Zhongxian County Research Articles

Corrigendum: Ecological vulnerability assessment based on remote sensing ecological index (RSEI): a case of Zhongxian County, Chongqing

Corrigendum: Ecological vulnerability assessment based on remote sensing ecological index (RSEI): a case of Zhongxian County, Chongqing

Ecological vulnerability assessment based on remote sensing ecological index (RSEI): A case of Zhongxian County, Chongqing

The ecological vulnerability evaluation index was established through Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Wetness (WET), Normalized Difference Build-up and Soil Index (NDBSI) and Land Surface Temperature (LST) indicators, comprehensively evaluate the ecological vulnerability of Zhongxian County of Chongqing in 2002, 2009, and 2016 by Principal Components Analysis (PCA), and analyze its spatio-temporal evolution. The vulnerability areas of five levels were calculated respectively, and the overall index of ecological vulnerability was also calculated. The index of remote sensing ecological index (RSEI) and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index decreased first and then increased; the Wetness index showed an upward trend; the Normalized Difference Build-up and Soil Index index increased first and then decreased; and the Land Surface Temperature index decreased. The ecological vulnerability body index (EVBI) shows a downward trend, and the incremental changes are mainly concentrated in the negligible vulnerability areas and light vulnerability area, while the medium vulnerability, strong vulnerability and extreme vulnerability area generally show a downward trend. Furthermore, the new increment of ecological vulnerability grade area concentrates on negligible vulnerability area and light vulnerability area from 2002 to 2016. In general, the ecological vulnerability gradually shifts to low vulnerability, and the ecological environment tends to develop healthily.

Differential disease diagnoses of epistaxis based on dynamic uncertain causality graph.

Epistaxis is a common symptom and can be caused by various diseases, including nasal diseases, systemic diseases, etc. Many misdiagnosis and missed diagnosis of epistaxis are caused by lack of clinical knowledge and experience, especially some interns and the clinicans in primary hospitals. To help inexperienced clinicans improve their diagnostic accuracies of epistaxis, a computer-aided diagnostic system based on Dynamic Uncertain Causality Graph (DUCG) was designed in this study. We build a visual epistaxis knowledge base based on medical experts' knowledge and experience. The knowledge base intuitively expresses the causal relationship among diseases, risk factors, symptoms, signs, laboratory checks, and image examinations. The DUCG inference algorithm well addresses the patients' clinical information with the knowledge base to deduce the currently suspected diseases and calculate the probability of each suspected disease. The model can differentially diagnose 24 diseases with epistaxis as the chief complaint. A third-party verification was performed, and the total diagnostic precision was 97.81%. In addition, the DUCG-based diagnostic model was applied in Jiaozhou city and Zhongxian county, China, covering hundreds of primary hospitals and clinics. So far, the clinicians using the model have all agreed with the diagnostic results. The 432 real-world application cases show that this model is good for the differential diagnoses of epistaxis. The results show that the DUCG-based epistaxis diagnosis model has high diagnostic accuracy. It can assist primary clinicians in completing the differential diagnosis of epistaxis and can be accepted by clinicians.

Calculation and Analysis of Agricultural Water Flow in Huangqin Reservoir Irrigation Area in Zhongxian County

This paper takes the Huangqin Reservoir irrigation area in Zhongxian County as the research object, and uses the terminal water flow calculation system to measure the water flow at the end of the canal system in the irrigation area. After calculation, the terminal water flow of the final canal system in the Huangqin Reservoir irrigation area after water-saving transformation is 0.053 per ton, which is lower than the farmers’ water tolerance of 0.355 per ton. The results show that the water flow calculated by the terminal water flow calculation system is feasible. However, in the actual implementation process, it is still necessary to continuously adjust and optimize the agricultural water reform measures to promote the development of high-efficiency water-saving agriculture.

Mapping Rice Paddy Based on Machine Learning with Sentinel-2 Multi-Temporal Data: Model Comparison and Transferability

Rice is an important agricultural crop in the Southwest Hilly Area, China, but there has been a lack of efficient and accurate monitoring methods in the region. Recently, convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have obtained considerable achievements in the remote sensing community. However, it has not been widely used in mapping a rice paddy, and most studies lack the comparison of classification effectiveness and efficiency between CNNs and other classic machine learning models and their transferability. This study aims to develop various machine learning classification models with remote sensing data for comparing the local accuracy of classifiers and evaluating the transferability of pretrained classifiers. Therefore, two types of experiments were designed: local classification experiments and model transferability experiments. These experiments were conducted using cloud-free Sentinel-2 multi-temporal data in Banan District and Zhongxian County, typical hilly areas of Southwestern China. A pure pixel extraction algorithm was designed based on land-use vector data and a Google Earth Online image. Four convolutional neural network (CNN) algorithms (one-dimensional (Conv-1D), two-dimensional (Conv-2D) and three-dimensional (Conv-3D_1 and Conv-3D_2) convolutional neural networks) were developed and compared with four widely used classifiers (random forest (RF), extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost), support vector machine (SVM) and multilayer perceptron (MLP)). Recall, precision, overall accuracy (OA) and F1 score were applied to evaluate classification accuracy. The results showed that Conv-2D performed best in local classification experiments with OA of 93.14% and F1 score of 0.8552 in Banan District, OA of 92.53% and F1 score of 0.8399 in Zhongxian County. CNN-based models except Conv-1D provided more desirable performance than non-CNN classifiers. Besides, among the non-CNN classifiers, XGBoost received the best result with OA of 89.73% and F1 score of 0.7742 in Banan District, SVM received the best result with OA of 88.57% and F1 score of 0.7538 in Zhongxian County. In model transferability experiments, almost all CNN classifiers had low transferability. RF and XGBoost models have achieved acceptable F1 scores for transfer (RF = 0.6673 and 0.6469, XGBoost = 0.7171 and 0.6709, respectively).

Response of Nitrogen Loss Flux in Purple Soil Sloping Field to Reduced Fertilizer and Combining Straw

The purple soil sloping field is considered as the main source of sediment and non-point source pollution in the Three Gorges Reservoir area. To prevent and control the non-point source pollution, it is indispensable to explore the characteristics of nitrogen loss in the overland flow and interflow of purple soil sloping field in Three Gorges Reservoir area. The purple soil sloping runoff plots, located in the Shibaozhai Experimental Station of Chengdu Institute of Chinese Academy of Sciences in Zhongxian County, Chongqing, were studied. The experiment included no fertilization treatment (CK), traditional fertilization treatment (T1), amended fertilization treatment (T2), and reduced fertilizer with straw treatment (T3). According to the data of volume of the interflow and runoff and the leach concentration and flux of nitrogen forms under rapeseed-maize rotation system, the response of nitrogen leaching flux to reduce fertilizer with straw application can be definite in purple soil sloping plots. The results show that the ratio of interflow to total runoff is 60.14%-88.56%, and the flux of nitrogen leaching in the interflow accounts for 72.88%-92.35% of total nitrogen loss flux. Ammonium was mainly leached by the overland flow. In addition, nitrate was mainly leached by the interflow and was the main form of nitrogen leaching. The fluxes of ammonium and nitrate under different treatments followed the order T1 > T2 > T3 > CK. The total nitrogen flux of T3 was 20.07 kg·(hm2·a)-1, which was 43.59% and 39.55% lower than that of T1 and T2, respectively. The reduced fertilizer with straw application significantly decreased the leaching flux of ammonium, nitrate, and total nitrogen, and weakened the effect on runoff nitrogen leaching in the purple soil sloping plots.

Dynamic simulation of land use change based on logistic-CA-Markov and WLC-CA-Markov models: a case study in three gorges reservoir area of Chongqing, China

The construction of The Three Gorges Reservoir has changed land use structure and reconstituted landscape pattern as imparts significant influence upon the land use structure and ecological environment of Three Gorges Reservoir Regions. The ecological safety of reservoir area is extremely dependent on unique location and special geological conditions of Zhongxian County, the center of Three Gorges Reservoir Regions in Chongqing, and therefore, ecological environment of reservoir area will be changed with the transition of land use in Zhongxian County. Based on land use data in 2000, 2005, 2010, this paper chooses influencing factors from aspects of natural topographic and geomorphological conditions, accessibility to economic development and land use expansion, and then establishes Logistic-CA-Markov (Logistic-Cellular Automata-Markov) and WLC-CA-Markov (Weighted Linear Combination- Cellular Automata- Markov) models so as to simulate spatial pattern of land use of Zhongxian County. The results demonstrate that WLC-CA-Markov model established here has better controllability and higher simulation precision (the kappa coefficient is 0.9295). In the future development of Zhongxian County, the area of grassland and plow land will be reduced continuously, the area of construction land will be expanded obviously mostly because of the added area both near the water and in the north of Zhongxian county, the area of woodland will be increased to a little extent, the area of water area and unused land has gentle change. In the sustainable scenario, the area of grassland will be reduced slightly, the area of water area keeps steady, the area of plow land is reduced but higher than red line of plow land, the area of construction land is increased with significantly smaller increase amplitude than that in the natural development scenario, and the woodland is increased. This scenario coordinates ecological environment with economic development of regional society and turns out to be the best development scenario of land use.

Hair Mercury Concentrations in Residents of Fuling and Zhongxian in the Three Gorges Reservoir Region and Their Influence Factors

To evaluate the mercury (Hg) exposure risk for residents of the Three Gorges Reservoir Region (TGRR), hair samples were collected from 238 local residents within the central regions of the TGRR (Fuling District and Zhongxian County) in this study. Subsequently, total mercury (THg) and methylmercury (MeHg) concentrations were determined. The results obtained showed that the average THg and MeHg concentrations in hair samples of the residents within these two areas were (0.50±0.54) μg·g-1 and(0.35±0.25) μg·g-1, respectively. Specifically, the average THg and MeHg concentrations in hair samples of Fuling residents were(0.71±0.87) μg·g-1 and(0.53±0.46) μg·g-1, respectively. Both these values were higher than those in hair samples of Zhongxian County residents [THg(0.41±0.36) μg·g-1 and MeHg (0.28±0.26) μg·g-1]. It is noteworthy that the hair Hg levels in residents of these two areas are both well below the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's reference dose (1 μg·g-1). Hair Hg levels varied slightly among different age groups; higher Hg levels were detected in residents in the age group of 40-50 years(P<0.05). However, there was no significant difference between the hair Hg levels among genders(P>0.05). Hair Hg levels in females were slightly above those in males. Hair Hg levels were significantly correlated with the frequency of fish consumption. Furthermore, hair Hg levels in non-fishermen were significantly lower than those in fishermen. An elevated mean value of (1.44±0.79) μg·g-1(P<0.01), which exceeds the RfD of 1 μg·g-1, was detected in fishermen. Moreover, hair Hg levels in smokers of Fuling and Zhongxian County[(0.55±0.24) μg·g-1 and (0.58±0.54) μg·g-1, respectively] were both markedly higher than those in non-smokers[(0.51±0.30) μg·g-1 and (0.36±0.26) μg·g-1respectively]. In conclusion, the risk of Hg exposure to residents of the TGRR was lower. However, in this study, it was determined that fishermen are at significant risk of Hg exposure.

The Effects of Timing of Inundation on Soil Physical Quality in the Water-Level Fluctuation Zone of the Three Gorges Reservoir Region, China

Core Ideas The soil pore network was analyzed by micro-CT images of intact soil core samples. The VESS method using the mass fractal dimension was applied to evaluate soil structural quality. Inundation decreases the number of soil pores and total porosity. Drainable micropores shift to non-drainable micropores after inundation in the reservoir zone. With the completion of the Three Gorges Dam, soils between the elevations of 145 and 175 m are exposed or submerged seasonally. Soil hydrological and physical properties are changed. A detailed investigation was performed to examine the influence of the timing of inundation on soil physical quality. Samples were collected in the water level fluctuation (WLF) zone and non-WLF zone in Zhongxian County, Chongqing. Soil samples were taken from depths of 0 to 10, 10 to 20, 20 to 30, and 30 to 40 cm. Soil structural quality was assessed by the visual evaluation of soil structure (VESS) method in situ; mean weight diameter (MWD) and mass fractal dimension (Dm) were measured to represent soil aggregate stability; and the soil water retention curve and computed microtomography (micro-CT) images were used to show soil pore networks. Our findings show a deterioration of soil structure indicated by a high structural quality (Sq) score in VESS (the higher the Sq score, the worse the soil structural quality) and a decline in soil aggregate stability indicated by low MWD and low Dm in the WLF zone. The data from both the soil water retention curve and micro-CT images demonstrate a deterioration of soil physical quality through decreased porosity and a shift of drainable micropores (0.1 < radii < 125 μm) to non-drainable micropores (radii < 0.1 μm) in the WLF zone of the Three Gorges Reservoir. The potential of environmental hazards of soil in WLF zone was also investigated.

The Effects of Timing of Inundation on Soil Physical Quality in the Water‐Level Fluctuation Zone of the Three Gorges Reservoir Region, China

Core Ideas The soil pore network was analyzed by micro‐CT images of intact soil core samples. The VESS method using the mass fractal dimension was applied to evaluate soil structural quality. Inundation decreases the number of soil pores and total porosity. Drainable micropores shift to non‐drainable micropores after inundation in the reservoir zone. With the completion of the Three Gorges Dam, soils between the elevations of 145 and 175 m are exposed or submerged seasonally. Soil hydrological and physical properties are changed. A detailed investigation was performed to examine the influence of the timing of inundation on soil physical quality. Samples were collected in the water level fluctuation (WLF) zone and non‐WLF zone in Zhongxian County, Chongqing. Soil samples were taken from depths of 0 to 10, 10 to 20, 20 to 30, and 30 to 40 cm. Soil structural quality was assessed by the visual evaluation of soil structure (VESS) method in situ; mean weight diameter (MWD) and mass fractal dimension (Dm) were measured to represent soil aggregate stability; and the soil water retention curve and computed microtomography (micro‐CT) images were used to show soil pore networks. Our findings show a deterioration of soil structure indicated by a high structural quality (Sq) score in VESS (the higher the Sq score, the worse the soil structural quality) and a decline in soil aggregate stability indicated by low MWD and low Dm in the WLF zone. The data from both the soil water retention curve and micro‐CT images demonstrate a deterioration of soil physical quality through decreased porosity and a shift of drainable micropores (0.1 &lt; radii &lt; 125 μm) to non‐drainable micropores (radii &lt; 0.1 μm) in the WLF zone of the Three Gorges Reservoir. The potential of environmental hazards of soil in WLF zone was also investigated.

水位变化对三峡库区消落带落羽杉营养特征的影响

PDF HTML阅读 XML下载 导出引用 引用提醒 水位变化对三峡库区消落带落羽杉营养特征的影响 DOI: 10.5846/stxb201606211213 作者: 作者单位: 西南大学生命科学学院,西南大学生命科学学院,西南大学生命科学学院,西南大学生命科学学院,西南大学生命科学学院 作者简介: 通讯作者: 中图分类号: 基金项目: 国家国际科技合作专项（2015DFA90900）；三峡后续工作库区生态与生物多样性保护专项项目（5000002013BB5200002）；重庆市林业重点科技攻关项目（渝林科研2015-6）；中央财政林业科技推广示范项目（渝林科推[2014-10]）；重庆市研究生科研创新项目（CYB16066） Effect of water-level change on nutritional characteristics of Taxodium distichum in the hydro-fluctuation belt of the Three Gorges Reservoir Author: Affiliation: College of Life Science,Southwest University,College of Life Science,Southwest University,College of Life Science,Southwest University,College of Life Science,Southwest University,College of Life SCience, Southwest University Fund Project: 摘要 | 图/表 | 访问统计 | 参考文献 | 相似文献 | 引证文献 | 资源附件 | 文章评论 摘要:三峡大坝建成蓄水后，其独特的水位调度节律对水库消落带植物的生境造成巨大干扰。为了解落羽杉在消落带特殊生境下的生理生态过程，探究其水淹耐受机制，在三峡库区消落带植被修复忠县示范基地建立3 a后，对试验样地内种植于消落带海拔175-165 m范围的落羽杉进行叶片、根系样品采集，并调查其生长情况，测定分析落羽杉营养元素含量及其与植株生长和土壤养分间的关系。结果表明：（1）水位变化对适生树种落羽杉营养元素吸收造成了明显影响。随着淹水深度和淹水时间的延长，落羽杉根系能量代谢受阻，根系功能紊乱，营养元素吸收与运输受到抑制，落羽杉N、P、K、Ca、Zn吸收减少；水淹导致土壤中Fe2+、Mn2+含量升高，落羽杉Fe、Mn吸收增加。（2）相关性分析表明，落羽杉株高与N、K、Mg含量呈极显著正相关关系，与P含量呈显著正相关关系，而与Fe、Cu含量呈极显著负相关关系，与Mn含量呈显著负相关关系；落羽杉冠幅与植株N、P、K、Mg含量呈极显著正相关关系，而与Fe、Cu含量呈极显著负相关关系；落羽杉营养元素含量与土壤元素含量无显著相关性。（3）消落带不同海拔落羽杉营养元素的积累量均不低于植物正常生长水平，未见严重的缺素状况。研究结果表明，落羽杉对三峡库区消落带水位变化具有很好的适应能力，能够对水位变化做出积极的响应，平衡各元素的积累量，维持植株正常生长。 Abstract:The construction of the Three Gorges Dam reservoir spans the Yangtze River, China, forming a hydro-fluctuation belt with a water level drop of nearly 30 m and an area of 300 km2. The unique anthropogenic hydrological regime of the Three Gorges Dam has had significant negative impacts on the reservoir's riparian ecosystem. Some flooding-intolerant plants living within the belt gradually died off, which exacerbated vegetation habitat fragmentation and deleteriously affected the biological diversity, ecosystem structures, and functions of the water-fluctuation zone. Therefore, a pressing scientific challenge is to recover and restore the vegetation there and ensure proper ecological function. Previous studies have shown that Taxodium distichum is a flooding-tolerant plant and has been used for vegetation reconstruction. The nutritional characteristics of plants in a particular area can reflect the eco-physiological processes of plants, and can serve as crucial indicators of the structure and function of the local ecosystem. The nutritional characteristics play a key role in adaptation to anti-seasonal flooding, and might reveal clues about the adaptation mechanisms of plants in the hydro-fluctuation belt of the Three Gorges reservoir area. To contribute to this understanding, the nutritional characteristics of T. distichum growing in the reservoir riparian region of Zhongxian county, which had been planted in 2012, were studied. Element contents of three sample zones in low water elevation (165 m)-SD, high water elevation (170 m)-SL, and the control-CK(175 m) were determined in 2015. The macroelement, secondary element, and micronutrient contents in root and leaves of plants were measured. The results showed that:(1) Concentrations of N, P, K, Ca, and Zn in leaves and roots of T. distichum under flooding significantly decreased compared to CK, whereas Fe and Mn contents significantly increased. (2) Some nutrient concentrations of T. distichum under flooding decreased, but still maintained their normal performance. (3) Correlation analysis showed that plant heights were positively correlated with the concentrations of N, P, K, and Mg; plant heights were negatively correlated with the concentrations of Fe, Cu, and Mn; canopies of plants were positively correlated with the concentrations of N, P, K, and Mg, but negatively correlated with Fe and Mn. This investigation indicates that water level change had significantly influenced the nutritional characteristics of T. distichum in water-level-fluctuating zone of the Three Gorges Reservoir. T. distichum had good adaptability to the changed water habitat. 参考文献 相似文献 引证文献

Spectral Characteristics of Dissolved Organic Matter (DOM) Releases from Soils of Typical Water-Level Fluctuation Zones of Three Gorges Reservoir Areas:Fluorescence Spectra

As an important sources of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in aquatic system, DOM releases from flooding or submerged soils is a key process in water-level fluctuation zones. In this study, four typical sites in water-level fluctuation zones of Three Gorges Reservoir areas were selected to conduct simulated soil flooding experiments, under ambient (open air) and anoxic conditions. By using fluorescence spectrum technique, the dynamic and geochemical characteristics of DOM releases from flooding soils were investigated. Results showed that the trend or model of DOM releases observed by fluorescence spectrum in all soils from four sampling sites was similar to the observation by UV-Vis spectrum. Fluorescence property of DOM releases showed an important contribution to DOM fluorescence in overlying waters. The rapid releases at initial stage and removal mechanism for later dynamic equilibrium were crucial to explain the dynamic "source-sink" equilibrium in whole flooding period. Effect of inorganic mineral adsorption-desorption on humic-like components (A and C peaks) was significant. Also, impact of microbial utilization on protein-like components (B and T peaks) was confirmative. Additionally, all DOM samples had "autochthonousness plus allochthonousness" property. Except Shibaozhai (SB) site in Zhongxian county, during the whole flooding period, all three other sites didn't show any significant difference between ambient and anoxic conditions. They could be explained by the high heterogeneity of soil property including minerals and organic components. Meanwhile, both the UV-Vis and fluorescence spectra were complementary for each other, and they evidentially showed that the "source-sink" (release and removal) mechanism in DOM releases from submerged soils was the core to decide the dynamics of DOM in overlying waters. Importantly, DOM showed higher aromaticity and humification at the initial release stage when flooding occurred, as well as the greater terrestrial source characteristics, which further helped to explain the environmental fates of pollutants in these environmental sensitive areas. It would also be useful for unveiling the role of DOM in environmental system in future.

Preliminary study on zinc smelting relics from the Linjiangerdui site in Zhongxian County, Chongqing City, southwest China

The study of zinc distillation technology in ancient China has recently been published by Zhou et al. 2012, 2014. From these two papers we know more detail informations about it. But, there are still some key technologies we do not know exactly. The first question is if there is any difference between the coal used as fuel or as reductant agent? We also don't know the exact smelting temperature in this kind of smelting activity. The last and most important thing, we know that the retorts were charged with zinc ores, coal and charcoal, but we know little about the exact ration between them. In order to solve these questions, this paper presents the analytical study by OM, XRF, XRD, DIL and SEM-EDS of zinc production that remains from the archaeological site of Lijiangerdui, in the same region, dated to the Ming dynasty, probably a few years earlier than the previous studies. The results indicated that there are different coals used for the smelting activity, and the smelting temperature can be as high as 1306°C, all of these are over 1180°C. The ratios for the raw material may be 1:2.7 [(coal+charcoal)/zinc ores].

Defining the range of ecological shelter zones in the shore zone of Three Gorges Reservoir, China

To maintaining a health ecological environment in Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR) area, ecological shelter zones (ESZ) need to be built in the TGR shore zone urgently. Based on the implication and function of ESZ, this study first analyzed the relationships amongst three subsystems of the TGR area, including the upstream production-living land, the downstream reservoir water body, and the ESZ. Then a simple and practical hydrological environment model for controlling the eutrophication of the TGR water body was constructed to determine ESZ range of TGR. Additionally, based on the pollutant degradation efficiency of ESZ and the assimilative capacity of reservoir water body, a raster reverse tracking method was proposed to determine the range of ESZ. Thirdly, take Yangdu town in Zhongxian county as a typical region, the ESZ range under three scenarios of different rainfall intensity, degradation efficiency and inflow water quality that corresponding to the three decisive factors of defining ESZ range were discussed. Finally, the statistical laws of the ESZ’s width at each boundary points were discussed to facilitate the ESZ construction projects, and selected standardized rate at 70, 90, and 99 % were labelled as “General”, “Good” and “Excellent” level to represent the performance of the width of the ESZ range. In conclusion, it suggest “Good” level width as basic width of ESZ, and additionally a special protection zone should be put on upstream environment for the extreme large width at the boundary points.

Changes in land use and agricultural production structure before and after the implementation of grain for green program in Western China — taking two typical counties as examples

Soil erosion becomes a serious environmental problem in the world, especially in western China. An effective management practice called the Grain for Green Program (GGP), which was launched in 1999, aims to reduce soil and water loss and alleviate the ecological environment problem in western China. Two typical counties in western China, the Zhongxian (in Chongqing Municipality) and Ansai (in Shaanxi Province) were chosen to evaluate the dynamic changes of land use and agricultural production structure before and after the implementation of the Program in this paper. The results showed that the cultivated land area was reduced by 7.08% from 1989 to 2003. The cultivated land per person was decreased by 8.42% during 1999-2003. Moreover, the stability index of the secondary sector of the economy was increased from 0.91 in the period 1990-1999 to 0.94 in the following ten years. In addition, the stability index of tertiary economic sector increased from 0.88 to 0.92 in Zhongxian county. Meanwhile, the cultivated land area was reduced by 15.48% from 1990 to 1999. The soil erosion modulus was decreased by 33.33% from 1999 to 2006. Also, the stability index of secondary and tertiary economic sectors was 0.86 in the period 1998-2002. However, it decreased by 77% during 2002 to 2007 in Ansai County. These results imply that the Grain for Green Program had different impact on the two regions. Several effective strategies of soil and water conservation have been carried out to ameliorate the sustainable development of ecological environment and economy in these two counties of western China.

Application of analytical hierarchy process and least-squares method for landslide susceptibility assessment along the Zhong-Wu natural gas pipeline, China

As one of the major problems of geo-engineering, landslides often influence the safety of linear engineering projects that cross mountainous areas. Therefore, when selecting suitable routes for such projects, it is important to assess their susceptibility to landslides. In this paper, we used a natural gas pipeline in the northeast of the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau of China as a case study to analyze landslide susceptibility. Based on engineering geological analogy, the analytical hierarchy process, and the least-squares method, a regional landslide susceptibility assessment model was developed and was programmed using GIS ArcEngine components under the Visual Studio.NET environment. The landslide susceptibility along the Zhong-Wu natural gas pipeline from Zhongxian County to Wuhan was assessed based on this model and classified into five levels: very safe, safe, moderate, susceptible, and very susceptible. The high accuracy and prediction capability of the model were confirmed by comparing the model results with past landslide data and performing a prediction test. The results indicated that the assessment model used in this study is reliable and can be used for landslide susceptibility assessment and route selection in other areas.

Dual roles of tillage erosion in lateral SOC movement in the landscape

The facts that the global carbon budget cannot be currently balanced and current estimates of agricultural sources and sinks may be inaccurate, may be linked to unaccounted‐for erosion‐induced changes in soil organic carbon (SOC). A closed landscape with field banks and an open landscape without field banks were selected from two sites located in Jianyang County, Sichuan Province, and Zhongxian County, Chongqing Municipality, respectively. In these landscapes, the role of tillage and water erosion was examined using measurements of soil redistribution in relation to 137Cs radionuclide depth‐stratigraphy, to elucidate the mechanism of SOC depth distribution in the soil profile and resultant stocks in agricultural landscapes of terraced field systems. Changes in the 137Cs inventory at different landscape positions depend on both 137Cs concentrations of individual subsample layers (5‐cm depth) and the vertical extent of 137Cs depth distribution in the terrace system with field banks, while the changes are only associated with the vertical extent of 137Cs depth distribution in the terrace system without field banks because of similar 137Cs concentrations of individual subsample layers. The profile shape of SOC depth distribution exhibits notable differences between the upper and lower parts of the terrace in systems with field banks, but no apparent differences were found in the systems without field banks and the SOC profile shape is similar to that of the upper part of the terrace in systems with field banks. It is suggested that SOC depth distribution in these two types of terraced field systems is controlled by different soil erosion patterns. Tillage erosion playing a dominant role in the process of soil erosion within a landscape can increase SOC stocks. However, SOC depletion takes place in situations where the two processes of tillage and water erosion are both important and tillage erosion acts as a delivery mechanism for water erosion. We conclude that tillage erosion plays a dual role: enhancing carbon storage at depositional positions, and accelerating carbon depletion when combined with water erosion within the same landscape.

Animal diversities and characteristics of environmental change revealed by skeletons unearthed at Zhongba Site of Chongqing City, China

Nearly 200000 animal skeletons are unearthed in the Unit T0202 from Zhongba Site of Zhongxian County. According to the analysis of 129165 specimens, these skeletons may be classified into 5 kinds, namely, Mammalia, Osteichthys, Aves, Amphibian and Reptilia, which belong to 13 orders, 28 families and 42 genera. In this paper, based on archeological dating and AMS14C data, through statistically analyzing the unearthed skeletons and studying the change of the smallest individual numbers, these research results detected the following: 1) In almost all the time of 2370–200 BC, in Zhongba region, some animals distributed widely, such as Muntiacus sp, Elaphodus cephalophus and Muntiacus sp. inhabiting in glade and grassland, Scrofa sp. and Canis familiaris raised by the ancient people, rodentia rabbit and Rattus rattus, which suggested that a fairly good ecological environment of forest and grassland was preserved at that period and the predecessors began to raise domestic animals from 1750 to 1000 BC, which has lasted until today. 2) Rhinoceros only lived during 2000–1750 BC, 1000–700 BC and 700–500 BC, which indicates that the ecological environment of grassland and wetland might be better in these phases. 3) Macaca sp. and Ursus arctos appeared only after 1750–1000 BC, which may show that the forest condition is better for animals to live during 1750–200 BC. 4) The smallest individual numbers of Bublus sp., bos sp. and otters emerged during about 2370–1750 BC, which perhaps infers that water area during the early period was wider than that of the late period. 5) Since skeletons of rhinoceros are discovered in strata of Zhongba Site during 2000–1750 BC and 1000–500 BC, according to the climate and ecology environment which rhinoceros live in now, the average annual temperature and precipitation during 2000–1750 BC and 1000–500 BC are supposed to be probably higher than that of today. Although Zhu Kezhen considered that the first low temperature period in the past 5000 years of China was between 1100 BC and 850 BC, massive pollen of Morus, Ulmus, Fagus, Quercus, Castanea, etc. were found in Dajiuhu peat at that time, which should indicate that the climate was still moderate for living things to live at least in Dajiuhu basin and Zhongba Site. 6) Because skeletons of Gervus albirostris were unearthed during 310–200 BC at Zhongba Site, based on the climate and the ecological environment those animals live in now, the average annual temperature and the average annual precipitation in Zhongba area between 310 BC and 200 BC should be lower than those of today, which is confirmed by the TOC research of Zhongba Site strata.