Study Area Research Articles

Spatial distribution of potentially toxic elements in soils and water bodies of the Kostanay region in Kazakhstan

ABSTRACT Knowledge of the distribution patterns of potentially toxic elements (PTE) is essential for assessing and predicting the dynamics of landscapes under anthropogenic influences. As a case study, soil-forming rocks, soils and water bodies of the Kostanay region in the Republic of Kazakhstan were studied for the presence of potentially toxic elements (PTE) through analysing concentrations of different chemical elements within them. Study areas were selected across the region - ones with differing natural settings and liable to differing anthropogenic influences from industrial and agricultural landuses - and specific key sites were selected in each area from which soil and water samples were taken. Soil profiles were extracted, with the deepest horizons being taken as indicative of underlying soil-forming rocks, and with the upper horizons being taken as indicative of the soil per se. Soil samples were taken from soil profiles along horizons to study the distribution of chemical elements. These samples were analysed using the atomic absorption method to determine their respective contents of differing chemical elements, and hence PTE. The obtained data suggests the spatial distribution of PTEs across the soils and water bodies of the Kostanay region.

Abstract 852: Measuring the level of knowledge and awareness about radon in Northeast Tennessee

Abstract Introduction: Radon, a radioactive gas found in soil and rocks, is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States (1). Despite its significant health risks, radon awareness and knowledge remain low (2). In Tennessee, where geological factors contribute to elevated radon levels, understanding the levels of awareness and knowledge about radon is crucial (3). This study focuses on Northeast Tennessee, an area known for its high radon concentrations. Methods: This cross-sectional study, conducted from September to November 2023, aims to assess radon awareness and knowledge among participants from seven Northeast Tennessee health councils. These councils play a critical role in public health initiatives and provide access to individuals actively involved in health-related discussions. A convenience sample of 150 participants was chosen from an email listserv of 650 health council members. Participants, aged 18 or older, affiliated with the health councils in the study area, and physically present in the US, were eligible to participate. Demographic data, radon knowledge and awareness were assessed. Additional questions evaluated information sources, concern levels, and willingness to inform the community about radon. Conclusion: This research addresses a significant knowledge gap regarding radon awareness and knowledge in Northeast Tennessee, an area with unique geological factors that elevate radon exposure risks. The study's findings will contribute to the development of targeted educational campaigns and interventions, ultimately promoting awareness and proactive measures to mitigate radon exposure in the region. With the potential to inform policy and public health efforts, this study holds the promise of reducing the health risks associated with radon in Northeast Tennessee. Citation Format: Kawther Al ksir, Stacy Stanifer, Megan Quinn, Hadii Mamudu, Deborah Slawson. Measuring the level of knowledge and awareness about radon in Northeast Tennessee [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2024; Part 1 (Regular Abstracts); 2024 Apr 5-10; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(6_Suppl):Abstract nr 852.

A semi-analytical approach for estimating inland water inherent optical properties and chlorophyll a using airborne hyperspectral imagery

The inversion of inherent optical properties (IOPs) and chlorophyll a (Chla) is one of the key objectives in water color remote sensing, and hyperspectral remote sensing with rich spectral information makes precise inversion possible. In this study, we developed a semi-analytical estimation method for inland water IOPs based on the quasi-analytical algorithm (QAA). Considering the complex optical characteristics of inland waters, empirical parameter regional optimization was conducted. Furthermore, a dual-band joint inversion strategy and Gaussian function fitting method were utilized to optimize the solution processes for the backscattering coefficient of particles (bbp) and the absorption coefficient of phytoplankton pigments (aph), respectively. This approach overcomes the limitations of single-band bbp inversion in inland waters. In addition, it directly decomposes the absorption coefficient to obtain aph using a Gaussian function, which can reduce the intermediate steps and errors caused by indirect inversion. For Chla, we constructed a binary inversion model using aph(677) and remote sensing reflectance (Rrs), where the coefficient of determination (R2) exceeded 0.8. We also constructed an airborne hyperspectral image correction process, including vicarious calibration, atmospheric correction, and bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) correction, obtaining high-precision Rrs images. The ground models were successfully applied to the airborne hyperspectral images, mapping the spatial distribution of IOPs and Chla concentration in the study area. The experiments demonstrated that the proposed semi-analytical method using airborne hyperspectral imagery exhibits a good performance in terms of modeling accuracy and mapping analysis, and successfully applied to long-term monitoring using satellite hyperspectral images, highlighting the significant potential of hyperspectral remote sensing for high-precision monitoring of regional water bodies.

Male partners involvement in their wives’ antenatal care and its associated factors in southern Ethiopia. A community-based cross-sectional study

BackgroundInvolvement of male partners in antenatal care (ANC) is an effective approach to improve maternal and child health outcomes. It also enhances maternal healthcare utilization as males prevails decision-making regarding healthcare utilization in most developing countries including Ethiopia. Despite the acknowledged importance of male partners involvement, there is no research data in the study area. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to assess the status of male partners’ involvement in antenatal care and associated factors in Chencha town, which is found in southern region of Ethiopia. MethodsThe study adopted a community-based cross-sectional design from April 1–30, 2022, among 560 male partners in Chencha Town. To collect data, we use a structured, pretested and interviewer-administered questionnaire. The study participants were selected using a simple random sampling method. Analysis of data was performed using the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 25. Descriptive statistics including mean, frequency, and percentage were used to summarize pertinent characteristics of study participants. Both bivariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were carried out to detect the association between the independent and outcome variables. The statistical significance was set at P < 0.05 in the final model. ResultThe study found that 57% (95% CI: 53%–61%) of male partners were involved in antenatal care. Age 20 to 29 (AOR = 2.60, 95%CI:1.26, 5.37), more than secondary educational level (AOR = 2.04, 95%CI:1.08, 3.88), being government workers (AOR = 2.03, 95%CI:1.12, 3.67), exposure to information on male involvement during antenatal care (AOR = 4.37, 95%CI: 2.77, 6.91), and males’ knowledge about pregnancy danger sign (AOR = 2.55, 95%CI: 1.62, 4.02) were factors positively associated with male partner involvement in antenatal care. ConclusionThe prevalence of male partner involvement in antenatal care was relatively high, but it still needs to be improved to reach acceptable level. The involvement thrives among those aged 20–29 years, who have been exposed to information on male involvement in antenatal care, have higher education levels, government employees, and are aware of pregnancy danger signs. These factors can be used to target interventions that aim to increase male involvement in antenatal care, which helps to improve the health of both mothers and children.

Integrated stratigraphical, hydrogeochemical, and geophysical studies to characterize the shallow groundwater aquifers in Wadi Araba area, western Gulf of Suez, Egypt

The construction of the New Galala City besides great mining (e.g., konoozmisr) and Seawater Reverse Osmosis Desalination Plant projects in the semiarid Gulf of Suez region of Egypt increases the demand for groundwater resources. So, the current research provides integrated stratigraphical, hydrogeochemical, and geophysical studies to investigate the shallow groundwater aquifers in Wadi Araba area on the western side of the Gulf of Suez. The stratigraphic column starts with pre-Cambrian basement rocks which are non-conformably overlain by sedimentary succession of Phanerozoic Erathem. A detailed land magnetic profile has been conducted and processed to estimate the aquifer’s geometrical parameters. This includes the subsurface spatial extension and thickness to delineate the prevailed subsurface structures in the study area. Lithostratigraphically, these aquifers are represented by the Paleozoic- lower Cretaceous siliciclastic-dominated sediments of the Nubia Group and fractured carbonate-dominated facies of the upper Cretaceous Galala Formation. Lithological characters, sedimentary facies (fluvial to shallow and open marine), microfacies types, and diagenesis processes (e.g., compaction, cementation, dissolution, and fracturing) are the main factors that affect the quality of the shallow aquifers in the study area. The main microfacies of the studied aquifers are quartz arenite, subarkose, sublitharenite, mudstone/wackestone, and packstone/grainstone. These facies are characterized by different primary and secondary porosities. According to the water sampling standard methods, nineteen groundwater samples were collected from the available hand-dug wells and springs from the Nubian sandstone aquifer and the Upper Cretaceous aquifer, respectively. Inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (ICP–MS), titration, spectrophotometer and a flame photometer were used to obtain a complete chemical analysis. The results of hydrochemical analyses indicated that total dissolved solids (TDS) and concentrations of major ions as well in the lower Cretaceous aquifer increase toward the Gulf of Suez and in general higher than that of springs of the Upper Cretaceous Aquifer. The predominant factors influencing groundwater chemistry include seawater intrusion, evaporation, mineral alteration, dissolution of fossils, and ion exchange. Groundwater in the study area is unsuitable for drinking except in one sample and moderately suitable for irrigation with caution for higher salinity in samples located near the Gulf of Suez.

A New Strategy for Planning Urban Park Green Spaces by Considering Their Spatial Accessibility and Distributional Equity

Urban park green spaces (PGSs) are crucial social public resources that provide various ecological services and enhance human health and well-being. However, with the acceleration of urbanization, the accessibility and equity of urban PGS resources are increasingly threatened. This study aims to propose an integrated framework that considers accessibility and equity simultaneously to optimize the planning and layout of urban PGS within the high-speed ring road of Hefei City. This study first used an improved two-step floating catchment area (2SFCA) method to quantify the level of accessibility of urban PGS within the ring road. Then, with the use of Lorenz curves, Gini coefficients, and bivariate correlation coefficients, the equity characteristics of these PGSs were quantified and evaluated, followed by an analysis of their relationships to the accessibility levels. Based on this comprehensive evaluation, the particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm was employed to the areas with low accessibility and equity levels to propose targeted PGS optimization strategies. The results showed that the accessibility of PGS was unevenly distributed, exhibiting a clear spatial difference of “east–west clustering”. The number of subdistricts with good (52.24–94.78) and best (94.79–283.58) accessibility was four, which was less than one-tenth of the total number of subdistricts in the study area. At the subdistrict level, the Gini coefficients for the accessible area of all types of PGSs were substantially higher than the international warning line of 0.4, indicating a substantial inequity in the population’s access to PGS. The implemented PSO algorithm resulted in eight new parks being planned at the specific optimized locations. Based on the actual land use status of the selected sites, recommendations are provided for the planning and layout of PGS. This proposed framework offers valuable data and theoretical insights for urban public green space planning and design in similar regions.

Geographical coverage analysis and usage suggestions of temporal averaged aerosol optical depth product from GOES-R satellite data

ABSTRACT Geostationary satellites have the capability to offer AOD products with a higher frequency of observation within a given period, thus improving the geographical coverage of averaged AOD products compared to polar satellites. Moreover, the averaged AOD of geostationary satellites is more reflective of the average aerosol load as compared to AOD products derived from polar orbit satellites. Despite this, there is still an absence of comprehensive research on the comparative representativeness of AOD mean products from geostationary and polar orbit satellites, and most current research only focuses on retrieval accuracy. This paper compares the geographical coverage of averaged AOD products released by the Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) sensor on the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-R (GOES-R) (09:00 UTC-23:00 UTC) with AOD products released by the Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) (16:00 UTC and 19:00 UTC) on hourly, daily, semi-monthly and monthly scales. Moreover, the Aerosol Robotic Network datasets were used to evaluate the accuracy of ABI AOD and to propose usage suggestions. In terms of daily AOD products, the AOD daily mean generated by the geostationary satellite GOES-R/ABI consistently outperforms the AOD daily mean generated by MODIS AOD in terms of spatial coverage. However, on monthly scales, the difference is no longer significant. With regard to accuracy, it is proved that when the time scale of averaging is gradually expanded, root mean square error (RMSE) and mean absolute error (MAE) gradually decrease. On the season scale, ABI AOD exhibits the highest level of accuracy during the autumn season (September, October, November); on the spatial scale, ABI AOD exhibits the best accuracy in North America. Therefore, if the daily, semi-monthly or monthly averaged ABI AOD datasets are used, the recommended time is autumn, and the study area is North America.

Rapid Warming Exacerbates Winter Drought Stress in Trees at High-Altitude Areas in Northeast China

Against the background of global warming, trees in high-latitude and high-altitude areas are more sensitive to rapid warming. Revealing the response patterns of trees at different altitudes to rapid warming in typical alpine mountain environments can help to predict the future distribution of forests in the region and the associated changes in the timberline. This study used tree-ring width data (band sampling) from Dahurian larch (Larix gmelinii Rupr.) along an altitudinal gradient (970–1409 m) on Oakley Mountain to establish 10 chronologies and to analyze the growth–climate response of larch to warming and altitudinal changes along a gradient. The results showed that before rapid warming, larch growth was strongly influenced mainly by precipitation in July–August, while after warming, the growth was controlled mainly by precipitation (snowfall) in winter (October–April) and showed a significant positive correlation with the SPEI in winter and a negative correlation with temperature in February–April (early spring). This indicates that the rapid warming event led to a drastic change in the water heat balance during the pre-growth period of the trees in the study area, which shifted the tree growth from being restricted by drought in the growing season before warming to being restricted by winter drought (i.e., the lagged effect of snowfall in the pre-growing season) after warming and that the trees at low altitudes suffered from more severe winter drought. In the future, as the global climate warms further, the growth of mountain larch at low altitudes (below 1200 m) will continue to decrease, and the coupling of winter snowfall and seasonal (February–April) warming will increase the upper altitude limit at which winter drought occurs for larch in the study area; additionally, larch at higher altitudes will be able to cope with this ecological process better.

Analyzing Flood Damage and Mapping Flood Hazard Zones Using AHP Model: A Case Study of Pol-e-Alam, Logar Province, Afghanistan

This research aims to evaluate the impact of the most recent floods that occurred on August 20, 2022, in Logar province in southern Afghanistan. For this purpose, changes in land use and land cover (LULC) of the study area were created from the Sentinel-2 image with a spatial resolution of 10 meters. To achieve this, the study utilized Sentinel-2 images to analyze LULC changes before and after the flood event and employed a support vector machine for supervised classification. The study also applied the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) to evaluate the future risks of flooding in the study area, focusing on factors related to hydrological phenomena. Overall, the study demonstrates the effectiveness of geospatial technologies and remote sensing in assessing the impacts of floods and creating flood risk maps. This can significantly reduce the consequences of flooding and inform decision-making for disaster management and mitigation.

Surface facies analysis of the Gangotri and neighbouring glaciers, central Himalaya

Glaciers are primarily monitored using medium-to-high resolution satellite data, undermining the potential of coarse-resolution data. In pursuance of this, high resolution 10 m super-resolved glacier maps derived from 56 m coarse-resolution AWiFS data are applied here to assess the facies, firn-line altitude, and frontal variations of the Gangotri and neighbouring glaciers, central Himalaya between 2005 and 2017. The wet and warming trends estimated over the study area appear to have caused excess firn (56.53 ± 6.22%) and ice (27.50 ± 3.03%) melting, contributing to the significant progression in fresh and slightly metamorphosed snow (12.09 ± 1.33%), wet-snow (21.79 ± 2.40%), ice-mixed debris (9.24 ± 1.02%) and supraglacial debris (2.49 ± 0.27%) during 2005–2016. Mean firn-line of the study glaciers has ascended from 5327 ± 23 m to 5376 ± 24 m at an average rate of 3.44 ± 0.45 m a−1 during 2005–2016. Mean firn-line altitude ascent is the highest for the sparsely debris-covered (<10% debris) Arwa glacier followed by the extensively debris-covered (≥35% debris) Gangotri, Bhagirathi-Kharak and Satopanth glaciers. Contrastively, the moderately debris-covered (17–29% debris) Raktvarn and Chaturangi glaciers show slight variations in their mean firn-line altitudes. These firn-line variations are governed by the rising average annual temperature, glacier size and predominant glacier facie. All the glaciers show an overall tendency of termini retreat at variable rates during 2005–2017. The highest retreat rate is estimated for the Gangotri glacier (12.01 ± standard deviation: 8.16 m a−1) followed by Chaturangi (7.97 ± 5.79 m a−1), Bhagirathi-Kharak (5.99 ± 9.26 m a−1), Raktvarn (3.28 ± 2.28 m a−1), Satopanth (1.89 ± 2.87 m a−1), and Arwa (0.85 ± 1.90 m a−1) glaciers. These retreat rates vary significantly with the exclusion of static points in the retreat estimation, revealing its subjective nature. The temporal facies maps obtained here have the potential for the hydrological modelling of meltwater production of the study glaciers.

A baseline study on the distribution of fluoride in drinking water and its health risk assessment in Industrial areas of Sivakasi, India

Sivakasi, popularly known as "Little Japan," is a town in the southern region of Tamil Nadu. The study area has a semi-arid tropical monsoon climate. The inhabitants depend heavily on groundwater, which is used extensively for irrigation, drinking, and domestic. The present research aimed to evaluate groundwater quality in Sivakasi, focusing on fluoride levels and major ions, providing essential information on the non-carcinogenic risks posed to residents, particularly adults, and the suitability of water for both drinking and agriculture. Fluoride concentration and the most important cations and anions were analyzed in 32 groundwater samples. The major cations and anions present in field samples are in the order of abundance: Cl&gt; SO4&gt; HCO3&gt; Na &gt; Mg &gt;Ca&gt; K. For drinking purposes, groundwater quality varies from moderate to poor, and over 70% of groundwater tests are out of condition for agricultural water supply. Fluoride levels in the samples from the study area ranged from 0.00 to 2.60 mg/l, with an average value of 1.60 mg/l. The hazardous Quotient (HQ) value for infants ranged from 0.00 E+00 to 1.69 E+00, children from 0.00 E+00 to 1.80 E+00, and for adults from 0.00E+00 to 1.88E+00. Additionally, the adults were more susceptible to non-carcinogenic threats than infants and children. This study on groundwater quality in Sivakasi highlights risks to health from excessive fluoride levels, particularly for adults, making it important for disaster mitigation. Understanding the non-carcinogenic hazards of contaminated water can drive disaster preparedness actions and resource allocation, emphasizing the need for secure water sources and resilient water management methods in the semiarid region.

UAV Photogrammetric Surveys for Tree Height Estimation

In the context of precision agriculture (PA), geomatic surveys exploiting UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) platforms allow the dimensional characterization of trees. This paper focuses on the use of low-cost UAV photogrammetry to estimate tree height, as part of a project for the phytoremediation of contaminated soils. Two study areas with different characteristics in terms of mean tree height (5 m; 0.7 m) are chosen to test the procedure even in a challenging context. Three campaigns are performed in an olive grove (Area 1) at different flying altitudes (30 m, 40 m, and 50 m), and one UAV flight is available for Area 2 (42 m of altitude), where three species are present: oleander, lentisk, and poplar. The workflow involves the elaboration of the UAV point clouds through the SfM (structure from motion) approach, digital surface models (DSMs), vegetation filtering, and a GIS-based analysis to obtain canopy height models (CHMs) for height extraction based on a local maxima approach. UAV-derived heights are compared with in-field measurements, and promising results are obtained for Area 1, confirming the applicability of the procedure for tree height extraction, while the application in Area 2 (shorter tree seedlings) is more problematic.

Rainwater harvesting as a sustainable solution for the production of urban hydroponic crops

ABSTRACT Population growth and poor agricultural practices demand an improvement in the efficiency of food production. Urban hydroponic crops represent a potential solution to this challenge. However, the use of drinking water for urban agriculture is not a priority. Consequently, rainwater harvesting can reduce the use of drinking water for other purposes than human consumption. This study evaluated the efficiency of rainwater harvesting for the production of hydroponic crops in an Andean city. We developed a rainwater harvesting model to analyze the efficiency and optimization of two hydroponic production scenarios: (1) domestic production (30 plants) and (2) small-scale commercial production (200 plants). We found an efficiency of 99.71 and 75.79%, for scenarios 1 and 2, respectively. The 75.79% efficiency is given by the presence of low precipitation periods, which in the case of the study area are sporadic. Furthermore, scenario 2 could reach efficiencies of 100% if the roof capture area increases up to 40 m2. Rainwater harvesting in Andean cities, with sustained precipitation throughout the year, is enough to supply water for domestic and small-scale commercial hydroponic production with basic household modifications. We show promising results by combining rainwater harvesting and hydroponic crops for improving urban food and water security.

Quadrat soil pollen signal reflects plant important values in forests and shrublands from subtropical China.

Pollen analysis, a crucial tool in botany and ecology for examining historical biotic dynamics, has elicited debate owing to its complex link with vegetation. The challenge lies in discerning the ecological significance of pollen data. In this study, we conducted detailed quadrat surveys on Jinhua Mountain, subtropical China, analyzing topsoil pollen to determine whether pollen signals accurately reflect key ecological components in the forests and shrublands. We performed direct comparisons between pollen and plant compositions and calculated pollen percentages and plant Important Values (IVs) for each quadrat. The results indicate greater homogeneity in pollen composition across the study area compared to plant composition, particularly in the high percentage of Pinus pollen. However, distinct plant communities exhibited significantly different pollen compositions, as evidenced by the multi-response permutation test. This divergence aligns with variations in the dominant plant species across different communities. There were significant correlations between pollen percentages and plant IVs, with correlation coefficients of 0.55 (p < 0.001) at the quadrat level and 0.78 (p < 0.001) at the taxon level. These results support the utility of pollen analysis for representing ecologically significant values in subtropical Chinese forests and shrublands. Such correlations might also be extrapolated to pollen-based paleoecological studies.

Avifaunal Diversity in Managed Urban Ecosystem: A Case Study of Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi

University campuses are becoming important places for conducting a large number of studies on plant and animal taxa including avian diversity. However, a systematic study on the avian diversity in the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) campus (Asia’s largest residential university campus) of Varanasi is still lacking. The present study deals with the species abundance, diversity and species richness of avian communities in the BHU campus. We conducted a bird survey in the BHU campus between 2019 and 2020. Employing line-transect method, a total of 141 bird species under 62 families were recorded from the study area. A rich diversity of species recorded indicates the importance of the university campuses in urbanized region to serve as a critical habitat for birds. To conserve this rich bird diversity of the campus, we suggest sustainable management of habitats through restoration of degraded habitats, reduction in habitat destruction, conservation awareness programmes and increased research on assessment of diversity.

Hydrogeochemical and microbial constituents of groundwater in Lephalale municipality, Limpopo province, South Africa

This study assessed the hydrogeochemical characteristics and microbial constituents of groundwater in Lephalale Municipality, South Africa. A total of 71 borehole water samples were collected from 15 villages within the Lephalale Municipality between April 2019 and October 2020. The results of the parameters such pH, EC, TDS, and alkalinity range from 6.69 to 7.87, 620.30 to 1937.00 μS/cm, 330.35 to1035.50 mg/L and 50.00-390.00 mg/L, respectively. The mean values of major cations and anions were found to be in the order of Na+>Ca2+>Mg2+>K+ and HCO3−>Cl−>NO3−>SO42−>F−, respectively. About 35 % of the tested samples had F− concentrations above 1.5 mg/L recommended by the world health organization (WHO) to eliminate the risk of fluorosis. The hydrogeochemical facies determined using a piper diagram revealed the dominance of mixed CaMgCl and CaHCO3 water types. The Gibbs plot analysis revealed that the main composition-controlling hydrogeochemical processes in the study area is the rock-water interaction. The microbial constituent's analysis showed that faecal coliform in groundwater samples were ranging between 0 and 71 CFU/ 100 mL with an average of 0.56 CFU/100 mL, while total coliform (TC) counts were between 0 and 360.5 CFU/100mL with the average of 30.81 CFU/100mL, respectively. This study revealed that groundwater in some boreholes from Lephalale Municipality poses risk of fluorosis and pathogen related diseases. Therefore, the study recommends improving of water quality within the study area prior to consumption.

Unveiling the nexus of climate change, adaptation strategies, and food security: Insights from small-scale farmers in zagros mountains in Iran

In today's world, climate change and its unprecedented impact on food and nutrition security have emerged as a significant and formidable global challenge. This study aimed to investigate the effect of adaptation strategies on the food security of small-scale farmers in Khorramabad city, Iran, using a survey-based analysis. To assess the food security level, the Household Food Security Survey Module (HFSSM) was employed. Additionally, Structural Equation Modeling was utilized to examine the relationship between adaptation dimensions and food security. The findings revealed that households without children exhibited a higher level of food security (48%) compared to households with children (6%). Moreover, the results demonstrated a positive and significant correlation between the food security of households, regardless of whether they had children, and the different adaptation components. Despite a satisfactory level of knowledge regarding climate change adaptation in the study area, the actual implementation of such measures remained low. While weed management, agricultural crop insurance, and access to meteorological information were identified as the top three strategies employed by farmers, the results suggested that sustainable-oriented operations and organic-oriented practices could serve as more effective strategies for both climate change resilience and enhancing food security status.

Water-richness evaluation method and application of clastic rock aquifer in mining seam roof

Clastic rock aquifer of the coal seam roof often constitutes the direct water-filling aquifer of the coal seam and its water-richness is closely related to the risk of roof water inrush. Therefore, the evaluation of the water-richness of clastic rock aquifer is the basic work of coal seam roof water disaster prevention. This article took the 4th coal seam in Huafeng mine field as an example. It combined the empirical formula method and generalized regression neural network (GRNN) to calculate the development height of water-conducting fracture zone, determined the vertical spatial range of water-richness evaluation. Depth of the sandstone floor, brittle rock ratio, lithological structure index, fault strength index, and fault intersections and endpoints density were selected as the main controlling factors. A combination weighting method based on the analytic hierarchy process (AHP), rough set theory (RS), and minimum deviation method (MD) was proposed to determine the weight of the main controlling factors. Introduced the theory of unascertained measures and confidence recognition criteria to construct an evaluation model for the water-richness of clastic rock aquifers, the study area was divided into three zones: relatively weak water-richness zones, medium water-richness zones, and relatively strong water-richness zones. By comparing with the water inrush points and the water inflow of workfaces, the evaluation model's water yield zoning was consistent with the actual situation, and the prediction effect was good. This provided a new idea for the evaluation of the water-richness of the clastic rock aquifer on the roof of the mining coal seam.

Impacts of climate factors and human activities on NDVI change in China

Vegetation plays a crucial role in terrestrial ecosystems, and there has been a substantial shift in global vegetation cover in recent decades. China is recognized for its substantial impact on global vegetation cover changes, which are influenced by both climate change and human activities. Therefore, this research aims to assess the respective influences of climate modification and human activities on vegetation variations in China. First, the changes in vegetation cover are explored between 1982 and 2020 using satellite-image derived vegetation index, known as the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). Second, a multiple regression model based on time-lag analysis is used to simulate NDVI. In addition to common climatic factors such as temperature, precipitation, solar radiation intensity and relative humidity, the atmospheric CO2 concentration to directly reflect climate change is considered in this model. Finally, the relative influence of climate variation and human activities on the alteration of vegetation cover is determined based on reconstructed NDVI. Results: (1) Precipitation and solar radiation are the most important influences, while carbon dioxide concentration and relative humidity have the least influence. (2) The simulation error before 2000 was 0.875%, which was considerably lower than the error after 2000. (3) After 2000, human activities favorably affected vegetation recovery in most of the study area, with an average degree of influence of >30%.

Spatio-Temporal Pattern and Vulnerability Assessment of the Human Settlements along the Beibu Gulf Coast of Guangxi, China

Human settlement development is intricately linked to production and life, and development quality is a partial indicator of the local community’s social, economic, cultural, and environmental progress. Furthermore, the human settlements’ vulnerability affects their sustainable development potential. Due to the “One Belt, One Road” initiative and land and sea corridor development in southwestern China, the Beibu Gulf coast in Guangxi is the sole waterway bridgehead used by China for opening trade with ASEAN. By examining the region’s human settlements and its potential for sustainable development, we established a benchmark for the region’s seaward economy and human settlements to achieve synergistic progress, as well as to enhance regional integration. Based on the systematic evaluation of the quality of human settlements along the Beibu Gulf coast in Guangxi, the vulnerability assessment model of human settlement was adopted to analyse the vulnerability and spatial–temporal patterns of nearby human settlements in 2010–2019, while the multiple linear regression model was used to explore their influencing factors. Our findings indicate that the quality of human settlements in the study area has experienced three distinct stages. In the early stage (2010–2012), we noted an overall year-on-year increase in settlement quality. However, in the middle stage (2013–2016), Fangchenggang and Beihai experienced a decline followed by an increase, while Qinzhou demonstrated a steady growth in settlement quality. Qinzhou continued to experience growth, albeit at a slower rate, while Fangchenggang’s rate of increase surpassed that of Beihai. The human settlements’ high-quality centre shifted between Qinzhou and Fangchenggang in the late stage (2017–2019). Additionally, in recent years, the settlements’ high-quality centre has shifted towards the western part of the region. The habitat’s sensitivity has grown slowly, as has the responsiveness index, but the vulnerability index continues to decline, and it is characterised by a spatial differentiation ranging from low to high values in a centre–east–west direction. The region’s human settlement quality is primarily influenced by economic development. The region’s habitat vulnerability is primarily caused by responsibility, and the primary factors affecting responsibility are regional imbalances in social service development, the population’s welfare, and employment and infrastructure.