the period before the current crisis in Indonesia was very influenced by the behavior of private capital flows. To neutralize the liquidity effects of private capital inflows as a response to deregulation packages in financial and banking sector in the late of 1980s, Bank of Indonesia has actively implemented the sterilization policies. The regression results of the Central Bank Reaction Function indicate that Bank of Indonesia could not completely sterilize the liquidity effects of private capital inflows. This situation made the monetary policy undertaken by Bank of Indonesia lost its power to stabilize inflation in the economy. The phenomenon of high inflation which followed high economic growth (overheating economy) during the period before the current crisis has significantly reduced the index of competitiveness of Indonesian goods and services in the world market. This is one of the main factors that caused slower Indonesian export growth just before the crisis began in the mid of 1997. This situation made the level of supply of foreign exchange in domestic market dropped significantly, while on the other side the demand level increased as many big corporate businesses and government institutions needed foreign exchange to repay their foreign debt. Rupiah become unstable and public expectation for further devaluation widened. This was the beginning of the current crisis that until now put Indonesia into the deep trouble. Therefore, the most important contribution of this paper is its investigation to the linkage between deregulation and the current crisis. This paper recommends that one of the main factors that generate the Indonesian current crisis has showed up far before the crisis began. It was started when the monetary policy lost its power to stabilize inflation that was caused by behavior of private capital inflows as a response to the wrong sequence of deregulation policies in Indonesia.

How to Diagnose Potassium Abundance and Deficiency in Tomato Leaves at the Early Cultivation Stage

Potassium is one of the indispensable nutrient elements for plant growth, fruit development, and yield. The research and application of potassium nutrition diagnosis technology is the premise of scientific potassium management. However, potassium deficiency in tomato leaves, from vegetative to reproductive growth, is not easy to diagnose. To alleviate this problem, this paper proposes a suitable method of supplying potassium to tomatoes via a nutrient solution and diagnosing potassium abundance and deficiency through diagnosis methods based on ecological morphology, biological accumulation, and the photosynthetic characteristics of tomato plants. The relationship between the ecological morphology and biomass accumulation of tomatoes cultivated in the nutrient solution with potassium supply levels of 1, 4, 8, and 16 mmol/L is also discussed, and the potassium supply in the nutrient solution was studied 21 days after transplanting. The results showed that there was a significant quadratic correlation between the potassium supply in the nutrient solution and plant height and biomass accumulation, respectively. The most suitable level of potassium supply via the nutrient solution was deemed to be 10~13 mmol/L. However, if irreversible damage or severe stress to tomato plants has occurred because of potassium deficiency, there will be serious differences in the growth status of plants, and the diagnosis results will deviate greatly. In addition, the photosynthetic induction characteristics responding to the dark–light conversion of tomato leaves with potassium contents of 0.9%, 2.1%, 3.1%, and 3.3% cultivated with potassium supply amounts of 1, 4, 8, and 16 mmol/L in the nutrient solution were investigated. The results showed that tomato leaves with potassium contents of 3.1% and 3.3% had a more rapid response to dark–light conversion and higher first-order derivatives of net photosynthetic rate compared to those with potassium contents of 0.9% and 2.1%, but the first-order derivative of intercellular CO2 concentration showed an opposite trend. Additionally, a quadratic correlation between leaf potassium content and CO2 assimilation during 5 min of photosynthetic induction was established (R2 > 0.99). According to this correlation, the suitable leaf potassium content was estimated to be 2.3~2.7%, similar to that of tomatoes cultured in the nutrient solution with a 4~8 mmol/L potassium supply. Therefore, this method can realize the rapid, non-destructive, and real-time detection of potassium content in tomato leaves based on a portable photosynthetic measurement system by establishing the relationship between leaf potassium content and net CO2 assimilation during the photosynthetic induction period, therefore helping to avoid the irreversible damage caused by potassium deficiency at the later stages of plant cultivation and providing technical support for the precise fertilization of potassium in actual cultivation.

Effects of low nitrogen on seedling growth, photosynthetic characteristics and antioxidant system of rice varieties with different nitrogen efficiencies.

Nitrogen plays a significant role in influencing various physiological processes in plants, thereby impacting their ability to withstand abiotic stresses. This study used hydroponics to compare the effects of three nitrogen supply levels (1N, 1/2N and 1/4N) on the antioxidant capacity of rice varieties JJ88 (nitrogen efficient) and XN999 (nitrogen inefficient) with different nitrogen use efficiencies. The results show that compared with the XN999 variety, the JJ88 variety has stronger adaptability to low-nitrogen conditions, which is mainly reflected in the relatively small decrease in dry weight and net photosynthetic rate (Pn); In the early stage of low-nitrogen treatment (0-7d), the [Formula: see text] production rate, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and malondialdehyde (MDA) content of JJ88 variety increased relatively slightly, but the superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxide The activity of enzyme (POD) and catalase (CAT) increased significantly; After low-nitrogen treatment, the ASA-GSH cycle enzyme activity of JJ88 variety was relatively high, and the dehydroascorbate reductase (DHAR) activity after 14days of low-nitrogen treatment was higher than that of 1N treatment; The content of reduced ascorbic acid (ASA) in non-enzymatic antioxidants was lower than that of 1N treatment after 14days of low nitrogen treatment; The contents of oxidized dehydroascorbic acid (DHA) and carotenoids (Car) were higher than those of 1N treatment after 21d and 14d of low nitrogen treatment respectively; The contents of reduced glutathione (GSH), oxidized glutathione (GSSG) and proline (Pro) showed a larger upward trend during the entire low-nitrogen treatment period. In summary, the JJ88 rice variety has a strong ability to regulate oxidative stress and osmotic damage under low nitrogen conditions. It can slow down plant damage by regulating antioxidant enzyme activity and antioxidant content. This provides a basis for achieving nitrogen reduction and efficiency improvement in rice and the breeding of nitrogen-efficient varieties.

Engineering Graduates' Skill Acquisition and Employers Skill Need as applied to Science Education in Ethiopia

Demand for relevant skills and competences have increased with changing science and technology, globalization, and the intensity and complexity of the business environment across the world. This study investigated levels of engineering graduate skill acquisition and employers' skill needs as applied to science education. Using a mixed-methods approach, the study employed both primary and secondary sources of data. The study involved 275 participants recruited using simple random and purposive sampling techniques. Data were analyzed using the mean, standard deviation, and one-way ANOVA. The study found a wider mismatch between levels of higher education supply and labor market needs for indicators of academic, technical, interpersonal, and generic skills. While higher education moderately equipped engineering graduates with the majority of indicators of these skill sets, labor market needs for the same skills remain high. The mismatches between the demand and supply of skills have several implications, it compromises firms' productivity, result in market losses, hamper economic growth, competitiveness, and innovative capacity at the macro-economic level, decrease quality human capital by discouraging investment in education and training, and challenge graduates in finding jobs suitable for their field of study. These require universities and employers to conduct real labor market skills' needs assessments before designing training curriculum; shifting curriculum delivery from theory-focused to practical-oriented modes of teaching and ensuring learners' acquisition of skills demanded by employers; and establishing strong and sustainable linkages between industries and training institutes. It is also good if future research focuses on skills employees acquire at work through experience and factors attributed to mismatches between higher education skill supply and employers' skill needs.

Peculiarities of soybean-rhizobial systems subject to different levels of water supply fol-lowing treatment with succinic acid and epibrassinolide

All around the world, one of the leading – according to area of cultivated fields – oleic crops is soybean, which has a high demand for moisture. Given the significance of this crop and negative impact of drought on its yield, integrated research of the influence of insufficient water supply on the intensity of physiological-biochemical processes in those plants is necessary for identifying and understanding the drought-tolerance mechanisms of soybean, as well as symbiotic systems created with its participation, and also for search for ways to adapt it to this stressor. Therefore, our objective was determining the specifics of formation and functioning of the symbiotic systems of soybean and Bradyrhizobium japonicum, following treatment with succinic acid (0.01 g/L) and 24-epibrassinolide (0.00001 g/L), subject to different levels of watering. Our studies revealed that pre-sowing treatment of the seeds with a solution of 24-epibrassinolide with their subsequent inoculation with B. japonicum Т21-2 resulted in the most pronounced stimulation of formation and functioning of the symbiotic systems of soybean in the optimal growing conditions. At the same time, during water shortage, the intensity of nitrogen fixation was the highest in the plants grown from seeds that had been successively treated with the acid and the inoculant. We confirmed that water deficit led to significant increase in the overall content of phytohormones of cytokinin nature in the soybean root nodules, depending on the way the seeds were treated. However, the largest pool of cytokinins was seen in the plants that had been treated with succinic acid against the background of both optimal and insufficient water supply. Treatment of the seeds with 24-epibrassinolide caused significant excess of content of zeatin riboside over the content of zeatin during the flowering stage, whereas in the stage of pods formation it led to an opposite effect – excess of zeatin over zeatin riboside. Fourteen days-long water deficit decreased the content of chlorophylls in the leaves and grain productivity of the plants of all variants of the experiment. The use of growth regulators managed to alleviate the negative impact of stress and protect the pigment complex from ruination. Treatment of the seeds with solutions of succinic acid and 24-epibrassinolide provided the growth of soybean grain productivity regardless on water-supply level. The most efficient was 24-epibrassinolide. Therefore, use of 24-epibrassinolide for pre-sowing treatment of the soybean seeds provided formation of effective symbiotic systems with high nitrogen-fixing activity and caused a number of specific changes in the pattern of accumulation of free and complex forms of cytokinins in the root nodules of those plants. At the same time, the treatment provided the highest concentration of photosynthesis pigments in the soybean leaves, and as a result produced the greatest increase in grain productivity of plants of all the variants, regardless of levels of water supply. In turn, use of succinic acid produced the highest level of nitrogen-fixing activity in the case of the lowest number of root nodules in the conditions of insufficient water supply, and also caused significant accumulation of cytokinins in the nodules, compared with other studied variants against the background of both optimal and insufficient water supply. Therefore, it did result in increase in soybean grain productivity, but this was lower than in the plants treated with 24-epibrassinolide.

Prenatal folic acid and vitamin B12 imbalance alter neuronal morphology and synaptic density in the mouse neocortex

Previous reports have provided evidence that insufficient or excessive maternal folic acid (FA) intake during pregnancy can alter neurodevelopment of the offspring by modulating prenatal neurogenesis. Furthermore, our earlier work in a mouse model confirmed long-term structural changes at the cellular level of either deficient or excessive FA supply by comparably reducing dendritic arborization of cortical projection neurons. Here, we report that excessive amounts of FA decrease arborization of deep layer projection neurons, but not upper layer neurons and that reduced complexity of deep layer neurons is not observed when folic acid is replaced by folinic acid, a stable reduced form of folate. In addition, deficiency of B12, a vitamin that critically regulates folate metabolism, causes even more marked decreases in neuronal arborization in both deep and upper layer neurons and particularly in combination with FA excess. Furthermore, both FA excess and B12 deficiency affect synaptic density and morphology. Our findings point to neurodevelopmental risks associated with insufficient amounts of prenatal B12, particularly in association with high levels of FA intake, suggesting that the neurodevelopmental program is sensitive to an imbalance in the status of these interacting micronutrients.

δ13C of bulk organic matter and cellulose reveal post-photosynthetic fractionation during ontogeny in C4 grass leaves.

The 13C isotope composition (δ13C) of leaf dry matter is a useful tool for physiological and ecological studies. However, how post-photosynthetic fractionation associated with respiration and carbon export influences δ13C remains uncertain. We investigated the effects of post-photosynthetic fractionation on δ13C of mature leaves of Cleistogenes squarrosa, a perennial C4 grass, in controlled experiments with different levels of vapour pressure deficit and nitrogen supply. With increasing leaf age class, the 12C/13C fractionation of leaf organic matter relative to the δ13C of atmosphere CO2 (ΔDM) increased while that of cellulose (Δcel) was almost constant. The divergence between ΔDM and Δcel increased with leaf age class, with a maximum value of 1.6‰, indicating the accumulation of post-photosynthetic fractionation. Applying a new mass balance model that accounts for respiration and export of photosynthates, we found an apparent 12C/13C fractionation associated with carbon export of -0.5‰ to -1.0‰. Different ΔDM among leaves, pseudostems, daughter tillers, and roots indicate that post-photosynthetic fractionation happens at the whole-plant level. Compared with ΔDM of old leaves, ΔDM of young leaves and Δcel are more reliable proxies for predicting physiological parameters due to the lower sensitivity to post-photosynthetic fractionation and the similar sensitivity in responses to environmental changes.

Effect of some irrigation systems on water stress levels of Washington navel orange trees

BackgroundThis experimental study was conducted during two successive seasons 2021–2022 on 10-year-old Washington navel orange trees (Citrus sinensis) budded on sour orange rootstock (Citrus aurantium) under sandy loamy soil conditions in Belbeis district, Sharkia Governorate, Egypt. This experimental study was conducted to compare some irrigation systems with different water stress levels on Washington navel trees and to determine the best system in terms of irrigation water use efficiency using different irrigation systems (drip and micro-sprinklers) under different levels of water supply (100, 80, and 60% of ETc, i.e., the estimated water requirements of crops).ResultsThe included data demonstrated that irrigation water amounts can be reduced by 20% for Washington navel trees, while maintaining production, with the possibility of increasing by using micro-sprinkler irrigation systems. In summary, water use efficiency increased with micro-sprinkler irrigation systems under ETc 80%, which resulted in 2.57 and 2.67 kg of fruit per cubic meter of irrigation water in the first and second seasons, respectively.ConclusionThe results of the present study showed that using ETc 80% combined with micro-sprinklers irrigation system had a high economic return through increasing total yield, water use efficiency, and water unit return (WUR) which reached to 10.26 EGP/one cubic meter of irrigation water and using less water irrigation amount by 20% at the same time. Thus, we recommend applying the treatment of ETc 80% combined with micro-sprinklers irrigation system to Washington navel orange trees budded on sour orange rootstock to gain a high economic return.

The Application of Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium Regulate the Growth and Morphological Development of Torreya grandis (Taxaceae) Saplings

Torreya grandis Fort. ex Lindl. cv. “Merrillii” is an important woody oil crop, and the development of plantations relies on the cultivation of high-quality saplings. For this study, 6-year-old grafted T. grandis saplings, which will soon be planted on the mountain, were selected to investigate the regulatory effects of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) on their growth and morphology. To determine the optimal dosage and ratio of N–P–K fertilizer for sapling cultivation, we employed a three-factor four-level L16 (43) orthogonal experiment design. The experiment included a total of 17 treatments—a control group where no fertilizer was applied and 16 treatments with varying levels of NPK supply. We conducted a one-season experiment under a prescribed fertilizer regime and measured root collar diameters and sapling heights, the root, shoot, leaf biomass, total biomass, and the nutritional status of plant organs (root, shoot, leaf). From these measurements, we calculated the root–shoot ratio (RS) and seedling quality index (QI). The application of N–P–K fertilizer exhibited significant benefits for T. grandis sapling cultivation, promoted their growth and biomass accumulation and altered the nutrient allocation patterns in organs. Ultimately, we determined the ideal N–P–K ratio for T. grandis growth to be 1:0.46:0.75, with a fertilizer application of 1.38 g·sapling−1 of N, 0.64 g·sapling−1 of P (P2O5), and 1.04 g·sapling−1 of K (K2O).

Evaluation of cultural ecosystem services in mountain-type scenic areas: an importance-performance analysis of the Road of Tang Poetry in Eastern Zhejiang, China

ABSTRACT The Road of Tang Poetry in Eastern Zhejiang is a cultural route where nature and culture harmoniously intertwine. Mountain-type scenic areas play a vital role in providing core cultural ecosystem services (CES). To investigate the significance and distribution of landscape resources along the Poetry Road, a preliminary study was conducted in the densely concentrated areas of Shaoxing, Taizhou, and Ningbo. From these regions, six representative mountain-type scenic areas were selected for the research: Kuaiji Mountain, Qinwang Mountain, Wanwei Mountain, Tianmu Mountain, Tiantai Mountain, and Xuedou Mountain. Based on their designation status, these areas were categorized into national and non-national scenic areas. The research employed a combination of online and offline questionnaires, as well as semi-structured interviews. An importance-performance analysis (IPA) was introduced, and SPSS software was utilized to conduct U-tests on the statistical results. This analysis aimed to compare the differences in importance and performance of CES among the various mountain-type scenic areas. Furthermore, an overall evaluation of CES for the mountain-type scenic area was carried out using an optimization demand zoning approach, involving categories such as “Keeping up the good job”, “Concentrate here”, “Possible overkill”, and “Low priority”. Additionally, a comparative analysis was conducted between the two types of mountain-type scenic areas, considering aspects like aesthetic value, leisure tourism, cultural diversity, and nature education. The findings indicate that the overall importance of the core CES provided by mountain-type scenic areas significantly exceeds the performance score, implying that public expectations for these sites surpass the actual experience. Notably, the distinction between the two types of mountain-type scenic areas, national and non-national, lies primarily in their performance. Among the evaluation subcomponents, respondents’ perceptions are notably influenced by natural resource advantages, architectural style, recreation offerings, site iconicity, and historical heritage and preservation. The abundance of cultural activities emerges as a crucial factor contributing to the substantial performance disparity between the two types of scenic areas, underscoring the significant impact of cultural heritage on the development imbalance in mountain-type region. Furthermore, cultural heritage plays a pivotal role in promoting the establishment and enhancing the competitiveness and identity of mountain-type scenic areas. Consequently, prioritizing the protection and utilization of non-national mountain-type scenic areas cultural heritage can effectively elevate the level of CES supply and meet the demand in mountain-type scenic areas. The IPA has promoted the CES performance of mountain-type scenic areas to be closer to its importance, thereby fostering a more balanced CES of the Road of Tang Poetry in Eastern Zhejiang.

District heating potential in the EU-27: Evaluating the impacts of heat demand reduction and market share growth

This paper presents a novel approach to modeling the gradual reduction in heat demand and the evolving expansion of district heating (DH) grids for assessing the DH potential in EU member states (MS). It introduces new methodological elements for modeling the impact of connection rates below 100% on heat distribution costs in both dense and sparse areas. The projected heat demand in 2050 is derived from a decarbonization scenario published by the EU, which would lead to a reduction in demand from 3128 TWh in 2020 to 1709 TWh by 2050. The proposed approach yields information on economic DH areas, DH potential, and average heat distribution costs. The results confirm the need to expand DH grids to maintain supply levels in view of decreasing heat demand. The proportion of DH potential from the total demand in the EU-27 rises from 15% in 2020 to 31% in 2050. The analysis of DH areas shows that 39% of the DH potential is in areas with heat distribution costs above 35 EUR/MWh, but most MS have average heat distribution costs between 28 and 32 EUR/MWh. The study reveals that over 40% of the EU's heat demand is in regions with high potential for implementing DH.

Trade-offs and synergies relationships of ecosystem services and their socio-ecological driving factors under different spatial scales in Shaoguan City, Guangdong, China.

Ecosystem services refer to the benefits that human obtain from natural ecosystems. Different ecosystem services are generated by the combination of social-ecological driving factors, and exhibit different spatial patterns across scales. The complex relationships and driving mechanisms among ecosystem services under different spatial scales remain unclear. With Shaoguan City from Guangdong Province as the study area, we analyzed the spatial patterns and relationships of four ecosystem services and their trade-offs/synergies (TOSs), quantified their responses to seven social-ecological drivers at the kilometer grid scale and sub-watershed scale, and proposed regional ecologi-cal management and planning strategies for cross-scale sustainable development. The results showed that the spatial distribution of ecosystem services in Shaoguan City exhibited spatial clustering and cross-scale variations. Habitat quality, water yield, and carbon storage exhibited similar spatial distribution pattern. High supply was mainly distributed in mountainous areas in the east, north, west, and south, while weak supply was distributed in plain areas in the central, northwest, south and northeast. In addition, the spatial clustering of these services intensified with increasing spatial scale. Ecosystem services displayed synergistic relationships at both spatial scales, and the intensity of the synergy changed with scale. At both the kilometer grid and sub-watershed scale, the primary drivers for ecosystem services were the normalized vegetation index and digital elevation model. The main driver for TOSs was the mean annual temperature at the kilometer grid scale, while it was the mean annual evapotranspiration at the sub-watershed scale. Based on the supply levels of ecosystem services, the study area could be divided into five distinct ecosystem service bundles, i.e., mountain ecological balance zone, forest ecological conservation zone, urban forest maintenance zone, ecologically sensitive zone, and ecological risk zone. All bundles exhibited both spatial heterogeneity and cross-scale variations. We integrated the cross-scale variations of four representative ecosystem services and their complex interactions and driving mechanisms in Shaoguan City into spatial planning to facilitate the sustainable ecosystem management across multiple scales, which could offer valuable references for the construction of ecological civilization in other regions.

Changes in crop rotation productivity and stability of agrocenoses with prolonged use of fertilizers

The article considers the results of many years of field experiment (1968-2018) conducted in the Central part of the Non-Chernozem zone of Russia (Vladimir region). The research was carried out during eleven rotations of the four-field grain crop rotation. The study shows the effect of use of organic and mineral fertilizers applied in various doses and combinations on crop rotation yield, fertility of sod-podzolic sandy loam soil. It was found that the organomineral fertilizer system (manure 10 t/ha + N50P25K60) provided stable crop rotation productivity (on average for eleven rotations) at the level of 39.9 c. e./ha, or 79.7 % higher than the control without fertilizers. The mineral fertilizer system at medium doses of fertilizers (N50P25K60) was at the level of the organomineral system. The organic system was inferior in efficiency to the mineral system, both at medium doses (manure 10 t/ha) and at elevated doses (manure 20 t/ha). At the same time, the long-term use of organic fertilizers provided an increase in the humus content, depending on the dose of litter manure, by 16-36 % compared to the initial values. The use of organic fertilizers led to the stabilization of the content of available forms of potassium in the soil at an average and elevated level, respectively. Stabilization of the content of mobile phosphorus in the soil at the level of average supply was noted in mineral, organomineral and organic fertilizer systems, respectively, with low and medium doses. When using increased doses of fertilizers, there is a further increase in the content of nutrients in the soil. Growing crops in crop rotation without the use of organic and mineral fertilizers gradually led to a decrease in yield. The use of fertilizers provided greater stability of crop yields over the years of the study compared to the variant without fertilizers. The soil in the variants with organic (manure 20 t/ha) and organomineral (manure 10 t/ha + N50P25K60) fertilizer systems was characterized by high values of the main physiological groups of microorganisms. The ratio of the number of amylolytic and proteolytic microorganisms was 1.1-1.2, that indicated a balance in the processes of mineralization of organic matter in the soil and its humification.

Multimode variable resource-constrained time/cost trade-off problem in repetitive projects with adjustment strategy

Resource availability is the crucial factor of construction project scheduling decision, as it impacts the time and cost of the project. However, traditional researches assume that resource availability is fixed, which does not reflect the actual situation. This article proposes a model for addressing the multimode variable resource-constrained time/cost trade-off problem (Mvrc-DTCTP) in repetitive projects. To better capture the characteristics of repetitive projects, an adjustment strategy is designed to mitigate the impact of work continuity interruptions on idle time. Through simulation analysis, it was found that increasing resource supply can reduce project duration, but it is not directly proportional to cost. This phenomenon further increases the uncertainty in the relationship between duration and cost, inevitably affecting managers’ ability to develop effective scheduling plans. By employing the Mvrc-DTCTP model, project managers can obtain more and better solutions than traditional methods, with shorter duration, and lower total cost. The proposed adjustment strategy results in a 54% reduction in idle time, a $4000 cost reduction and more feasible solutions. Based on calculations for 30 randomly generated cases, the adjustment strategy achieves optimization rates ranging from 24.43% to 84.24%. The adjustment strategy demonstrates the best optimization effect when the resource supply level is moderate.

Performance of Vegetable Based Cropping Sequence under INM in Protected Conditions

The field experiment was conducted in a naturally ventilated arched saw teeth polyhouse department of vegetable science, faculty of horticulture, BCKV, Kolkata, West Bengal. Vegetable crops were produced in appropriate cropping rotations under integrated nutrient management with acceptable cultural methods in the current study. Four different cropping sequences and five various levels of nutrition supplies were used in the experiment. With four replications, the experiment was set up in a Split plot design. Plant height [at first harvesting], number of leaves, number of primary branches, days required for first harvesting, fruit yield per plant and yield per square metre of component crops did not show any significant variation over the two-year cropping cycle, but observed a gradual improvement in consecutive years of cropping. All growth and reproductive characters of component crops in the cropping sequence differed statistically from the first to the second year cropping under the influence of different levels of combined nutrient management, with the highest values for these characters obtained under L1 (100 percent Recommended dose of fertilizer (R.D.) through inorganic source), but results are statistically comparable to L2 (application of 50 percent R.D. of NPK + Vermicompost) and L3 (application of 50 percent R.D of NPK + FYM). However, there was no substantial variation in growth and yield parameters when cropping sequence and nutrient management were combined. It can be concluded Supplementation of organic fertilisers along suitable cropping sequences with short duration vegetable crops would be beneficial for long term soil fertility and crop vigour point of view.

Supply chain design and planning for the carpet industry considering recycling processes

This paper introduces a mixed-integer linear programming model to tackle the design and planning problem of Closed Loop Supply Chains in the carpet industry. A distinctive feature of the approach is handling different recovery processes involving dissimilar activities and flows of recovered materials. Moreover, the reverse network facilities and logistics are completely integrated with the forward network structure, in order to obtain a high level of customer supply while considering economic goals. In addition, the economies of scale for the recycling facilities are also explicitly handled. The model allows to determine the products and quantities to be manufactured, transported, stored, and recycled to cover the demand of a set of customers. The objective function is to maximize the profit of the whole life-cycle of products. An example based on an industrial case that involves the recovery of raw materials is presented to show the relevance of the method.

Machine learning interfaces for modular modelling and operation-based design optimization of solar thermal systems in process industry

The trend of introducing solar thermal systems (STSs) in process industries has resulted in a new energy paradigm– an interactive platform where there are economic benefits and motivations to address sustainable development. On the other hand, this paradigm has also introduced fluctuations and uncertainties not previously seen on the energy system, and is challenging the industry. Industrial STSs are composed of large number of interacting, nonlinear and uncertain subsystems and, therefore are complex systems. This complexity of heterogenous, stochastic, and dynamic behavior make designing of industrial STSs as well as evaluation of their management strategies challenging tasks for the existing tools. In an attempt to support integration decisions, always inefficient and insufficient, machine learning (ML) is leveraged in this research. Following the ML approach, some important findings were made. Firstly, it permits for different releases of the same/different module, which can be easily embedded, coupled exogenously or run in parallel. Thus, the operation-based design approach, both for process and supply level integration of STSs, were scalable and tractable. Distinguished from past work, the approach also allowed testing of an improved STS sizing scheme, while at the same time, enabling optimization of its control concept for adaptive and flexible operation. In the considered case study, inclusion of time-varying heat demand, process temperature and solar irradiation in STS design reduces over-dimensioning by 10–30%. Furthermore, optimizing the control concept of the overall system led to improved energy efficiency of solar field and storage respectively by 23.7% and 8.3% over the state-of-the-art methods.

Optimization model for low-carbon supply chain considering multi-level backup strategy under hybrid uncertainty

When constructing a supply chain, the profit, environmental impact, and hybrid uncertainties the supply chain faces should be considered. This research investigates the problem of low-carbon supply chain design under hybrid uncertainty, where demand is regarded as a stochastic variable, supply and transportation disruptions are regarded as uncertain events, and the coefficient of emission reduction capacity of suppliers is regarded as an uncertain variable. Based on the probability theory and uncertainty theory, a mixed-integer optimization model is constructed to handle the disruption risk by utilizing a multi-level backup strategy and to reduce carbon emissions by investing in suppliers. This model guarantees that manufacturers’ demand is satisfied to a given confidence level, manufacturers prefer to construct a supply chain within the acceptable supply chain risk, the emission reduction investment scheme and the supply decision to manufacturers are determined to maximize the profit of the supply chain. To facilitate the solution, we perform deterministic equivalent transformation of stochastic and uncertainty constraints, linearize the nonlinear constraints, and analyze the mathematical properties of the model. Finally, the validity of the proposed model is verified by case studies. The results show that although the larger the supply levels, that is, the more priority levels of suppliers, the more beneficial it is to improve the reliability, too large supply levels will reduce profits. The reasonable setting of the supply levels can optimize the emission reduction investment scheme. In addition, the confidence level of carbon emission should be set within a certain range to avoid the disparity between profit growth and emission reduction. Finally, the greater the belief degree of disruption or the lower the emission reduction capacity of suppliers, the more significant the effect of a multi-level backup strategy.