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Low-carbon agriculture is essential for protecting the global climate and sustainable agricultural economics. Since China is a predominantly agricultural country, the adoption of low-carbon agricultural technologies by local farmers is crucial. The past literature on low-carbon technologies has highlighted the influence of demographic, economic, and environmental factors, while the psychological factors have been underexplored. A questionnaire-based approach was used to assess the psychological process underlying the adoption of low-carbon agricultural technologies by 1,114 Chinese rice farmers in this paper, and structural equation modeling (SEM) was empirically employed to test our theoretical model. The results indicated that farmers' low-carbon production attitude and behavioral efficiency perception directly and positively affected the adoption of low-carbon agricultural technologies and indirectly affected it via low-carbon production intention. Besides, production implementation cost and socio-environmental factor could moderate the direct effects of low-carbon production attitude, behavioral efficiency perception, and low-carbon production intention on farmers' adoption of low-carbon agricultural technologies. In this respect, socio-environmental factor yielded more significant moderating effects. Additionally, this research provides policy implications for promoting low-carbon agricultural technologies in developing countries and regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Earth heritage protection, conservation and management seem to attract public attention during the last decades after the establishment of Geoparks. UNESCO Global Geoparks established in 2015, is the third site designation of UNESCO after World Heritage Sites and Biosphere Reserves. Man and Biosphere Programme launched in 1971 and World Heritage Programme created in 1972, included also significant Earth heritage sites but without specific requirements regarding their conservation and management. The Man and Biosphere Programme focuses on natural resources and mainly biological diversity conservation and the World Heritage Programme concentrates on cultural sites protection and management. Consequently, the establishment of the Global Geoparks initially in 2004 and their recognition as UNESCO designation in 2015 provides the framework for the conservation and management of the abiotic nature sites. A territory hosting geological heritage sites of international significance may also host precious biological resources, and valuable cultural relics. Thus such a territory may host multiple UNESCO designations. Due to different concepts of the Man and Biosphere Programme, World Heritage Programme and UNESCO Global Geopark, various management strategies are implemented with different tasks and focus. Sometimes the implementation of different management schemes within the same territory might cause conflicts and problems. Consequently, an integrated and effective management of areas with multiple designations in necessary. This paper focus on multiple UNESCO designations management in UNESECO Global Geoparks in China and Europe. Huangshan UNESCO Global Geopark in China and Adamello Brenta UNESCO Global Geopark in Europe are a few cases with recognitions of World Heritage Site, Man and Biosphere Reserve as well as UNESCO Global Geopark. Hence, through presenting the co-management activities and approaches on multiple designations in these two territories, positive results of biotic and abiotic conservation as well as local development are given. The cases intend to set examples for other territories with multiple UNESCO designations to conduct co-management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The carbon cycle in a global sense is the biogeochemical process by which carbon is exchanged among the biosphere, pedosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere of the earth. For epikarst systems, it is the exchange of carbon among the atmosphere, water, and carbonate rocks. Southern China is located in the subtropical zone; its warm and humid weather creates favorable conditions for the dynamic physical, chemical, and ecological processes of the carbon cycle. This paper presents the mechanisms and characteristics of the carbon cycle in the epikarst systems in south China. The CO concentration in soils has clear seasonal variations, and its peak correlates well with the warm and rainy months. Stable carbon isotope analysis shows that a majority of the carbon in this cycle is from soils. The flow rate and flow velocity in an epikarst system and the composition of carbonate rocks control the carbon fluxes. It was estimated that the karst areas in south China contribute to about half of the total carbon sink by the carbonate system in China. By enhancing the movement of elements and dissolution of more chemical components, the active carbon cycle in the epikarst system helps to expand plant species. It also creates favorable environments for the calciphilic plants and biomass accumulation in the region. The findings from this study should help in better understanding of the carbon cycle in karst systems in south China, an essential component for the best management practices in combating rock desertification and in the ongoing study of the total carbon sink by the karst flow systems in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This emergy-based urban economic account provided a historical portrait of the urban economy and its structures to understand the overload of the biosphere‘s assimilative capacity. The basic situation of the urban economy, involving the indigenous resources base, emergy consumption patterns, emergy exports and imports, was investigated, accounted and discussed. Using a series of ratios and indices arising from emergy analysis, including emergy intensity, environmental load ratio and environmental sustainability, this paper analyzed the economic development in Beijing during the years of 1999 to 2006 and the heavy pressure it has put on the environment. Results showed that the development of economy in Beijing was closely correlated with the consumption of the non-renewable resources and it was exerting rising loads on the environment. Of the total emergy use by the economic system, the imported non-renewable resources from other provinces contributed most with increasing use from imported nonrenewable resources. Emergy intensity kept rising during the periods, with the increase of the environmental loads. The pressure of environmental protection, which was caused by the over-heated investments in Beijing, could be released after the completion of the infrastructure construction. On the whole, the results of this paper outlined a frame of reference towards how the urban metabolic analysis could drive the economic policies and sustainability. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

[1] This paper investigates seasonally averaged atmospheric CO2 source or sink signals observed at Waliguan Baseline Observatory (WLG, 36°17′N, 100°54′E, 3816 m asl) in western China from 1991 to 2002. Both linear and geometric mean regressions as well as statistical significance test were performed between detrended CO2 and stable isotope monthly data by means of Keeling Model and Miller-Tans Model. The estimated slope Δδ13C/ΔCO2 due to the seasonality in CO2 and δ13C is (-0.050 ± 0.004)‰ ppm-1, the mean source/sink isotopic signatures δs (i.e., δ13Cs and δ18Os) are (-26.159 ± 1.924)‰ and (-7.662 ± 2.113)‰, respectively, and the mean atmospheric δ13C discrimination δdis (i.e., δs minus δbg) where the δbg is the isotopic value of the background atmosphere was (-18.174 ± l.959)‰ by the Keeling Model, in agreement with results from other continental background sites in the Northern Hemisphere. We suggest that exchange with terrestrial biosphere dominates the observed CO2, δ13C and δ18O seasonal cycles at WLG. In addition, atmospheric CO2 and δ13C data from 11 selected NH sites in the NOAA ESRL air sampling network from 1998 to 2002 were analyzed and compared to the WLG data for the same period to better address common and specific features observed in this region. The annual cycle amplitude differences, secular and seasonal Δδ13C/ΔCO2 discrepancies among sites will be useful to better understand carbon uptake and release especially on the Eurasian continent. The estimated δs during certain times at each specific site could possibly provide useful information on CO2 fluxes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Hydraulically fractured shales offer a window into the deep biosphere, where hydraulic fracturing creates new microbial ecosystems kilometers beneath the surface of the Earth. Studying the microbial communities from flowback fluids that are assumed to inhabit these environments provides insights into their ecophysiology, and in particular their ability to survive in these extreme environments as well as their influence on site operation e.g. via problematic biofouling processes and/or biocorrosion. Over the past decade, research on fractured shale microbiology has focused on wells in North America, with a few additional reported studies conducted in China. To extend the knowledge in this area, we characterized the geochemistry and microbial ecology of two exploratory shale gas wells in the Bowland Shale, UK. We then employed a meta-analysis approach to compare geochemical and 16S rRNA gene sequencing data from our study site with previously published research from geographically distinct formations spanning China, Canada and the USA. Results: Our findings revealed that fluids recovered from exploratory wells in the Bowland are characterized by moderate salinity and high microbial diversity. The microbial community was dominated by lineages known to degrade hydrocarbons, including members of Shewanellaceae, Marinobacteraceae, Halomonadaceae and Pseudomonadaceae. Moreover, UK fractured shale communities lacked the usually dominant Halanaerobium lineages. From our meta-analysis, we infer that chloride concentrations play a dominant role in controlling microbial community composition. Spatio-temporal trends were also apparent, with different shale formations giving rise to communities of distinct diversity and composition. Conclusions: These findings highlight an unexpected level of compositional heterogeneity across fractured shale formations, which is not only relevant to inform management practices but also provides insight into the ability of diverse microbial consortia to tolerate the extreme conditions characteristic of the engineered deep subsurface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modeling the heat and carbon dioxide (CO2) exchanges in agroecosystems is critical for better understanding water and carbon cycling, improving crop production, and even mitigating climate change, in agricultural regions. While previous studies mainly focused on simulations of the energy and CO2 fluxes in agroecosystems on the North China Plain, their corrections, simulations and driving forces in East China are less understood. In this study, the dynamic variations of heat and CO2 fluxes were simulated by a standalone version of the Simple Biosphere 2 (SiB2) model and subsequently corrected using a Random Forest (RF) machine learning model, based on measurements from 1 January to 31 May 2015–2017 in eastern China. Through validation with direct measurements, it was found that the SiB2 model overestimated the sensible heat flux (H) and latent heat flux (LE), but underestimated soil heat flux (G0) and CO2 flux (Fc). Thus, the RF model was used to correct the results modeled by SiB2. The RF model showed that disturbances in temperature, net radiation, the G0 output of SiB2, and the Fc output of SiB2 were the key driving factors modulating the H, LE, G0, and Fc. The RF model performed well and significantly reduced the biases for H, LE, G0, and Fc simulated by SiB2, with higher R2 values of 0.99, 0.87, 0.75, and 0.71, respectively. The SiB2 and RF models combine physical mechanisms and mathematical correction to enable simulations with both physical meaning and accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Early Cretaceous Jehol Biota evolution has remarkable spatiotemporal correlation with the destruction of the North China craton though the coupling mechanism remains enigmatic. The craton destruction was accompanied by intense magmatic activity and the released volatiles and nutrients might have had climatic and environmental impacts on the biotic evolution. In this study, we investigated the mentioned hypothetical causal link by determining concentrations and total emissions of volatile elements (S, F, Cl) and bulk‐rock P contents of volcanic rocks that were erupted during the pre‐flourishing, flourishing and post‐flourishing stages of the Jehol Biota. Our results show that the volcanism near the flourishing stage has lower S (1,083–2,370 ppm), Cl (1,277–5,608 ppm) and higher P2O5 contents (0.48–0.84 wt.%) than that in the non‐flourishing stages with S of 1,991–3,288 ppm, Cl of 7,915–12,315 ppm and P2O5 of 0.17–0.23 wt.%. Fluorine contents in the three stages vary from 893 to 3,746 ppm. The total volatile emissions are minor in the flourishing stage (1–14 Gt S, 0.6–10 Gt Cl, 0.6–9 Gt F) but elevated in the non‐flourishing stages (2–766 Gt S, 4–1,168 Gt Cl, 1–175 Gt F). Our data suggest that regional climatic and environmental impacts of volcanism in the non‐flourishing stages probably hindered the species diversification. The high P flux released from lithospheric mantle‐derived lavas during the peak time of craton destruction might have enhanced primary productivity and contributed to the flourishing of the Jehol Biota. Our study provides insights into the relationship between the biosphere and deep geodynamic processes driven by volcanism. Plain Language Summary: It is generally believed that volatiles, such as S, Cl, and F, released by massive volcanic events may have strong ecological pressures both at the local and global scales. However, it is puzzling that the flourishing of the Jehol Biota, an Early Cretaceous terrestrial lagerstätte recording the origin and early evolution of feathered dinosaurs, birds, mammals, and angiosperms, occurred simultaneously with extensive volcanic activities in the northeastern China. To find the possible influence of volcanism on the biotic evolution, we determined the contents and total emissions of S, Cl, and F (toxic gases) and bulk‐rock P (nutrient) contents of volcanic rocks that were erupted during the pre‐flourishing, flourishing, and post‐flourishing stages of the Jehol Biota. Our results show that the volcanism at the flourishing period of the Jehol Biota was dominated by intermediate‐mafic magmas, with the total S, Cl, and F emissions having limited impacts on the local climate and environment, while the high P flux released from lavas might have enhanced primary productivity. On the contrary, the intermediate‐felsic volcanic rocks in the non‐flourishing stage released abundant toxic gases and the P flux was limited, which probably hindered the species diversification. Key Points: Volcanic gases (S, Cl, and F) had limited climatic effects in the flourishing stage of the Jehol BiotaHigh P flux from lithospheric mantle‐derived lavas facilitated the flourishing of the Jehol BiotaVolcanism associated with the North China craton destruction affected terrestrial biota evolution [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forests are one of the most important components of the global biosphere and have critical influences on the Earth's ecological balance. Regularly updated forest cover information is necessary for various forest management applications as well as climate modeling studies. However, map products are not widely updated at continental or national scales because the current land cover products have overly coarse spatial resolution or insufficiently large training data sets. This study presents the results of forests distribution and variation information over China using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) time series data with the first layer of MODIS Land Cover Type product (MODIS LC-1). The NDVI time series histogram characteristic curves for forestland were estimated from MODIS LC-1 and MODIS NDVI time series data. Based on the differences of histograms among different forests, we obtained the 2001-2011 forests distribution for China at a spatial resolution of 500-m × 500-m. The overall accuracy of validation was 80.4%, an increase of 12.8% relative to that obtained using MODIS LC-1 data. The 2001-2011 forestland pure and mixed pixels of China accounted for an average of 33.72% of all pixels. There is a gradual increase in China's forestland coverage during 2001-2011; however, the relationship is not statistically significant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In a world increasingly affected by global environmental changes, Low Income countries will play an ever more central role in determining the future health of the biosphere. While global use of the biosphere''s capacity has increased over the past 45 years, per capita demand for biocapacity, as measured by the Ecological Footprint, has only increased in high-income countries and has remained constant or fallen in middle- and low-income nations. Consumption has increased faster than population in high-income nations, while population growth has been the dominant factor in middle- and low- income countries. Although listed in the middle-income group of countries, China showed atypical trends in the past 45 years, with a rapid increase in per capita Ecological Footprint that outstrip its gains in income. Typical trends were instead noticed for India, whose per person Ecological Footprint has fallen slightly. The results of this paper show that decisions made in China and India will be of fundamental importance for future global sustainability. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The eight datasets of the summer (June-August) surface sensible heat (SH) flux over the Tibetan Plateau (TP) are compared on the time scales of the climatology, interannual variability and linear trend during 1980-2006. These data sets include five reanalyses (National Center for Environmental Prediction reanalysis, NCEPR1 and NCEPR2, NCEP climate forecast system reanalysis, CFSR, Japanese 25-year reanalysis, JRA, and European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts reanalysis, ERA40), two land surface model outputs (Noah model data of Global Land Data Assimilation System version 2, G2_Noah, and Simple Biosphere version 2 output by Yang et al., YSiB2), and estimated SH based on China Meteorological Administration (CMA) station observations, ObCh. The results suggest that the summer SH on the TP differs from one dataset to another due to different inputs and calculations. Climatologically, the ERA40 and JRA distribute rather uniformly while the other six products show similar regional disparities, that is, larger in the west than in the east and stronger in the north and the south than in the middle of the plateau. The mean magnitude of the SH averaged over the 76 stations above the TP varies considerably among each dataset with the difference of more than 20 W m between the maximum (G2_Noah) and minimum (ObCh). Nevertheless, they are consistent in the interannual variability and mostly show a significant decreasing trend corresponding to the weakening surface wind speed, in spite of the distinct trend for the ground-air temperature difference among the different data sets. These two consistencies indicate the particular availability of the SH products, which is helpful to the relevant climate dynamics research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper explores the hypothesis that contextual environments (media exposure and social exposure) and biospheric value orientation are important antecedents to the attitude-intention-behavior model () in the context of environmental psychology. Data for this investigation were obtained from a random sample of 2106 (1073 males and 1025 females) high school students in Hong Kong. A path analysis demonstrates that adolescents’ social exposure and media exposure are associated with biospheric value orientation. The biosperhic value orientation is found to mediate between the contextual variables (media exposure and social exposure) and environmental attitude. This environmental attitude, in turn, mediates the relationship between this value orientation and behavioral intention to act environmentally. Results show that both adolescents’ behavioral intention and degree of social exposure are associated with their environmental behavior. Overall, this article provides empirical support for the proposed path model. The article concludes by presenting theoretical and practical implications for future research in environmental psychology. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Accurate and spatially explicit monitoring of gross primary productivity of agricultural ecosystems at a large scale is of great significance to assessment of crop conditions and agricultural production, and is necessary for understanding the carbon balance of the terrestrial biosphere. Identifying crop intensity (including multiple cropping and crop calendar) dynamics and assigning appropriate light use efficiency to C3 and C4 crops could substantially improve our ability to model and evaluate the seasonal dynamics of carbon flux in intensified agricultural ecosystems. In this paper, we have analyzed temporal dynamics of vegetation indices and phenological characteristics in the winter-wheat and maize double cropping system using multi-year satellite images from the moderate resolution imaging spectral radiometer (MODIS) and in situ observation of key crop phenological transition dates. The multiple cropping and crop calendar information were incorporated into simulations of the satellite-based vegetation photosynthesis model (VPM). Canopy-level maximum light use efficiency, a key parameter in the satellite-based VPM model, was estimated for both winter wheat (C3) and maize (C4) based on the observed CO2 flux data from an eddy flux tower site in a winter wheat-maize double cropping agro-ecosystem in the Huang-Huai-Hai plain, China. The seasonal dynamics of GPP predicted by the VPM model agreed well with estimated GPP from eddy flux tower data. These results demonstrate the potential of the satellite-driven VPM model for scaling-up GPP estimation of intensified agricultural ecosystems, which is relevant to food production and security. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• Well-preserved organic-walled microfossils from the early Mesoproterozoic Xiamaling Formation in North China. • In total, 36 species of 28 genera including 1 new species are described. • The identification of 12 eukaryotic eukaryotic taxa indicates a moderate eukaryotic diversity in this formation. • The presence of Jixiania in North China strengthens its potential utility in biostratigraphy. The mid-Proterozoic (ca. 1.85–0.85 Ga) might have been environmentally "boring", but was a crucial interval of time for the early establishment of eukaryotic life on Earth. The Mesoproterozoic shale-dominated Xiamaling Formation (ca. 1.4–1.35 Ga) in North China preserved abundant organic-walled microfossils, some of which were of eukaryotic affinity but their taxonomic diversity and evolutionary implications remain unclear. In this paper, we present a palynological study of the lower Xiamaling Formation in the northern Tianjin Municipality. Similar to other Mesoproterozoic microbiotas, this assemblage consists of well-preserved and diverse spheroidal to ellipsoidal vesicles, filamentous microfossils and cellular aggregates. In total, 36 species belonging to 28 genera are identified, including 1 new species Quadrimurus clavatus gen. et sp. nov., and 5 unnamed forms. Majority of these taxa are recognised for the first time from this formation, indicating a richer assemblage than previously known. Although most taxa are of unknown biological affinities, this microbiota is thought to be composed of prokaryotic and eukaryotic microorganisms, in which 12 taxa are inferred to be eukaryotic. These microfossils indicate a moderate diversity of eukaryotic life documented in the Xiamaling Formation, which is consistent with other microbiotas in the mid-Proterozoic. The presence of Jixiania lineata Yan, 1986 (= Lineaforma elongata Vorob'eva and Sergeev, 2015) in North China extends its geographic distribution and further enhances its potential as index fossil for the early Mesoproterozoic strata. The Xiamaling assemblage provides one of the broader pictures of the Mesoproterozoic biosphere, in which eukaryotes were predominantly protistan-grade microorganisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The terrestrial biosphere and atmospheric chemistry interact through multiple feedbacks, but the models of vegetation and chemistry are developed separately. In this study, the Yale Interactive terrestrial Biosphere (YIBs) model, a dynamic vegetation model with biogeochemical processes, is implemented into the Chemical Transport Model GEOS-Chem (GC) version 12.0.0. Within this GC-YIBs framework, leaf area index (LAI) and canopy stomatal conductance dynamically predicted by YIBs are used for dry deposition calculation in GEOS-Chem. In turn, the simulated surface ozone (O3) by GEOS-Chem affect plant photosynthesis and biophysics in YIBs. The updated stomatal conductance and LAI improve the simulated O3 dry deposition velocity and its temporal variability for major tree species. For daytime dry deposition velocities, the model-to-observation correlation increases from 0.69 to 0.76, while the normalized mean error (NME) decreases from 30.5 % to 26.9 % using the GC-YIBs model. For the diurnal cycle, the NMEs decrease by 9.1 % for Amazon forests, 6.8 % for coniferous forests, and 7.9 % for deciduous forests using the GC-YIBs model. Furthermore, we quantify the damaging effects of O3 on vegetation and find a global reduction of annual gross primary productivity by 1.5 %–3.6 %, with regional extremes of 10.9 %–14.1 % in the eastern USA and eastern China. The online GC-YIBs model provides a useful tool for discerning the complex feedbacks between atmospheric chemistry and the terrestrial biosphere under global change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change, rising CO2 concentration, and land use and land cover change (LULCC) are primary driving forces for terrestrial gross primary productivity (GPP), but their impacts on the temporal changes in GPP are uncertain. In this study, the effects of the three main factors on the interannual variation (IAV) and seasonal cycle amplitude (SCA) of GPP in China were investigated using 12 terrestrial biosphere models from the Multi-scale Synthesis and Terrestrial Model Intercomparison Project. The simulated ensemble mean value of China's GPP between 1981 and 2010, driven by common climate forcing, LULCC and CO2 data, was found to be 7.4±1.8 Pg C yr -1. In general, climate was the dominant control factor of the annual trends, IAV and seasonality of China's GPP. The overall rising CO2 led to enhanced plant photosynthesis, thus increasing annual mean and IAV of China's total GPP, especially in northeastern and southern China, where vegetation is dense. LULCC decreased the IAV of China's total GPP by ∼7 %, whereas rising CO2 induced an increase of 8 %. Compared to climate change and elevated CO2 , LULCC showed less contributions to GPP's temporal variation, and its impact acted locally, mainly in southwestern China. Furthermore, this study also examined subregional contributions to the temporal changes in China's total GPP. Southern and southeastern China showed higher contributions to China's annual GPP, whereas southwestern and central parts of China explained larger fractions of the IAV in China's GPP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An intensive field campaign was conducted in Chongqing during the summer of 2015 to explore the formation mechanisms of ozone pollution. The sources of ozone, the local production rates, and the controlling factors, as well as key species of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), were quantified by integrating a local ozone budget analysis, calculations of the relative incremental reactivity, and an empirical kinetic model approach. It was found that the potential for rapid local ozone formation exists in Chongqing. During ozone pollution episodes, the ozone production rates were found to be high at the upwind station Nan Quan, the urban station Chao Zhan, and the downwind station Jin-Yun Shan. The average local ozone production rate was 30×10 V/V h and the daily integration of the produced ozone was greater than 180×10 V/V. High ozone concentrations were associated with urban and downwind air masses. At most sites, the local ozone production was VOC-limited and the key species were aromatics and alkene, which originated mainly from vehicles and solvent usage. In addition, the air masses at the northwestern rural sites were NO-limited and the local ozone production rates were significantly higher during the pollution episodes due to the increased NO concentrations. In summary, the ozone abatement strategies of Chongqing should be focused on the mitigation of VOCs. Nevertheless, a reduction in NO is also beneficial for reducing the regional ozone peak values in Chongqing and the surrounding areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reactive nitrogen (N) increase in the biosphere has been a noteworthy aspect of global change, producing considerable ecological effects on the functioning and dynamics of the terrestrial ecosystems. A number of observational studies have explored responses of plants to experimentally simulated N enrichment in boreal and temperate forests. Here we investigate how the dominant trees and different understory plants respond to experimental N enrichment in a subtropical forest in China. We conducted a 3.4-year N fertilization experiment in an old-aged subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest in eastern China with three treatment levels applied to nine 20m×20m plots and replicated in three blocks. We divided the plants into trees, saplings, shrubs (including tree seedlings), and ground-cover plants (ferns) according to the growth forms, and then measured the absolute and relative basal area increments of trees and saplings and the aboveground biomass of understory shrubs and ferns. We further grouped individuals of the dominant tree species, Castanopsis eyrei, into three size classes to investigate their respective growth responses to the N fertilization. Our results showed that the plot-averaged absolute and relative growth rates of basal area and aboveground biomass of trees were not affected by N fertilization. Across the individuals of C. eyrei, the small trees with a DBH (diameter at breast height) of 5-10 cm declined by 66.4 and 59.5 %, respectively, in N50 (50 kg Nha-1 yr-1/and N100 fertilized plots (100 kg Nha-1 yr-1/, while the growth of median and large trees with a DBH of >10 cm did not significantly change with the N fertilization. The growth rate of small trees, saplings, and the aboveground biomass of understory shrubs and ground-cover ferns decreased significantly in the N-fertilized plots. Our findings suggested that N might not be a limiting nutrient in this mature subtropical forest, and that the limitation of other nutrients in the forest ecosystem might be aggravated by the enhanced N availability, potentially resulting in an adverse effect on the development of natural subtropical forest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent expansion of the scale of human activities poses severe threats to Earth’s life-support systems. Increasingly, protected areas (PAs) are expected to serve dual goals: protect biodiversity and secure ecosystem services. We report a nationwide assessment for China, quantifying the provision of threatened species habitat and four key regulating services—water retention, soil retention, sandstorm prevention, and carbon sequestration—in nature reserves (the primary category of PAs in China). We find that China’s nature reserves serve moderately well for mammals and birds, but not for other major taxa, nor for these key regulating ecosystem services. China’s nature reserves encompass 15.1% of the country’s land surface. They capture 17.9% and 16.4% of the entire habitat area for threatened mammals and birds, but only 13.1% for plants, 10.0% for amphibians, and 8.5% for reptiles. Nature reserves encompass only 10.2–12.5% of the source areas for the four key regulating services. They are concentrated in western China, whereas much threatened species’ habitat and regulating service source areas occur in eastern provinces. Our analysis illuminates a strategy for greatly strengthening PAs, through creating the first comprehensive national park system of China. This would encompass both nature reserves, in which human activities are highly restricted, and a new category of PAs for ecosystem services, in which human activities not impacting key services are permitted. This could close the gap in a politically feasible way. We also propose a new category of PAs globally, for sustaining the provision of ecosystems services and achieving sustainable development goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the important role of China in leading the development of geobiology research. It cites the focus of the journal on the frontiers of geobiology as the center of investigations on the origin of life. It also mentions several studies on geobiology and the challenge for the country and international communities to better merge the studies from geological time with those of the modern.

The impact of regional climate change on net primary productivity (NPP) is an important aspect in the study of ecosystems’ response to global climate change. China’s ecosystems are very sensitive to climate change owing to the influence of the East Asian monsoon. The Lund–Potsdam–Jena Dynamic Global Vegetation Model for China (LPJ-CN), a global dynamical vegetation model developed for China’s terrestrial ecosystems, was applied in this study to simulate the NPP changes affected by future climate change. As the LPJ-CN model is based on natural vegetation, the simulation in this study did not consider the influence of anthropogenic activities. Results suggest that future climate change would have adverse effects on natural ecosystems, with NPP tending to decrease in eastern China, particularly in the temperate and warm temperate regions. NPP would increase in western China, with a concentration in the Tibetan Plateau and the northwest arid regions. The increasing trend in NPP in western China and the decreasing trend in eastern China would be further enhanced by the warming climate. The spatial distribution of NPP, which declines from the southeast coast to the northwest inland, would have minimal variation under scenarios of climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Results from past pollution control practices show that environmental quality can be ensured by controlling the actual amount of pollutants formed in the environment. Therefore, the marine environmental capacity for heavy metals was introduced. Marine environmental capacity for heavy metals is defined as the maximum amount of heavy metals permitted in the marine environment system to preserve the benign cycle of materials in the oceansphere, and to limit the adverse effects of heavy metals on the biosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and lithosphere. Based on the box or three-dimensional model in the target coastal region, including the self-purification and output of heavy metals, the marine environmental capacity for heavy metals can be calculated within a given criterion and time. In this study, a method was proposed to calculate the marine environmental capacity for heavy metals which includes four steps: (1) gathering the basis information of target coastal ecosystem, (2) selection of water control points and water quality criteria for these points, (3) development of numerical models for the biogeochemical cycling of heavy metals in target coastal region, and (4) calculation of environmental capacity using the developed model. According to the proposed method, the marine environmental capacity for lead is approximately 60 tons per year if Grade I seawater quality is set as the control criterion in Jiaozhou Bay. An effective seawater quality management plan can also be framed based on the environmental capacity for metals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study which evaluates the temporal and spatial variations of water resources in China from 1951-2006 through the use of an Integrated Biosphere Simulator (IBIS). It says that IBIS was used in the study to determine the distribution of water in the atmosphere, soil, and vegetation and to quantify the availability of water across China. It shows that southeastern and southwestern China has increasing and decreasing trends of runoff, respectively, than the southern region.

1. Integrating biodiversity conservation and the development of local communities is a major challenge for biosphere reserves. Their zonation (core, buffer and transition) is intended to promote biodiversity conservation and sustainable development, although only the core zone is legally constituted to conserve biological diversity. Inevitably, and especially in developing countries, the management of biosphere reserves has to reconcile trade-offs between conservation and development, and address the pressures placed by local communities on the biodiversity resources of the reserve. 2. We studied the effects of development in the three zones of Yancheng Biosphere Reserve (eastern China) on the endangered red-crowned crane Grus japonensis, the waterbird communities and the economic benefits to local communities. We tested the hypothesis that allowing different developments within each zone can reduce conflict between biodiversity conservation and community development. 3. The number of cranes in the reserve increased from 361 to approximately 1100 between 1982 and 1999, but declined markedly to 612 in 2003. The cranes also became increasingly concentrated in the core zone and switched to feeding predominantly in artificial habitats. The proportion of cranes in the core, buffer and transition zones was largely associated with the proportion of developed land area and the total number of cranes in the reserve as a whole. 4. Developments in the transition zone have reduced and degraded the wetlands, and have disadvantaged cranes and waterbirds. In contrast, the transformation of natural wetlands into artificial ones in the core zone has, to date, continued to support cranes and waterbirds. This has brought economic benefits to the reserve and local communities, but at the cost of the integrity of the wetland ecosystem as a whole. 5. Synthesis and applications. Despite an increase in the number of red-crowned cranes in Yancheng Biosphere Reserve, their range has collapsed into the core of the reserve where there is now a substantial artificial wetland complex. Allowing development in all three zones, together with a lack of resources for conservation, appears to have contributed to the reserve becoming overdeveloped. The loss of ecosystem integrity across the reserve as a whole highlights the need for an ecosystem-based approach to future management combined with the restoration of natural wetlands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through an Australia-China climate change bilateral project, we analyzed results of 51-year global offline simulations over China using the Australian community atmosphere biosphere land exchange (CABLE) model, focusing on integrated studies of its surface energy, water and carbon cycle at seasonal, interannual and longer time-scales. In addition to the similar features in surface climatology between the CABLE simulation and those derived from the global land-surface data assimilation system, comparison of surface fluxes at a CEOP reference site in northeast China also suggested that the seasonal cycles of surface evaporation and CO2 flux are reasonably simulated by the model. We further assessed temporal variations of model soil moisture with the observed variations at a number of locations in China. Observations show a soil moisture recharge–discharge mechanism on a seasonal time scale in central-east China, with soil moisture being recharged during its summer wet season, retained in its winter due to low evaporation demand, and depleted during early spring when the land warms up. Such a seasonal cycle is shown at both 50- and 100-cm soil depths in observations while the model only shows a similar feature in its lower soil layers with its upper layer soil moisture varying tightly with rainfall seasonal cycle. In the analysis of the model carbon cycle, the net primary productivity (NPP) has similar spatial patterns as the ones derived from an ecosystem model with remote sensing. The simulated interannual variations of NPP by CABLE are consistent with the results derived from remote sensing-based and process-based studies over the period of 1981–2000. Nevertheless an upward trend from observations is not presented in the model results. The model shows a downward trend primarily due to the constant CO2 concentration used in the experiment and a large increase of autotrophic respiration caused by an upward trend in surface temperature forcing data. Furthermore, we have compared river discharge data from the model experiments with observations in the Yangtze and Yellow River basins in China. In the Yangtze River basin, while the observed interannual variability is reasonably captured, the model significantly underestimates its river discharge, which is consist with its overestimation of evaporation in the region. In the Yellow River basin, the magnitudes of the river discharge is similar between modeled and observed but its variations are less skillfully captured as seen in the Yangtze River region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A distributed biosphere hydrological (DBH) model system was used to explore the internal relations among the climate system, human society, and the hydrological system in the Yellow River basin, and to interpret possible mechanisms for observed changes in Yellow River streamflow from 1960 to 2000. Several scenarios were evaluated to elucidate the hydrological response to climate system, land cover, and irrigation. The results show that climate change is the dominant cause of annual streamflow changes in the upper and middle reaches, but human activities dominate annual streamflow changes in the lower reaches of the Yellow River basin. The annual river discharge at the mouth is affected by climate change and by human activities in nearly equal proportion. The linear component of climate change contributes to the observed annual streamflow decrease, but changes in the climate temporal pattern have a larger impact on annual river discharge than does the linear component of climate change. Low flow is more significantly affected by irrigation withdrawals than by climate change. Reservoirs induce more diversions for irrigation, while at the same time the results demonstrate that the reservoirs may help to maintain environmental flows and counter what otherwise would be more serious reductions in low flows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluation of litterfall production is important for understanding nutrient cycling, forest growth, successional pathways, and interactions with environmental variables in forest ecosystems. Litterfall was intensively studied during the period of 1982–2001 in two subtropical monsoon vegetation gradients in the Dinghushan Biosphere Reserve, Guangdong Province, China. The two gradients include: (1) a successional gradient composed of pine forest (PF), mixed pine and broadleaved forest (MF) and monsoon evergreen broadleaved forest (BF), and (2) an altitudinal gradient composed of Baiyunci ravine rain forest (BRF), Qingyunci ravine rain forest (QRF), BF and mountainous evergreen broadleaved forest (MMF). Mean annual litterfall production was 356, 861 and 849 g m−2 for PF, MF and BF of the successional gradient, and 1016, 1061, 849 and 489 g m−2 for BRF, QRF, BF and MMF of the altitudinal gradient, respectively. As expected, mean annual litterfall of the pioneer forest PF was the lowest, but rapidly increased over the observation period while those in other forests were relatively stable, confirming that forest litterfall production is closely related to successional stages and growth patterns. Leaf proportions of total litterfall in PF, MF, BF, BRF, QRF and MMF were 76.4%, 68.4%, 56.8%, 55.7%, 57.6% and 69.2%, respectively, which were consistent with the results from studies in other evergreen broadleaved forests. Our analysis on litterfall monthly distributions indicated that litterfall production was much higher during the period of April to September compared to other months for all studied forest types. Although there were significant impacts of some climate variables (maximum and effective temperatures) on litterfall production in some of the studied forests, the mechanisms of how climate factors (temperature and rainfall) interactively affect litterfall await further study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1 We model the potential vegetation and annual net primary production (NPP) of China on a 10′ grid under the present climate using the processed-based equilibrium terrestrial biosphere model BIOME3. The simulated distribution of the vegetation was in general in good agreement with the potential natural vegetation based on a numerical comparison between the two maps using the ΔV statistic (ΔV = 0.23). Predicted and measured NPP were also similar, especially in terms of biome-averages. 2 A coupled ocean-atmosphere general circulation model including sulphate aerosols was used to drive a double greenhouse gas scenario for 2070-2099. Simulated vegetation maps from two different CO[sub 2] scenarios (340 and 500 p.p.m.v.) were compared to the baseline biome map using ΔV. Climate change alone produced a large reduction in desert, alpine tundra and ice/polar desert, and a general pole-ward shift of the boreal, temperate deciduous, warm-temperate evergreen and tropical forest belts, a decline in boreal deciduous forest and the appearance of tropical deciduous forest. The inclusion of CO[sub 2] physiological effects led to a marked decrease in moist savannas and desert, a general decrease for grasslands and steppe, and disappearance of xeric woodland/scrub. Temperate deciduous broadleaved forest, however, shifted north to occupy nearly half the area of previously temperate mixed forest. 3 The impact of climate change and increasing CO[sub 2] is not only on biogeography, but also on potential NPP. The NPP values for most of the biomes in the scenarios with CO[sub 2] set at 340 p.p.m.v. and 500 p.p.m.v. are greater than those under the current climate, except for the temperate deciduous forest, temperate evergreen broadleaved forest, tropical rain forest, tropical seasonal forest, and xeric woodland/scrub biomes. Total vegetation and total carbon is simulated to increase significantly in the future climate scenario, both with and without the CO[sub... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]