Natural Environments In China Research Articles

Distribution, sources and health risk assessment of DDT and its metabolites in agricultural soils in Zhejiang Province, China

ABSTRACT Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) is well known for its harmful effects and has been officially banned as a pesticide around the world. However, DDT pollution still exists in natural environments in China because DDT degrade very slowly. In this study, 60 soil samples were collected from Cixi, Zhejiang Province, and the levels of DDTs and its metabolites in soil and health risks were investigated. The results showed that the detection rate of DDT in soil samples were 100%, and the total DDTs residue in soil ranged from 0.007 to 1.208 mg/kg, with an average of 0. 113±0. 035 mg/kg, which exceeded the second-level Chinese soil environmental quality standard for farmland soil. The average residuals of p,p'-DDT, p,p'-DDE (dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene), p,p'-DDD (dichlorodiphenyldichloroethane) and o,p'-DDT accounted for 34.8%, 50.9%, 8.0% and 6.3% of the total DDTs, respectively. The DDD/DDE ratios indicated a dehydrochlorination of DDT to DDE under aerobic conditions at most sampling sites. The ratios of (p,p'-DDE+p,p'-DDD)/p,p'-DDT and o,p'-DDT/p,p'-DDT indicating the DDT in the field were mainly introduced via industrial DDT and dicofol, including historical residue and fresh input. The health risk assessment showed that DDT-contaminated sites do not pose a non-carcinogenic risk to humans, and pose a very low risk of cancer to children and a low risk of cancer to adults. Overall, this study helps to understand the distribution, sources and health risks of DDT in typical soils.

Energy Plasma Graphite Wastewater Treatment System Based on Internet of Things Platform

If graphite plasma wastewater cannot be properly treated, it may cause serious pollution to the natural environment. In this paper, the conditions of wastewater degradation by high-voltage pulse discharge are optimized. On this basis, it is proposed to improve the discharge power supply and reactor to effectively strengthen the discharge and improve the degradation rate of organic matter. The wastewater is degraded by high-voltage pulse discharge and coagulation Fenton oxidation. The specific degradation effect is as follows: when the initial pH of aeration is about 10.00 mm and the initial pH of aeration is about 80 mm/L, the specific degradation effect of wastewater is about 1.00-200 mm. The degradation rate of chemical oxygen demand in 120 min can reach 49.84%. The graphite plasma wastewater treatment system designed based on the Internet of things platform has made a great contribution to the balance between industrial production and natural environment in China.

Role of Financial Development, Green Technology Innovation, and Macroeconomic Dynamics Toward Carbon Emissions in China: Analysis Based on Bootstrap ARDL Approach

This study focuses on determining the relationship between carbon emissions, financial development, population, green technology innovation, energy Consumption, and employment rate from 1980 to 2019 in China. The study applies the unit root test, bootstrapped ARDL cointegration, and the Granger causality to examine the data properties and association between the variables of interest. Empirical findings indicate that green technology innovations and financial development play a major role in environmental protection, specifically in the long run. In contrast, energy consumption and employment rate are more vulnerable to protecting the natural environment in China. On the other side, the findings under short-run estimation do not support the role of green technology innovation in reducing environmental degradation. Based on the empirical findings, it is suggested that a strong financial system would help to achieve long-run sustainability and the emissions mitigating effects can be further strengthen by implementing green technologies across industries. In doing so, strict environmental regulations can regulate the financial and traditional industrial sector in adoption of energy efficient technologies.

Wuxiang Virus Is a Virus Circulated Naturally in Wuxiang County, China.

Background: Wuxiang virus was isolated from sandfly specimens collected in Wuxiang County, Shanxi Province, China in 2018, representing the first reported isolation of sandfly-borne virus from sandflies collected in a natural environment in China. The local sandfly density, seasonal fluctuations, and temporal and spatial distributions of the virus in Wuxiang County remain unclear. Materials and Methods: Four fixed sandfly collection sites were set up in Wuxiang County and sandfly specimens were collected continuously from June to August 2019. All sandfly specimens were subjected to viral isolation and molecular biological analysis. Results: The data on sandfly specimens collected in Wuxiang County from June to August 2019 showed a significant difference in the density of sandflies between June 26 and August 16 (p < 0.05). No statistical difference was found in sandfly density among collection sites (p > 0.05). A total of 33 virus isolates causing cytopathic effects in mammalian (BHK-21) cells were obtained from 7466 sandflies (91 pools) collected from June to August 2019. The results of molecular genetic evolution analysis of the nucleotide sequence of these isolates showed that the L and S genes (encoding NS and N proteins) of the 33 viruses isolated in 2019 are in the same evolutionary branch as the previously isolated Wuxiang virus. No significant difference was found in the virus isolation rate (the pool isolation rate of virus) among sandflies collected at different times from June to August (p > 0.05). The virus isolation rate of sandflies collected at different collection sites showed a statistically significant difference (p < 0.05). Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that the Wuxiang virus is a stable viral population in local sandflies. Strengthened research into Wuxiang virus infection of humans and animals and clarification of the public health hazards posed by Wuxiang virus to both humans and animals are urgently needed.

Genomic Evidence of an Ancient East Asian Divergence Event in Wild Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Comparative genome analyses have suggested East Asia to be the cradle of the domesticated microbe Brewer’s yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae), used in the food and biotechnology industry worldwide. Here, we provide seven new, high-quality long-read genomes of nondomesticated yeast strains isolated from primeval forests and other natural environments in China and Taiwan. In a comprehensive analysis of our new genome assemblies, along with other long-read Saccharomycetes genomes available, we show that the newly sequenced East Asian strains are among the closest living relatives of the ancestors of the global diversity of Brewer’s yeast, confirming predictions made from short-read genomic data. Three of these strains (termed the East Asian Clade IX Complex here) share a recent ancestry and evolutionary history suggesting an early divergence from other S. cerevisiae strains before the larger radiation of the species, and prior to its domestication. Our genomic analyses reveal that the wild East Asian strains contain elevated levels of structural variations. The new genomic resources provided here contribute to our understanding of the natural diversity of S. cerevisiae, expand the intraspecific genetic variation found in this heavily domesticated microbe, and provide a foundation for understanding its origin and global colonization history.

Measuring urban sustainability from the quality of the built environment and pressure on the natural environment in China: A case study of the Shandong Peninsula region

Abstract This study aims to propose a new evaluation system for urban sustainability, defined as the ratio of the two dimensions: quality of the built environment and environmental pressure. The quality of the built environment includes urbanization economies, infrastructure development, and urban attraction. Environmental pressure includes resource consumption, and environmental pollution. Through a case study of the Shandong Peninsula region, this evaluation method has proven helpful in quantifying the development capacity of urban sustainability, proposing targeted improvement measures and evaluating implementation effects. The data of all indicators is for the period between 2008 and 2017, which was collected from the public authoritative China Statistical Yearbook. All 16 the cities of Shandong Peninsula region are classified into four study types for discussion. The empirical results show that the urban sustainability model is applicable to conveniently combine various analytical methods to help multiple parties reach a common consensus and formulate effective development decisions. In terms of the Shandong Peninsula region, (1) the quality of built environment of cities in four types was at quite different levels, while there was not much difference among the four groups regarding the environmental pressure. (2) Large coastal cities have the highest urban sustainability value, followed by medium-sized coastal cities, large inland cities, and medium-sized inland cities. (3) At the current stage, improving the quality of built environment would bring more environmental pressure through more energy consumption and causing more environmental pollution. Therefore, it is necessary to push forward relevant environmental protection mechanisms corresponding to urban construction to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Environmental Degradation and Economic Development in China: An Interrelated Governance Challenge

AbstractThe author argues that the deterioration of the natural environment in China provides a persuasive reason to reorient China’s economic growth towards a more sustainable path. Reconciling the development and environment imperatives needs to become an urgent priority for the Chinese government in order to avert the cascading implications that will arise in terms of social unrest, loss of further development opportunities as well as deepening income inequality. This paper thus examines the inter-relationship between the current ecological challenge in China and the need for economic sustainability. It evaluates the extent of environmental damage in China and focuses on the environmental impact on development and social inequality. The paper then examines the recent legislative measures that have been taken by the Chinese government to address the problem of inefficient environmental monitoring. The author suggests that further reform is needed to achieve an economically and ecologically just pathway for China’s future. The paper therefore demonstrates that the environment–development challenge in China is mainly a challenge of governance. Resolving it will contribute to better environmental justice and development.

The Fate of an Old Water System in the New Era of Climate Change and Market Imperatives in Southwest China

AbstractIn studies of contemporary changes to natural environments in China, ethnic groups in the nation's southwest are often used to demonstrate that earlier indigenous ideologies and institutions responsible for the harmonious relationships between human communities and their natural resources have now been swept away by government policies, market forces, new technologies, and most recently, climate change. In our study, we ask how a water system, in use for several centuries in a village of the Bai nationality, has been affected by these new factors. Our expectation was that the old water system would be disrupted or in decline as a result of the changes accompanying economic development and long‐term drying trends in this part of China. We found, instead, that the old system is still structurally intact and the community continues to access it for farming and everyday household use. Based on an interdisciplinary approach combining ethnographic fieldwork and local geomorphological data, this article identifies some of the factors responsible for the longevity of the local water system.

Isolation and characterization of Listeria species from rodents in natural environments in China

Listeria is ubiquitous in a variety of environments and can be isolated from a wide range of animal hosts. Rodents are capable of carrying pathogenic bacteria in their intestines, such as Listeria, and can disseminate those pathogens into the natural environment and to where human activity occurs. In this study, we investigated the occurrence and antimicrobial susceptibility of Listeria spp. isolated from wild rodents found in natural environments in China. We collected 341 intestinal fecal samples of rodents from five different regions of China, all representing different rodent habitats. The antimicrobial susceptibility of the Listeria spp. isolates obtained were firstly assessed using the Kirby–Bauer disk diffusion method. Thirty-one samples were positive for Listeria spp., of which 11 were positive for Listeria monocytogenes and seven were positive for Listeria ivanovii. Other species identified include Listeria innocua, Listeria fleischmannii and Listeria floridensis. All Listeria spp. isolates were sensitive to the majority of the antimicrobials tested, but largely resistant to oxacillin (94.1%) and cefuroxime (70.6%). All L. monocytogenes isolates were further characterized by serotyping, multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). L. monocytogenes strains were grouped into three serotypes, five sequence types and five pulsotypes (PTs) by serotyping, MLST and PFGE, respectively. Almost half of the isolates (five of 11) belonged to serotype 1/2b, ST87 and PT1. This study determined that Listeria is carried in the intestinal tracts of wild rodents from multiple regions at a low rate, filling an epidemiological data gap on Listeria in natural environments in China.Emerging Microbes & Infections (2017) 6, e44; doi:http://10.1038/emi.2017.28; published online 7 June 2017

A state-of-the-art large scale model testing technique for ship hydrodynamics at sea

The development of large scale model measurements for ship hydrodynamic tests in natural environment in China is presented in this paper. Previous works of testing large scale monoblock models for seakeeping performance performed by Harbin Engineering University (HEU) are reviewed at first. To verify whether it is acceptable to perform tests near the shore instead of in deep-ocean, coastal waves were measured at different locations in the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea of China, and were compared with theoretical spectra. Then, a description of large scale model set-up, testing equipments, and experimental procedure regarding the segmented self-propelled model project is introduced and some typical results obtained from a recent sea trial are presented. Moreover, testing results by a corresponding small scale model in a laboratory basin as well as numerical results are compared with the large scale model experimental results to validate that the proposed testing method is reliable. Finally an overview of the ongoing large scale model laboratory plan and its future development directions is prospected.

Distribution of terrestrial national nature reserves in relation to human activities and natural environments in China

Distribution of terrestrial national nature reserves in relation to human activities and natural environments in China

What is the Chinese “Lingzhi”? – a taxonomic mini-review

“Lingzhi” is a fungus found in China for about 2000 years, renowned for its immense values in traditional Chinese medicine and culture. This fungus was generally assigned to Ganoderma lucidum, a species originally described from the UK. In the mid-nineties of the twentieth century, molecular phylogenetic analyses indicated that collections named G. lucidum in East Asia were in most cases not conspecific with G. lucidum found in Europe. However, the scientific name for the “lingzhi” found in China remained unclarified ever since. To clarify the identity of this fungus, two groups of Chinese mycologists have simultaneously gathered morphological and molecular evidence. One group concluded that “lingzhi” belonged to G. sichuanense, a species which was collected from Sichuan, a province in southwestern China, while the other group stated that the “lingzhi” is an undescribed species and, thus, named it as G. lingzhi. Our molecular phylogenetic evidence showed that G. lucidum s. str. occurs not only in northwestern and northeastern China but also in the highlands of southwestern China, where it has been commercially cultivated. In other words, both G. lucidum s. str. and G. lingzhi occur in natural environments in China, where they have been cultivated. Due to the phenotypic plasticity and morphological stasis, DNA sequence data play a vital role in characterizing the species within the G. lucidum-complex. Because the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequence has been successfully generated only once from the holotype of G. sichuanense, it suggests that the DNA in the holotype might have been largely digested. To settle the disputation and to clarify the relationships and taxonomic issues among G. lingzhi, G. sichuanense, G. sinense and other species in the complex, an epitype for G. sichuanense and for G. sinense from their type locality should be selected , and nucleotide sequences of more informative DNA markers should be used to delimit the species in the complex in the near future. In view of its economic, medicinal and cultural importance, the widely cultivated G. lingzhi is nominated as the fungus of the year (2013) for the journal Mycology.

中国大陆鸟类和兽类物种多样性的空间变异

Macroecology is concerned with changes in biodiversity as well as the causes of these changes on large scales.Biodiversity can show changes over time and over space.Species diversity,as the determinant of biodiversity,shows spatial heterogeneity. China has high biodiversity.An increasing number of scientists are interested in the large-scale spatial variation in biodiversity within China.The natural environments in China have clear boundaries,which have influence the distributions of animals and ecosystems.According to climate type,China can be divided into three natural regions: the eastern monsoon region,the northwest arid region and the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau region.Study of the spatial pattern of the biodiversity found in China may contribute to the understanding of large-scale patterns in biodiversity. The fauna information database(FID),founded by the Wildlife and Behavioral Ecology Research Group,Institute of Zoology,Chinese Academy of Sciences,contains information on the distribution of amphibians,reptiles,birds and mammals in China.The FID was compiled with data on species checklists of amphibians,reptiles,birds and mammals from 205 nature reserves across mainland China.They covered most parts of the country except Jiangsu Province,Taiwan,Hong Kong and Macau. In this study,we explored the spatial variation in the G-F indices of birds and mammals with geostatistical techniques.As a measure of species diversity,we computed the G-F index using data on birds and mammals in the FID.The G-F index,based on the Shannon-Wiener index,provides a standardized measure of the diversity of species of common origin and similar environmental requirements.We treated the G-F index as a regional variable and obtained semivariance models and parameters of birds and mammals individually for each of the three natural regions.Semivariograms were produced using semivariance analysis methods of GS-plus software.Using the semivariograms and model parameters,we analyzed the characteristics of the spatial variation in bird and mammal diversity in each natural region. The semivariance of the G-F index of birds was fitted with a linear model in the eastern monsoon region and the northwest arid region of China.The parameters demonstrated that species diversity of birds had a weak spatial dependence in the eastern monsoon region and the northwest arid region of China.There was no spatial correlation with pure nugget effects on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau,indicating that the spatial variation in bird species diversity was caused by random factors.This may be due to the high dispersal abilities of birds. The semivariance of the G-F index of mammals showed no relationship in the eastern monsoon region and had pure nugget effects in the northwest arid region.However,data of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau was best explained by a spherical model.The parameters revealed that spatial pattern of mammalian species diversity was random in the eastern monsoon region and in the northwest arid region but had a strong spatial dependence with a correlation spatial range of 71492—1020000 m on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.This spatial pattern of avian and mammalian species diversity is likely attributable to the interaction between the particular physical environment and life history of birds and mammals.The macroscale spatial pattern of species diversity should be taken into account in the formation of conservation action plans.

Dispersal in the Glanville fritillary butterfly in fragmented versus continuous landscapes: comparison between three methods

1. Habitat fragmentation may lead to natural selection on dispersal rate and other life-history traits. Both theoretical analyses and empirical studies suggest that habitat fragmentation may select either for increased or decreased dispersal depending on the traits of the species and the characteristics of the landscape. 2. Dispersal and movement rates in Glanville fritillary butterflies (Melitaea cinxia) originating from a continuous landscape in China and from a highly fragmented landscape in Finland were compared using three different methods. 3. The methods included replicated mark-release-recapture (MRR) experiments conducted in the natural environments in China and Finland, tracking with harmonic radar of captive-reared but free-flying butterflies in a common environment in the field, and replicated common garden experiments in a large outdoor population cage. 4. The results were largely consistent, showing that butterflies from the more continuous landscape in China had a lower movement rate than butterflies originating from the fragmented landscape in Finland. Butterflies originating from newly-established populations in Finland moved significantly longer distances than butterflies originating from old populations in Finland or from China, demonstrating significant intra-specific variation in dispersal rate in Finland. These results are consistent with model predictions for the Glanville fritillary. 5. The tracking experiment revealed a result that would have been impossible to obtain with MRR experiments: movement rate was influenced by a significant interaction between population origin (China vs. Finland) and ambient air temperature.

Risk assessment on severe hazards to China caused by West Nile virus

Recent West Nile virus epidemics in USA draw worldwide concerns. Here the basic biological and epidemiological features of the virus are analyzed along with the special immunity of humans and animals, the immigration of birds and the natural environments in China. The risk of severe hazards to China caused by West Nile virus is assessed not high thereafter.

Characteristics of lake sediment and natural environments in china during the Holocene altithermal period

Characteristics of lake sediment and natural environments in china during the Holocene altithermal period