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Background: A homegarden is a conventional small-scale agricultural ecosystem dominated predominantly by humans. Homegarden plants, which are plants with specific functionalities that are either cultivated or consciously preserved within the homegarden, are the most critical elements of the homegarden and are capable of providing a multitude of products and services. Recognized as one of China's biodiversity hotspots, the Wuling mountain area has long been inhabited by multiple ethnic groups, each of which has accumulated a wealth of traditional knowledge. This study focuses on the Tujia ethnic communities in Laifeng County, situated in the hinterland of the Wuling mountain area, with the primary objective of collecting, documenting, and organizing local homegarden plants, their functions, and the associated traditional knowledge, and exploring the factors influencing their composition and diversity., Methods: From May 2023 to August 2024, field surveys were conducted in Laifeng County, Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Hubei Province, China. Semi-structured interviews and participatory observation were used to gather information on homegarden plants with informed consent. To analyze and evaluate homegarden plants, we employed the relative frequency of citation (RFC) and Jaccard index (J) for quantitative analysis. Additionally, the factors influencing the composition of homegarden plants were investigated using redundancy analysis (RDA)., Results: This study documented a total of 414 species of homegarden plants from 114 families. These plants are primarily sourced from market purchases (158), spontaneous species (107), wild introductions (103), neighborhood sharing (59), and self-preservation (36). Homegarden plants serve multiple functions, including ornamental (201), medicinal (189), edible (165), traded (95), timber (34), forage (28), and other functions (11). There are 24 homegarden plants with an RFC greater than 0.5, indicating their high importance, including Allium fistulosum, Raphanus sativus, and Brassica rapa var. chinensis. The Jaccard index results suggest the highest degree of similarity between the homegarden plants in Geleche Town and Dahe Town. The RDA results established that knowledge of herbal medicine and homegarden area are two significant factors impacting the composition and diversity of homegarden plants, with the average age of the household resident population also exerting an influence., Conclusions: This study reveals the composition, source diversity, and functional diversity of homegarden plants within the Laifeng Tujia ethnic community, along with the influencing factors. These homegarden plants play an integral role in sustaining the balance of the homegarden ecosystem and supporting the daily lives of local residents. The management of homegarden plants by the Laifeng Tujia ethnic community carries traditional agricultural knowledge and wisdom. Emphasis should be placed on bolstering the understanding, protection, and transmission of traditional knowledge and culture related to homegardens, which play a vital role in safeguarding local agricultural biodiversity and fostering sustainable development., Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethical approval and consent to participate: We followed ethical guidelines adopted by the International Society of Ethnobiology (2008). Permissions were verbally informed by all participants in this study. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

This paper presents the result of a taxonomic study of the genus Tribasodites Jeannel and related genera (Staphylinidae: Pselaphinae: Batrisitae) from Nanling Mountain Area, with 55 species placed in 10 genera being recognized. Forty-one species are described as new, with illustrations of the habitus and diagnostic characters for reliable identifications: Anama angulata sp. nov., Anama horridula sp. nov., Anama reticulata sp. nov., Araneibatrus breviceps sp. nov., Araneibatrus gigas sp. nov., Araneibatrus leigong sp. nov., Araneibatrus maoermontis sp. nov., Batrisodes amphion sp. nov., Batrisodes breviventris sp. nov., Batrisodes capreolus sp. nov., Batrisodes latilobus sp. nov., Batrisodes microceps sp. nov., Batrisodes shun sp. nov., Batrisodes streptoaedeagus sp. nov., Batrisodes titanius sp. nov., Batrisodes tribasoditiformis sp. nov., Coryphomodes jiangxiensis sp. nov., Coryphomodes parvipunctatus sp. nov., Coryphomodes simplex sp. nov., Hypochraeus complanatus sp. nov., Hypochraeus robustus sp. nov., Intestinarius guangxiensis sp. nov., Intestinarius paralongiceps sp. nov., Tribasodites barbipes sp. nov., Tribasodites cavipes sp. nov., Tribasodites clavatus sp. nov., Tribasodites corniceps sp. nov., Tribasodites fortunatus sp. nov., Tribasodites furca sp. nov., Tribasodites jiulianmontis sp. nov., Tribasodites jiuwanmontis sp. nov., Tribasodites loki sp. nov., Tribasodites longipes sp. nov., Tribasodites mangshanensis sp. nov., Tribasodites paraspinatus sp. nov., Tribasodites pengi sp. nov., Tribasodites ruyuanensis sp. nov., Tribasodites spinatus sp. nov., Tribasodites turgipes sp. nov., Tribasodites xinningensis sp. nov., and Tribasodites yangi sp. nov. Tribasodites chinensis (Yin, Zhao & Li, 2010) comb. nov. is transferred from Tribasodes. Anama Newton & Chandler and Hypochraeus Raffray are newly recorded from China. New provincial records and additional collecting data are provided for Batrisodes bamian Yin, Shen & Li, Batrisodes grossus Jiang & Yin, Dendrolasiophilus wenhsini Yin & Li, Intestinarius guangdongensis Yin & Li, Intestinarius longiceps Yin & Li, Tribasodites chinensis, and Tribasodites hubeiensis Yin, Nomura & Li. Keys for identification of the genera and species are presented. A checklist of Batrisini from Nanling Mountain Area is provided, for a total of 64 species.

Prior to this study, no species of the tribe Pselaphini (Pselaphinae: Pselaphitae) have been known from southern China. Here we report the discovery of the genus Pselaphogenius Reitter, and describe three new representatives from Nanling Mountain Area, namely, P. buccalis sp. nov., P. huapingensis sp. nov., and P. magnus sp. nov. All taxa are diagnosed and compared to similar congeners; and images of the habitus and major diagnostic characters are provided. A map showing the distribution of the Chinese species of Pselaphogenius is given.

Objective: Understanding urban-rural differences in the risk of aggregation of adolescents' health-risk behaviors in the Wuling Mountain Area., Methods: From March to May 2023, 7901 adolescents from junior to junior high school and senior high school grades in 32 middle schools in 8 counties(districts) in the Wuling Mountain Area were selected as survey respondents using the multi-stage stratified random cluster sampling method, with the age of the survey respondents being(14.82±1.50) years old. There were 4047 male students(51.22%) and 3854 female students(48.78%), 5126(64.88%) in junior high school and 2775(35.12%) in senior high school.2513(31.81%) in rural schools and 5388(68.19%) in urban schools. The Questionnaire on Health Risky Behaviors of Youth in Wuling Mountain Area was used to investigate 9 health risky behaviors of youth, such as partial feeding, smoking, and drinking alcohol. The χ~2 test was used to test the difference between urban and rural adolescents' risky health behaviors and their multivariate aggregation incidence rates, and to calculate the relative risk(RR) and the actual expected ratio(O/E)., Results: The incidence of bivariate to quintivariate cluster of adolescent health-risk behaviors was lower in all rural schools than in urban schools(χ~2 were 60.73, 34.97, 16.89, and 9.14, P<0.05). Rural school adolescents had the highest RR value for alcohol consumption behavior(18.02), while urban school adolescents had the highest RR value for insomnia behavior(15.05). In the bivariate cluster model, the O/E values for "smoking+alcohol consumption" were highest in both rural(8.18) and urban(6.14) school adolescents. In the trivariate cluster model, the O/E values for "smoking+alcohol consumption+fighting" were highest in both rural(28.41) and urban(18.15) school adolescents. In the quadrivariate cluster model, the O/E values for "smoking+alcohol consumption+insomnia+experiencing school bullying" were highest in rural school adolescents(95.10), while the O/E values for "smoking+alcohol consumption+fighting+experiencing school bullying" were highest in urban school adolescents(42.97). In the quintivariate cluster model, the O/E values for "smoking+alcohol consumption+fighting+insomnia+experiencing school bullying" were highest in both rural(309.57) and urban(129.28) school adolescents., Conclusion: Adolescents in urban schools in the Wuling Mountain Area are more prone to clustering harmful health behaviors compared to those in rural schools, and there are differences in the clustering risks of harmful health behaviors and their diverse clustering patterns between urban and rural areas.

Groundwater, as an essential resource, holds significant importance for human production and livelihoods. With the deterioration of the water environment, the issue of groundwater quality has become an urgent international concern. This study focused on the Fenghuang Mountain Area (FMA) and collected a total of 41 sets of samples including pore groundwater (PGW), fissure groundwater (FGW), karst groundwater (KGW), and river water (RW). Hydrochemical analysis methods were employed to identify the hydrochemical characteristics and controlling factors. The entropy-weighted water quality index (EWQI) and health risk assessment model were utilized to assess the groundwater quality and nitrate health risk, respectively. The results indicated that the dominant anion and cation in both groundwater and surface water in the FMA were HCO 3 - and Ca 2+ , respectively, with the main hydrochemical type being HCO 3 concentration closely related to human activities. The water quality of FGW was relatively good, with Class I and Class II water accounting for the highest proportion, reaching 84.62%. The high-value area of EWQI in PGW was influenced by human activities. The impact of nitrate health risk on children was significantly greater than on adults, with FGW having the lowest health risk and PGW having the highest health risk. The research results can provide important guarantees for the rational development and utilization of water resources in the FMA and the sustainable development of the economy in Northeast China.3 - concentration closely related to human activities. The water quality of FGW was relatively good, with Class I and Class II water accounting for the highest proportion, reaching 84.62%. The high-value area of EWQI in PGW was influenced by human activities. The impact of nitrate health risk on children was significantly greater than on adults, with FGW having the lowest health risk and PGW having the highest health risk. The research results can provide important guarantees for the rational development and utilization of water resources in the FMA and the sustainable development of the economy in Northeast China., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.)

Anthropogenic reactive nitrogen (N) deposition has increased significantly since the industrial revolution. Northern China has become a global hotspot for N deposition. However, few studies have been conducted to quantify the historical changes of atmospheric N deposition fluxes and source contributions in Northern China. By investigating N contents and δ 15 N values of mosses at Mount Tai (Northern China) in 1984 and 2021, we reconstructed fluxes and source contributions of wet inorganic N deposition and evaluated their historical changes. Compared with 1984, moss N contents (from 1.7 ± 0.3% to 2.1 ± 0.4%) showed a significant increase in 2021, which was mainly attributed to a significant increase in nitrate N deposition fluxes at Mount Tai. Moss δ 15 N values (from -5.9 ± 0.9‰ to -5.2 ± 2.4‰) showed a slight increase from 1984 to 2021 at Mount Tai. The importance of combustion-related NH 3 (including vehicle exhaust, coal combustion, and biomass burning) in 2021 (51.2%) were higher than those in 1984 (43.9%), while the importance of volatilization NH 3 sources (including waste and fertilizers) in 2021 (48.8%) were lower than those in 1984 (56.1%). It was fossil-fuel NO x (from vehicle exhaust and coal combustion) (54.1%) rather than non-fossil fuel NO x (from biomass burning and microbial N cycles) (45.9%) dominated NO x emissions in both 1984 and 2021. Our results revealed significant contributions of combustion-related NH 3 and fossil-fuel NO x sources emissions to the elevation of N deposition at Mount Tai in Northern China, which are beneficial for mitigating N emissions and conducting ecological benefit assessments in Northern China., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Root-knot nematodes ( Meloidogyne spp.) are plant-parasitic nematodes that cause serious damage worldwide. There are many species of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) plants, but only a few have been reported to be infected by Meloidogyne species. From 2020 to 2022, a survey was conducted in the Qinling mountain area, which is the main production region of TCM plants in China. Obvious galling symptoms were observed on the root systems of 15 species of TCM plants. Females were collected from diverse diseased TCM plants and subsequently identified at morphological and molecular levels. Among the 20 diseased root samples collected, Meloidogyne hapla populations were identified in 12 samples (60%), and M. incognita populations were identified in eight samples (40%). Among the 15 species of diseased TCM plants, eight species, namely, Scutellaria baicalensis , Leonurus japonicus , Dioscorea zingiberensis , Cornus officinalis , Viola philippica , Achyranthes bidentata , Senecio scandens , and Plantago depressa , were reported to be infected by Meloidogyne species for the first time. The host status of five species of TCM plants for two M. hapla isolates and one M. incognita isolate from TCM plants in this study was then evaluated. Differences in TCM plants' response to nematode infection were apparent when susceptibility was evaluated by the egg counts per gram of fresh root and the reproduction factor of the nematodes. Among the five species of TCM plants tested, Salvia miltiorrhiza and Gynostemma pentaphyllum were the most susceptible, while S. baicalensis and V. philippica were not considered suitable hosts for M. hapla or M. incognita ., Competing Interests: The author(s) declare no conflict of interest.

Background: Although ultrasonography (US) has been widely used in the diagnosis of human diseases to monitor the progress of cystic echinococcosis (CE) control, the screening method for hepatic CE in sheep flocks requires adjustment. In this study, we used a US scanner to screen sheep flocks and evaluated the efficacy of dosing dogs once a year with praziquantel for 7 years from 2014 to 2021., Methods: All sheep in the three flocks were screened using an ultrasound scanner in 2014 and compared with the prevalence of infection in 2021 in Bayinbuluke, Xinjiang, China. Sheep age was determined using incisor teeth. Cyst activity and calcification were determined using US images. The dogs were dewormed with praziquantel once a year to control echinococcosis in the community., Results: Three flocks had 968 sheep in 2014, with 13.22%, 22.62%, 18.7%, 27.27%, 11.88%, and 6.3% of sheep aged 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and ≥ 6 years old, respectively. US scanning revealed that the overall CE prevalence was 38.43% (372/968), with active cysts and calcified cysts present in 9.40% (91/968) and 29.02% (281/968) of the sheep, respectively. For the young sheep aged 1 and 2 years, the prevalence of active and calcified cysts was: 1.56% and 0.91%, and 10.94% and 18.72%, respectively. Approximately 15.15% and 16.52% of the 4- and 5-year-old sheep, respectively, harbored active cysts. There was no significant difference in the infection rates of sheep between 2014 and 2021 (P > 0.05)., Conclusions: US is a practical tool for the field screening of CE in sheep flocks. One-third of the sheep population in the flocks was 1-2 years old, and these sheep played a very limited role in CE transmission, as most of the cysts were calcified. Old sheep, especially culled aged sheep, play a key role in the transmission of CE. Dosing dogs once a year did not affect echinococcosis control., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Landslides are a common natural disaster, having severe socio-economic effects and posing immense threat to safety, such as loss of life at a global scale. Modeling and predicting the possibility of landslides are important in order to monitor and prevent their negative consequences. In this study, landslides are the primary research object. Further, the frequency ratio (FR) method was applied to the random forest (RF), support vector machine (SVM), and decision tree (DT) regression algorithms for landslide sensitivity assessment. It was also applied to landslide risk assessment mapping in the Longmen Mountain area. Therefore, taking into account the positive and negative sample balance, 7774 historical landslide points and 7774 non-landslide points were selected and divided them into training sets and test sets. The influence factors were selected and analyzed through multicollinearity analysis and the FR method. To improve the performance of the model and the accuracy of the findings, the individual environmental factors are normalized. Subsequently, the LSI (landslide susceptibility index), was obtained by calculating the frequency ratio. Following this, the RF, SVM, and DT were used to construct the model. The trained model calculates the landslide probability of each cell in the study area and generates the resultant susceptibility map. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and R 2 of this region were calculated to evaluate the model's performance. The results indicate that RF obtained the highest predictive performance (area under the curve (AUC) = 0.82) in landslide risk prediction, followed by SVM (AUC = 0.8) and DT (AUC = 0.69). The results of this study serve as a predictive map for landslide susceptibility areas and provide critical support for the security of lives and property for the human and socio-economic development in the Longmen Mountain region. In addition, the experiment results reveal that the machine learning model based on the FR method can improve the accuracy and performance of methods in studies related to landslide susceptibility. The method is equally applicable to research in other fields., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

The interrelationship between tourism urbanization (TU) and the ecological environment is extremely complex. Some studies have analyzed the interaction between them but ignored the ecosystem services. Therefore, exploring the coupling coordination relationship between TU and ecosystem services value (ESV) is significant. In this research, we established a coupling coordination degree (CCD) model between TU and ESV and used exploratory spatial data analysis (ESDA), spatial variogram model, and obstacle degree model to evaluate the evolution characteristics of CCD and its obstacle factors in the Wuling Mountain area of Hunan Province (WMAHP). The results are as follows: (1) the comprehensive TU level shows an upward trend, and TU levels in the west are generally higher than in the east. The total ESV shows a fluctuating upward trend, and the average ESV is relatively low in the west and southeast. (2) The comprehensive CCD shows an increasing trend, and the coupling coordination relationship has changed from uncoordinated to coordinated in most counties. Spatially, the global spatial autocorrelation and spatial variation degree of CCD are insignificant. Wulingyuan and Yongding are uplift areas, and a subsidence area is in the southeast. It is worth noting that the problem of TU lag generally exists. (3) For the whole area, TU and economy are always the primary obstacle factors in the system and category layer, respectively, but the obstacle degree of the population has gradually increased. At the county level, TU restricts the CCD improvement in most counties, and the proportion of counties where the economy is the primary obstacle in the criterion layer exceeds 60%. Policymakers need to formulate targeted promotion strategies based on the coupling coordination and relative development level between TU and ESV for different counties. This paper provides valuable references for achieving coordinated development between TU and ESV in ecologically fragile areas worldwide., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

As one of the most representative forms of groundwater, mineral water provides a critical understanding of regional hydrogeochemical features and rock weathering processes. However, current studies have mostly focused on the quality of mineral water and have rarely addressed the weathering process during its formation. Therefore, a multi-tracer approach combines chemical parameters, major ions, selected trace elements, and 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratios for mineral water samples in Changbai Mountain during 2020-2021. First, we determined the hydrogeochemical characteristics of different types of mineral water. Secondly, the water-rock interaction processes governing the water mineralization were described to fix the hydrogeochemical background. Thirdly, the chemical weathering rate was calculated. The total dissolved load generated by rock weathering was around 6.76 tons/km 2 /year in the mineral water catchment area; 44.6% and 36.9% of the dissolved load were derived from silicate and carbonate weathering, respectively. The trace carbonates also played an important role in the overall rock weathering. Finally, after fully considering various influencing factors, we concluded that lithological characteristics and the soil environment rich in organic acids were the most important factors affecting rock weathering in the Changbai Mountain area. Overall, this study highlights the mineral water's role in the fluxes of CO 2 in local area and reveals possible influence of the unique ecological and geological environment on rock weathering in Changbai Mountain. It can provide a reference for the subsequent assessment of environmental stability for basalt areas and the possibility of sustainable water resources development., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Analyzing cultivated land input behavior (CLIB) at the scale of rural households links with cultivated land-use efficiency (CLUE), this study examined the Yimeng Mountain area in northern China, supported by field survey data from 737 rural households. This research systematically analyzed the characteristics of CLIB of different types of rural households, measured the CLUE of different types of rural households by using a data envelopment analysis (DEA) model, and explored the influence of CLIB on CLUE based on the Tobit regression model. The results show (1) significant differences in the characteristics of the CLIB of different types of rural households in the Yimeng Mountain area. Among them, the highest land, labor, and capital inputs were I part-time rural households ( I PTRH ), followed by full-time rural households ( FTRH ). In contrast, II part-time rural households ( II PTRH ) and non-agricultural rural households ( NARH ) had higher levels of non-agricultural employment; however, their input levels gradually declined. (2) The CLUE of the sample rural households was generally low and had considerable potential for improvement. Regarding the types of rural households, as the degree of part-time employment increased, the CLUE showed an inverted U-shaped trend of first increased and then decreased, namely, I PTRH > FTRH > II PTRH > NARH . This finding indicates that appropriate part-time employment could help to promote investment in agricultural production and improve the CLUE. (3) The CLIB of rural households had significant effects on CLUE; the literacy of the agricultural labor force, yield-increasing input per unit area, per capita household income, share of agricultural income, operation scale of cultivated land, effective irrigation rate of cultivated land, and soil and water conservation rate of cultivated land had positive effects on improving CLUE. Even so, there was still significant heterogeneity in the degree of influence of different rural household types. The study concluded with some policy recommendations from the perspective of different rural household types to provide references for optimizing farming inputs and improving CLUE.

Soil conservation (SC) plays an important role in maintaining regional land productivity and sustainable development. Ecological engineering (EE) is being implemented in different countries to effectively alleviate the damage to the ecological environment and effectively protect soil and food security. It is important to determine whether or not the SC capacity becomes stronger after the implementation of EE and whether or not EE has a notable impact on SC in different altitude zones. The exploration of the influencing mechanism and identification of the dominate influencing factors in different geographical regions needs to be improved. In this study, the soil conservation services (SCSs) from 1980 to 2020 in the Taihang Mountain area was assessed using the integrated valuation of ecosystem services and trade-offs (InVEST) model, and the spatial and temporal distributions and influencing factors were explored. The results showed the following: (1) the average SCSs exhibited an increasing trend from 1980 to 2020 on the whole, and the rate of increase reached 50.53% during the 41-year period. The rate of increase of the SCSs varied in the different EE implementation regions, and it was significantly higher than that of the entire study area. (2) The spatial distribution of the SCSs was highly heterogeneous, and the high SCS value areas were coincident with the high-altitude areas where forest and grassland occupied a large proportion. The low value areas were mainly located in the hilly zone or some of the basin regions where the proportion of construction land was relatively high. (3) The distribution pattern of the SCSs was the result of multiple factors. The EE intensity had the strongest explanatory power for the SCSs in the hilly zone, explaining 34.63%. The slope was the most critical factor affecting the SCSs in the mid-mountain and sub-alpine zones. The slope and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) had the greatest interactions with the other factors in the three altitude zones, especially in the high-altitude regions. The quantitative analysis of the SCSs and the influences of EE and natural factors on the SCSs revealed the heterogeneity in the mountainous areas. These results also provide a scientific basis for the reasonable implementation of EE and sustainable management of SCSs in the Taihang Mountain area.

Understanding the extent to which demographic changes may affect the prospects of sustainable development is a priority for both academics and policy makers. Accordingly, we attempted to explore the population growth limit of the Xihaigu Mountain area in China. To analyze the optimum population at the county level, the relationship curve between population size and environmental quality was fitted using panel data (2009-2018). The sustainable population size of each county was determined by integrating the population carrying capacity of land resources and optimum population. The results show that the relationship between regional population size and environmental quality conforms to an inverted N-shaped curve. To maintain sustainable development, the population size of Tongxin, Xiji, and Haiyuan should be in the range of 320,800-379,800, 315,800-416,900, and 333,500-416,900, respectively. The current population size of other counties should be maintained, and their surplus construction lands are acceptable to be used for environmentally friendly industries rather than population expansion. We demonstrated a practical approach to calculate a dynamic range of population size under the dual constraints of resource and environment, which overcomes the shortcoming of only considering the maximum carrying capacity to a limited extent. We also identified the population boundary in a "steady-state economy" and quantified planetary boundaries of population in Xihaigu Mountain area using a dynamic sustainable population size. The findings provide decision-making references for the local government.

The linkage mechanisms and optimization strategies between land use transition and eco-environmental effects that occur in the production-living-ecological space of karst mountain areas remain under-explored in the current literature. Based on county data collected in Longlin Multinational Autonomous County of Guangxi, which is located in the rocky desertification area of Yunnan, Guangxi, and Guizhou, this study contributes a county-level analysis on land use transition and eco-environmental effects by addressing two research questions: (1) Which factors of land use transition are related to the eco-environmental effects of production-living-ecological space? (2) What are the key land allocation mechanisms behind the interventions of local rocky desertification regulation policies? We conducted two sets of analyses to answer these two questions: quantitative analyses of the spatial and temporal evolution between land use transition, rocky desertification, and its eco-environmental effects, and qualitative analyses of policy interventions on production-living-ecological land development and rocky desertification management. The findings show that the occurrence of rocky desertification accompanied by unreasonable land use structure transition and its important factor is caused by ecological land being restricted by production-living land. Specifically, urbanization strategies coordinating ecological and socio-economic effects is significant to karst mountain areas. Moreover, the orderly increase of woodland slows down rocky desertification. Policies of "returning farmland to forest" and "afforestation of wasteland" have significantly reduced rocky desertification that can be applied to other geographical situations.

Health status and income level are both important factors in reducing poverty and accomplishing sustainable development in deep poverty areas of China. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to provide policy support for the sustainable poverty alleviation of farmers by analyzing the net effect of health risk on Farmers' income poverty and its impact mechanism. Based on the data of more than 199,000 farmers, this study uses the Difference in Difference (DID) model to empirically analyze the effect of health-risk on farmers' income poverty. The empirical findings obtained from DID model show that health risk has a significant and positive impact on income poverty, where the impact of disability is higher. Furthermore, the mechanism shows that the impact of health risks on income poverty is mainly influenced by farmers' off-farm working choices and time. The heterogeneity analysis shows that the health risk significantly impacts non-vulnerable farmers' poverty. With outdated healthcare facilities in poverty-stricken areas, people are more likely to fall into income poverty. Therefore, the study concludes that establishing an effective long-term mechanism of health risk prevention is essential to improving the endogenous development power of poor farmers and decreasing income poverty.

Using typical counties in the Yimeng Mountain area of northern China as an example, this paper analyzed the household and agricultural input characteristics of different types of peasant households using survey data from 262 farm households. The target minimization of the total absolute deviations (MOTAD) model was applied to determine the optimal combinations in the allocation of agricultural input factors and production for different types of at-risk peasant households to obtain the ideal agricultural income. The relevant results are twofold. (1) The agricultural input behaviors of different types of peasant households vary significantly. The highest levels of agricultural land, labor, and yield-increasing and labor-saving inputs included I part-time peasant households ( I PTPH ), followed by full-time peasant households ( FTPH ), while the input levels of II part-time peasant households ( II PTPH ) and non-agricultural peasant households ( NAPH ) with higher levels of non-agricultural employment gradually decreased. In general, an increase in peasant households' part-time employment revealed an inverted U-shaped trend in the agricultural input level, with a trajectory of I PTPH > FTPH > II PTPH > NAPH . (2) The current agricultural inputs and production combinations of different types of peasant households have room for improvement. It is necessary to adjust agricultural inputs and optimize production combinations to obtain target incomes. Overall, all types of peasant households must streamline labor inputs and increase capital inputs, except for I PTPH , for which capital inputs should be reduced. Following optimization, economic crops gradually replace grain crops, and the optimal agricultural incomes of peasant households will be improved. The study results provide practical policy insights for reducing agricultural production risks and improving agricultural production incomes.

To assess the variations of soil quality among land use types and with altitude in the rocky mountain area of northern Hebei Province is critical for preventing further human-induced degradation of land and vegetation, and for formulating a strategic plan on vegetation restoration after the Beijing Winter Olympics. Taking Betula platyphylla natural forest, Larix gmelinii plantation, natural grassland and abandoned cropland as research objects, 13 soil physicochemical indices ( e.g ., soil bulk density, porosity and soil nutrient content) were measured to compare soil quality among land use types. The results showed that soil quality presented the trend as B. platyphylla natural forest > natural grassland > L. gmelinii plantation > abandoned cropland. B. platyphylla natural forest had the best soil quality due to high total nitrogen (3.24 ±1.42 g·kg -1 ) and phosphorus (0.59±0.10 g·kg -1 ) contents, suggesting that long-term soil nutrient accumulation played an important role in preventing soil degradation. Soil quality in natural grassland was lower than that in B. platyphylla natural forest, due to topographic factors and coarse soil fraction. Soil physical properties in L. gmelinii plantation had been substantially improved after 40 years restoration, as indicated by significant reductions in soil gravel fraction, while soil nutrient contents changed little. The low soil quality in abandoned cropland was attributable to low vegetation coverage and intense human activities in the low-altitude area. Driven by soil total nitrogen, soil quality under the four land use types increased with altitude, and peaked at about 1700 m. We suggested that enclosure and ecological restoration measures should be strengthened in ecologically-fragile, low-altitude areas, taking sustainable development into consideration for high-density stands and promoting plantations to adapt to environmental change.

Southern Taihang Mountain area is an important part of the key ecological regions along the Yellow River in China. Understanding the climate change trend in this area is of significance for the maintenance of ecological security and the planning and decision-making of major ecological projects in the Yellow River Basin. Taking Jiyuan City in southern Taihang Mountain area as the research area, we analyzed the climate change trend in Jiyuan based on the meteorological data from 1980 to 2019. The results showed that climate in Jiyuan tended to be warmer and wetter during the study period. The change rates of temperature and precipitation were 0.48 ℃·(10 a) -1 and 14.21 mm·(10 a) -1 , respectively. The rise of temperature in spring and summer was higher than that in autumn and winter. Climate was warmer and drier in spring, while warmer and wetter in the other three seasons. Potential evapotranspiration and aridity index showed increasing and decreasing trends, with the average value of 748 mm and 1.36, respectively. The first and last days ≥10 ℃ were about 3 days in advance and 1 day in delay every 10 years. The change rate of effective accumulated temperature ≥10 ℃, duration days ≥10 ℃ and high temperature days were 116.57 ℃·(10 a) -1 , 4 d·(10 a) -1 , and 5 d·(10 a) -1 , respectively. The 1990s was the driest decade in Jiyuan during the study period, with strongest increases of temperature. Half of the years showed the characteristics of semi-arid climate in that decade. From 2010 to 2019, the trend of climate warming and wetting in Jiyuan had accelerated significantly, which was the warmest and wettest decade. In recent 10 years, duration days ≥10 ℃ and the effective accumulated temperature increased by about 28 days and 389.36 ℃, respectively. The frequency and intensity of high temperature weather also increased significantly in this decade.

The rocky desertification control project in karst areas exacerbates the transfer of landscape types, changes the ecosystem structure and function, and has a significant impact on ecological assets. How to analyze the relationship between landscape type shifts and the spatial and temporal evolution of ecological assets is one of the key questions that need to be addressed to achieve the goal of overall improvement in ecosystem quality and sustainable regional economic development. This study takes Qixingguan District, Bijie City, Guizhou Province-a typical karst plateau mountainous area-as the research object, and analyzes the spatial and temporal evolution characteristics of landscape type shifts and ecological assets triggered by rock desertification management from 1995-2018, based on the equivalence factor method, combined with the contribution rate, spatial autocorrelation, and sensitivity research methods. The results showed that arable land, grassland, and woodland were the main landscape types in the study area. The value of ecological assets showed a trend of increasing and then decreasing, with an overall increase of 87.70 × 10 6 yuan. The distribution pattern of ecological asset value from southwest to northeast is "high-low-high". There is a significant positive correlation in the spatial distribution of the overall ecological assets, with similar aggregation between neighboring units. The expansion of forest land was the main factor for the rapid increase of assets from 1995 to 2010, with a contribution of 98.12%; the conversion of arable land and grassland to construction land was the main factor for the decrease of assets from 2010 to 2018, with a percentage of 81.06%, where the value of each type of service was mainly composed of five items, such as soil formation and conservation, biodiversity conservation and gas regulation, water conservation, and climate regulation. This study shows that spatial and temporal evolution assessment of ecological assets is an important manifestation of the effectiveness of rocky desertification control, which can provide decision support to resource managers and users for regional ecological environment construction.

The supply sources of a water resource in arid area can be determined through analysis of the hydrochemical and stable isotopic characteristics of runoff in an alpine glacier river basin. Using mathematical statistical analyses, Piper diagrams, and Gibbs diagrams, this study analyzed the spatiotemporal variations of the hydrochemistry and the stable hydrogen and oxygen isotopes of the Kashi River in Ili (Xinjiang, China) to investigate their characteristics and environmental importance. Runoff samples were collected in the mountainous area of the Kashi River from December 2017 to November 2018. Results showed that the runoff water type of the Kashi River is Ca 2+ -HCO 3 - and the spring water type is Ca 2+ -HCO 3 - -SO 4 2- . The main factors controlling the hydrochemical composition of runoff were rock weathering. Under the influence of supply sources and water conservancy facilities, the hydrochemistry and stable isotopic characteristics of the runoff showed evident spatiotemporal variation. The hydrochemical and stable isotopic values of runoff in winter and spring were lower and more consistent in comparison with those in summer and autumn. The characteristics of the spatial variations of hydrochemical and stable isotopic values in runoff differed with elevation. The supply sources in the Kashi River in different seasons were determined by analyzing the temporal variation characteristics of the hydrochemistry and stable isotopes of runoff., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.)

Ecosystem restoration has been widely concerned with the damage and degradation of ecosystems worldwide. Scientific and reasonable formulations of ecological restoration zoning is the basis for the formulation of an ecological restoration plan. In this study, a restoration zoning index system was proposed to comprehensively consider the ecological problems of ecosystems. The linear weighted function method was used to construct the ecological restoration index (ERI) as an important index of zoning. The research showed that: (1) the ecological restoration zones of the Qilian Mountains can be divided into eight basins, namely the headwaters of the Datong River Basin, the Danghe-Dahaerteng River Basin, the northern confluence area of the Qinghai Lake, the upper Shule River to middle Heihe River, the Oasis Agricultural Area in the northern foothills of the Qilian Mountain, the Huangshui Basin Valley, Aksay (corridor region of the western Hexi Basin), and the northeastern Tsaidam Basin; (2) the restoration index of the eight ecological restoration zones of the Qilian Mountains was between 0.34-0.8, with an average of 0.61 (the smaller the index, the more prominent the comprehensive ecological problem representing the regional mountains, rivers, forests, cultivated lands, lakes, and grasslands, and thus the greater the need to implement comprehensive ecological protection and restoration projects); and (3) the ecological problems of different ecological zones are frequently numerous, and often show the phenomenon of multiple overlapping ecological problems in the same zone.

In this study, the forest landscape in the Beijing mountain area is assessed using the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs model. The results showed the natural forests have higher functional capital than the planted forests and different species contribute to different ecological functions. Specifically, Larix gmelinii forests have the highest water resources and soil conservation function which are about 334.14 m 3  hm -2  year -1 and 115.92 t hm -2  year -1 ; Betula allegansis forests have the highest carbon storage and biodiversity function which are about 128.46 t hm -2  year -1 and 0.76. Besides soil, water is conserved more within coniferous forests than within broadleaf forests. Carbon sequestration and the functional capacity for biodiversity within a unit area of coniferous forests are much smaller than those within a unit area of a broadleaf forest. Previous studies highlight the forest management strategies will influence the ecosystem functions while in the current studies we also found the species option during the afforestation is equally important and protecting of the natural forests is more important than afforestation for maintaining the ecological functional capitals.

According to slope direction and position of the distribution of Juglans mandshurica natural secondary mixed forest in 12 sites of Changbai Mountain in Jilin Province, and combined with the age structure of J. mandshurica, we set up 109 plots. Based on the age-tree height data, we complied the site index of the forests. We used the three times tree height standard deviation method to eliminate abnormal data, 379 pairs age and tree height data were obtained from the 80 plots. Then, we used seven mathematical models for comparison and got simplex site index-oriented curve equation as H=28.0181(1-e -0.0341 A ) 1.0503 . The coefficient of determination R 2 and the sum of squared residuals were 0.85 and 0.89, respectively, the base age was 50 years, the exponential interval was 2 m, and 7 site index curves of 16-28 m were obtained. According to different site types, polymorphic sites index model was established, and the power function fitting effect was best. Its equation was H=B 0 t B1 , in which B 0 =10 -9 e 0.9213SI , B 1 =-0.2139SI+5.6183. Finally, the polymorphic site index model equation was H=10 -9 e 0.9213SI . The exponential difference method and drop point test were conducted to check the accuracy of the two site index models. The results showed that the polymorphic site index had higher precision and it could accurately reflect the difference in tree height growth under different site types of J. mandshurica. Therefore, it could evaluate the site quality of natural secondary mixed forests of J. mandshurica in Changbai Mountain area of Jilin Province.-0.2139SI +5.6183 . The exponential difference method and drop point test were conducted to check the accuracy of the two site index models. The results showed that the polymorphic site index had higher precision and it could accurately reflect the difference in tree height growth under different site types of J. mandshurica. Therefore, it could evaluate the site quality of natural secondary mixed forests of J. mandshurica in Changbai Mountain area of Jilin Province.

To investigate the hydrochemical variation of karstic groundwaters in a vertically zoned climate region affected by human activity, Shuifang Spring and Bitan Spring in the Jinfo Mountain area of Chongqing were selected as a study site. Based on the differences between the natural state and intensity of human activity of these two springs, their hydrogeochemical characteristics and the controlling factors on karstic groundwaters were analyzed by means of independent sample t tests, the Gibbs graphic method, principle component analysis (PCA), and geochemical susceptivity analysis. The results show that differences in karst development in the vertical climatic zone leads to higher total ion concentrations in Bitan Spring than in Shuifang Spring. The hydrochemical types of Shuifang Spring and Bitan Spring are HCO 3 -Ca and HCO 3 -Ca·Mg, respectively, which reflect the lithology of their different elevations. Carbonate rock dissolution is the main source of Ca 2+ , Mg 2+ , and HCO 3 - in karstic groundwaters. Hotel sewage discharge supplies SO 4 2- , NO 3 - , PO 4 3- , K + , and Na + in Shuifang Spring, which peaked in winter and summer, while hydrochemical parameters of Bitan Spring changed smoothly throughout the year. The water quality of Bitan Spring is better than Shuifang Spring (Shuifang Spring water is classified as Class Ⅳ). PCA shows that the water-rock interaction was the first controlling factor. Hotel sewage discharge and ions from precipitation had important effects on Shuifang Spring and Bitan Spring, respectively. In addition, the effects of soil erosion and leaching caused by precipitation also impact on the water quality of two springs to some extent. The geochemical susceptibility of Shuifang Spring was greater than that of Bitan Spring; therefore, corresponding measures should be formulated according to the characteristics of these differently elevated karst systems when exploiting groundwater resources. This is especially the case for the treatment of hotel sewage.

As an important component of terrestrial ecosystem carbon cycle, soil respiration is a hot topic in the studies of carbon cycle. The temperature sensitivity (Q 10 ) of soil respiration is a critical index to estimate the effects of global warming on soil respiration. Understanding Q 10 of different vegetation types is of important significance for assessing the carbon budget of forest ecosystems. We examined soil respiration and its temperature sensitivity in three typical forests (Pinus tabuliformis, Platycladus orientalis, and Quercus variabilis) in the Beijing mountainous area by measuring the soil physical and chemical properties, soil temperature, soil moisture, and soil respiration rate (R s ) during the growing season. The results showed that R s of three typical vegetation types showed a similar trend with changes of soil temperature and humidity, which showed a unimodal pattern, with minimum value (0.45 μmol·m -2 ·s -1 ) in early April and maximum value (3.95 μmol·m -2 ·s -1 ) in early July. There were significant differences in R s and Q 10 values among the three vegetation types. Soil temperature and humidity were the important factors affecting soil respiration, together they could explain the seasonal variation of soil respiration rate from 48.1% to 56.7%. The range of Q 10 value was between 2.05 and 3.19. There was a significant negative correlation between soil organic carbon content and Q 10 under each vegetation type (R 2 >0.9). Vegetation type, elevation, and soil organic carbon content were important drivers for the variation of Q 10 .

Social hierarchy commonly exists in animal societies, affecting both the endocrine functioning and the behavior of animals. In nonhuman primates, the relationship between social rank and cortisol levels varies across species and even within species. Here, we assessed the relationships between social rank and fecal cortisol levels in adult male Taihangshan macaques (rhesus macaques, Macaca mulatta tcheliensis) from the provisioned, free-ranging Wulongkou-2 (WLK-2) group inhabiting Wulongkou Scenic Area, Jiyuan, China. From March to May 2014, we recorded 195 agonistic behaviors and collected 54 fresh fecal samples from eight adult male Taihangshan macaques. Males were assigned a social rank according to an agonistic behavior matrix, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was then used to measure the cortisol concentration in the fecal samples. We found that social rank among the eight male Taihangshan macaques in WLK-2 group followed a strict linear hierarchy, and that fecal cortisol levels were significantly higher and more variable in low-ranking males than in more dominant individuals. Age was not significantly associated with social rank or fecal cortisol levels. Our results suggest that social rank and maintenance of the social hierarchy within the WLK-2 group is a chronic stressor, with low-ranking males maintaining heightened stress levels and enlarged reactive scope relative to dominant males. This provides new support for the theory that social environment can influence endocrine functioning.

A Gram-stain-negative, aerobic, motile, endospore-forming and rod-shaped bacterium, designated RA17 T , was isolated from Dafan, Hubei Province, China. Based on 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity comparisons, strain RA17 T was most closely related to Paenibacillus taihuensis THMBG22 T (97.4 %), Paenibacillus rhizoryzae ACCC 1ZS3-5 T (97.4 %) and Paenibacillus sacheonensis DSM SY01 T (96.5 %). Analysis of the rpoB gene also indicated that RA17 T had the highest similarity to P. rhizoryzae ACCC 1ZS3-5 T (92.3 %), P. taihuensis THMBG22 T (88.4 %) and P. sacheonensis DSM SY01 T (85.5 %). The DNA-DNA hybridization values between strain RA17 T and the two type strains, P. taihuensis THMBG22 T and P. rhizoryzae ACCC 1ZS3-5 T , were 36.8 and 22.9 %, respectively. Its genome size was 6.17 Mb, comprising 5677 predicted genes with a DNA G+C content of 52.82 mol %. The major cellular fatty acids were anteiso-C15 : 0, iso-C15 : 0 and iso-C16 : 0. The polar lipids were diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphoglycolipid, four aminophospholipids, an unidentified phospholipid and an unidentified polar lipid. The major quinone was menaquinone 7. The diagnostic diamino acid of the cell wall was meso-diaminopimelic acid. The low DNA-DNA hybridization values, physiological and biochemical differences, such as growth at 4 °C, acid production from inositol, lack of α-chymotrypsin activity, no casein hydrolysis, and negative for acid production from d-fructose, melibiose and sucrose, could distinguish strain RA17 T from its closely related species. Consequently, strain RA17 T represents a novel species of the genus Paenibacillus, for which the name Paenibacillusmontanisoli sp. nov. is proposed, with RA17 T (=KCTC 33894 T =CCTCC AB 2017053 T ) as the type strain.

Transportation activities such as fuel consumption, vehicle wear and road deicing can detrimentally affect the groundwater quality of fragile roadside wetland environments including. Nineteen parameters (Cu, Pb, Zn, Cd, Cr, Ni, Hg, As, pH, TDS, Ca 2+ , Mg 2+ , Na⁺, K⁺, SO₄² - , Cl - , HCO₃ - , NO₃ - and F - ) were determined in groundwater samples from turfy swamps impacted by highway traffic from Jiangyuan (JY), Longquan (LQ), and Huangsongdian (HSD). Our results indicate that the metals Cu, Pb, Zn, Cr, Cd, the ions Na⁺, K⁺ and Cl - in groundwater were negatively affected by highway transportation, and the maximum affected distance of these pollutants varied from 15 to 100 m. The content of most of these pollutants in roadside groundwater decreased exponentially with the distance from the highway, as did the heavy metal pollution index HPI and C d . The values of HPI and C d in these three sites ranged from 46.8 to 78.4 and -4.9 to -2.9, respectively. The low pollution levels of heavy metals are related to the strong adsorption capacity of turfy soil towards metals. In any case, road transport activities increased the Cu, Pb, Zn, Cr, Cd, Na⁺, K⁺ and Cl - content in roadside groundwater in turfy swamp. With the increase of highway operation time, it will inevitably have a great influence on the groundwater quality of these wetlands. Therefore, the long-term monitoring is necessary to protect the sustainable development of turfy swamp., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Six traffic-emitted metals (Cr, Zn, Cu, Cd, Pb, and Ni) were determined in soil and plants for below- and aboveground parts along different distances from highway to evaluate their behavior and uptake by Carex meyeriana Kunth and Thelypteris palustris var. pubescens Fernald growing in turfy swamps. The results indicated that the different plant tissues showed significantly different levels of metal content. Nonlinear regression analysis indicated that metal contents leveled off at constant values before they decreased as the distance from the roadside increased. The high R 2 values of the regression model indicated good fit of the exponential function applied to depict the distribution pattern of the metal elements. It was deduced that Cr, Cu, and Cd in Thelypteris palustris var. pubescens Fernald were mainly derived from the soil; Carex meyeriana Kunth and Thelypteris palustris var. pubescens Fernald absorbed Pb mainly through the stomata from atmospheric depositions; Cr, Cu, and Cd in Carex meyeriana Kunth and Zn in Thelypteris palustris var. pubescens Fernald were mainly affected by soil and atmospheric depositions. After excluding the effects of traffic, only the bioaccumulation factor of Cd (1.34) in Carex meyeriana Kunth and the translocation factor of Zn (1.13) in Thelypteris palustris var. pubescens Fernald were greater than 1, suggesting that Carex meyeriana Kunth could be a good candidate for assimilating Cd from soils and Thelypteris palustris var. pubescens Fernald could be suitable for the phytoextraction of Zn.

In 557 mites collected from rodents in the Changbai Mountain Area, 3 pools of Eulaelaps stabularis from Apodemus peninsulae and Apodemus agrarius showed a positive result by PCR amplifications of both the citrate synthase encoding gene (gltA) and outer membrane protein B encoding gene (ompB) of Rickettsia spp. Sequence analysis indicated that both gltA and ompB shared the high similarity (99%) to Rickettsia felis . The data presented in this paper extend the knowledge on the geographic distribution and host information of R. felis -like organism in China.

Objective: To understand the situation of the freely grazing and wild feces behaviors of residents in plateau mountain area of schistosomiasis endemic areas in Yunnan Province., Methods: Two villages of Xidian and Moguang in Heqing County, Yunnan Province were selected as the study area and the questionnaire surveys were performed to the randomly selected villagers aged 6 to 65 years with the sampling ratio of 30%. Then the respondents were tested for the infection of schistosomiasis by indirect hemagglutination assay (IHA)., Results: Totally 412 residents were surveyed. In all the responds, the ratios of "captive breed", "freely grazing "unknown" and "no response" were 55.34%, 4.85%, 26.94% and 12.86% respectively; and the ratios of "no grazing", "less than 5/week" and "no less than 5/week" were 75.49%, 16.02% and 8.50% respectively; and the ratios of "no wild feces", "less than 5/week", "no less than 5/week" and "no answer" were 68.45%, 27.67%, 2.91% and 0.97% respectively., Conclusions: Freely grazing and wild feces behaviors of residents in schistosomiasis endemic area of Heqing County are widespread, could heavily affect the control of schistosomiasis in Heqing County. The further work is to strengthen the management of human and animal feces and grazing and consolidate the results of the prevention and control of schistosomiasis and finally achieve the aim of the transmission interruption.

Objective: To investigate the diversity and the distribution of host animal species of hantavirus and the effect on human health in Jiuhua Mountain area, China., Methods: The host animal species of hantavirus was surveyed by using the trap method and the species diversity was evaluated by using the Simpson, Shannon-Weaner, and Pielou indices. Hantavirus antigens or antibodies in lung and blood samples of all the captured host animals were detected by direct or indirect immunofluorescence., Results: Nine animal species of hantavirus were distributed in the forest ecosystem of Jiuhua Mountain. Of these, Niviventer confucianus and Apodemus agrarius were predominant, and N. confucianus, Rattus norvegicus, and Mus musculus had relatively large niche breadth index values. The host animals in the eastern and western mountain regions shared similar biodiversity index characteristics, predominant species, and species structures. Hantavirus was detected in 5 host animal species in Jiuhua Mountain area, the carriage rate of hantavirus was 6.03%. The average density of host animals in forest areas of the mountainous area was only 2.20%, and the virus infection rate in the healthy population was 2.33%., Conclusion: The circulation of hantavirus was low in the forest areas of Jiuhua Mountain and did not pose a threat to human health., (Copyright © 2014 The Editorial Board of Biomedical and Environmental Sciences. Published by China CDC. All rights reserved.)

Plant samples were collected and investigated periodically. According to the growth of different parts and the characteristics of dry substance accumulation of Scrophularia ningpoensis, the development of S. ningpoensis could be divided into four stages: seeding stage, stem and leaf growth stage, expanding period of root tubers, and dry substance accumulation stage of root tuber. Leaf numbers of S. ningpoensis grew gradually from one at first to 370 at the final stage, main stem leaf were 50 pieces. Leaf size increasesed with the fastest growth at the stem and leaf growth stage, average daily increase amount was 225 cm2. By the middle of August, leaf size reached to 16,270 cm2. Leaf area indexrose sharply in the seeding stage, and remained above 8 among stem and leaf growth stage and expanding period of root tubers, and rapidly reduced to zero in the stage of dry substance accumulation of root tuber. Leaf area ratio has a tendency of obvious dropping. The net assimilation rate had a small change ranges, two small peak were seeding stage and dry substance accumulation of root tuber. The value of specific leaf area was higher in seeding stage, and in the earlier stage of dry substance accumulation of root tuber. Relative growth rate changed with large ranges, higher in seeding stage, rapid decrease in stem and leaf growth stage, rose in expanding period of root tubers, and declined again in the stage of dry substance accumulation of root tuber. Crop growth rate was higher in the first and last stages, and smaller in interim stage. The growth parameters of S. ningpoensis such as relative growth rate, net assimilation rate, leaf area index, leaf area ratio, specific leaf area, crop growth rate changed along with the growth. The rule of dry matter accumulation was as follows: the dry matter increased slowly during the seeding stage and speeded up in the middle and late stages, and in dry substance accumulation of root tuber increased slower, the growth of dry matter all appeared an "S" curve, and accorded with logistic equation. Cultivation technologies of S. ningpoensis and the relevant management methods could be established according to the growth of different parts of S. ningpoensis and the characteristics of dry substance accumulation in different stage.

Objective: We aimed to investigate the patterns and risk factors of nonfatal injuries among rural mountain-area children in southwest China., Methods: A stratified sampling method was used to recruit rural children aged 8 to 17 years (mainly 9-14 years) from 7 schools. Self-reported injuries during the past 12 months and relevant concerns were collected from June to December 2012 by using a structured questionnaire in a class interview., Results: The mean age of the 2,854 children was 12.2 ± 1.5 years. The probability of annual injury was 16.7% (95% confidence interval [95% CI] 15.3-18.1%), with slightly higher injury risk for boys than girls (17.7% vs. 16.0%; P>0.05). The top 3 causes of injuries were falls (37.3%), animal-related incidents (20.6%), and burns (14.9%). The main injury risk factors included being involved in a violent episode (odds ratio [OR] 1.34, 95% CI 1.08-1.66, P = 0.007), maltreatment by parents or guardians (1.42, 1.17-1.72, P<0.001), and being from a single-child family (1.30, 1.10-1.66, P = 0.039). Older age was a protective factor (0.81, 0.76-0.87, P<0.001)., Conclusions: The incidence of nonfatal injury among rural children was high, and falls were the leading cause. Younger children and boys from poor-care and poor-living environments were at increased risk of injury, which requires urgent attention. Injury prevention programs targeting these issues are needed in this mountain area and similar rural regions of China.

FGD1 encoding a guanine nucleotide exchange factor, specifically activates Rho GTPase cell division cycle 42 (Cdc42). Dysfunction of FGD1 causes Aarskog-Scott syndrome (MIM #305400), an X-linked disorder that may affect bone and intellectual development. However, the relationship between FGD1 and intellectual developmental disorders (IDD) remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate the genetic association between the FGD1 polymorphism and IDD. Working with families from the Qinba mountain area where the occurrence of IDD is higher than the average in China, we analyzed 456 samples from 130 nuclear families, effectively controlling for stratification and environmental factors. Five SNP loci (rs2230265, rs7881608, rs2239809, rs6614244, and rs2284710) were selected that were well distributed within the FGD1 gene. Genotyping was performed through single-strand conformation polymorphism and restriction fragment length polymorphism. The data were analyzed with transmission disequilibrium tests. In the Qinba mountain area, no significant association was observed between IDD and allele or genotype frequencies, or the haplotype of the 5 SNP loci of the FGD1 gene. The results indicate that FGD1 may not be a monogenetic X-linked factor in IDD. Further studies are required to investigate its role in intellectual development based on its specific interactions with Cdc42 or other partner proteins contributing to IDD.

According to the different altitudes precipitation samples in Yulong Snow Mountain area in Yunnan Province from July 26 2005 to July 31 2005, the precipitation chemical characteristics of different altitudes were analyzed with the sea salt iron tracer analysis method. Sea salt tracer analysis showed that Cl-, Na+ had high proportion marine source, amounting 74.79% and 73.53% respectively while the other ions mainly were nonmarine sources. The average percentage of nonmarine sources of NO3-, SO4(2-), K+, Mg2+, Ca2+ were 100%, 93.54%, 97.29%, 81.77%, 99.66%. Statistics chart showed the changes of cation outweigh the anion greatly. The cation concentration ranged between 0.51-5.26 mg/L and anion concentration ranged between 0.99-4.90 mg/L, inferring the cation have more complicated sources. Further analysis showed terrestrial ions, especially near source terrestrial ion composition greatly impact the precipitation ion concentration. Human activities lead to higher anion concentration at alt. 2950-4800 m and precipitation ion concentration was correlated significantly with local atmospheric circulation. The most rock are limestone caused high precipitation cations in Yulong Snow Mountain, such as Ca2+ and Mg2+.

Different water samples were collected at Mt. Yulong Region located in lijiang city, Yunnan Province from July 22 to July 28 in 2005. The concentration of anion was measured by Dionex-3000 Ion chromatography and Dionex-600 ion chromatography, different water bodies anion composition and concentration in the study area were analyzed by applying approaches of cluster analysis sea salt iron tracer and typical backward trajectories analyze. The results show that the anion concentration of water of altitude higher than 3 180 m takes on natural state and the influence of human activities and foundation rock is less significant. However, human activities and foundation rock exert direct and decisive influence on the anion concentration of water of altitude lower than 3 180 m, with more significant effects than high altitude. Cluster analysis shows that at high altitude anion concentration and composition of water have strong consistency, the consistency of different water bodies in low altitude area anions is weak, indicating the influence factors is more complex in low altitude than high altitude. Sea salt tracer analysis indicates that the average proportion of nonmarine source of Cl- is 65%; NO3- is predominantly of continental origin; nonmarine sources proportion of SO4(2-) is 93.7%. Typical backward trajectories analyze found that the mostly vapor in the region mainly from the Indian Ocean, part of the vapors from the eastern Pacific, the west wind South Branch occasionally along Tibetan Plateau into the study area. SO4(2-) and NO3(-) which from mainly from Southeast Asia and South Asia input with the monsoon circulation.

Reactive gaseous mercury (RGM) and particulate mercury (Hgp) concentrations in ambient air from a remote site at Changbai Mountain area in northeastern China were intermittently monitored from August 2005 to July 2006 totaling 93 days representing fall, winter-spring and summer season, respectively. Rainwater and snow samples were collected during a whole year, and total mercury (THg) in rain samples were used to calculate wet depositional flux. A throughfall method and a model method were used to estimate dry depositional flux. Results showed mean concentrations of RGM and Hgp are 65 and 77 pg m(-3). Compared to background concentrations of atmospheric mercury species in Northern Hemisphere, RGM and Hgp are significantly elevated in Changbai area. Large values for standard deviation indicated fast reactivity and a low residence time for these mercury species. Seasonal variability is also important, with lower mercury levels in summer compared to other seasons, which is attributed to scavenging by rainfall and low local mercury emissions in summer. THg concentrations ranged from 11.5 to 15.9 ng L(-1) in rainwater samples and 14.9-18.6 ng L(-1) in throughfall samples. Wet depositional flux in Changbai area is calculated to be 8.4 microg m(-2) a(-1), and dry deposition flux is estimated to be 16.5 microg m(-2) a(-1) according to a throughfall method and 20.2 microg m(-2) a(-1) using a model method.

An intensive field campaign for the measurement of total gaseous mercury (TGM) concentrations in ambient air was conducted in Changbai Mountain area from 5 August 2005 to 5 July 2006 using an automatic atmospheric mercury analyzer (Tekran 2537A), which was the first time TGM was monitored at a remote area in northeastern China. 99% of the hourly TGM concentrations fell between 1.28 and 9.49ngm(-3) with an annual arithmetic mean of 3.58+/-1.78ngm(-3), which was significantly elevated compared to values obtained in remote areas of Europe and North America. Seasonal mean TGM concentrations displayed a descending trend as follows: winter, spring, fall, and summer. Compared to spring/winter, TGM concentrations were lower in the summer/fall but the standard deviation (SD) of TGM levels was higher and indicated a correlation with anthropogenic emissions. TGM concentrations showed seasonal differences with respect to meteorological parameters: TGM levels in spring/winter were most correlated with wind speed, and correlated with solar radiation only in the winter, while TGM levels in summer/fall periods were most correlated with air temperature. There was a strong diurnal variation of seasonal TGM with significantly higher concentrations in daytime/nighttime compared to the early morning. The seasonal diel TGM pattern indicated regional biofuel and coal combustion were the primary mercury sources.

This study was conducted in Dachang, a small mining town in Gaungxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in southern China. A total of 23 farmland soil samples and two atmospheric samples of particulate matter less than 10 microns (PM(10)) were collected in this town. ICP-MS was used to analyze for 20 elements in each of the samples. All of the samples contained some level of heavy metals. The most commonly detected heavy metals detected in the soil samples were: Cd (up to 29.0 mg kg(-1)), As (up to 776 mg kg(-1)), Sb (up to 36.8 mg kg(-1)), Pb (up to 582 mg kg(-1)), Zn (up to 1379 mg kg(-1)) and Cu (up to 156 mg kg(-1)), Mn (up to 1476 mg kg(-1)). The PM(10) content in air samples exceeded the Chinese standard by nearly ten-fold. The most commonly detected heavy metals detected in the PM(10) atmospheric samples were Cd (up to 210 mg kg(-1)), As (up to 15239 mg.kg(-1)), Sb (up to 445 mg kg(-1)), Pb (up to 8053 mg kg(-1)), Zn (up to 13151 mg kg(-1)) and Cu (up to 673 mg kg(-1)), Mn (up to 2826 mg kg(-1)), Mo (up to 120 mg kg(-1)). All of these heavy metals are associated with significant human health effects ranging from reduced intelligent quotients (IQs) in children (cf. Pb) to cancer (e.g., Cd and As). Müller Geo-accumulation Index (Igeo) and enrichment factor (EF) were used to assess the findings. The results to the two assessments showed the same ranking: Cd > As > Sb > Pb > Zn > Cu > Mn, which would imply that the particulate matter in ambient air was the source of the contamination in the soil. The correlation analysis supported this inference. Upon further examination, ore transportation through the town was identified as the most likely source of contamination. Therefore, steps should be taken to improve the management of the ore transportation in order to protect the farmland and the health of the residents.

A previous study investigated metal contamination in farmland and the air in a typical mining town of Guangxi, South China. In this study, the health risks associated with exposure to this contamination that were evaluated for the following routes of exposure are reported: inhalation, dermal contact, ingestion of dust, and ingestion of homegrown vegetables. The findings demonstrated that the inhabitants were at high risk for noncancer effects posed by some of the metals. The total hazard index (THI) of all the pathways was 145 for adults and 560 for children, which were far higher than the normative level 1. The noncancer risk mainly came from air PM(10) pollution through inhalation and ingestion routes of exposure. However, vegetable ingestion also made a noticeable contribution to HI of about 7 for adults and 22 for children. The metals that posed the greatest noncancer risks were Mn for inhalation, and ingestion of dust and vegetables. The total cancer risks of the inhabitants were 1 x 10(-1) (adult) and 3 x 10(-1) (child), which far exceeded the acceptable carcinogen risk of 10(-4) approximately 10(-6) for regulatory purposes. The cancer risk in the village is mainly (97%) associated with As exposure by inhalation and ingestion of dust. However, consumption of vegetables is also associated with a significant cancer risk of up to 2 x 10(-3) for adults and 8 x 10(-3) for children. The cancers associated with this exposure are estimated to be lung cancer and skin cancer. Air particulate-matter pollution was the main source of noncancer risk and cancer risk and originated from vehicular transport of ore through the community. The risk could be tested by a specifically designed epidemiological study.

An intensive field campaign monitoring was conducted from August 2005 to July 2006 using the automatic atmospheric mercury analyzers for one year' s measurement of total gaseous mercury (TGM) in Changbai Mountain area. Results show the mean concentration of TGM is (3.22 +/- 1.78) ng x m(-3) and it presents seasonal variation as followings: winter > spring > autumn > summer. Given the background concentration of atmospheric mercury in the Northern Hemisphere, mercury concentrations are totally elevated in Changbai Mountain area. The regional source of mercury in the atmosphere seems to be anthropogenic Hg emissions mainly due to local biofuel use and coal combustion from industry and domestic uses. The potential mercury source may be regional mercury emissions from soil and the long distance transportation of mercury in the atmosphere.

Background: Although about 90% of congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is asymptomatic in newborn, some of them could show sequelae later in life. Qinba mountain area is a place with high incidence of mental retardation and a high rate of CMV intrauterine transmission in China. The correlation between asymptomatic congenital CMV infection and developmental outcomes of children in this area remain unclear., Objectives: To investigate the impact of asymptomatic congenital CMV infection on physical and intellectual development of children during the first 6 years of life in Qinba mountain area., Study Design: Longitudinal cohort study. Forty-nine of all the 54 children with asymptomatic congenital CMV infection were followed prospectively in a study for surveying physical growth and intellectual developments., Results: Either in neonatal or in infant period, no significant difference was noted between the asymptomatic congenital CMV infection children and the controls in average weight, height and head circumference (both p>0.05). The intellectual development was disproportion in asymptomatic congenital infected children. Compared with the control group, both global development quotient (DQ) and full-scale intelligence quotient (IQ) scores of asymptomatically infected children were worse (t=2.19, p=0.031; t=2.48, p=0.015), especially on language DQ scores (t=3.25, p=0.002) and verbal IQ scores (t=3.88, p=0.000). However, the incidence rates of mental retardation (DQ/IQ<70) were similar in two groups (chi(2)=1.03, p>0.05)., Conclusions: Although asymptomatic congenital CMV infection did not have significant influence on the neonatal physical development or incidence of mental retardation later in life, it is obviously an important factor correlating with long-time cognitive outcomes, especially on the development of language. It is necessary to survey CMV congenital infection and monitor the early intellectual development of children with asymptomatic congenital CMV infection in this area.

Variations of CGG repeats in the FRAXE fragile site were determined by PCR amplification followed by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and sequencing in randomly collected Qinba Mountain Area children whose intelligence level was determined by China-Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (C-WISC). Correlations between IQ score and the number of CGG repeats were analyzed. Results indicated a difference in the range of CGG repeats among populations from different regions, but no difference in the distribution of allele frequency in such a population. CGG repeats were not associated with IQ scores in randomly collected subjects (r=0.083, P>0.05), in males and females (r(m)=0.225, r(f)=-0.041, P>0.05), or in subjects with different intelligent levels (F=0.195, P>0.05). It can be inferred that variation in the size of CGG repeats was not associated with intellectual performance in the Qinba Mountain area children.

This paper measured the numbers and biomass of soil microbes as well as the soil respiration rate under mixed coniferous--broadleaved forest, mixed coniferous forest, pure coniferous forest, pure deciduous broadleaved forest, shrubs, and bare land in Taihang Mountain area, aimed to evaluate the soil microbial characters under different vegetation communities in this area. The results showed that shrub land had the greatest numbers and biomass of soil microbes, followed by deciduous broadleaved forestland, mixed coniferous--broadleaved forestland, pure coniferous forestland, and bare land. Soil respiration rate had the similar trend. When restoring the vegetations on degraded mountain land, more attention should be paid to the natural restoration capability of forest ecosystems.

The Meili Snow Mountain (28 degrees 20'-28 degrees 33'N, 98 degrees 30'-8 degrees 52'E) is a very famous mountain in Northwest Yunnan of China by its rich and well protected biodiversity and Tibetan cultural diversity. By applying 3S (RS-Remote Sensing, GIS-Geography Information System, GPS-Global Position System) technology, the 1:50000 vegetation map of Meili Snow Mountain area (total about 332 km2) was drawn out. The vegetation in this area was classified into 18 vegetation types except for stone, glacier and river system. The vegetation map was rectified by applying the GPS points got from the fields. The numbers of GPS points were calculated by the formula of numbers of samples in statistics. 313 GPS points were used to rectify the vegetation map. The numbers were fit for the formula of numbers of samples in Statistics. The accuracy and verify of vegetation types distribution in the map was analyzed by building a Probability Error Matrix (PEM) and through the variance analysis. The results indicated that the overall accuracy (OA) of the vegetation map was 84.7%. The accuracy of vegetation map finished by 3S technology was lied on the area of the region and the grade of vegetation class first, but the grade of vegetation class classified by remote sensing technology disaccord with the traditional vegetation class system. The other factos deciding the accuracy of vegetation were the distinguish ability of Remote Sensing image, the accuracy of distinguish, and the numbers of the samples, including vegetation class experts knowledge.

Objective: To develop and utilize the bee plants and bee products in Changbai Mountain area, the representative area of alpine plants in northeast China featuring abundant resources of bee plants., Method: The pollen of bee plants was observed and studied by LM and SEM., Result: The pollen is morphologically oblate, suboblate, spheroidal and prolate. The external sculpture is commonly reticulate, striate and echinulate., Conclusion: Plant pollen identification criteria have been furnished for the development of bee plant resources as well as the inspection of bee products in Changbai Mountain area.

Dun Hua is a district where endemic goiter has been prevalent. Residents commenced to eat iodined salt ten years ago. We studied 469 people in this district and discovered that the incidence of endemic goiter had somehow come down but still kept 10.4%. However, the incidence of thyroid cancer went up to 1.9% with the incidence of thyroiditis 0.85%. Pathological characteristic of endemic goiter frequently appeared adenoniatoid feature with some atypical hyperplasia follicles which facilitates the cancerization in the fibrigenic part. Reasons accounted for the endemic goiter occurrance might not only relate to the insufficient intake of iodined salt but also to the increase of iodine excretion from the body. The increase of iodine excretion may be related to the factors as varieties of subsidiary food and vegetables as well as personal habitualness on food and drinks.