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Tourism in urban forests is rapidly becoming an increasing trend; however, rather few studies have used quantitative measurement to describe the relationship between tourism intensity and ecological functions. This study provides a practical framework that integrates ecosystem service value (ESV) assessment, Internet big data mining and spatial regression analysis to identify the spatial response of ESV and land use/land cover change to tourism activities from 2009 to 2019 in the Siming Mountain Region (SMR), a famous tourist resort located in the eastern coastal China. Results showed that between 2009 and 2019 total ESV increased by 7.1%. Nevertheless, there have been drastic transitions in land use types with function adjustments from traditional agricultural production to diversified tourism-oriented services. Significant spatial autocorrelation was identified for the patterns of ESV changes. GWR further highlighted that the relationship between ESV change and rural tourism indicators varied in space. ESV change in the core zone was negatively correlated with changes in catering service spots and recreational venues, whereas it was positively correlated with local lodgings. Ultimately, targeted recommendations and countermeasures for spatial planning and sustainable tourism development of urban forests under new circumstances were discussed.

To investigate the effect of arable land protection policies in China, a practical framework that integrates geographic information systems (GIS), soil quality assessment and landscape metrics analysis was employed to track and analyze arable land transformations and landscape changes in response to rampant urbanization within the Ningbo region (China) from 2005 to 2013. The results showed that arable land loss and degradation have continued, despite the development of a comprehensive legal framework for arable land protection. The implementation of arable land protection policies is judged to be effective, but not entirely successful, because it guarantees the overall amount of arable land but does not consider soil quality and spatial distribution. In addition, there are distinct variations in arable land change dynamics between two temporal intervals. From 2005–2009, the transformation of arable land was diversified, with intensified conversion among arable land, built-up land, water and orchards. Moreover, many new arable land parcels were adjacent to built-up land, and are in danger of being occupied again through urban sprawl. By 2009–2013, most of the arable land was occupied by urban expansion, whereas a majority of newly increased arable land was reclaimed from coastal tideland. Although the newly increased arable land was contiguous and far from the urban area, it is of poor quality and has limited use. The permanent loss of high-quality arable land due to intensified urban sprawl may threaten sustainable development and food security on a larger scale.

BackgroundAt present, no consensus is reached among articles that investigate the relationship of paraoxonase 1(PON1) -108C/T polymorphism with susceptibility of coronary heart disease (CHD) so far. In this regard, the present meta-analysis was conducted to comprehensively review existing articles related to the relationship of PON1 -108C/T polymorphism with CHD susceptibility. It was preregistered in the International Platform of Registered Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols (INPLASY)-INPLASY202430117.MethodsArticles that explored the relationship between PON1 -108C/T polymorphism and CHD incidence were searched from electronic databases according to our preset study selection criteria. Thereafter, we adopted stata 12.0 software to analyze our screened studies. At the same time, odds ratios (ORs) and related 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were determined for evaluating association strength.ResultsAt last, this meta-analysis selected altogether 13 case-control studies that involved 2,979 cases and 2,887 control subjects. We found that the PON1 -108C/T polymorphism displayed marked relationship with CHD susceptibility (T vs. C: OR = 1.24, 95% CI 1.07–1.45; CT vs. CC: OR = 1.33, 95% CI 1.17–1.52; TT vs. CC: OR = 1.51, 95% CI 1.09–2.09; Recessive model: OR = 1.16, 95% CI 0.93–1.45; Dominant model: OR = 1.45, 95% CI 1.16–1.81). Moreover, subgroup analysis showed that race and sample size had no impact on the results. Bioinformatics analysis showed that -108C>T polymorphism was relation to PON1 gene expression (https://gtexportal.org/home/).ConclusionsThe PON1 -108T allele is identified as the possible low-penetrant risk factor of CHD, as suggested by our present meta-analysis.Systematic Review Registration:https://inplasy.com/inplasy-2024-3-0117/, Identifier INPLASY202430117.

The fact that the permeability and microstructure properties of clay will be changed by NAPL (Nonaqueous Phase Liquids) pollution draws high attention in the study of the interaction between NAPL and contaminated soil. Through in-field contaminated clay soils from vinyl chloride and 1, 1, 2-trichloroethane-contaminated site in Shanghai, the variation of the content of vinyl chloride and 1, 1, 2-trichloroethane pollutants in clay with depth was obtained. The change of plasticity, permeability, and microstructure properties of the clay samples contaminated by vinyl chloride and 1, 1, 2-trichloroethane were investigated in detail. The measured test results were compared with the uncontaminated clay and indoor soaked contaminated clay samples by TCE (Trichloroethylene). The test results showed that the microstructure characteristics of clay were changed under the influence of the content of TCE, vinyl chloride, and 1, 1, 2-trichloroethane. The total porosity, accumulative pore volume, and the content of the macroporosity percentage of clay soils showed an increasing trend. The flocculation structure of contaminated clay samples was observed, but there were no overhead pores and connected cracks. Volatile organic pollutants were detected in both field and indoor contaminated clay samples. The plastic limit and liquid limit of each layer of contaminated samples decreased slightly, the plastic index did not change significantly, and the pore ratio and permeability coefficient increased gently. At the same time, the clay shrinkage was aggravated by TCE pollution, and cracks appeared on the surface of soil samples. However, no connected cracks were formed. Test results indicated that the self-developed improved permeability test device can be used to test the permeability coefficient of clay samples with shrinkage and to crack by NAPL pollution. The permeability coefficient showed an increasing trend, though the increase was not at the level of magnitude.

The eastern coastal region of China has been experiencing rapid urbanization which has imposed great challenges on soil resources, characterized by soil sealing and fragmented soil landscapes. Taking Zhejiang Province—a fairly economically-developed and highly-urbanized region in eastern China—as a case study, a practical framework that integrates remote sensing, GIS, soil quality assessment and landscape analysis was employed to track and analyze the rapid urbanization process and spatiotemporal dynamics of soil sealing and landscape change from 1990 to 2010. Meanwhile, this paper qualitatively explored the regional inequality and characteristics in soil sealing intensity among cities of different geo-zones in Zhejiang Province. Results showed that total area of 6420 km² had been sealed during the past two decades for the entire study area, which represents 6.2% of the provincial area. Among these sealed soils, 68.6% are fertile soils located in flat plains, such as Paddy soils. Soil landscapes became more fragmented and dispersed in distribution, more irregular and complex in shape, and less dominant and diverse in soil type, as evidenced by the constant change of various spatial landscape metrics. What is more, different geo-zones exhibited significant differences in dynamics of soil sealing intensity, soil composition and soil landscape patterns. The permanent loss of valuable soil resource and increasing fragmented soil landscape patterns concomitant with rapid urbanization processes may inevitably bring about potential threats to regional soil resources and food security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents a practical methodology to monitor the spatiotemporal characteristics of urban expansion in response to rapid urbanization at the provincial scale by integrating remote sensing, urban built-up area boundaries, spatial metrics and spatial regression. Sixty-seven cities were investigated to examine the differences of urbanization intensity, urbanization patterns and urban land use efficiency in conjunction with the identification of socio-economic indicators and planning strategies. Planning proposals to allocate the urbanization intensity among different-sized cities by considering sustainable urban development were also explored. The results showed that the urban area of Zhejiang Province expanded from 31,380 ha in 1980 to 415,184 ha in 2010, indicating that the area of the urban region expanded to more than 13-times the initial urban area. The urban built-up area boundaries became more complex and irregular in shape as the urban area expanded throughout the entire study period. Rapid urban population growth and economic development were identified as significant in stimulating the urban expansion process. However, different-sized cities exhibited marked differences in urban development. Small cities experienced the rapidest urbanization before 2000. Large cities, which are estimated to have the highest urban land use efficiency, had the most dramatic sprawl in urban area at the beginning of the 21st century. Promoting the development of large cities to mega-cities is recommended in Zhejiang Province to ensure sustainable urban development with consideration of land resource preservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]