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In ethnic areas, plant utilization is an essential component of traditional ecological knowledge and an important intersection between biodiversity and cultural diversity. Multipurpose plants play an important role in diversity of plant utilization and can be used as an indicator of regional biocultural diversity. Different uses of the same multipurpose plant correspond to different gathering methods and have different impacts on plant resources. Although important in both daily life and scientific studies, multipurpose plants are rarely specifically studied. In this study, multipurpose plant utilization by Miao and Buyi people in Guizhou, China, was investigated using semi-structured interviews. Plant uses were classified into eight categories: food, medicine, timber, fuel, technological, recreation, ornamental and symbolic. Three indices, Joint Plant and Use (JPU), Joint Uses (JU), and Joint Index (JI), were proposed to analyze overall utilization for multipurpose plants and the relationships among their different uses. A total of 58 species of non-cultivated multipurpose plants and 140 corresponding JPUs were recorded. With the decrease in use number, the corresponding species number of multipurpose plants increased. Two-use plants were most common among multipurpose plants, and food–medicinal plants were most frequent among two-use plants. Moreover, medicinal use and food use have the highest JI value, representing the close relationship between these two uses. Multipurpose plants are essentially determined from the attributes of plants themselves. Trees tend to have more uses than herbaceous plants. Different uses of the same plant represent different cultural or economic values, which determine the importance of a specific use. Socio-economic conditions and policies also have impacts on multipurpose plant utilization. While socio-economic conditions, policies, and plant resources vary, people might choose among different uses; hence, some key multipurpose plants and their JPUs will reflect the variations. The JPU used in this study can be regarded as a basic biocultural diversity unit. Using JPU, JU or JI allows multipurpose plants and their uses to be analyzed quantitatively. Multipurpose plants should be valued in research and management and, for further research, it is important to establish a standard plant use categorization.

China’s Grand Canal is a giant water engineering project and has become a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Since its initial construction in the Zhou Dynasty (486 B.C.), the Canal had played great role in transportation and regional economic development. However, those historical functions of the Grand Canal have been almost abandoned during the past century in part due to problems like water pollution and ecological deterioration. While the environmental and ecological functions of China’s Grand Canal have been severely damaged, its socio-economic functions have been crippled. The Xianghe Segment of China’s Grand Canal (XSCGC) is the north end of China’s Grand Canal. Connecting Beijing and Tianjin, XSCGC is an important component of China’s Grand Canal. With the implementation of China’s Strategy for Promoting Ecological Progress and Beijng–Tianjin–Hebei Integration Development Strategy, the restoration of environment, ecosystems, and socio-economic functions of XSCGC has become an urgent task for nat...

Rural household livelihood research of ethnic minorities is urgent to the development of ethnic areas in China and achieve the world poverty reduction goal. To improve ethnic rural household livelihood, it is fundamental to figure out what are the types, characteristics as well as impact factors of their livelihood strategies. In the study, we explored the household livelihood strategy choices and livelihood diversity of the main ethnic minorities (Tujia and Miao) in Chongqing, as well as how livelihood capitals impact livelihood strategy through methods of clustering, livelihood diversity index and multiple logistic regression under the framework of sustainable livelihood approach. The results show that: (1) Full-time job, both full-time and part-time job, part-time agriculture, part-time job and subsidized livelihood strategy are livelihood strategies adopted by Tujia and Miao rural households in Chongqing, China. (2) The characteristics of the identified livelihood strategies are diversified and various in natural, financial, human and finance capital. (3) A number of livelihood capitals impact the way that household choose their livelihood strategies, but the livelihood capitals have no significant impact on the livelihood diversity. By detailed analysis of the characteristic of rural ethnic household livelihood strategy, especial livelihood diversity, the research enriched sustainable livelihood literature and provided useful information for policymakers and practitioners in designing effective programs for regional sustainable development and ecological protection.

In the context of general household energy transition, identifying different household energy consumption patterns is of great significance for the formulation of refined energy conservation and emission reduction policies. For historical reasons, the households of ethnic minorities in China tend to face more severe energy poverty problems. In this study, we proposed the concept and research method of characteristic energy, a new method to depict household energy use pattern. Combined with the diversity analysis, the energy use pattern of Tujia and Miao rural households in Chongqing, China, were studied. Households in research area were clustered into four groups with different characteristic energy sources: firewood, electricity, coal and gasoline, representing four types of household energy use pattern. The main impact factors of rural household energy use pattern are electrical appliances and amount of pig raising, indicating that household production and lifestyle play a decisive role in household energy use patterns. In addition, the research depicts the energy consumption characteristics of rural households with different incomes, ethnic groups and in different regions. The study puts forward corresponding energy saving countermeasures for different energy use pattern, helps to identify the heterogeneity of rural household energy use and promote the formulation of refined regional energy conservation and emission reduction policies.

Benthic algae, especially diatoms, are commonly used to assess water quality in rivers. However, algal-based assessments are challenging at the river system scale because longitudinal variation in physical habitat conditions may obscure algal responses to changes in water quality. In the present study, we surveyed benthic diatoms and environmental variables from a mountainous Chinese river system. Hierarchical clustering, discrimination analysis, and indicator species analysis were used together to explore associations between distribution patterns of diatom assemblages and water quality variables. Study sites were clustered into five groups based on their diatom community composition, with sites grouped by the sampling months. Chemical oxygen demand (COD), elevation, and total nitrogen (TN) were the most important predictors for site classification. Site groups with higher elevations had higher TN concentrations, however, COD concentrations were higher in lower elevation groups. Moreover, COD concentrations significantly differed between temporally separated groups. In total, 49 indicator species were identified for individual groups, with most taxa indicating the eutrophic condition. Additionally, we found that European diatom indices are not closely associated with water quality variables. We conclude that the identification of algal patterns and their driving forces can provide valuable information to aid bioassessment at the river system scale.