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The crop-livestock integration model is the main path for the sustainable development of agriculture and animal husbandry in China, and farmers' participation behavior is critical to the formation of this model. So this paper based on a field survey data of 615 farmers in 10 pilot counties of Crop-Livestock Integration (CLI) in the dairy industry in the east, middle, and west of Inner Mongolia, the relationship among transaction costs, farmers' decision-making of participating in the CLI model, and income effects was analyzed using the Endogenous Switching Regression (ESR) model in this paper. The results show that under the current market environment, the proportion of farmers participating in the CLI model is 37.56% of the farmer surveyed. The high costs of information searching, negotiation, and execution are the critical factors to inhibit farmers from participating in the CLI model. The results of the counterfactual test of the ESR model show that the effect of the CLI model on the income of participated farmers is not noticeable, while the effect is more significant on the income of non-participating farmers. Moreover, there is no obvious heterogeneity in the effects of the farmer level and "farmers-to-farm" level CLI models on farmers' income. Based on these conclusions, this paper proposes that the government should actively promote the establishment of the information-sharing platform and training mechanism about the CLI model, reduce farmers' costs in information searching and negotiation, optimize the incentive policy of the CLI model, incorporate the farmers planting forage into the subsidy scope of the CLI model, improve the economic benefits of farmers participating in the CLI model, and stimulate the enthusiasm of farmers participating in the CLI model, so as to effectively promote the realization of the CLI model in the animal husbandry industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to theoretically and empirically test whether the Weather Index Insurance for Mutton Sheep (WIMS) which protects the herders from increased feeding costs resulting from drought and snow disasters promotes the income of herders in China's Inner Mongolia or not. We have applied the OLS, PSM, and quantile regression models using field survey data from 261 herders in Xilin Gol, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region for our objective. The findings demonstrate that the WIMS significantly increases the overall and high-income herders' income, but has no significant effect on herders' income at other income levels. According to the results, we recommend that as the subsidized agricultural insurance product, the government should expand the pilot region of WIMS to furtherly test its income effect and consider reducing or exempting insurance premiums for low-income herders to reduce their financial pressure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As urban economies flourish and populations become increasingly concentrated, urban surface deformation has emerged as a critical factor in city planning that cannot be overlooked. Surface deformation in urban areas can lead to deformations in structural supports of infrastructure such as road bases and bridges, thereby posing a serious threat to public safety and creating significant safety hazards. Consequently, research focusing on the monitoring of urban surface deformation holds paramount importance. Interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR), as an important means of earth observation, has all-day, wide-range, high-precision, etc., characteristics and is widely used in the field of surface deformation monitoring. However, traditional solitary InSAR techniques are limited in their application scenarios and computational characteristics. Additionally, the manual selection of ground control points (GCPs) is fraught with errors and uncertainties. Permanent scatterers (PS) can maintain high interferometric coherence in man-made building areas, and distributed scatterers (DS) usually show moderate coherence in areas with short vegetation; the combination of DS and PS solves the problem of manually selecting GCPs during track re-flattening and regrading, which affects the monitoring results. In this paper, 45 Sentinel-1B data from 16 February 2019 to 14 December 2021 are used as the data source in the urban area of Horqin District, Tongliao City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, for example. A four-threshold (coherence coefficient threshold, FaSHPS adaptive threshold, amplitude divergence index threshold, and deformation velocity interval) GCPs point screening method for PS-DS, as well as a Small Baseline Subset-Permanent Scatterers-Distributed Scatterers-Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (SBAS-PS-DS-InSAR) method for selecting PS and DS points as ground control points for orbit refinement and re-flattening, are proposed. The surface deformation results obtained using the Small Baseline Subset Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (SBAS-InSAR) and the SBAS-PS-DS-InSAR proposed in this paper were comparatively analysed and verified. The maximum cumulative line-of-sight settlements were −90.78 mm and −83.68 mm, and the maximum cumulative uplifts are 74.94 mm and 97.56 mm, respectively; the maximum annual average line-of-sight settlements are −35.38 mm/y and −30.38 mm/y, and the maximum annual average uplifts are 25.27 mm/y and 27.92 mm/y. The results were evaluated and analysed in terms of correlation, mean absolute error (MAE), and root mean square error (RMSE). The deformation results of the two InSAR methods were evaluated and analysed in terms of correlation, MAE, and RMSE. The errors show that the Pearson correlation coefficients between the vertical settlement results obtained using the SBAS-PS-DS-InSAR method and the GPS monitoring results were closer to 1. The maximum MAE and RMSE were 13.7625 mm and 14.8004 mm, respectively, which are within the acceptable range; this confirms that the monitoring results of the SBAS-PS-DS-InSAR method were better than those of the original SBAS-InSAR method. SBAS-InSAR method, which is valid and reliable. The results show that the surface deformation results obtained using the SBAS-InSAR, SBAS-PS-DS-InSAR, and GPS methods have basically the same settlement locations, extents, distributions, and temporal and spatial settlement patterns. The deformation results obtained using these two InSAR methods correlate well with the GPS monitoring results, and the MAE and RMSE are within acceptable limits. By comparing the deformation information obtained using multiple methods, the surface deformation in urban areas can be better monitored and analysed, and it can also provide scientific references for urban municipal planning and disaster warning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Satellite laser altimetry technology, a novel space remote sensing technique, actively acquires high-precision elevation information about the Earth's surface. However, the accuracy of laser altimetry can be compromised by alterations in the satellite-ground environment, thermal dynamics, and cosmic radiation. These factors may induce subtle variations in the installation and internal structure of the spaceborne laser altimeter on the satellite platform, diminishing measurement precision. In-orbit calibration is thus essential to enhancing the precision of laser altimetry. Through collaborative calculations between satellite and ground stations, we can derive correction parameters for laser pointing and ranging, substantially improving the accuracy of satellite laser altimetry. This paper introduces a sophisticated calibration method for laser altimeter pointing and ranging that utilizes dense control points. The approach interpolates discrete ground control point data into continuous simulated terrain using empirical Bayesian kriging, subsequently categorizing the data for either pointing or ranging calibration according to their respective functions. Following this, a series of calibration experiments are conducted, prioritizing "pointing" followed by "ranging" and continuing until the variation in the ranging calibration results falls below a predefined threshold. We employed experimental data from ground control points (GCPs) in Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia, China, to calibrate the GaoFen-7 (GF-7) satellite Beam 2 laser altimeter as per the outlined method. The calibration outcomes were then benchmarked against those gleaned from infrared laser detector calibration, revealing disparities of 1.12 s in the pointing angle and 2 cm in the ranging correction value. Post validation with ground control points, the measurement accuracy was refined to 0.15 m. The experiments confirm that the proposed calibration method offers accuracy comparable to that of infrared laser detector calibration and can facilitate the updating of 1:10,000 topographic maps utilizing stereo optical imagery. Furthermore, this method is more cost-effective and demands fewer personnel for ground control point collection, enhancing resource efficiency compared to traditional infrared laser detector calibration. The proposed approach surpasses terrain-matching limitations when calibrating laser ranging parameters and presents a viable solution for achieving frequent and high-precision in-orbit calibration of laser altimetry satellites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural drought events have become more frequent in the Inner Mongolia inland river basin in recent years, and the spatio-temporal evolution characteristics and development rules can be accurately and comprehensively understood using the three-dimensional identification method. In this paper, standardized soil moisture index (SSMI) was used to characterize agricultural drought, and modified Mann–Kendall trend test (MMK) and 3D recognition of drought events were used to analyze the spatio-temporal evolution characteristics of agricultural drought events in this basin and reveal the drought development law. The relationships between drought and temperature (T), precipitation (P), evapotranspiration (E), and humidity (H) were analyzed using a cross-wavelet method. The results are as follows: (1) When the time scale of agricultural drought was short (monthly scale), the alternations of dry and wet were frequent, but the SSMI index of all scales showed a downward trend; (2) The spatial distribution characteristics of drought change trend in four seasons were similar, but the area with a significant downward trend of drought in spring was the largest, and the area of high frequency region was also the largest, and the drought trend was the most obvious; (3) The most serious agricultural drought event occurred from October 2000 to May 2002, and reached its maximum value in September 2001 (drought area and drought severity of 2.26 × 105 km2 and 3.61 × 105 months·km2, respectively), which mainly experienced five processes—drought onset–intensification–decay–re-intensification–termination—and the migration path of the drought center showed the characteristics of southwest–northeast transmission; (4) All the four meteorological factors were correlated with SSMI, and P had a greater impact on SSMI. This article aims to reveal the spatio-temporal evolution of agricultural drought events in the Inner Mongolia inland river basin, and provide a new way to accurately evaluate the spatio-temporal evolution of drought. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural insurance is a risk management tool developed to guarantee regional production and national food security. Based on survey data from 629 households in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, China, this paper examines the impact of agricultural insurance on farmers' planting structure. The results show that: (1) Farmers' participation in agricultural insurance significantly affects their planting structure, especially lowering the level of specialization in production; insured households are about 3–6% lower than the non-insured, and there is a complementary effect between insurance participation and diversified planting. (2) For different types of farmers, participating in insurance has different effects on their agricultural production structure. Farmers purchasing insurance with low or medium levels in proportion to agricultural income significantly reduce the degree of production specialization. The effect of participation in insurance on large-scale farmers' adjustment of planting structure is more obvious. For pure grain farmers, participation in insurance will reduce planting specialization by about 3–4%. (3) Participation in agricultural insurance will encourage farmers to plant grain crops, but the effect is small. Therefore, we need to expand the coverage areas, increase insurance types, and improve coverage levels; the products should be more targeted and differentiated, strengthening farmers' participation in complete cost insurance and income insurance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In pastoral society, the reproduction of livestock is directly related to the survival and prosperity of herders. The key to domestic animal reproduction lies in the cognitive bond between mother livestock and their young. Herdsmen use various tools and techniques to help develop this cognitive bond. These human mediation tools have various characteristics such as 'restorative' or 'destructive'. The lamb bag, a widely used tool in pastoral society, has both 'restorative' and 'destructive' natures. Based on ethnographic data collected in Inner Mongolia, China, this paper first introduces the production method of lamb bags, then describes their structure, function and the multi-dimensional relationships generated during the application process, and finally discusses the cultural implications of 'restorative' and 'destructive' human mediation in pastoral culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's coal industry has long faced challenges due to imbalance between supply and demand divisions and the discrepancies between supply and demand prices. Research on optimizing coal transfer amid fluctuating coal prices is crucial for enhancing coal resource allocation, ensuring a balanced and stable supply of coal resources, and promoting the sustainable development of the coal industry. This paper focuses on optimizing coal transfer schemes within a comprehensive transportation system, considering fixed transportation routes and opening times of railroad transportation and waterway transportation, with road transportation serving as a supplementary network. A three-dimensional spatio-temporal network model is established to represent the spatial and temporal paths and transportation modes of coal logistics. The study uses the coal transportation network from Inner Mongolia and Shaanxi to East China as a case study, analyzing factors such as coal price fluctuation, transportation rates, and the ratio of self-produced to purchased coal at the production end via sensitivity analysis. The findings indicate that the proposed model can effectively guide transportation practices under the integrated production, transportation, and sales framework in the energy industry. Additionally, it shows that enterprises can achieve higher profits and maintain revenue and supply stability despite coal price fluctuations, aligning with the coal industry's transformation and development in the current context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The coordinated development of agriculture and tourism is very important. On the basis of the index system of the predecessors, the development effect index after the integration of the subsystems is added, so as to construct the evaluation index system of the integrated development of agriculture and tourism in Inner Mongolia. The entropy weight method is used to set the weight value for each index, and the panel data from 2001 to 2019 collected from the Inner Mongolia Statistical Yearbook and the China Yearbook are analyzed with the coupled coordination degree model. The research results show that the development of agriculture and tourism in Inner Mongolia has been highly coupled since 2004; it has been reluctantly coordinated from 2007 until 2019 to achieve high-quality coordination; from 2001 to 2011, the development of tourism lagged behind the development of agriculture, while after 2012, the development of agriculture has been lagging behind the tourism industry. Wang (Asia Pac J Tour Res 24(6):550–562, 2019), Li and Du (Sustainability 13(10), 2021) had got similar conclusions. The article puts forward suggestions from two aspects. On the one hand, using the tourism as the trigger for the development of agriculture tourism by developing more agricultural-related tourism products so as to fully tap the tourism attributes of agriculture. The marketing of tourism products should be consciously inclined to agriculture; on the other hand, the promoting the development of tourism can be realized by adopting modern agriculture, which includes cultivating new types of large agricultural households, supporting the development of large and medium-sized farms, promoting the development of green agriculture and industrialized and three-dimensional agriculture. The modern agriculture can be deeply integrated with the tourism industry, thereby promoting the development of tourism. The research results and suggestions put forward in this paper have certain reference significance for the coordinated development of agriculture and tourism in Inner Mongolia and Southeast Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective The increase in atmospheric CO2 and the associated global warming is expected to affect plant growth and development. This paper investigates the spatiotemporal variation in vegetation phenological traits and peak NDVI of plants in Hetao Irrigation District in Inner Mongolia. [Method] The analysis was based on MOD13Q1 data from 2001 to 2021. The impact of climatic factors on spatiotemporal variation in the start of season SOS, the end of season (EOS), the length of season (LOS), the peak of season (POS), and the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) of the vegetations in the region was analyzed using the two-logistic and four-parameter model. [Result] The SOS started from the end of May to the middle of June, and ended from the middle of September to the beginning of October. The annual peak LOS and POS ranged from 95 to 116 days, and from 200 to 220 days, respectively. The annual peak NDVI ranged from 0.5-0.7. Climate change delayed the onset of SOS, reduced LOS, and elevated peak NDVI. Additionally, the delayed SOS contributed to the decrease in LOS. The changes in EOS and POS with climate were consistent. SOS, EOS and POS were negatively correlated to temperature and positively correlated to precipitation. The peak NDVI was positively correlated to temperature and precipitation. [Conclusion] The vegetation phenology and peak NDVI in the Hetao Irrigation District were spatially heterogeneous, and the impact of climatic factors on them also varied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Objective] A pre-planting border irrigation in spring coupled with a drip irrigation in summer during crops growth season is an irrigation technique to reduce soil salinity and safeguard crops growth in the salt-affected soils in the Hetao Irrigation District in Inner Mongolia. This paper investigates the impact of different combinations of irrigation amounts in the dual irrigations on changes in soil water and salt, as well as the growth of sunflower. [Method] The field experiment compared two spring (S) irrigation amounts: 95 mm and 135 mm, and three summer (W) irrigation amounts: 68, 100 mm and 135 mm. In each treatment, we measured the spatiotemporal changes in soil water and salt, as well as crop growth characteristics. [Result] ① The soil water content in the S135W135 treatment was the highest among all treatments during the experimental period, with the average soil water content and saturation being 17.10% and 75.53%, respectively. The coefficient of variation of soil water content in the S95W135 treatment was 22.40%, the lowest among all treatments. ② Depending on the summer irrigation amount, the desalination rate of the 0-80 cm soil layer under S135 and S95 varied from 32.64% to 50.50% and 21.8% to 38.87%, respectively. Although the spring irrigation amounts did not significantly affect immediate post-irrigation salt content, the S135W100 and S95W135 combinations showed deeper leaching depths and higher desalination rates (40.77% and 33.37%, respectively) than other treatments. ③ Aboveground dry matter production was significantly higher in the S95W135 and S135W100 combinations than in other combinations, surpassing the S135W135 combination by 10.55% and 9.94%, respectively. The S135W100 combination achieved the highest water use efficiency at 21.59%, an increase of 13.03% compared to S135W135. [Conclusion] Reducing spring irrigation by 30% to 95 mm combined with a summer drip irrigation of 135 mm is the most efficient irrigation scheme for sunflower cultivation in the salt-affected soils in the Hetao Irrigation District. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the spatial and temporal changes in fractional vegetation coverage (FVC) and their driving forces in different regions of the Inner Mongolia section of the Yellow River Basin, this paper observed the spatial trends and stability of FVC in these regions based on the MOD13Q1 information regarding the 2000–2020 period as a data source. It used the dimidiate pixel model to invert FVC, and based on the centre of gravity migration model, the coefficient of variation and the Mann–Kendall and Sen's slope estimator test, it studied the spatial variation trend and stability of FVC in the four relevant areas of the Inner Mongolia section; an attribution analysis using a geodetector was also conducted. The following results were found: (1) in terms of temporal FVC change in the relevant areas, from 2000 to 2020, the overall FVC showed an increasing trend, indicating an obvious hierarchy of change as per different seasonal scales (summer > growing season > fall > spring). There is a mutation point in FVC in different areas, and the FVC sequence is random. (2) Regarding spatial change, the overall FVC showed a trend of being high in the eastern regions and low in the western regions and low–high–low from the north to the south; the stability of the Hetao Irrigation District–Wuliangsuhai Area changed more significantly with the successive seasons, and the degraded areas of FVC were mainly distributed in the city centre of the Kundulun River–Daheihe River Area and in the Hetao Irrigation District in the summer. (3) In terms of driving factors, soil type had a relatively higher explanatory power regarding the Hetao Irrigation District–Wuliangsuhai Area, rainfall had a relatively higher explanatory power regarding the Morin River–Wuding River Area and the Kundulun River–Daheihe River Area, and land use had a relatively higher explanatory power regarding the Ten Kongtui–Heidaigou Area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taking the Jiefangzha irrigation area of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region as the research area, the response relationships between the backscattering coefficient and radar frequency, radar incidence angle, root-mean-square height, correlation length, and soil water content under different conditions were simulated using advanced integral equations. The backscattering characteristics of exposed surfaces in cold and dry irrigation areas were discussed, and the reasons for the different effects were analyzed. Based on this, surface roughness models and statistical regression moisture inversion models were constructed through co-polarized backscatter coefficients and combined surface roughness. The correlation between the inverted surface roughness values and the measured values was R2 = 0.7569. The correlation between the soil moisture simulation values and the measured values was R2 = 0.8501, with an RMSE of 0.04. The findings showed a strong correlation between the values from the regression simulation and the measured data, indicating that the model can be applied to soil moisture inversion and has a good inversion accuracy. Compared with previous studies in the same area, the inversion model proposed in this paper has a higher accuracy and is more suitable for the inversion of soil moisture in the Jiefangzha irrigation area. These findings can support research on the water cycle and water environment assessment in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Shuangjianzishan silver polymetallic deposit is located in the copper–tin–lead–zinc–silver polymetallic metallogenic belt in the Southern Great Xing'an Range, with silver resources of more than 18,000 t, which is the largest silver polymetallic deposit in Asia. Early studies concluded that the Shuangjianzishan deposit is typically an epithermal Ag-Pb-Zn deposit that lacks a high-temperature mineralization stage. In recent years, with the deepening of research, a large amount of Cu-Sn mineralization has been found in the deep part of the Shuangjianzishan deposit, but it is less studied. The laser-ablation inductively coupled mass spectroscopy (LA-ICP-MS) technique is used to investigate the distribution and substitution of trace elements in chalcopyrite and cassiterite. In this paper, the trace element study of chalcopyrite and cassiterite from the Shuangjianzishan deposit reveals that Sn, In, As, Se, Sb, and Tl mainly exist in chalcopyrite in isomorphic form, while Pb, Bi, and Ni mainly exist in chalcopyrite in the form of mineral inclusions. The enrichment of the high-temperature elements Sn and Se in chalcopyrite, and the deficit of the middle- and low-temperature elements Ga, Sb, etc., reflect that the chalcopyrite in the Shuangjianzishan deposit was formed in a middle- and high-temperature environment, and it also indicates that the early ore-forming hydrothermal solution may be rich in Sn. Fe, In, Co, and Ni mainly exist in cassiterite in isomorphic form, and the content of W in cassiterite is high. There are two main forms, one is isomorphic and the other is wolframite inclusion. Cassiterite has Fe-rich and W-U-poor characteristics, indicating that cassiterite from the Shuangjianzishan deposit was formed under relatively oxidized conditions, and the relative enrichment of elements such as Fe, W, Zr, and Hf indicates that the temperature of cassiterite formation was high. The elemental content and inter-ionic coupling relationships suggest that the cassiterite from the Shuangjianzishan deposit may have an elemental replacement mechanism of W6+ + Fe2+ ↔ 2Sn4+ or Fe3+ + OH− ↔ Sn4+ + O2−. The trace elements in cassiterite of the Shuangjianzishan deposit are rich in Fe and Mn and depleted in Nb and Ta, according to the Fe-W diagram, and the tin mineralization of the Shuangjianzishan deposit belongs to cassiterite–sulfide-type tin mineralization. Chalcopyrite Co/Ni ratios >1 are consistent with the characteristics of chalcopyrite genesis in hydrothermal deposits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the Jiawula lead–zinc deposit, as easily accessible resources become depleted, mines are becoming deeper to replenish ore reserves. Identifying large, continuous, and high-grade ore bodies in deep areas has become a daunting problem. Moreover, separating lead–zinc-bearing complex ore bodies from waste material and extracting them from associated minerals are also difficult. Thus, pioneering exploratory strategies and technological methodologies are required to make breakthroughs in mineral discovery. Based on extensive-scale structural lithofacies mapping, this paper uses short-wave infrared (SWIR) spectroscopy technology to investigate hydrothermal alteration minerals in the mining area. It has identified a total of 16 hydroxyl-bearing alteration minerals, including chlorite, muscovite, illite, calcite, ankerite, kaolinite, and smectite. These minerals establish zoning characteristics around the ore bodies and on their flanks. They comprise a segmented assemblage that follows the pattern of comb-textured quartz–illite–chlorite–carbonate → muscovite–illite–chlorite–ankerite → illite–smectite–chlorite → chlorite–kaolinite–calcite. Deep-zone illitization with a lower Al–OH absorbance peak wavelength (<2206 nm) and higher crystallinity indices (>1.1) and chloritization with higher Fe–OH absorbance peak wavelengths (>2254) and higher crystallinity indices (>3.0) are indicators of potential hydrothermal centers in the deeper regions. By finding hydrothermal centers and connecting their spatial distribution with existing ore bodies, a pertinent relationship between diabase + andesite, Fe-chlorite + illite, and high-grade mineralization has been established. They correspond well with the lithology-alteration mineralization. This research provides a basis for predicting the positioning of concealed ore bodies deep inside a mine or at the periphery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The general requirements of China's rural revitalization strategy are industrial prosperity, ecological livability and rich life. However, the traditional livestock breeding model has struggled to balance the dual requirements of production development and ecological protection, and it is urgent to inject new impetus and explore new development paths. At present, e-commerce has become a bridge between pastoral areas and cities, herdsmen and consumers. E-commerce participation is not only an important starting point for herdsmen to increase the added value and profit space of livestock products, but also an effective way to change the original breeding behavior based on the premise of destroying grassland. Therefore, this paper presents an in-depth study on the issue of e-commerce enabling grassland ecological restoration, aiming to provide more scientific and effective guidance for e-commerce to be used to achieve a win–win situation in economy and ecology. Therefore, based on the data of 271 herdsmen in pastoral areas of Inner Mongolia, we used the OLS model and the two-stage least squares (2SLS) method to identify the direct impact of herdsmen's e-commerce participation on grassland utilization pressure. The empirical results show that e-commerce participation can significantly decrease the grassland utilization pressure. The conclusion was still valid after alleviating endogeneity and conducting a robustness test. The results of a mechanism analysis suggest that the reduction effect of e-commerce participation on grassland utilization pressure is mainly due to price incentive, reputation incentive and place identity. Subjective norms can strengthen the inhibitory effect of e-commerce participation on grassland utilization pressure. Furthermore, a heterogeneity analysis demonstrates that e-commerce participation has a better, decreased impact on the grassland utilization pressure on the banners of China's rural e-commerce demonstration county program. Under a counterfactual assumption, if herdsmen who can participate in e-commerce choose not to do this, their grassland utilization pressure will increase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the acceleration of urbanisation, urban areas are subject to the combined effects of the accumulation of various natural factors, such as changes in temperature leading to the thermal expansion or contraction of surface materials (rock, soil, etc.) and changes in precipitation and humidity leading to an increase in the self-weight of soil due to the infiltration of water along the cracks or pores in the ground. Therefore, the subsidence of urban areas has now become a serious geological disaster phenomenon. However, the use of traditional neural network prediction models has limitations when examining the causal relationships between time series surface deformation data and multiple influencing factors and when applying multiple influencing factors for predictive analyses. To this end, Sentinel-1A data from March 2017 to February 2023 were used as the data source in this paper, based on time series deformation data acquired using the small baseline subset interferometric synthetic aperture radar (SBAS-InSAR) technique. A sparrow search algorithm–convolutional neural network–long short-term memory (SSA-CNN-LSTM) neural network prediction model was built. The six factors of temperature, humidity, precipitation, and ground temperature at three different depths below the surface (5 cm, 10 cm, and 15 cm) were taken as the input of the model, and the surface deformation data were taken as the output of the neural network model. The correlation between the spatial and temporal evolution characteristics of the ground subsidence in urban areas and various influencing factors was analysed using grey correlation analysis, which proved that these six factors contribute to some extent to the deformation of the urban surface. The main urban area of Hohhot City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, was used as the study area. In order to verify the efficacy of this neural network prediction model, the prediction effects of the multilayer perceptron (MLP), backpropagation (BP), and SSA-CNN-LSTM models were compared and analysed, with the values of the correlation coefficients of the feature points of A1, B1, and C1 being in the range of 0.92, 0.83, and 0.93, respectively. The results show that compared with the traditional MLP and BP neural network models, the SSA-CNN-LSTM model achieves a higher performance in predicting time series surface deformation data in urban areas, which provides new ideas and methods for this area of research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polarimetric target decomposition algorithms have played an important role in extracting the scattering characteristics of buildings, crops, and other fields. However, there is limited research on the scattering characteristics of grasslands and a lack of volume scattering models established for grasslands. To improve the accuracy of the polarimetric target decomposition algorithm applicable to grassland environments, this paper proposes an adaptive polarimetric target decomposition algorithm (APD) based on the anisotropy degree (A). The adaptive volume scattering model is used in APD to model volume scattering in forest and grassland regions separately by adjusting the value of A. When A > 1, the particle shape becomes a disk, and the grassland canopy is approximated as a cloud layer composed of randomly oriented disk particles; when A < 1, the particle shape is a needle, simulating the scattering mechanism of forests. APD is applied to an L-band AirSAR dataset from San Francisco, a C-band AirSAR dataset from Hunshandak grassland in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, and an X-band COSMO-SkyMed dataset from Xiwuqi grassland in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region to verify the effectiveness of this method. Comparison studies are carried out to test the performance of APD over several target decomposition algorithms. The experimental results show that APD outperforms the algorithms tested in terms of this study in decomposition accuracy for grasslands and forests on different bands of data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Platypalpus Macquart is reported in Inner Mongolia, China for the first time. Four new species are found: P. flavipilosus sp. nov., P. longus sp. nov., P. shengi sp. nov. and P. shuimogouanus sp. nov. This paper provides a description of the four species and a key to the genus in Inner Mongolia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As important green energy, wind power and photovoltaic power have great development prospects. The suitability evaluation of wind and solar power plants is a popular research field, which is related to the sustainable and healthy development of wind and solar power generation. In this paper, based on multiple dimensions such as land types, climatic conditions, topographic features and policy environment, we selected 10 indicators and combined (analytical hierarchy process) AHP method to build a suitability assessment model for evaluating the suitability of solar and wind power in Inner Mongolia, China. The findings revealed that, Inner Mongolia has a great potential to generate wind and solar electricity, for wind power, the category of 'excellent' regions covers 83855 km2 and represents 7.10% of the total surface area; for solar power, 7.66% (nearly 90420 km2) are classified as 'excellent'. The suitability of both solar and wind energy in the western region is considered to have the most suitable development region, parts of Alxa League and Bayannur City have great potential for combined wind and solar power generation. The research results could provide important technical and data support for capacity evaluation and power station location decision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The durability of concrete is critical for the service life of concrete structures, and it is influenced by various factors. This paper investigates the impact of the relative humidity (RH) of the curing environment on the durability of five different concrete types. The aim is to determine a suitable approach for designing concrete that is well-suited for use in the salt lake region of Inner Mongolia. The concrete types comprise ordinary Portland cement (OPC), high-strength expansive concrete (HSEC), high-strength expansive concrete incorporating silica fume, fly ash, and blast furnace slag (HSEC-SFB), steel fiber-reinforced high-strength expansive concrete (SFRHSEC), and high elastic modulus polyethylene fiber-reinforced high-strength expansive concrete (HFRHSEC). All these concrete types underwent a 180-day curing process at three distinct relative humidities (RH = 30%, 50%, and 95%) before being subjected to freeze–thaw cycles in the Inner Mongolia salt lake brine. The curing environment with a 95% RH is referred to as the standard condition. The experimental results reveal that the durability of OPC and HSEC decreases significantly with increasing relative humidity. In comparison with the control sample cured in 95% RH, the maximum freeze–thaw cycles for concrete cured in lower RHs are only 31% to 76% for OPC and 66% to 77% for HSEC. However, the sensitivity of the durability of HSEC-SFB, SFRHSEC, and HFRHSEC to variations in RH in the curing environment diminishes. In comparison with the corresponding reference value, the maximum freeze–thaw cycles for samples cured in dry conditions increase by 14% to 17% for HSEC-SFB and 21% for SFRHSEC. Specifically, the service life of HFRHSEC cured in a low RH is 25% to 46% higher than the reference value. The durability of HSEC-SFB, SFRHSEC, and HFRHSEC has been proven to be appropriate for structures located in the salt lake region of Inner Mongolia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prospecting for and exploiting buried mineral deposits is currently challenging. Given their high precision and resolution, reflection seismic methods might be useful in such applications involving deep mineral deposits. However, there are few open seismic datasets available from mineral deposit exploration, especially in hardrock environments. The world‐class Caosiyao porphyry Molybdenum deposit (1.76 Mt) in the Jining area of Inner Mongolia, China, is largely covered by loess layers, which poses challenges to its exploration. Seismic reflection surveys were conducted to help delineate the deep granite porphyry intrusions and associated orebodies. This paper presents the raw seismic reflection dataset from three profiles on the Caosiyao deposit area, which can be used as a standard dataset for reflection seismic processing in shallow coverage and hardrock areas. Situated at the juxtaposition of the Khondalite Belt and the Trans‐North China Orogen in the northern North China Craton, the Jining region hosts considerable known porphyry Mo deposits. As such, this open dataset can assist in research on deep geological structures and hence increase prospecting efficiency in geologically similar areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The winter cold stress of dairy cows has become one of the important problems affecting the healthy development of animal husbandry. Cold stress will lead to the decrease of feed intake, milk yield and reproductive performance of dairy cows, and seriously harm the economic benefits of dairy farmers. Inner Mongolia is located in a cold region, where animals are in a cold environment for a long time, and the impact of cold stress is more common. In order to more specifically understand the effects of cold stress on the production performance of dairy cows, the paper reviews the effects of cold stress on the behavior, milk yield, neuroendocrine, biochemical indexes, immune, antioxidant function, intestinal flora and other aspects of dairy cows, and summarizes the effective prevention and control measures to prevent cold stress of dairy cows, to provide reference for further research on the prevention and relief of cold stress in dairy cows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Northeast China played an irreplaceable role in population migrations and cultural exchanges in East Asia during the Paleolithic. This paper collected 182 archaeological sites to analyse the characteristics of spatial-temporal variations of Paleolithic human activities in Northeast China, and explored the driving mechanisms behind these variations in combination with the paleoenvironmental and archaeological studies. During the Lower Paleolithic, constrained by the relatively cold-dry climate and blocked by the Songnen paleo-lake basin, the population was sparse and distributed only near 40° N at the southern end of Northeast China. Upon entering the Middle Paleolithic, as humans developed greater tolerance to cold climates and adopted more sophisticated survival strategies with the application of small lithic tools, their numbers increased and geographical distribution expanded northward to 45° N at the central region of Northeast China. The Upper Paleolithic saw a considerable increase in population and expansion across almost all of Northeast China except for the eastern Inner Mongolia Plateau. We speculated that 50 ka and 30 ka BP were two key points, both of which may be associated with a significant increase in the frequency of migrations and communications among humans, and the widespread popularity of highly mobile microblade technology, respectively. In addition, the environmental analysis of archaeological sites revealed a continuous spread of Paleolithic humans to areas with higher elevations, steeper slopes, and lower temperatures. Meanwhile, they were becoming less reliant on water resources and were more widely conducting activities in open-air areas, showing that the environmental adaptability had been continuously improving over time. This study can provide a reference for the reconstruction of the migration history of early humans in East Asia, and is also of great significance for a comprehensive understanding of the evolutionary process of early human-environment interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tracing the historical development of soil salinization and monitoring its current status are crucial for understanding the driving forces behind it, proposing strategies to improve soil quality, and predicting future trends. To comprehensively understand the evolution of research on the remote sensing inversion of soil salinity, a scientific bibliometric analysis was conducted on research from the past two decades indexed in the core scientific databases. This article analyzes the field from various perspectives, including the number of publications, authors, research institutions and countries, research fields, study areas, and keywords, in order to reveal the current state-of-the-art and cutting-edge research in this domain. Special attention was given to topics such as machine learning, data assimilation methods, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) remote sensing technology, soil inversion under vegetation cover, salt ion inversion, and remote sensing model construction methods. The results indicate an overall increase in the volume of publications, with key authors such as Metternicht, Gi and Zhao, Gengxing, and major research institutions including the International Institute for Geoinformatics Science and Earth Observation and the Chinese Academy of Sciences making significant contributions. Notably, China and the USA have made substantial contributions to this field, with research areas extending from Inner Mongolia's Hetao irrigation district to the Mediterranean region. Research in the remote sensing domain focuses on various methods, including hyperspectral imaging for salinized soil inversion, with an increasing emphasis on machine learning. This study enriches researchers' knowledge of the current trends and future directions of remote sensing inversion of soil salinization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil moisture is an important physical quantity that reflects the surface conditions. Soil moisture retrieval from remote sensing satellite monitoring data is a common method at present and the crucial issue is how to eliminate the influence of other surface and reflect soil parameters like roughness and soil bulk density, and the interference of vegetated areas to electromagnetic wave. In this paper, the Sentinel-1 SAR data, optical data and other auxiliary data such as the Land Surface Data Assimilation System (CLDAS) of the China Meteorological Administration are used as data sources. By coupling the Advanced Integral equation (AIEM) model, a method suitable for the inversion of soil moisture content in the Duolun area is established, and the inverted soil moisture map is analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Power industry is one of the largest sources of CO2 emissions in China. The Yellow River Basin plays a supportive role in guaranteeing the effective supply of electricity nationwide, with numerous power generation bases. Understanding the drivers and peak of CO2 emissions of power industry in the Yellow River Basin is vital for China to fulfill its commitment to reach carbon emissions peak by 2030. Methods: The Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index (LMDI) model was employed to explore the drivers to the change of CO2 emissions in power industries of three study areas, including Inner Mongolia Autonomous Regions, Shanxi Province, and Shandong Province in the Yellow River Basin. And Back Propagation (BP) neural network was combined with scenario analysis to empirically predict the trend of the amount of CO2 emitted by power industry (CEPI) from provincial perspective. Results: CEPI in Inner Mongolia under the scenarios of a low degree of CO2 emissions promotion with a medium degree of CO2 emissions inhibition (LM) and a low degree of CO2 emissions promotion with a high degree of CO2 emissions inhibition (LH) scenario can reach a peak as early as 2030, with the peak value of 628.32 and 638.12 million tonnes, respectively. Moreover, in Shanxi, only CEPI under a low degree of CO2 emissions promotion scenarios (LL, LM, LH) can achieve the peak in 2025 ahead of schedule, with amounts of 319.32, 308.07, and 292.45 million tonnes. Regarding Shandong, CEPI under scenarios of a low degree of CO2 emissions promotion with a high degree of CO2 emissions inhibition (LH) and a medium degree of CO2 emissions promotion with a high degree of CO2 emissions inhibition (MH) could achieve the earliest peak time in 2025, with a peak of 434.6 and 439.36 million tonnes, respectively. Discussion: The earliest peak time of CEPI in Shandong Province and Shanxi Province is 2025, but the peak of CEPI in Shanxi is smaller than that of Shandong. The peak time of CEPI in Inner Mongolia is relatively late, in 2030, and the peak is larger than that of the other two provinces. The per capita GDP is the most positive driving factor that contributes to the CEPI. Shandong has a strong economy, and its per capita GDP is much higher than Shanxi's. Therefore, even under the same peak time, the CEPI in Shandong is much higher than that of Shanxi. Inner Mongolia is extensive and sparsely populated, which makes its per capita GDP rank among the top in China. In addition, Inner Mongolia's coal-based power generation structure and high power generation also contribute to its late CO2 peak time and large CO2 peak. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drought refers to a meteorological disaster that results in insufficient soil moisture due to a long-term lack of rainfall and disrupts the moisture balance of crops. Yinshanbeilu in Inner Mongolia is an arid and semi-arid region, and the onset of drought and its subsequent transmission is a key challenge in water resource management. This study takes Yinshanbeilu as the study area, analyses the changing characteristics of multi-timescale drought from 1971 to 2020 based on the Standardised Precipitation Index (SPI), and analyses the stochasticity and stability of the drought by using a cloud model. Finally, the cross-wavelet transform method and Pearson's test are used to explore the correlation between atmospheric circulation factors, PRE and PET, and drought. The results indicate that (1) on the annual scale, the frequency of drought in Yinshanbeilu mainly ranges from 22% to 28%, with a high frequency of light droughts, a low frequency of severe droughts, a high frequency of droughts in the east and west, and a low frequency of droughts in the north and south; on the seasonal scale, the frequency of droughts in winter is the highest, with a rate of 34.6%, and the lowest frequency of droughts is in autumn, with a rate of 28.3%. (2) There is a decreasing trend in Entropy (En) and Hyper-Entropy (He), and an increasing trend in Expectation (Ex) for the inter-annual SPI-12 cloud model. Spatially, Ex and He are negatively correlated, while En and He are positively correlated. The inter-annual variation in cloud eigenvalues is greater than the inter-site variation, so the cloud model better reflects the spatial stochasticity and stability of regional inter-annual SPI. For the seasonal-scale SPI-3 cloud model, Ex is smaller in all seasons, En is also smaller, and He is larger. (3) Sunspot, PRE (precipitation), and PET (Potential Evapotranspiration) are all positively correlated with SPI and have the highest correlation. This study reveals the characteristics and causes of variations of drought in Yinshanbeilu, which can be applied to future research areas related to regional drought risk management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increased CO2 emissions from urban energy consumption pose a significant challenge to regional carbon mitigation policies. In this paper, we integrated two nighttime light (NTL) data: the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) Operational Linescan System (OLS) and the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (NPP) composite data to estimate the energy carbon emissions from 2000 to 2019. Then the spatiotemporal dynamics of carbon footprint and deficit in the Yellow River Basin were analyzed at the provincial, municipal, and county scales combined with NPP data. The study shows that (1) the total amount of energy consumption CO2 emissions in the Yellow River Basin had increased from 1332 Mt in 2000 to 6469 Mt in 2019, but the average annual growth rate slowed down after 2010 from 11.5 to 5.61%. (2) From 2000 to 2018, the provinces with the highest carbon footprint and carbon deficit were concentrated in Inner Mongolia and Shanxi. In 2018, Inner Mongolia's carbon footprint was 1366.91 × 104 km2, accounting for 22.8% of the total. Cities with high carbon footprint were mainly economic centers and energy-intensive areas of various provinces. High-carbon deficit counties were mainly distributed in the western region. In 2018, 954 counties exhibited carbon deficits. (3) The carbon footprint in the Yellow River Basin at the municipal and county scales have a significant spatial correlation. The H–H clusters of the carbon footprint on the municipal scale were distributed in the middle reaches of the Yellow River Basin. At the county scale, the L-L clusters were mainly in Sichuan and eastern Henan regions. Through the analysis of the spatial and temporal evolution of carbon footprint and carbon deficit in the Yellow River Basin, it is significant to measure the degree of comprehensive coordination of carbon sources and sinks in the basin, to grasp the differences in the level of regional carbon emissions, and to promote synergistic regional governance, assist in the formulation of more precise carbon emission reduction policies, and to promote green and high-quality development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The randomicity and fluctuation of the wind speed will influence the precision of the forecast. This paper presents a new method of combined wind speed forecast based on the two-level decomposition and weighted average, which can improve the accuracy of wind speed forecasting. First, the improved complementary ensemble empirical mode decomposition with adaptive noise (ICEEMDAN) decomposition method is used to get different sub-sequences, and then the fuzzy entropy is used to judge the degree of confusion of the sub-sequences. In this paper, the autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) model is used to predict the minimum fuzzy entropy. And the other subsequences are decomposed by backpropagation neural network (BPNN), variational mode decomposition (VMD) and predicted by nonlinear auto-regressive (NAR) and BP neural network with suitable weighting ratio for weighted average and particle swarm optimization- long short-term memory (PSO-LSTM) neural network respectively, and ultimately all the predicted values are superimposed to get the final prediction. Experiments are conducted using three datasets and eight comparison models to verify the validity of this model. The prediction analysis was carried out using the actual measured data of a wind farm in Inner Mongolia, and the results indicated that (1) using fuzzy entropy can effectively improve the prediction precision; (2) the prediction accuracy of the combined prediction method of neural network based on two-level decomposition was greatly improved and the prediction results were more reliable; (3) Decompose one of the subsequences with VMD, predict it with NAR and BP neural network, and choose appropriate weight ratio for weighted average prediction will achieve better prediction results; (4) the root mean square error (RMSE) of the hybrid model on the three wind speed datasets were 0.28777, 0.22786 and 0.17128, which are lower than the comparison values of other models. So, it is workable to use this hybrid model in wind speed prediction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This paper analyzes whether the financial support for grassland ecological protection and restoration has improved the vegetation coverage of grassland. • There is a nonlinear relationship between financial support for ecological restoration and grassland vegetation coverage. • Different fiscal expenditure structure has a heterogeneous response. • The degree of fiscal decentralization has a significant positive regulatory effect on the ecological benefits. Grassland ecological restoration is an important cornerstone to maintain the sustainable development of grassland ecosystem. One of the goals of financial support for grassland ecological protection and restoration is whether the ecological benefits of grassland are fully realized, and grassland vegetation coverage is the main index to measure the ecological benefits. This paper aims to analyze whether the financial support for grassland ecological protection and restoration has improved the vegetation coverage of grassland. and then verify whether there is room for improvement in the fiscal effect of grassland ecological protection and restoration? Based on the panel data of 54 animal husbandry and semi-agricultural and semi-animal husbandry counties in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of China, this paper adopts a bidirectional fixed effect model and cross-fixed effect model to introduce natural factors affecting grassland vegetation coverage into the model and systematically examines the financial effects of ecological benefits of financial support for grassland ecological protection and restoration. The main findings are as follows: (1) there is a nonlinear relationship between financial support for grassland ecological protection and restoration and grassland vegetation coverage when natural factors are taken into account in the model. (2) different fiscal expenditure structure has a heterogeneous response to the impact of grassland ecological protection and restoration on ecological benefits. (3) the degree of fiscal decentralization and the relative performance of the government have a significant positive moderating effect on the ecological benefits of fiscal support for grassland ecological protection and restoration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Two-dimensional space theory is applied in soil salt content inversion. • Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 data are fused by two-dimensional space theory. • Sentinel-1 after H/a polarization is applied in soil salt content inversion. Multi-spectral satellite remote sensing is widely used in soil salinity monitoring by virtue of its wide coverage, fast update and low cost, but it is susceptible to cloudy weather, limiting the accuracy and application conditions of the inversion, while SAR (synthetic aperture radar) is hardly affected by cloud with strong penetration ability and enables almost round-the-clock, climate-wide monitoring of soil salinity. Two-dimensional feature space model, being easily interpretive and widely used in soil salinity monitoring, requires only some easily extracted parameters and can reduce other influences on soil salinity inversion. Therefore, in order to take full advantages of the SAR and multi-spectral satellite, achieve monitoring of soil salinity in more climatic conditions and longer time, and further improve soil salinity monitoring accuracy, this paper combine SAR-Spectral data with two-dimensional space theory to construct two-dimensional models for monitoring soil salinity. In this study, two-dimensional space models are constructed using Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 feature parameters, and models are evaluated with R2 with measured soil salinity data of the Shahaoqu irrigation area in Hetao irrigation district, Inner Mongolia. The results show that it is feasible to use the parameters extracted from Sentinel-1 after H/a polarization for constructing two-dimensional feature space models for the soil salinity inversion(R2 parameters of Sentinel-1 = 0.467,0.587,0.517), and the two-dimensional space models combining Sentinel-1/2 parameters are more accurate and stable in soil salinity monitoring than those using Sentinel-1 or Sentinel-2 alone((R parameters of Sentinel-2 = 0.320,0.517,0.341),(R2 parameters of Sentinel-1/2 = 0.507,0.545,0.562,0.512,0.557,0.568)). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the effects of Eu, Nd doping, and Eu–Nd co-doping on the stability, magnetic and optical properties of monolayer MoS 2 are investigated by the density functional theory based on the first principle's calculations. It was found that the Eu–Nd co-doped monolayer MoS 2 is more stable than other considered doping structures. After the introduction of Eu and Nd atoms, the band gap are decreased to different degrees, indicating that the doping is favorable to the electronic jump, which might enhances the conductivity of the system. All doped systems exhibit magnetic properties. In addition, the absorption spectra of all doped systems show significant red-shift compared with those of pure monolayer MoS 2 , indicating that the doping improves the absorption capacity in visible light. These results might provide theoretical guidance for the design of novel monolayer MoS 2 semiconductor materials. • First Inner Mongolia has rich rare earth mineral resources, and rare earth elements can change the electronic structure and magnetic properties of the material, thus improving the conductivity, magnetic properties, optical properties and so on. • Secondly, MoS 2 is a popular material at the forefront, and with its special layered structure and unique properties, it is widely used in electronic devices, catalysts, biomedicine and other fields. • Finally, the band gap of monolayer MoS 2 is significantly changed after doping with rare earth elements, and there are multiple impurity energy levels (ILS) within the band gap, which is helpful for electron excited leaps. • Moreover, all doped systems showed magnetic properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Uranium mainly comes from ISL of sandstone-type uranium deposits in China. The change of porosity and permeability caused by blockage of ore-bearing strata is one of the most serious problems in acid ISL of uranium. In this paper, the groundwater tracer test was carried out before and 1 year after ISL to explore the pore and permeability evolution characteristics of the ore-bearing layer during ISL. The test results showed that the leaching solution migrated along two seepage channels and the water-bearing medium was isotropic. After 1 year of ISL, the flow rate of the leaching solution decreased obviously. However, the flow rate of the leaching solution in slower channel decreased more than that in the faster channel in all directions, which was caused by the more adequate chemical reactions between the leaching solution and the minerals of the ore-bearing layer and the more corresponding precipitation in the slower channel. In addition, the flow rate along the direction of groundwater flow decreased less than that in the direction of vertical groundwater flow. This was closely related to the transformation of aquifer medium by hydrodynamic field. Initial stage of ISL, the occurrence of plugging is closely related to the precipitation-dissolution process of iron and aluminum minerals under the change of pH, which is accompanied by the continuous precipitation of gypsum. • Groundwater tracing tests before and after in-situ leaching were carried out. • The pore and permeability evolution characteristics of the ore-bearing layer was analyzed. • The plugging of pores in different directions was clarified. • The relationship between dissolution-precipitation process and permeability was discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The escalating occurrence of infectious disease outbreaks in humans and animals necessitates innovative, effective, and integrated research to better comprehend their transmission and dynamics. Viral infection in livestock has led to profound economic losses globally. Pneumonia is the prevalent cause of death in sheep. However, very few studies exist regarding virus-related pathogens in sheep. Metagenomics sequencing technologies in livestock research hold significant potential to elucidate these contingencies and enhance our understanding. Methods: Therefore, this study aims to characterize respiratory viromes in paired nasal swabs from Inner Mongolian feedlot sheep in China using metaviromic sequencing. Through deep sequencing, de novo assembly, and similarity searches using translated protein sequences, several previously uncharacterized and known viruses were identified in this study. Results: Among these discoveries, a novel Bovine Rhinitis B Virus (BRBV) (BRBVsheep) strain was serendipitously detected in the nasal swabs of domestic sheep (Ovis aries). To facilitate further molecular epidemiological studies, the entire genome of BRBV-sheep was also determined. Owing to the unique sequence characteristics and phylogenetic position of BRBV-sheep, genetically distinct lineages of BRBV in sheep may exist. A TaqMan-based qRT-PCR assay targeting the 3D polymerase gene was developed and used to screen 592 clinical sheep specimens. The results showed that 44.59% of the samples (264/592) were positive. These findings suggest that BRBV sheep are widespread among Inner Mongolian herds. Conclusion: This discovery marks the initial identification of BRBV in sheep within Inner Mongolia, China. These findings contribute to our understanding of the epidemiology and genetic evolution of BRBV. Recognizing the presence of BRBV in sheep informs strategies for disease management and surveillance and the potential development of targeted interventions to control its spread. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As one of the most vital ecological regions in China, the well-being of the Inner Mongolia section of the Yellow River Basin directly hinges upon comprehending the variations in its ecosystem. The current research puts emphasis on the analysis of single-factor ecological indicators within the Mongolian section of the Yellow River and lacks summarization and analysis regarding the overall state of the ecosystem within the Mongolian section of the Yellow River. This study, using methods such as remote sensing interpretation and model simulation, combined with ground surveys, analyzes the macrostructure, quality status, service functions, and driving factors of the ecosystem in the Inner Mongolia section of the Yellow River Basin from 2000 to 2020. The results indicate that (1) in 2020, the ecosystem structure in the Inner Mongolia section of the Yellow River Basin was predominantly composed of forest, grassland, and other types of systems. (2) From 2000 to 2020, the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Fractional Vegetation Cover (FVC), and net primary productivity (NPP) all showed increasing trends in the Inner Mongolia section of the Yellow River Basin, with NPP showing a slightly greater increase compared to the NDVI and FVC. (3) Over the past two decades, the overall rate of decrease in the wind erosion modulus per unit area was 1.675 t hm−2. (4) An analysis of the drivers of ecosystem changes revealed that while climate change has exerted an influence, human activities have likewise had a substantial effect on the ecosystem over the past 20 years. This study contributes to a comprehensive understanding of the current status and changes in the ecosystem, providing a decision-making basis for subsequent ecological protection and management projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The Inner Mongolia white Cashmere goat is a breed of goat formed by long-term breeding that is used for mutton and cashmere and can be divided into the Arbas type, Erlangshan type, and Alashan type. The growth and development traits of livestock are affected by many factors, which can be roughly divided into two categories: genetic factors and non-genetic factors. Non-genetic factors generally include sex, birth month, birth type, birth year, group, and some other environmental factors and their interaction effects. To study their effects on different traits is to analyze the reasons for the differences in livestock production performance and put forward major suggestions so as to provide a theoretical basis and reference for the selection breeding of livestock and improve the economic benefits of livestock breeding. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) is a collection method used to compare multiple mean values of different groups. This study analyzed the influence of non-genetic factors on the growth, development, and cashmere production performance traits of Inner Mongolia white cashmere goats (Erlangshan type) and finally identified the non-genetic factors affecting growth, development, and cashmere production traits of Inner Mongolia white cashmere goats (Erlangshan type). The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of non-genetic factors on the growth and development performance of Inner Mongolia white cashmere goats (Erlanghan type), such as birth weight (BW), weaning weight (WW), 6-month weight (6 WT), 12-month weight (12 WT), body height (BH), and body length (BL), and wool production performance, such as cashmere fineness (CF), cashmere thickness (CT), and cashmere yield (CY). The research objects were 4654 kids produced by 45 buck goats and 2269 doe goats in the Erlang Mountain Ranch of Beiping Textile Co., Ltd., Inner Mongolia, from 2020 to 2023. Based on the generalized linear model, ANOVA was used to analyze the effects of non-genetic factors, such as birth year (Y), birth month (M), sex (S), birth type (T), birth herd (H), assay flock (F), age at measurement (MA), and the age of doe goats at lambing (DLA), on growth and development traits and cashmere traits. The results show that the birth weight (BW), weaning weight (WW), 6-month weight (6 WT), 12-month weight (12 WT), body length (BL), body height (BH), chest depth (CD), chest width (CW), chest circumference (CC), cannon circumference (CNC), wool length (WL), and cashmere yield (CY) of buck goats were significantly higher than those of doe goats (p < 0.01), and the fineness of the cashmere produced by doe goats was significantly finer than that produced by buck goats (p < 0.01). The birth weight, weaning weight, and 6-month weight of single kids were significantly higher than those of multiple kids (p < 0.01), but the effect on the 12-month weight was not significant (p > 0.05). The age of doe goats at lambing had significant effects on birth weight, weaning weight, and 6-month weight (p < 0.01). Assay flock and age at measurement had significant effects on cashmere fineness, cashmere thickness, and cashmere yield (p < 0.01). This study will provide a basis for the scientific breeding and management of cashmere goats and lay a foundation for the setting of fixed effects in the genetic evaluation model of Inner Mongolia white cashmere goats (Erlangshan type). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scientifically identifying the impact of urban development levels on the ecological environment in China's grassland regions from a classification perspective is crucial for stabilizing grassland ecosystems and optimizing urban development in grassland cities. Using the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region as a case study, this research constructs a conceptual analysis framework for the coordinated state between the urban development level and the ecological environment in China's grassland regions based on the theory of dual economic structures. Employing the Granger causality test, nonlinear fitting, and coupling coordination degree model methods, the heterogeneity and coordination between urban development levels and ecological environment in China's grassland areas from 2000 to 2020 are comprehensively analyzed. The findings reveal the following: (1) Capital-type central cities and growing resource-based cities, with high levels of development, positively nurture the grassland ecology, exhibit high labor mobility, and experience low endogenous and exogenous pressures, resulting in high coordination. (2) Pure agro-pastoral cities, with low development levels, negatively impact the grassland ecology, have low labor mobility, and face high endogenous and exogenous pressures, resulting in low coordination. (3) Regional central cities, with moderate development levels, exert a neutral counterbalance effect on the grassland ecology, with opposing endogenous and exogenous pressures, leading to moderate coordination. (4) When the impact relationship ranges from "positive-neutral-negative," the endogenous and exogenous pressures on the grassland ecology by declining resource-based cities and developing agro-pastoral cities are determined by their specific development levels, showing variations from "large → balance → small" to "small → balance → large," with coordination fluctuating between "high-moderate-low". (5) Special ecological cities are less affected by urban development levels, with coordination levels determined by the ecological foundation. Analyzing the heterogeneous coordination between urban development levels and the ecological environment for different types of cities in grassland regions is significant for improving the overall quality of the grassland ecological environment and exploring distinctive urban development models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The forage-livestock balance is an important component of natural grassland management, and realizing a balance between the nutrient energy demand of domestic animals and the energy supply of grasslands is the core challenge in forage-livestock management. This study was performed at the Xieertala Ranch in Hulunbuir City, Inner Mongolia. Using the GRAZPLAN and GrazFeed models, we examined the forage-livestock energy balance during different grazing periods and physiological stages of livestock growth under natural grazing conditions. Data on pasture conditions, climatic factors, supplemental feeding, and livestock characteristics, were used to analyze the metabolizable energy (ME), metabolizable energy for maintenance (MEm), and total metabolizable energy intake (MEItotal) of grazing livestock. The results showed that the energy balance between forage and animals differed for adult cows at different physiological stages. In the early lactation period, although the MEItotal was greater than MEm, it did not meet the requirement for ME. MEItotal was greater than ME during midlactation, but there was still an energy imbalance in the early and late lactation periods. In the late lactation period, MEItotal could meet ME requirements from April-September. Adult gestational lactating cows with or without calves were unable to meet their ME requirement, especially in the dry period, even though MEItotal was greater than MEm. Adult cows at different physiological stages exhibited differences in daily forage intake and rumen microbial crude protein (MCP) metabolism, and the forage intake by nonpregnant cows decreased as follows: early lactation > mid-lactation > late lactation, pregnant cows' lactation > dry period. For the degradation, digestion and synthesis of rumen MCP, earlylactation cows were similar to those in the mid-lactation group, but both were higher than those in the late-lactation group, while pregnant cows had greater degradation, digestion, and synthesis of MCP in the lactation period relative to the dry period. For lactating cows, especially those with calves, grazing energy requirements, methane emission metabolism and heat production were highest in August, with increased energy expenditure in winter. Overall, grazing energy, methane emissions and heat production by dry cows were low. In the context of global climate change and grassland degradation, managers must adopt different strategies according to the physiological stages of livestock to ensure a foragelivestock balance and the sustainable utilization and development of grasslands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The cashmere goat industry is one of the main pillars of animal husbandry in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, and plays an irreplaceable role in local economic development. With the change in feeding methods and environment, the cashmere produced by Inner Mongolia cashmere goats shows a tendency of coarser, and the cashmere yield can not meet the consumption demand of people. However, the genetic basis behind these changes is not fully understood. We measured cashmere traits, including cashmere yield (CY), cashmere diameter (CD), cashmere thickness (CT), and fleece length (FL) traits for four consecutive years, and utilized Genome-wide association study of four cashmere traits in Inner Mongolia cashmere goats was carried out using new genomics tools to infer genomic regions and functional loci associated with cashmere traits and to construct haplotypes that significantly affect cashmere traits. Results: We estimated the genetic parameters of cashmere traits in Inner Mongolia cashmere goats. The heritability of cashmere yield, cashmere diameter, and fleece length traits of Inner Mongolia cashmere goats were 0.229, 0.359, and 0.250, which belonged to the medium heritability traits (0.2 ~ 0.4). The cashmere thickness trait has a low heritability of 0.053. We detected 151 genome-wide significantly associated SNPs with four cashmere traits on different chromosomes, which were very close to the chromosomes of 392 genes (located within the gene or within ± 500 kb). Notch3, BMPR1B, and CCNA2 have direct functional associations with fibroblasts and follicle stem cells, which play important roles in hair follicle growth and development. Based on GO functional annotation and KEGG enrichment analysis, potential candidate genes were associated with pathways of hair follicle genesis and development (Notch, P13K-Akt, TGF-beta, Cell cycle, Wnt, MAPK). We calculated the effective allele number of the Inner Mongolia cashmere goat population to be 1.109–1.998, the dominant genotypes of most SNPs were wild-type, the polymorphic information content of 57 SNPs were low polymorphism (0 < PIC < 0.25), and the polymorphic information content of 79 SNPs were moderate polymorphism (0.25 < PIC < 0.50). We analyzed the association of SNPs with phenotypes and found that the homozygous mutant type of SNP1 and SNP3 was associated with the highest cashmere yield, the heterozygous mutant type of SNP30 was associated with the lowest cashmere thickness, the wild type of SNP76, SNP77, SNP78, SNP80, and SNP81 was associated with the highest cashmere thickness, and the wild type type of SNP137 was associated with the highest fleece length. 21 haplotype blocks and 68 haplotype combinations were constructed. Haplotypes A2A2, B2B2, C2C2, and D4D4 were associated with increased cashmere yield, haplotypes E2E2, F1F1, G5G5, and G1G5 were associated with decreased cashmere fineness, haplotypes H2H2 was associated with increased cashmere thickness, haplotypes I1I1, I1I2, J1J4, L5L3, N3N2, N3N3, O2O1, P2P2, and Q3Q3 were associated with increased cashmere length. We verified the polymorphism of 8 SNPs by KASP, and found that chr7_g.102631194A > G, chr10_g.82715068 T > C, chr1_g.124483769C > T, chr24_g.12811352C > T, chr6_g.114111249A > G, and chr6_g.115606026 T > C were significantly genotyped in verified populations (P < 0.05). Conclusions: In conclusion, the genetic effect of single SNP on phenotypes is small, and SNPs are more inclined to be inherited as a whole. By constructing haplotypes from SNPs that are significantly associated with cashmere traits, it will help to reveal the complex and potential causal variations in cashmere traits of Inner Mongolia cashmere goats. This will be a valuable resource for genomics and breeding of the cashmere goat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exploring the bacterial community in the S. glauca rhizosphere was of great value for understanding how this species adapted to the salinealkali environment and for the rational development and use of saline-alkali soils. In this study, high-throughput sequencing technology was used to investigate the diversity characteristics and distribution patterns of soil bacterial communities in the rhizosphere of S.glauca-dominated communities in the Hetao Irrigation Distract, Inner Mongolia, China. The relationships among bacterial characteristics, soil physicochemical properties and vegetation in four sampling sites were analyzed. The soil bacterial communities in the rhizosphere of S. glauca-dominated communities were mainly composed of 16 phyla (i.e., Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Gemmatimonadetes, Chloroflexi, Acidobacteria, Firmicutes, Planctomycetes, Deinococcus-Thermus, Verrucomicrobia, Saccharibacteria, Cyanobacteria, Nitrospirae, JL-ETNP-Z39, Parcubacteria and Chlorobi), and these populations accounted for more than 99% of the total bacterial community. At the genus level, the main bacterial communities comprised Halomonas, Nitriliruptor, Euzebya and Pelagibius, which accounted for 15.70% of the total bacterial community. An alpha diversity analysis indicated that the richness and diversity of rhizosphere soil bacteria differed significantly among the sampling sites, and the bacterial richness and diversity indices of severe saline-alkali land were higher than those of light and moderate saline-alkali land. The principal component analysis (PCA) and linear discriminant analysis effect size (LEfSe) showed significant differences in the species composition of the rhizosphere soil bacterial community among different sampling sites. A correlation analysis showed that the number of bacterial species exhibited the highest correlation with the soil water content (SWC). The richness and evenness indices were significantly correlated with the SWC and SO42-, KC and Mg2+ concentrations. The electrical conductivity (EC), soluble ions (NaC, CO32- + HCO3-, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+, and SO42+), SWC and vegetation coverage (VC) were the main drivers affecting the changes in its community structure. The bacterial community in the rhizosphere of S. glauca enhanced the adaptability of S. glauca to saline-alkali environment by participating in the cycling process of nutrient elements, the decomposition of organic matter and the production of plant growth regulating substances. These results provided a theoretical reference for further study on the relationship among rhizosphere soil microorganisms and salt tolerance in halophytes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China, the world's largest carbon emitter, has one of the most stringent provincial emissions reduction programs, incorporated into its Five-Year National Plan to reduce carbon emissions. However, the widening energy intensity gap between provinces poses a great challenge for carbon reduction. In this study, we analyze the convergence of Energy intensity (EIC), i.e., the time-dependent decrease of differences among regional energy intensity over time focusing on a data set of 30 Chinese provinces from 2000 to 2015. Our goal is to identify the provinces that are responsible for the observed divergence in energy intensity and identify the factors causing that divergence in each individual case. The Theil index is used to capture inter-provincial energy inequality. We use the LMDI decomposition analysis to identify the drivers of energy inequality (energy consumption structure, energy efficiency, and industrial structure). The results suggest that reducing energy intensity in Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, and Hebei is the key to solving China's increasing energy intensity "gap" dilemma. The factors causing the energy intensity divergence in Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang are related to lagging economic growth and low energy efficiency, which impedes carbon emission reductions significantly. The factors causing the divergence of energy intensity in Hebei are rooted in its heavy industrial structure. Our findings are directly applicable to crafting regional energy policy with more targeted and practical emission reduction programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the advancement of CubeSat technology has led to the emergence of high-resolution, flexible imaging satellites as a pivotal source of information for the efficient and precise monitoring of crops. However, the dynamic geometry inherent in flexible side-view imaging poses challenges in acquiring the high-precision reflectance data necessary to accurately retrieve crop parameters. This study aimed to develop an angular correction method designed to generate nadir reflectance from high-resolution satellite side-swing imaging data. The method utilized the Anisotropic Flat Index (AFX) in conjunction with a fixed set of Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF) parameters to compute the nadir reflectance for the Jilin-1 GP01/02 multispectral imager (PMS). Crop parameter retrieval was executed using regression models based on vegetation indices, the leaf area index (LAI), fractional vegetation cover (FVC), and chlorophyll (T850 nm/T720 nm) values estimated based on angle corrected reflectance compared with field measurements taken in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The findings demonstrate that the proposed angular correction method significantly enhances the retrieval accuracy of the LAI, FVC, and chlorophyll from Jilin-1 GP01/02 PMS data. Notably, the retrieval accuracy for the LAI and FVC improved by over 25%. We expect that this approach will exhibit considerable potential to improve crop monitoring accuracy from high-resolution satellite side-view imaging data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To evaluate the detection performance of ozone lidars, the first comprehensive vertical ozone observation experiment in China was conducted at the Xilinhot National Climate Observatory in Inner Mongolia from August to December 2023. The ozone profiles and concentrations of four ozone lidars were systematically compared and assessed with ozone radiosonde measurements and ozone analyzer observations both at ground-based stations and on an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. The results show that the relative deviations of four ozone lidars are less than 20% compared with ozone radiosonde measurements at a height between 150 and 400 m. Ozone lidars have better behavior between 400 m and 2000 m than the lower altitude, with the deviation within 10% and the correlation coefficient around 0.8. However, relative deviations of lidars increased with altitude above 2000 m. The surface ozone concentrations observed using ozone lidars agreed well with the ground-based ozone analyzer, especially during periods with ozone concentrations higher than 40 µg·m−3. The correlation coefficients for most models of ozone lidar are higher than 0.53. A further investigation of the influence of precipitation events on ozone lidar measurement has been conducted, which revealed that thick cloud layers, low cloud base, and an intensive precipitation event with large raindrop particles can result in high anomalies and reduce the inversion accuracy of the ozone lidar. During the experiment, four ozone lidars were assessed quantitatively according to the comprehensive performance, which could help to improve inversion algorithms and the system design of this promising technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The lithospheric thermal structure (LTS) not only reflects the thermal state of the Earth's interior but also controls the formation and distribution of geothermal resources. However, related research in the Songliao Basin (SB) has focused mainly on the northern or southern parts of the basin, with limited basin-scale thermal state studies. Thus, we combined published heat flow (HF) data and thermal parameters from the northern SB with new thermal information from the southern SB to study the LTS of the entire basin. The results show that the SB has a terrestrial HF (q0) of 73.89 ± 14.25 mW m−2, a temperature gradient of 41.41 ± 8.0 °C km−1, a mantle HF (qm) of 57.49 mW/m2, a crustal HF (qc) of 16.40 mW/m2, and a qm/q0 value of > 0.5, all of which indicate a typical configuration involving a hot mantle and a cold crust and high geothermal background in the SB. In addition, the thinned "thermal" lithospheric thickness in the SB is only 56.16 km. We correlate these characteristics with the westward subduction of the Pacific plate. From the proximal Kuril Trench to the distal Inner Mongolia Plateau in the subduction-influenced region, q0 generally decreases, qc increases, qm decreases, and the qm/q0 ratio gradually decreases. Thus, the present LTS in the SB might be controlled by the moderate distance of the SB from the subduction zone. Furthermore, in terms of geothermal resources in the SB, in addition to the high qm, which acts as the principal systematic heat source, deep hot partial melts act as direct heat sources and might also be controlled by the moderate distance from the subduction zone. Our results provide new insights into the relationship between the LTS and geothermal resources in similar regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The joint probability density function of wind speed and wind direction serves as the mathematical basis for directional wind energy assessment. In this study, a nonparametric joint probability estimation system for wind velocity and direction based on copulas is proposed and empirically investigated in Inner Mongolia, China. Optimal bandwidth algorithms and transformation techniques are used to determine the nonparametric copula method. Various parameter copula models and models without considering dependency relationships are introduced and compared with this approach. The results indicate a significant advantage of employing the nonparametric copula model for fitting joint probability distributions of both wind speed and wind direction, as well as conducting correlation analyses. By utilizing the proposed KDE-COP-CV model, it becomes possible to accurately and reliably analyze how wind power density fluctuates in relation to wind direction. This study reveals the researched region possesses abundant wind resources, with the highest wind power density being highly dependent on wind direction at maximum speeds. Wind resources in selected regions of Inner Mongolia are predominantly concentrated in the northwest and west directions. These findings can contribute to improving the accuracy of micro-siting for wind farms, as well as optimizing the design and capacity of wind turbine generators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Driven by continuously evolving precipitation shifts and temperature increases, the frequency and intensity of droughts have increased. There is an obvious need to accurately monitor drought. With the popularity of machine learning, many studies have attempted to use machine learning combined with multiple indicators to construct comprehensive drought monitoring models. This study tests four machine learning model frameworks, including random forest (RF), convolutional neural network (CNN), support vector regression (SVR), and BP neural network (BP), which were used to construct four comprehensive drought monitoring models. The accuracy and drought monitoring ability of the four models when simulating a well-documented Inner Mongolian grassland site were compared. The results show that the random forest model is the best among the four models. The R2 range of the test set is 0.44–0.79, the RMSE range is 0.44–0.72, and the fitting accuracy relationship could be described as RF > CNN > SVR ≈ BP. Correlation analysis between the fitting results of the four models and SPEI found that the correlation coefficient of RF from June to September was higher than that of the other three models, though we noted the correlation coefficient of CNN in May was slightly higher than that of RF (CNN = 0.79; RF = 0.78). Our results demonstrate that comprehensive drought monitoring indices developed from RF models are accurate, have high drought monitoring ability, and can achieve the same monitoring effect as SPEI. This study can provide new technical support for comprehensive regional drought monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Yellow River Basin (YB) acts as a key barrier to ecological security and is an important experimental region for high-quality development in China. There is a growing demand to assess the ecological status in order to promote the sustainable development of the YB. The eco-environmental quality (EEQ) of the YB was assessed at both the regional and provincial scales utilizing the remote sensing-based ecological index (RSEI) with Landsat images from 2000 to 2020. Then, the Theil–Sen (T-S) estimator and Mann–Kendall (M-K) test were utilized to evaluate its variation trend. Next, the optimal parameter-based geodetector (OPGD) model was used to examine the drivers influencing the EEQ in the YB. Finally, the geographically weighted regression (GWR) model was utilized to further explore the responses of the drivers to RSEI changes. The results suggest that (1) a lower RSEI value was found in the north, while a higher RSEI value was found in the south of the YB. Sichuan (SC) and Inner Mongolia (IM) had the highest and the lowest EEQ, respectively, among the YB provinces. (2) Throughout the research period, the EEQ of the YB improved, whereas it deteriorated in both Henan (HA) and Shandong (SD) provinces. (3) The soil-available water content (AWC), annual precipitation (PRE), and distance from impervious surfaces (IMD) were the main factors affecting the spatial differentiation of RSEI in the YB. (4) The influence of meteorological factors (PRE and TMP) on RSEI changes was greater than that of IMD, and the influence of IMD on RSEI changes showed a significant increasing trend. The research results provide valuable information for application in local ecological construction and regional development planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dust aerosols serve as a crucial nutrient source to the oceans and profoundly influence marine ecosystems. This study used satellite and ground observations to explore a strong dust event on 9–13 April 2023, emanating from the Gobi Desert, shared by Mongolia and China's Inner Mongolia region. We investigated the deposition of dust particles and their effects on marine phytoplankton communities. Our findings revealed that the dust event was intense, enduring, and expansive, illustrated by hourly PM10 concentrations peaking at 5055 µg/m3 near the source and consistently exceeding 1000 µg/m3, even at considerable distances. The dust traveled along two different trajectories and was deposited in the same area of the Northwest Pacific. Total dust deposition in the study area (37°N–42°N, 145°E–165°E) was 79.88 mg/m2 from 13 to 18 April, much higher than the 2019–2022 average deposition of 33.03 mg/m2 for the same period. With dust deposition, the observed mean chlorophyll-a concentrations in the area increased to 2.78 mg/m3 on 14 April, an extraordinary 692% increase above the long-term average. These results highlight the profound impact of dust on the productivity of marine phytoplankton communities by inputting more nutrients into the ocean through different pathways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grain size is commonly used as a proxy to reconstruct past lake hydrology; however, published research rarely links grain size with modern processes, and uncertainties exist for interpretation. In this paper, we decompose the grain size frequency distributions (GSFD) for 196 lake surface sediments from 61 lakes and 9 reservoirs across the Inner Mongolia Plateau and adjacent areas and divide them into five GSFD components. We statistically analyze the relationship between the GSFD components and influencing variables to determine the taphonomic dynamics and their environmental implications. Within individual lakes, we found that GSFD component 4 (74.00–209.30 μm) and GSFD component 5 (209.30–592.00 μm) dominate near the lake margin and reduce toward the lake center in proportions. By contrast, GSFD component 2 (2.75–15.56 μm) increases toward the lake center. Therefore, the proportions of GSFD component 2, 4, and 5 reflect the relative distance to the lakeshore and allow inferences about lake area changes. We apply this large modern dataset to a sediment core obtained from Lake Wulanhushao (WLHS) on the Inner Mongolia Plateau and link the lake surface sediment-based GSFD components to BEMMA end-members of grain size records to define their environmental implications over the last 18.59 cal. kyrs BP. We found that the Lake WLHS has responded to the orbital and suborbital climate changes since the last deglaciation. Specifically, maximum lake transgression prevailed during the early to middle Holocene (11.70–7.10 cal. kyr BP), medium lake transgression dominated during 17.05–15.80 cal. kyr BP, and weak transgression developed during 14.60–12.90 cal. kyr BP. Maximum lake regressions prevailed before 17.05 cal. kyr BP, during 15.80–14.60 cal. kyr BP and 12.90–11.70 cal. kyr BP. Our reconstructed early Holocene maximum lake area is consistent with regional abiotic proxy-based moisture records, but contrasts with the regional biotic proxy-based moisture records, which reconstruct increasing moisture conditions. Our new method to determine lake area changes will provide valuable data to understand the climate dynamics of northern China. • We numerically revealed the environmental implications of grain size components of lake surface sediment. • Linking lake surface sediment grain size component to core end members provide basis for interpretations. • Maximum lake transgression prevailed during the early Holocene in northern China. • Abiotic proxies-based early Holocene lake transgression is distinct with biotic proxies' reconstructions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]