Proportion Of Stock Research Articles

Cranial Mandibular Fibrosis Syndrome in Adult Farmed Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus mykiss.

An unusual condition affecting market size rainbow trout was investigated. This condition was prevalent for several years at low levels but affected a large proportion of stock during 2018 and 2019. Chronic fibrosis affecting cranial tissues and the jaw was observed in samples collected in 2018. A larger sampling was then conducted in 2019 to investigate the presence of an infectious agent(s). An extensive inflammatory response in the mandibular region was the main finding, however infectious agents in the lesions were not identified through classical virology and bacteriology analysis. Tetracapsuloides bryosalmonae infection, calcinosis, and a Gram-positive bacterial infection of a single fish cardiac tissue was observed, however, a correlation of these pathologies and the cranial mandibular fibrosis (CMF) syndrome was not established. The gene expression of a panel of 16 immune-related genes was studied. Among these, tgf-b, sIgM, il11, hspa, and the antimicrobial peptides lys and cath1 were up-regulated in jaw sections of CMF-affected fish, showing a strong positive correlation with the severity of the lesions. Idiopathic chronic fibrosis with the activation of the Tfg-B pathway and local hyper-immunoglobulaemia was therefore diagnosed. Initiating factors and causative agent(s) (biotic or abiotic) of CMF remain, at present, unclear.

The research on the effect on stock price of executives' selling behavior in Chinese GEM

This paper empirically analyzes the impact of executives' reduction on stock price by taking the listed companies on Chinese GEM as research samples. The results show that the behavior of senior executives reducing their holdings will significantly reduce the stock price, and the effect changes in an inverted U-shape with the proportion of stocks reduced. Further research shows that for the companies with higher earnings per share and absolute price, the behavior of executives reducing their stock holdings will do more harm to the stock price.

Wide framing disposition effect: An empirical study

Abstract We estimate the disposition effect for active traders in a large discount brokerage dataset containing US households trading records between 1991 and 1996. We apply a wide framing perspective, focusing on portfolios rather than individual stocks. We find that the disposition effect varies inversely with the proportion of stocks trading at a gain in the portfolio, nearly vanishing when this proportion reaches 50%. This is driven by how the realisation of gains and losses depends on the percentage of gains in the account. The probability to realise a loss increases with the percentage of gains in the account. The relation between the probability of realising a gain and the percentage of gains in the bank account follows a U-shape. We also estimate the change in the disposition effect when an investor realises more than one stock on a trading day. We find when investors sell a stock, they are much more likely to also realise another stock on the same day. In particular, selling a loss increases an investor’s propensity to sell a gain and vice versa. This key finding provides an explanation for the observed dependency of the disposition effect on the portfolio composition. We also propose several psychological explanations for our findings.

Estimates and determinants of soil organic carbon and total nitrogen stocks up to 5 m depth across a long transect on the Loess Plateau of China

Carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) soil profiles are influenced by several environmental factors. However, the contents and distributions of these elements in deep soils and sediments are largely underestimated. We aimed to estimate the stocks, patterns, and driving factors of deep soil C and N on the Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP) after large-scale ecological restoration projects. Soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN) contents in different soil layers were measured directly at 86 sites along a regional transect across the CLP. SOC and TN contents ranged from 1.97 to 6.83 g C kg−1 and 0.24 to 0.72 g N kg−1, respectively, as the soil depth varied from 0 to 5 m. The mean contents and degrees of variability of SOC and TN decreased with the increasing of soil depth. Based on SOC and TN content patterns, we divided the 0–5-m soil profile into layers of 0–0.1, 0.1–0.4, 0.4–1, and 1–5 m. In the 1–5-m soil layer, approximately 70% of the mean SOC stock (14.97 kg C m−2) and 71% of the mean TN stock (1.75 kg N m−2) were stored. A partial least square regression model showed satisfactory predictive performance, with R2 and Q2 > 0.5 for SOC and TN stocks in the 0.1–0.4-m soil layer. Climatic factors, soil water content (SWC), and field capacity strongly affected SOC and TN stocks in all soil layers. The significance of clay content, SWC, and normalized difference vegetation index varied with soil depth and became the strongest in the 1–5-m soil layer. The highest proportion of SOC and TN stocks for this soil layer were found in grassland and in 450–550 mm rainfall zone. Considerable amounts of SOC and TN stocks were stored in the 1–5-m-deep soils. Land-use types and rainfall zones can significantly affect the SOC and TN stocks. This information is helpful for identifying local land uses associated with high SOC and TN stocks and is essential for accurately estimating and predicting regional C and N stocks and cycles in terrestrial ecosystems.

Retracted] Dynamic Index Optimal Investment Strategy Based on Stochastic Differential Equations in Financial Market Options

With the gradual development and improvement of the financial market, financial derivatives such as futures and options have also become the objects of competition in the financial market. Therefore, how to make the most favorable and optimized investment and consumption when options are included? It has become a problem facing investors. Aiming at the optimal investment problem of investors, this paper studies the calculation of an optimal investment strategy in stochastic differential equations in financial market options on the basis of fuzzy theory. Now, stochastic calculus has become an important branch of stochastic analysis, finance, control, and other fields. The study of introducing stochastic differential equations is mainly to solve the stochastic control problem, which is the principle of the stochastic maximum. In finance, some hedging or pricing problems of contingent rights can eventually be transformed into a series of stochastic differential equations. Based on the historical data of five aspects of bank deposits, bonds, funds, stocks, and real estate of four listed insurance companies, the paper analyzes the optimization strategy of the capital investment of listed insurance companies based on the investment yield of the domestic investment market. According to the final results, the historical proportion of bank deposits of the superior company is 27%, and the optimal proportion given by the model is 25%; the total proportion of funds and stocks is 15%, and the optimal proportion of funds analyzed in the model is 20% and the optimal proportion of stocks is 10%. Therefore, the final results show that the investment efficiency of listed insurance companies can actually increase investment in stocks and funds and reduce the proportion of bank deposits to obtain greater investment returns.

Wide framing disposition effect: An empirical study

We estimate the disposition effect for active traders in a large discount brokerage dataset containing US households’ trading records between 1991 and 1996. We apply a wide framing perspective, focusing on portfolios rather than individual stocks. We find that the disposition effect varies inversely with the proportion of stocks trading at a gain in the portfolio, nearly vanishing when this proportion reaches 50%. This is driven by how the realisation of gains and losses depends on the percentage of gains in the account. The probability to realise a loss increases with the percentage of gains in the account. The relation between the probability of realising a gain and the percentage of gains in the bank account follows a U-shape. We also estimate the change in the disposition effect when an investor realises more than one stock on a trading day. We find when investors sell a stock, they are much more likely to also realise another stock on the same day. In particular, selling a loss increases an investor’s propensity to sell a gain and vice versa. This key finding provides an explanation for the observed dependency of the disposition effect on the portfolio composition. We also propose several psychological explanations for our findings.

Optimal Investment with Uncertain Risk Aversion

We solve the problem of an investor who maximizes utility but is uncertain about preferences. We propose a problem formulation based on expected certainty equivalents. We tackle the time-consistency issues arising from that formulation by applying the equilibrium theory approach. To this end, we provide the proper de nitions and proof a rigorous veri fication theorem. We complete the calculations for the cases of power and exponential utility. For power utility, we illustrate in a numerical example, that the optimal stock proportion is independent of wealth, but decreasing in time. For exponential utility, the usual constant absolute risk aversion is replaced by its expectation.

Aboveground tree carbon stocks in West African semi-arid ecosystems: Dominance patterns, size class allocation and structural drivers

The importance of terrestrial ecosystems for carbon sequestration and climate regulation is acknowledged globally. However, the underlying structural drivers are still not well understood, particularly across distinct tropical forest ecosystems where trees species have different growth habits and potential to reach different maximal size. In particular, how important are different tree size classes in contributing to stand aboveground carbon (AGC) remains unclear across forest ecosystems. Here, we hypothesized that (i) tree size classes would contribute differently to stand AGC across forest ecosystems; and (ii) few species, possibly dominant, would determine most of stand AGC. We tested these hypotheses using a 17-ha sampled inventory data from gallery forests, woodlands and savannahs in the Republic of Benin. We examined (i) how AGC stocks vary among small- (<20 cm), medium- (20–40 cm) and large-size (>40 cm diameter at breast height - dbh) trees; (ii) how the large size class and its individual species contribute to AGC; and (iii) how size class-based taxonomic and structural variables influence AGC?Stand AGC was 23 ± 5, 30 ± 8 and 42 ± 12 MgC ha−1 in savannah, woodland and gallery forest, respectively. There were significant main and interaction effects of vegetation types and size classes. As expected, medium and large-size classes contained more of the AGC, irrespective of the vegetation type. However, gallery forests had the lowest AGC in the <20 cm dbh class, but higher values in medium- and large-size classes as compared to woodlands and savannahs. The top 10 species contributed 82%, 89% and 91% of AGC in gallery forests, woodlands and savannahs, respectively. In addition, five of the top 10 dominant species were shared by the three vegetation types and alone contributed 70–76% of AGC. Tree basal area was the most constant structural attribute influencing AGC; however, its influence shifted with vegetation type and size class, with greater effects of large-size tree basal area in gallery forests, and of medium trees and small trees’ basal area in woodlands and savannahs, respectively. The study shows that (i) AGC allocation to size class varied across vegetation types, and (ii) small and medium trees are also important in predicting AGC, especially in semi-arid environments dominated by high densities of small-size trees (e.g. woodlands and savannahs). It also highlights the importance of few dominant species in contributing a large proportion of AGC stocks. The conservation of these dominant species is essential to avoid substantial decline of AGC stock.

Seabird‐induced natural mortality of forage fish varies with fish abundance: Evidence from five ecosystems

AbstractForage fish populations often undergo large and rapid fluctuations in abundance. However, most of their predators are buffered against such fluctuations owing to their slower pace of life, which allows them to maintain more stable populations, at least during short periods of food scarcity. In this study, we investigated top‐down processes exerted by seabirds on forage fish stocks in five contrasted marine ecosystems, compiling numerous data sets on seabird counts, diets, energetic needs and prey energy content and abundance. Off Norway, South Africa, Peru, Sweden and Scotland, we found that predation pressure—estimated as the proportion of a fish stock consumed by seabirds—was generally low (median = 1%), but increased sharply at low levels of prey abundance. When prey biomass decreased below 15–18% of its maximum recorded value, predation by seabirds became a source of important additional pressure on prey stocks (~20% of prey biomass is consumed by seabirds). An earlier empirical study advocated for keeping forage stocks from falling below a threshold of 33% of long‐term maximum prey biomass in order to safeguard seabird breeding success, but here we further suggest that a threshold of 18% should be considered as a limit not to be exceeded for the sake of the forage fish themselves, and below which extra cautious management of fisheries may be required. Nevertheless, despite exceptionally high rates of predation on some occasions, predation pressure was not correlated with prey dynamics, suggesting an absence of prey entrapment due to seabirds alone in these five ecosystems.

A novel probabilistic hesitant fuzzy portfolio selection model with value-at-risk and safety level of score

Purpose This paper aims to propose two portfolio selection models with hesitant value-at-risk (HVaR) – HVaR fuzzy portfolio selection model (HVaR-FPSM) and HVaR-score fuzzy portfolio selection model (HVaR-S-FPSM) – to help investors solve the problem that how bad a portfolio can be under probabilistic hesitant fuzzy environment. Design/methodology/approach It is strictly proved that the higher the probability threshold, the higher the HVaR in HVaR-S-FPSM. Numerical examples and a case study are used to illustrate the steps of building the proposed models and the importance of the HVaR and score constraint. In case study, the authors conduct a sensitivity analysis and compare the proposed models with decision-making models and hesitant fuzzy portfolio models. Findings The score constraint can make sure that the portfolio selected is profitable, but will not cause the HVaR to decrease dramatically. The investment proportions of stocks are mainly affected by their HVaRs, which is consistent with the fact that the stock having good performance is usually desirable in portfolio selection. The HVaR-S-FPSM can find portfolios with higher HVaR than each single stock and has little sacrifice of extreme returns. Originality/value This paper fulfills a need to construct portfolio selection models with HVaR under probabilistic hesitant fuzzy environment. As a downside risk, the HVaR is more consistent with investors’ intuitions about risks. Moreover, the score constraint makes sure that undesirable portfolios will not be selected.

Research on the optimal equity of duo-ou enterprise based on data analysis

PurposeThis study aims to disclose how the nature of corporate ownership, stock efficiency and wage level affect the optimal proportion of employee stock.Design/methodology/approachThis paper studies three duopoly markets: two private enterprises, two state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and a private enterprise and an SOE. The competitions between the two parties are taken as a two-stage dynamic sequential game and studied through back-induction.FindingsThe results reveal that the enterprise ownership has a directly bearing on the optimal proportion of employee stock and determines whether to implement the employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) and the specific level of the plan. The optimal proportion of employee stock is positively correlated with its contribution to enterprise efficiency. There are many influencing factors on the effect of wage level on the optimal proportion of employee stock, namely, the ownership nature of ESOP implementer and efficiency difference of different nature stocks.Social implicationsThe results of this study provide policy recommendations for companies preparing to implement ESOP.Originality/valueThe research findings provide policy implications for enterprises to prepare a suitable ESOP and the reform of national equities, especially the mixed-ownership reform in China.

Corporate Governance Characteristics of Private SMEs’ Annual Report Submission Violations

Managers are, by law, responsible for the timely disclosure of financial information through annual reports, but despite that, it is usual that they are engaged in the unethical behaviour of not meeting the submission deadlines set in law. This paper sheds light on the afore-given issue by aiming to find out how corporate governance characteristics are associated with annual report deadline violations in private micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). We use the population of SMEs from Estonia, in total 77,212 unique firms, in logistic regression analysis with the delay of presenting an annual report over the legal deadline as the dependent and relevant corporate governance characteristics as the independent variables. Our results indicate that the presence of woman on the board, higher manager’s age, longer tenure and a larger proportion of stock owned by board members lead to less likely violation of the annual report submission deadline, but in turn, the presence of more business ties and existence of a majority owner behave in the opposite way. The likelihood of violation does not depend on board size. We also check the robustness of the obtained results with respect to the severity of delay, firm age and size, which all indicate a varying importance of the explanatory corporate governance characteristics.

The Vertical Differences in the Change Rates and Controlling Factors of Soil Organic Carbon and Total Nitrogen along Vegetation Restoration in a Subtropical Area of China

The study was to investigate the change patterns of soil organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen (TN), and soil C/N (C/N) in each soil sublayer along vegetation restoration in subtropical China. We collected soil samples in four typical plant communities along a restoration chronosequence. The soil physicochemical properties, fine root, and litter biomass were measured. Our results showed the proportion of SOC stocks (Cs) and TN stocks (Ns) in 20–30 and 30–40 cm soil layers increased, whereas that in 0–10 and 10–20 cm soil layers decreased. Different but well-constrained C/N was found among four restoration stages in each soil sublayer. The effect of soil factors was greater on the deep soil than the surface soil, while the effect of vegetation factors was just the opposite. Our study indicated that vegetation restoration promoted the uniform distribution of SOC and TN on the soil profile. The C/N was relatively stable along vegetation restoration in each soil layer. The accumulation of SOC and TN in the surface soil layer was controlled more by vegetation factors, while that in the lower layer was controlled by both vegetation factors and soil factors.

Using GPS and accelerometry data to study the diet of a top avian scavenger

ABSTRACT Capsule The Eurasian Griffon Vulture Gyps fulvus is an obligate scavenger relying on spatially and temporally unpredictable food resources. We demonstrate how high-frequency telemetry data can be efficiently used to identify vultures’ feeding locations in the wild and study their diet. Aims To study the Griffon Vulture diet composition, seasonal variations, and bathing frequency in an area with high natural food availability. Methods We used a remote-sensing technique based on GPS and accelerometry data to identify the feeding locations, and ground-truthing to identify the carcass species and investigate the causes of mortality. Results We identified 13 taxa in the diet of Griffon Vultures. Cattle comprised 48.5% of the diet, followed by sheep (24.3%), while wild animals were 13.1%. We observed seasonal variation in the proportion of small stock and game species in the diet. Predation was reported as the main cause of mortality (60.2%) for prey species, while natural causes accounted for 37.6%. Vultures were mainly feeding in areas south of their breeding colonies in Bulgaria and Greece. Natural springs and fountains were regularly used by the Griffon Vultures for bathing and drinking, especially in the summer. Conclusions Free-ranging livestock creates favourable feeding conditions for vultures, especially in areas with rugged terrain and a high density of predators. An increase in the number of wild ungulates can potentially buffer the fluctuations in livestock numbers and be beneficial for vultures, especially in the autumn and winter months. Lead ammunition must be substituted with non-toxic alternatives to reduce the exposure of vultures and other scavengers to lead poisoning.

Ecosystem‐scale carbon allocation among different land uses: implications for carbon stocks in the Yellow River Delta

AbstractThe reclamation area of the Chinese Yellow River Delta (YRD) has experienced frequent land use changes in recent decades. The consequence of such land use changes on the stocks and allocation of ecosystem‐scale carbon is not known. Here, we assessed carbon stocks and allocation of four representative land uses in the YRD area: (1) purple alfalfa (LAL), (2) reed and Aeluropus littoralis (RAE), (3) cotton (ECO), and (4) Chinese tamarisk (CTA). The results showed that the overall carbon stocks, and carbon stocks of aboveground, litter, roots, and soil were notably different among different land uses. The native CTA land had the largest overall carbon stock (belowground and aboveground) and had the strongest potential to allocate the carbon to the soil carbon pool (95.72%), followed by the natural grassland (RAE). Alfalfa grassland (LAL) also had a large carbon stock due to its large aboveground biomass, litter, and roots, but the relative allocation proportion of soil carbon stock was lower than that of the other land uses examined. Cotton (ECO) had the lowest soil carbon and total carbon stocks among four land uses. In combining our data on the carbon pool with changes of land use in the YRD area, we argued that land reclamation in the YRD area was likely to turn this area from a carbon sink to carbon source with the release of soil organic carbon. Therefore, cautions should be taken to reduce carbon release, if the reclaimed land be used to plant crops.

Carbon and Macronutrient Budgets in an Alder Plantation Grown on a Reclaimed Combustion Waste Landfill

Combustion waste landfills are unfavorable for revegetation due to nitrogen deficiency, and therefore, the introduction of nitrogen-fixing organisms, such as alder species (Alnus sp.), may be promising for reclamation and restoration of these sites. We investigated the carbon and macronutrient stocks in the combustion waste technosols and biomass of black alder (Alnus glutinosa) and grey alder (Alnus incana) 10 years after introduction onto a combustion waste landfill. The alder species were planted with or without lignite addition in planting holes, the latter acting as control plots. Black alder biomass was higher than that of grey alder. The total macronutrient stocks were higher in the uppermost technosol layer (0–30 cm) than in the biomass nutrient stocks. However, the K and P stocks in the black alder biomass were still greater than the exchangeable K+ and available phosphorus (Pav) stocks in technosols. This is important for the nutrition of the trees planted in combustion waste landfills and confirms the Pav deficit in investigated technosols. The differentiation of nutrients in biomass shows that the largest stock was found in the wood of trunks and branches (40–70% of the stock of individual biomass macronutrients). Although foliage biomass represented approximately 7% of the total tree biomass, the nutrient stocks therein represented a significant proportion of total nutrient stocks: approximately 27–29% nitrogen, 17–22% calcium, 28% magnesium, 7–10% potassium and 12–16% phosphorus. This is particularly important in the context of the turnover of nutrients from litterfall and soil organic matter and the circulation of nutrients in the ecosystem developed on combustion waste technosols.

Carbon and Nitrogen Stocks in Three Types of Larix gmelinii Forests in Daxing’an Mountains, Northeast China

Studying carbon and nitrogen stocks in different types of larch forest ecosystems is of great significance for assessing the carbon sink capacity and nitrogen level in larch forests. To evaluate the effects of the differences of forest type on the carbon and nitrogen stock capacity of the larch forest ecosystem, we selected three typical types of larch forest ecosystems in the northern part of Daxing’an Mountains, which were the Rhododendron simsii-Larix gmelinii forest (RL), Ledum palustre-Larix gmelinii forest (LL) and Sphagnum-Bryum-Ledum palustre-Larix gmelinii forest (SLL), to determine the carbon and nitrogen stocks in the vegetation (trees and understories), litter and soil. Results showed that there were significant differences in carbon and nitrogen stocks among the three types of larch forest ecosystems, showing a sequence of SLL (288.01 Mg·ha−1 and 25.19 Mg·ha−1) &gt; LL (176.52 Mg·ha−1 and 14.85 Mg·ha−1) &gt; RL (153.93 Mg·ha−1 and 10.00 Mg·ha−1) (P &lt; 0.05). The largest proportions of carbon and nitrogen stocks were found in soils, accounting for 83.20%, 72.89% and 64.61% of carbon stocks and 98.61%, 97.58% and 96.00% of nitrogen stocks in the SLL, LL and RL, respectively. Also, it was found that significant differences among the three types of larch forest ecosystems in terms of soil carbon and nitrogen stocks (SLL &gt; LL &gt; RL) (P &lt; 0.05) were the primary reasons for the differences in the ecosystem carbon and nitrogen stocks. More than 79% of soil carbon and 51% of soil nitrogen at a depth of 0–100 cm were stored in the upper 50 cm of the soil pool. In the vegetation layer, due to the similar tree biomass carbon and nitrogen stocks, there were no significant differences in carbon and nitrogen stocks among the three types of larch forest ecosystems. The litter carbon stock in the SLL was significantly higher than that in the LL and RL (P &lt; 0.05), but no significant differences in nitrogen stock were found among them (P &gt; 0.05). These findings suggest that different forest types with the same tree layer and different understory vegetation can greatly affect the carbon and nitrogen stock capacity of the forest ecosystem. This indicates that understory vegetation may have significant effects on the carbon and nitrogen stocks in soil and litter, which highlights the need to consider the effects of understory in future research into the carbon and nitrogen stock capacity of forest ecosystems.

Opening up the Black Box of Group Decision-Making on Solar Energy: The Case of Strata Buildings in Amsterdam, the Netherlands

The adoption of solar energy is lagging behind in urban areas worldwide. Although the literature on energy transition is abundant, it has been focused mostly at the systems level. Few studies have addressed on-the-ground implementation. This paper examines a specific but prominent example of such on-the-ground practice: decision-making processes in strata buildings whose owners are organized in a (home) owners’ association. These buildings constitute a significant proportion of the housing stock in European cities, and hence their role in energy transition cannot be underestimated. In strata buildings, homeowners have to reach an agreement before renewable energy measures can be implemented. These related group decision-making processes are still a black box, however. We constructed a tentative framework based on a review of group decision-making and applied literature, which we validated and refined using a survey and in-depth interviews with (home) owners’ associations in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Our study aimed to explore what the stimuli and barriers for the adoption of renewable energy measures in group settings are. Our empirical findings suggest that leadership and information processing are key factors that explain the outcomes of group decision-making processes. Whereas many are convinced that energy transitions are technically possible, their day-to-day implementation has proven to be complicated. For energy transitions to succeed, the recognition of key factors that explain the outcomes of group decision-making needs to be taken into account.

Creating Domestic Building Thermal Performance Ratings Using Smart Meter Data

Energy performance certificates (EPCs) are ratings of domestic building energy performance mandated across the European Union. Their aim is to provide a reliable assessment of a building’s energy performance whilst accounting for non-building effects such as weather and occupancy. Current rating methods, based on theoretical calculations, can introduce significant error from an inability to estimate real building performance. Other methods using real energy data cannot isolate building performance from other effects due to low data resolution. The installation of smart meters in large proportions of the housing stock in European Union member states presents an opportunity. Harnessing high-resolution energy data can create or inform building energy performance ratings with reduced error and at scale. This critical review explores the challenges and opportunities of using smart meter data in building energy ratings, focusing primarily on quantifying the thermal performance of the building and heating system. The research gaps in this emerging field are identified, including: demonstrating that the rating is truly independent of the behaviour of specific occupants; the additional data inputs that add most value in combination with smart meter data; and reducing uncertainty whilst limiting the complexity of the measurement and calculation. Practice Relevance Increasing evidence shows current EPCs are unreliable. This unreliability can affect their usefulness to householders and the provision of evidence for policy decisions. The incorporation of metrics constructed from smart meter data can provide a rating of building thermal performance that better reflects the actual performance of a dwelling. The potential advantages of incorporating smart meter data would improve the reliability of building energy ratings and quantify the rating uncertainty on a per dwelling basis, which would be useful for risk assessment to inform finance and retrofit decisions. Technical challenges are identified and explained for the inclusion of smart meter data. These are summarised as follows: ensuring that ratings remain independent of occupant behaviours/practices; and identifying which additional data inputs increase reliability and enable more informed retrofit decision-making whilst keeping the rating cost low and the calculation complexity tractable.

Changes of ecosystem carbon stock following the plantation of exotic mangrove Sonneratia apetala in Qi'ao Island, China

Carbon storage is one of the main objectives for mangrove afforestation. Planting of the exotic species Sonneratia apetala can rapidly increase the mangrove area and biomass. Here, we studied the change in vegetation and the soil carbon stocks along the chronosequence of S. apetala plantations in Qi'ao Island, China. Five sites, including rehabilitated S. apetala of different ages (1, 4, 9, and 15 years) and 40-year-old mature native Kandelia obovata forests were investigated. Vegetation biomass and the soil carbon content from 0 to 100 cm were analyzed. The ecosystem carbon density (vegetation and soil) was then calculated. A positive and linear relationship was observed between the vegetation carbon stocks and age of S. apetala. The 15-year-old S. apetala already had a similar biomass to 40-year-old K. obovata. However, its soil and ecosystem carbon densities remained lower than those of K. obovata. Different from K. obovata, the majority of the biomass of S. apetala was reserved within the stem. Mature K. obovata had a larger proportion of soil carbon stock to ecosystem carbon stock. S. apetala can accumulate biomass rapidly, but it had a lower ecosystem carbon stock than the native mature K. obovata.