Yangtze River Area Research Articles

Regional eco-efficiency and pollutants' marginal abatement costs in China: A parametric approach

Applying a parameterized directional distance function approach, this paper estimates the regional eco-efficiency and pollutants' marginal abatement costs in China based on provincial panel data covering the years 2003–2012. We find that China could potentially save capital, labor, land, energy and water by 18.07%, 11.47%, 11.20%, 12.28% and 11.19%, and reduce emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), household refuse and waste water by 11.75%, 11.02% and 11.46%, respectively, on condition that all provinces produced fully efficiently, The south and east coastal areas were the most eco-efficient, while the middle Yangtze River and southwest areas performed relatively poor. For the whole country, the average shadow prices of CO2, household refuse and waste water were 717.27 Yuan/tonne, 42,936.98 Yuan/tonne and 306.65 Yuan/tonne, respectively. The shadow price of CO2 revealed significant regional disparities and that of household refuse showed a rapid increase throughout the study period. Our estimates suggest that policymakers should take measures to avoid ineffective capital investment and improve economic output efficiency in inland provinces, especially in the middle Yangtze River, northwest and southwest areas, and facilitate technological cooperation between developed and undeveloped areas. The regional heterogeneity and flexible price mechanism of various pollutants should be taken into consideration when making the reduction allocations among different areas.

Environmental efficiency analysis of the Yangtze River Economic Zone using super efficiency data envelopment analysis (SEDEA) and tobit models

Environmental efficiency (EE) assessment is an efficient way to evaluate the degree of coordination between economy and environment. Most of the studies measured country- or region-level EEs, while the EE disparities among cities were not well investigated. By incorporating the socioeconomic and remote sensing data, this study measured the static and dynamic EEs of 11 provinces and 131 cities in the Yangtze River Economic Zone (YREZ) in China based on a super efficiency data envelopment analysis (SEDEA) and Malmquist index (MI) methods during 2003–2014. The influential factors of EE imbalance in the YREZ area were explored by the panel tobit model. Results show that large gaps exist in city's environmental efficiency. Cities in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) show higher EEs than that in the Chengyu Urban Agglomeration (CUA) and Urban Agglomeration in the Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River (UAMR) areas. 15 cities have an EE below 0.2 and only 2 cities above 1 in 2014. The overall average EE exhibited a declining trend during 2003–2014. The number of cities below the average environmental efficiency increased from 70 (53.4%) to 83 (63.4%) over the time period studied. The MI results indicate that management and scale optimization level is the main factor hindering total factor productivity (TFP) growth. The tobit experiment reveals that GDP per capita played a negative impact on EE for most of the YREZ area during 2003–2014. The degree of opening up and industrial structure acted positively on city's environmental efficiency. These conclusions may be a helpful reference for decision makers to coordinate the economy and environment in the YREZ area.

Study of historical Chinese lacquer culture and technology – Analysis of Chinese Qin-Han dynasty lacquerware

Abstract A Chinese Qin-Han dynasty lacquerware was analyzed by cross-section, field emission scanning electron microscope with energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDX), strontium isotope ratios ( 87 Sr/ 86 Sr), carbon-14 age determination, and pyrolysis-gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. The carbon-14 analysis results showed that the wood base was from a Zelkova schneideriana tree grown in the Yangtze River area about 2300 years ago, and the film was sap collected from lacquer tree about 2200–2250 years ago. The 87 Sr/ 86 Sr isotope ratio was 0.71146 consistent with that of the Chinese mainland (> 0.71). Pyrolysis GC–MS detected 3-heptylphenol and 3-pentadecylphenol in the mass chromatograms at m/z = 108, and palmitic acid and stearic acid were detected at m/z = 60, suggesting that the sap collected from Toxicodendron vernicifluum tree and that many additives had been added. The cross-section and EDX revealed the coating technique and pigment species of lacquerware. Based on these results, the Chinese Qin-Han Dynasty lacquer culture is discussed.

Basin mass dynamic changes in China from GRACE based on a multibasin inversion method

AbstractComplex landforms, miscellaneous climates, and enormous populations have influenced various geophysical phenomena in China, which range from water depletion in the underground to retreating glaciers on high mountains and have attracted abundant scientific interest. This paper, which utilizes gravity observations during 2003–2014 from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE), intends to comprehensively estimate the mass status in 16 drainage basins in the region. We propose a multibasin inversion method that features resistance to stripe noise and an ability to alleviate signal attenuation from the truncation and smoothing of GRACE data. The results show both positive and negative trends. Tremendous mass accumulation has occurred from the Tibetan Plateau (12.1 ± 0.6 Gt/yr) to the Yangtze River (7.7 ± 1.3 Gt/yr) and southeastern coastal areas, which is suggested to involve an increase in the groundwater storage, lake and reservoir water volume, and the flow of materials from tectonic processes. Additionally, mass loss has occurred in the Huang‐Huai‐Hai‐Liao River Basin (−10.2 ± 0.9 Gt/yr), the Brahmaputra‐Nujiang‐Lancang River Basin (−15.0 ± 1.1 Gt/yr), and Tienshan Mountain (−4.1 ± 0.3 Gt/yr), a result of groundwater pumping and glacier melting. Areas with groundwater depletion are consistent with the distribution of cities with land subsidence in North China. We find that intensified precipitation can alter the local water supply and that GRACE can adequately capture these dynamics, which could be instructive for China's South‐to‐North Water Diversion hydrologic project.

Measuring Eco-Efficiency of Agriculture in China

Eco-efficiency is a tool for sustainability analysis that indicates how to carry out economic activities effectively. This paper assesses agricultural eco-efficiency using data envelopment analysis (DEA) and the Theil index approach. Using basic data of 31 provinces in China during 2003–2013, we analyzed the agricultural eco-efficiency development level and spatial pattern in China. The results show that the agricultural eco-efficiency of only four provinces has been relatively efficient in the entire study period, namely, Zhejiang, Hainan, Chongqing, and Tibet. The results also show that agricultural eco-efficiency was higher mainly in south of the Qinling Mountains-Huaihe River Line and north of the Yangtze River area, that agricultural eco-efficiency is mainly affected by pure technical efficiency, and that highly efficient areas are mainly concentrated in the densely populated areas, i.e., the economic developed areas (except Tibet). The Theil index results show that the agricultural eco-efficiency difference weakened between provinces in China, as did western and northeast regions, but eastern and central regions show a slight upward trend.

Distribution and ecological risk of organic pollutants in the sediments and seafood of Yangtze Estuary and Hangzhou Bay, East China Sea

A wide variety of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the surface marine sediments and seafood from four geographic areas of the East China Sea were investigated. The POP concentrations were analyzed and their possible ecotoxicological risks assessed. The total concentrations of hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs), dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethanes (DDTs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the sediments were found to be ND–22.40, ND–5.10, 32.10–171.70, and 0.60–63.00ng/g dry weight (dw), respectively. Low-chlorinated biphenyl congeners and HCHs were predominantly found at the Hangzhou Bay and Yangtze River areas. The sediment ecotoxicological risk was assessed, indicating the toxic effect of PCBs and DDTs on benthic organisms. In marine organisms of economic importance, the concentration of total PAHs, PCBs, and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) ranged from 43.20 to 291.20, 2.60 to 96.20, and 12.70 to 235.20μg/kg dw, respectively. The bioaccumulation in marine organisms did not pose a significant health risk to consumers. As indicated by the POP residues in both marine sediments and organisms, POPs were persistent over time, posing a long-term risk to the local ecosystem and human health via the food chain.

Optimizing Fertilizer Nitrogen for Winter Wheat Production in Yangtze River Region in China

Excessive nitrogen (N) application has been considered as one of the reasons for restricting yield increases in rice-wheat rotation system in the Yangtze River area. From 2007 to 2009, field experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of optimized N management on grain yield, nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) and N surplus of winter wheat in Jianghan Plain (Hubei province, China). Results indicated that grain yield and crop N uptake of treatments with reducing fertilizer N (N135(2) for the first year and N120(3) for the second season) did not significantly reduce yield compared to farmers’ practice (FP). Under the same amount of N application, three-time splitting improved grain yield and enhanced NUE as compared with two-time splitting. The optimized N treatment of N135(2) and N120(3) was observed with higher NUE parameters, i.e. recovery efficiency (REN), agronomic efficiency (AEN) and partial factor productivity (PFPN). Positive correlation between SPAD value and leaf N concentration provided the effective tool to evaluate N status during the growth season. The optimized N rate and top dressing frequency could reduce the residual N retained in the 0–20 cm soil layer after harvest, which could reduce the possibility of soil N loss to the environment. This paper provides insights into N management strategy based on farmers’ practices, which could be regarded as a guideline to improve agricultural management for wheat growth season.

Regional efforts to mitigate climate change in China: a multi-criteria assessment approach

The task of mitigating climate change is usually allocated through administrative regions in China. In order to put pressure on regions that perform poorly in mitigating climate changes and highlight regions with best-practice climate policies, this study explored a method to assess regional efforts on climate change mitigation at the sub-national level. A climate change mitigation index (CCMI) was developed with 15 objective indicators, which were divided into four categories, namely, emissions, efficiency, non-fossil energy, and climate policy. The indicators’ current level and recent development were measured for the first three categories. The index was applied to assess China’s provincial performance in climate protection based on the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) method. Empirical results show that the middle Yangtze River area and southern coastal area perform better than other areas in mitigating climate change. The average performance of the northwest area in China is the worst. In addition, climate change mitigation performance has a negative linear correlation with energy self-sufficiency ratio but does not have a significant linear correlation with social development level. Therefore, regional resource endowments had better be paid much more attention in terms of mitigating climate change because regions with good resource endowments in China tend to perform poorly.

A climatology of aerosol optical depth over China from recent 10 years of MODIS remote sensing data

ABSTRACTUsing the recent 10‐year (March 2000 to February 2010) MODIS data of aerosol optical depth (AOD), the distributions of annual and seasonal mean AOD over China are presented, and the trends and seasonal variations in AOD over 10 regions in China are analysed. The spatial pattern of annual mean AOD is characterized generally with two low centres and two high centres over China. Two low AOD centres are located in the areas with a high vegetation cover and a sparse population in (1) the high‐latitude region in Northeast China with AOD of about 0.2 and (2) the high‐altitude region in Southwest China with AOD from 0.1 to 0.2. These two low AOD centres are connected by a low AOD zone (0.2–0.3) in a northeast–southwest direction across China. Demarcated by this low AOD zone, two high centres with AOD of about 0.8 are situated in (1) the most densely populated and industrialized regions in China with high anthropogenic aerosols from North China Plain, Yangtze River areas covering Sichuan Basin, Central China and Yangtze River Delta to South China with Pearl River Delta region and (2) Tarim Basin in Northwest China with high natural aerosols dominated with desert dust. The spatial AOD patterns over China keep seasonally unchanged, but the strengths of the AOD‐centres vary from season to season. The wintertime AOD is lowest in China. The monthly AOD variations from March to September in Southern China correspond with high AOD before, after the rain periods and low AOD during the rain periods of Asian summer monsoon. Asian summer monsoons also make a notable impact on the seasonal cycle of aerosols in China. The AOD in Northern China changes monthly with a single peak between April and June and a low in the winter months. The positive trends in AOD occur mostly in the aerosol source regions with higher annual mean AOD (>0.25), while the negative trends are found in the regions with lower annual mean AOD (<0.25) over China.

Case Studies of Drought-Flooding Variations for Validating FY-3B/MWRI Data With Intercalibration of Aqua/AMSR-E

As a second generation of China's polar orbiting meteorological satellite, the satellite of FY-3A and FY-3B were launched in 2008 and 2010, sequentially, in sun-synchronous orbits located at the altitude 831 km. The FY-3A/B load totally 11 sensors, including microwave sensors, such microwave temperature sounder (MWTS), microwave humidity sounder (MWHS) and microwave radiometer imager (MWRI), etc. In this paper, based on atmospheric radiative transfer model, intercalibration of multi-channel MWRI measurements with, correspondingly, AMSR-E data are analyzed. Some FY-3B MWRI data along Yangtze River area during spring and summer seasons of 2011 are specifically collected. Based on radiative transfer and MWRI features, the polarization indexes for monitoring drought and flooding happened during those periods are quantitatively analyzed and compared by AMSR-E data. Meanwhile, the scattering indexes are also analyzed for monitoring rainfall, and validated by AMSR-E data and ground station records.

A study of dust radiative feedback on dust cycle and meteorology over East Asia by a coupled regional climate-chemistry-aerosol model

An online coupled regional climate-chemistry-aerosol model was utilized to investigate the dust direct radiative feedbacks on dust deflation, transport and meteorological elements in March 2010, when a severe dust storm originated from the Gobi desert near the China–Mongolia border swept across most areas of East Asia during the period of 19–22 March. The predicted meteorology and aerosol concentration agree generally well with observations, and it clearly shows that the predictions of both dust concentration and meteorological elements with dust radiative feedback are closer to observation than that without feedback, suggesting the superiority of on-line coupled model in chemical and climate predictions. The direct radiative forcing by dust aerosol caused significant reductions in ground temperature and wind speed in dust deflation region, with maximums up to −7 °C and −4.0 m s−1, respectively. The reduced wind speed and increased atmospheric stability resulted in smaller dust emission and weakened vertical diffusion, and consequently less dust aerosol in upper levels transported further downwind. While the shortwave radiative forcing dominated over longwave forcing in the daytime, leading to decreases of surface air temperature and wind speed, in the nighttime, the warming effect of longwave forcing dominated, causing increases of air temperature and wind speed up to 1 °C and 1 m s−1, respectively, in the dust deflation region. The variation of meteorology during the dust storm period at a rural site (Yuzhong) downwind of the Gobi desert exhibited an evident decrease in surface air temperature due to the dust radiative forcing. In terms of monthly mean, the dust radiative forcing caused a surface cooling of −0.6 to −1.0 °C over wide areas from west China to northern parts of east China and the Korean peninsula, with maximums in the middle reaches of the Yellow River and portions of northeast China. Concurrently, precipitation decreased by 0.1–0.6 mm day−1 in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and large areas of north China, and alternating bands of increasing and decreasing precipitation (∼1 mm day−1) occurred in south China.

A novel system of the isothermal dehumidification in a room air-conditioner

In Yangtze River area in China, the temperature in the transitional seasons is moderate but the humidity is high so that the inhabitants feel uncomfortable, thus, the air needs to be dehumidified without lowering the temperature (isothermal dehumidification). In this paper, a novel isothermal dehumidification method in a room air-conditioner is discussed. The system can switch between cooling mode and isothermal dehumidification mode by switching valves, and the indoor reheat coil can be utilized as evaporator in the cooling mode. Through experimental study, the dehumidification capacity, energy efficiency ratio, and energy consumption are studied and fitting formula are given. The results show that the dehumidification capacity is 1.08–3.2kg/h, which could meet the isothermal dehumidification demand of an average residential apartment. The dehumidification EER was 1.13–2.5, and the outlet temperature of the unit was 0–2.4°C lower than the inlet temperature.

Geographic Distribution of Trichothecene Chemotypes of the Fusarium graminearum Species Complex in Major Winter Wheat Production Areas of China

Fusarium head blight, caused by members of the Fusarium graminearum species complex (FGSC), is among the most destructive and economically important diseases of small grain crops, including wheat. To determine the phylogenetic species and mycotoxin (trichothecene) chemotypes of the FGSC in the major winter-wheat-producing areas of China, 530 isolates were collected from diseased wheat during the years 2008, 2009, and 2010, and typed using a polymerase chain reaction-based trichothecene genotype assay. Virulence of isolates with different chemotypes was also compared. Of the 530 isolates typed, 348 were F. asiaticum and 182 were F. graminearum. Subdividing the 530 isolates by the trichothecene predicted to be expressed, 482 were of the deoxynivalenol (DON) chemotype and 48 were nivalenol (NIV). Acetylated derivatives of DON included 3-acetyldeoxynivalenol (3-AcDON; 300 isolates), and 15-acetyldeoxynivalenol (15-AcDON; 182 isolates). Chemotypes of the F. asiaticum isolates were either 3-AcDON or NIV, with 3-AcDON being predominant. F. graminearum isolates were all of the 15-AcDON chemotype. F. asiaticum was the predominant phylogenetic species in the Yangtze River Basin and F. graminearum was dominant in the north of China. Two areas of co-occurrence of trichothecene chemotypes were found. The 3-AcDON and 15-AcDON isolates had similar levels of virulence. The DON isolates were significantly more virulent than those of the NIV. The 3-AcDON and 15-AcDON chemotypes were predominant in the Yangtze River Basin and areas north of the Yangtze River Basin, respectively, and it is suggested that geographic distribution is associated with differences in temperature as well as crop rotation systems.

Mesozoic Intrusive Rocks Characteristics and Comparative between the West Hubei-Jiangxi and the East Jiangsu-Anhui

This paper relies on "The base structure and guide the middle and lower Yangtze River mine - re-controlling factors of research project" in order to study the Mesozoic intrusive rocks in the characteristics of the middle and lower Yangtze River area and distribute-on of the western part of Hubei - Jiangxi and eastern Jiangsu - Anhui comparative study of eastern and western areas. On the basis of the full collection and comprehensive study of previous data, with the actual project work and research, through comprehensive research and analysis, bounded on the east and west of Jiujiang area controlled by different tectonic framework of characteristics of intrusive rock, mainly from the petrology, rock chemistry, magma sources and diagenetic characteristics such as age were compared with paper.

Risk Assessment of Carbon Sequestration for Terrestrial Ecosystems in China

Abstract Climate change will alter the capacity of carbon sequestration, and the risk assessment of carbon sequestration for terrestrial ecosystems will be helpful to the decision-making for climate change countermeasures and international climate negotiations. Based on the net ecosystem productivity of terrestrial ecosystems simulated by Atmosphere Vegetation Integrated Model, each grid of the risk criterion was set by time series trend analysis. Then the risks of carbon sequestration of terrestrial ecosystems were investigated. The results show that, in the IPCCSRES-B2 climate scenario, climate change will bring risks of carbon sequestration, and the high-risk level will dominate terrestrial ecosystems. The risk would expand with the increase of warming degree. By the end of the long-term of this century, about 60% of the whole country will face the risk; Northwest China, mountainous areas in Northeast China, middle and lower reaches plain of Yangtze River areas, Southwest China and Southeast China tend...

New Archaeobotanic Data for the Study of the Origins of Agriculture in China

In the past 10 years, flotation techniques have been introduced and implemented in Chinese archaeology. As a result, a tremendous quantity of plant remains have been recovered from archaeological sites located all over China. These plant remains include crops that might have been domesticated in China—such as rice, foxtail millet, broomcorn millet, and soybean—as well as crops that were introduced into China from other parts of world—such as wheat and barley. The new archaeobotanic data provide direct archaeological evidence for the study of the origins and development of agriculture in China. This paper attempts a synthesis of these new archaeobotanic data while presenting some new ideas about the origins and development of ancient agriculture in China, including the rice agriculture tradition that originated around the middle and lower Yangtze River areas; the dry-land agriculture tradition, with millets as major crops, centered in North China; and the ancient tropical agriculture tradition located in t...

Experimental study on a residential temperature–humidity separate control air-conditioner

According to the temperature and moisture characteristics and current problems experienced in the Yangtze River Area, a temperature–humidity separate control air conditioner was developed. This unit can remove indoor sensible heat and latent heat load separately, and adjust indoor temperature and humidity respectively, thus improve indoor comfort and reduce energy consumption. The air-conditioner consists of an air cooling evaporator and a water cooling evaporator. Orthogonal experiments were designed to study the influence of outdoor temperature, indoor temperature, indoor humidity, compressor frequency, and refrigerant distribution ratio in air cooling evaporator (RDRAE) on the unit performance. The results showed that the dehumidification capacity ranged from 0 to 4.02 kg/h; the EER ranged from 2.71 to 4.57; the cooling capacity ranged from 6822 to 13,080 W. The results can help to make the control logic of the unit, and be used as the basis of energy consumption calculation. Units with temperature and humidity separate control could save about 15.6% of the cooling energy consumption against traditional residential air-conditioner, and 47.8% against the traditional residential air-conditioner that could control both indoor temperature and humidity.

Generation Control Scheduling Model of Three Gorges Power Station during Non-Abandon Water Period

With types of power units, huge installed capacity and complicated operation modes, the Three Gorges Power Station (TGPS) is very important in network operation of Yangtze River area. Power forecasting of TGPS plays an important role in protecting the power network operation and shipping, especially for the short-term output forecasting. The water consumption rate of power station is one of the key conditions in short-term generation control system during non-abandon water period. Therefore, in order to develop the generation control scheduling model of TGPS in non-abandon water period, analysis on many factors should be put including: hydraulic turbine characteristic curves of cascade hydropower stations constructed by TGPS and the Gezhouba Power Station; discharge at dam site; water stage of relationship between upstream and downstream; and the last element is tailrace effect from the Gezhouba Power Station to TGPS. The historical operating result shows that the model referred has wide application prospect in production practice for high precision and much exercisable.

The Pilot Study on Protection of the Three Gorge Reservior Wetland of Yangtze River

Abstract Ecological protection of the Three Gorge Reservoir wetland would influence the development of the Yangtze River area and even the whole of northern China. This paper studies the current situation of the Three Gorge Reservoir wetland, and analysising the main threats which the reservoir area facing. And then we proposed ecological wetland protection measures from planning, design, management system innovation, and the public awareness, in hope to improve the protection and management level of the Three Gorge Reservoir wetland, and leading to deep thinking.

Exploration of early rice farming in China

With the increasing accumulation of data on early rice farming in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, this region has become one of the most important places to trace the origin and development of agriculture. This paper gives a general evaluation of some early rice sites, including the Hemudu, Majiabang, Kuahuqiao, and Shangshan cultures in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River; the Pengtoushan and Chengbeixi cultures, and the Xianrendong, Diaotonghuan and Yuchanyan sites in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River; and the Jiahu site in North China, and recognizes three main development stages of the prehistoric rice forming in China, i.e. initial stage (before 8000 BC, approximately equal to Mesolithic Age), developing stage (between 8000 BC and 5000 BC) and maturating stage (since 5000 BC). The initiation of agriculture is suggested to come with the establishment of more or less sedentary residences, which coexists with the occurrence of pottery making. Warming climate after the last glaciations is considered as a major factor that allowed the distribution of the wild rice northward. Food requirement and storage are another factor in initiating early rice farming, while the increasing population and the Holocene Maximum warm climate condition might greatly promote its development. Evidence from the middle and lower Yangtze River area exhibits the transitional process from a hunting and gathering society to an agriculture-oriented society.