Search

Background and aims: Changes in precipitation profoundly affect ecological processes of steppe ecosystem. To predict the impact of climate changes on plant aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP), it is necessary to understand the direct and indirect effects of precipitation changes on ANPP. Methods: In this study, a precipitation manipulation experiment (i.e., R100: ambient precipitation as a control, R50: 50% of ambient precipitation, R150: 150% of ambient precipitation) was conducted in 2017 in a typical steppe in the western Loess Plateau, China. The ANPP, below-ground biomass, species diversity, vegetation cover, and soil properties of natural grassland were determined in 2020. The structural equation model (SEM) was used to compare the relative contribution of plant and soil properties to ANPP. Results: We found that the vegetation cover, diversity index, community richness, and biomass were positively correlated with precipitation gradients; The soil moisture, soil available potassium (SAK), and soil total phosphorus were significantly affected by changing precipitation. Our findings revealed that changes in precipitation had a significant positive effect on ANPP, which was mainly mediated by community coverage according to SEM. Conclusion: Our results emphasize the importance of vegetation cover in driving the short-term response of ANPP to climate change in the typical steppe. The study is critical to understand the functioning and stability of grassland ecosystems under changing climates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trend, detection, and attribution analyses were performed using naturalized streamflow observations and routed land surface model runoff for 10 subbasins in the Columbia River Basin during water years 1951–2008. The Energy Exascale Earth System land‐surface model (ELM) version 1.0 and the Routing Application for Parallel computatIon of Discharge (RAPID) routing model were used to conduct semi‐factorial simulations driven by multiple sets of bias‐corrected forcing data sets. Four main potential drivers, including climate change (CLMT), CO2 concentration (CO2), nitrogen deposition (NDEP), and land use and land cover change (LULCC), were analyzed during the assessment. All subbasins showed significant (α = 0.10) declines in the observed amount of annual total streamflow, except for the Middle and Upper Snake and Upper Columbia Subbasins. These declines were led by significant decreases in June–October streamflow, which also directly led to significant decreases in peak and summer streamflow. Except for the Snake River Subbasins, LULCC had the same pattern of declines in monthly streamflow, but the period was shifted to May–September. NDEP also had significant trends in June–October; however, rather than decreases, the trends showed significant increases in streamflow. While there were significant trends in CO2, NDEP, and LULCC, their signals of change were weak in comparison to the signal in CLMT and the natural internal variability found in streamflow. Overall, the detection and attribution analysis showed that the historical changes found in annual total, center of timing of, and summer mean streamflow could be attributed to changing climate and variability. Key Points: Latest NRNI data, ELM simulations, and river routing model were employed to study the long‐term hydrologic changes in CRBSignificant declines in the CRB June–October streamflow led to an earlier center of timing and significant decreases in annual total, summer mean, and peak streamflowThe changes in annual total, summer mean, and center of timing of streamflow were mainly attributed to changing climate and variability [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a result of global climate change, urban flooding has become a global concern in recent years because of its significant negative impacts on cities. To cope with the frequent occurrence of urban flooding in recent years as well as water shortages, China has started a new nationwide initiative called Sponge City intended to increase urban resilience. This study aimed to examine public perceptions of and knowledge about urban flooding and sponge city construction, as well as the public’s willingness to support sponge cities through two options, which includes (1) paying a domestic water fee surcharge and (2) buying government-issued credit securities. We found that most respondents knew about urban flooding and sponge cities, and also supported sponge city construction. Residents believed that government grants and public-private partnerships (PPP) should be the main financial sources for sponge city construction. However, respondents also accepted 17% of the domestic water price as a surcharge to be used for sponge city construction. Meanwhile, the willingness to pay (WTP) for government-issued credit securities for sponge city construction was 55% of the average annual capital surplus. We also found that occupation, education, and income were the main factors affecting respondents’ WTP to support sponge city initiatives. Though increasing water prices by a certain amount will be acceptable to the public, a more properly designed PPP model should be considered and promoted by the government to overcome financial insufficiencies and ensure the sustainability of the sponge city initiative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pulp and paper industry is a high energy consuming and polluting sector, and carbon emissions emitted from this sector are worthy of attention. This article, based upon an analysis of China’s Pulp and Paper Industry (CPPI), provides estimates of each of the following: carbon emissions from energy consumption, pre-treatment sector, combustion of condensed black liquor, and methane emitted from incomplete aerobic digestion during sewage treatment of CPPI. During the study period (2005–2012), total CO 2 emissions ranged from 126.0 Mt to 155.4 Mt. Energy consumption was estimated to be the largest source of carbon emissions, however, due to the application of the local emission inventory rather than the IPCC inventory, energy consumption decreased by 4.7%, a lower percentage than was calculated in a previous study. According to this study’s estimation, the emissions caused by the recovery of biomass energy contributed 26–29% of the total CO 2 emissions. CH 4 generated from sewage treatment accounted for 9–11% of the total carbon emissions. The CO 2 intensity dropped during the study period, which reflected the improvement of energy efficiency in the pulp and paper industry. The outcome of this study provides not only detailed information about CPPI’s carbon emissions, but also a calculation framework for studying carbon emissions from pulp and paper sector in the other regions. It suggests that the local carbon emissions inventory should be used for estimating carbon emissions and to reduce the fossil fuel energy, increase energy recovery from biomass, and that promoting cleaner production is essential to achieve a low carbon development of the pulp and paper industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Submergence and eutrophication are increasingly common in riparian zones as a result of climate change and artificial disturbance. This study aimed to test the effects of submergence level and eutrophication degree on a worldwide invasive riparian plant,Alternanthera philoxeroides. A greenhouse experiment was conducted in which the new ramets ofA. philoxeroideswere treated with three submergence levels (0, 7, and 13 cm) combined with five nutrient concentrations (1000-, 100-, 50-, 10-, and 1-fold dilution of modified Hoagland solution). The results showed that submergence severely inhibited the growth ofA. philoxeroides, whereas a great increase in nutrient concentration promoted its growth. Submergence and increasing nutrients both reduced biomass allocation to the roots inA. philoxeroides, which primarily increased investment into stems upon submergence or leaves when not submerged.A. philoxeroidesalso showed significant phenotypic plasticity, elongating its stems by increasing internode length rather than number to cope with submergence. These results suggest thatA. philoxeroidescould actively adapt to submergence and mild eutrophication would not promote its growth, while extremely high nutrient concentrations in water would be beneficial for its adaptive growth. Our study contributes to understanding the causes of the invasiveness and wide distribution ofA. philoxeroidesin disturbed riparian zones where submergence and eutrophication often co-occur. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

• Three ESs' supply has increased from 2000 to 2018 in Yangtze River Delta. • Synergy existed between water yield, soil retention, and carbon fixation. • ES supply had positive and negative correlations with precipitation and urbanization, respectively. • Most cities were short of carbon fixation, and about 1/3 lack water and food provision. • There was a distinct spatial mismatch between ES supply and demand in 2018. Ecosystem services (ES) play a vital role in sustaining human society's operations. Integrated ES assessment is the foundation for effective ES management. Most previous studies focused on the supply side of ES with fewer concerns on ES demand. Taking the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) as an example, this study analyzed the dynamics of ES from both supply and demand perspectives. The ES supplies of three critical ESs (water yield, carbon fixation, and food provision) have increased from 2000 to 2018, while soil conservation decreased. Water yield, carbon fixation, and soil conservation had positive and negative correlations with precipitation and artificial land area, and there were synergies among the three ESs. In contrast, food provision had no significant correlations with the above two factors and ESs. In 2018, most cities were short of carbon fixation service, and about one-third of municipalities needed more water yield and food provision. There was a distinct spatial mismatch between ES supply and demand. The east region of YRD was the hot spot for each ES's demand. Four suggestions were proposed to improve regional ES management, including enhancing integrated ES assessment, improving climate change resilience, strengthen land-use management, and establishing mechanisms to balance ES supply and demand. Our research indicates the necessity of incorporating ES demand into ES assessment. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reasonable and effective use of renewable resources can reduce dependence on traditional fossil-based energy sources and reduce carbon emissions. This study mapped the spatial potentials of renewable resources (i.e., solar radiation, precipitation, wind, and geothermal resources) in China. The results showed that China's most abundant renewable resources are located in the southwestern regions, which are significantly different from the spatial distribution patterns of population and economic development. Four southwestern provinces (Tibet, Qinghai, Sichuan, and Yunnan) make up only 7% of the national gross domestic product (GDP) and 30% of the national land area but possess 58% of the renewable resources. We found a weak to moderate degree of negative correlation between the emergy density of renewable resources and GDP per capita on the administrative levels of the prefecture-level cities for the whole country and in its eastern, central, and western regions. This means that the socioeconomically underdeveloped Midwest has more abundant renewable resources. A distributed energy-economic system may help to bridge the regional gaps of renewable sources in China. These findings can support policy decisions for the better development and use of renewable resources in China. • The spatial distribution pattern of renewable resources was identified. • The national emergy line for renewable resources was depicted. • A correlation analysis of the GDP and renewable resources was conducted. • A distributed energy-economy system was proposed for China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change, environmental problems and consequent ecological damages due to excessive consumption of resources and to the continuing human population growth of more than 80,000,000 net increase per year, have damaged and continue to accelerate the devastation of numerous ecosystems. These changes have brought significant harm to humans and are imposing high costs on societal maintenance and development. In that context, low/no-fossil carbon transformations and improved material’s and energy efficiency are crucial elements for reconciling human activities with sustainable societal development, which is built upon vibrant and sustainable ecosystems. The urgently needed changes are bound to be difficult to make due to the perceived contradictions between low/no-fossil-carbon systems and sustainable and economically vibrant societies. This Special Volume (SV) is comprised of thirty-three articles, which mainly focus on investigations of low/no-fossil carbon transformations in countries, regions, industries and enterprises. Some authors provided insights of ways to proceed based upon new research and development (R&D), evaluations of specific low/no-fossil carbon technologies and lessons learned from policy simulations and analyses of potential post-fossil carbon societies. This SV introductory article contains an overview of the content of the articles divided into five topics: (a) low/no-fossil carbon transformations within industrial sectors, (b) regional planning and low/no-fossil carbon developments, (c) multi-regional, low/no-fossil carbon economies, (d) specific low-fossil carbon technologies, and (e) low/no-fossil carbon policy results. Given the extensive coverage of low/no-fossil carbon transformations, the papers on mechanisms and pathways are clearly the most important contributions of this SV. The researchers focused broadly on ways to address two objectives: (a) To characterize the main factors catalyzing high-fossil carbon development and (b) To accelerate the transition to low/no fossil carbon societies. Some authors focused upon new, low/no-fossil carbon development and planning in different countries and regions, while others focused upon ways to make changes within energy-intensive industries. Additionally, some authors reported on progress in the evaluation of the effectiveness of specific low/no-fossil-carbon technologies and in the design and implementation of low/no-fossil carbon policies. The findings and recommendations of the authors are positive and encouraging. However, it is clear, that there are many additional research, policy and educational challenges, which must be solved, to establish and support systems to guide and to monitor the transformations to sustainable, equitable, livable, low/post-fossil carbon societies. Much work remains but the wisdom in the articles in this SV will help societies make the needed transitions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Growing consumption has brought a series of environmental problems. Sustainable consumption patterns which could meet human needs, improve the quality of lives, and reduce pollutants in the product life cycle emerge and develop. With the development and application of information and network technology, the scale and variety of data are increasing rapidly; advances in data analytics have made the economy, and consumption, quantifiable and visible. At present, many scholars rely on a big-data background and carry out research on sustainable consumption. Therefore, we called for sustainable and consumption papers for special volume of Journal of Cleaner Production (JCLPRO). We received submissions from all over the world and eventually accepted 45. This Special Issue forming a study on sustainable energy consumption, low-carbon transportation, waste recovery and recycling, climate change cost assessment, application and policy modelling for big data and sustainable consumption to promote sustainable development in the fields of energy consumption, low-carbon transportation, waste recovery, and so on. The authors have analysed the problems of pollution and carbon emission in different regions and product production cycles, according to the background of specific regions and enterprises, through data mining, measurement models, and an evaluation index system. Some suggestions are provided for urban construction and enterprise development according to the results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Sulfur dioxide (SO 2) pollution has become a severe concern in China, which is closely linked to human health. Here, the officially released data of SO 2 in the 336 prefecture-level cities in 2015 across the whole China were firstly collected to understand the spatiotemporal variation of the SO 2 concentration. At a national scale, the SO 2 concentration was highest in winter, followed by one in spring and autumn, and the lowest one in summer. The spatial econometric models, the geographical weight regression (GWR) model, and the generalized additive model (GAM) were then applied to examine the interaction of socioeconomic factors (e.g., gross domestic production (GDP)) and the meteorological indicators (e.g., precipitation) on the SO 2 level in the 336 cities over China. The results suggested that the SO 2 concentration was negatively associated with GDP, precipitation, wind speed (WS), and relative humidity (RH), while it showed the positive relationship with gross industrial production (GIP), population, and temperature. GDP in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces presented the negative correlations with the SO 2 concentration, suggesting the adaptation of industrial structure has occurred in the developed region. The positive effect of GIP on the SO 2 concentration increased from West China to North China because many energy-intensive industries were concentrated on North China. The GAM analysis suggested that the combined effects of the adverse meteorological condition (e.g., RH = 50–60%) and the higher GIP contributed to severe SO 2 pollution. Therefore, the SO 2 emission from the heavy industries especially in NCP should be reduced and many energy-intensive plants in the region should be moved to some cities with favorable diffusion condition. Highlights • The increases of GIP, population, and temperature aggravated SO 2 pollution in China. • The increases of precipitation, WS, and RH facilitated the SO 2 removal. • The increased GIP caused more severe SO 2 pollution in NCP compared to other regions. • The adverse RH (50-60%) with increased GIP easily contributed to the SO 2 accumulation [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Cities, the core of the global climate change mitigation and strategic low-carbon development, are shelters to more than half of the world population and responsible for three quarters of global energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG). This special volume (SV) provides a platform that promotes multi- and inter- disciplinary analyses and discussions on the climate change mitigation for cities. All papers are divided into four themes, including GHG emission inventory and accounting, climate change and urban sectors, climate change and sustainable development, and strategies and mitigation action plans. First, this SV provides methods for constructing emission inventory from both production and consumption perspectives. These methods are useful to improve the comprehensiveness and accuracy of carbon accounting for international cities. Second, the climate change affects urban sectors from various aspects; simultaneously, GHG emissions caused by activities in urban sectors affect the climate system. This SV focuses on mitigation policies and assessment of energy, transport, construction, and service sectors. Third, climate change mitigation of cities is closely connected to urban sustainable development. This SV explores the relationships between climate change mitigation with urbanization, ecosystems, air pollution, and extreme events. Fourth, climate change mitigation policies can be divided into two categories: quantity-based mechanism (e.g., carbon emission trading) and price-based mechanism (e.g., carbon tax). This SV provides experiences of local climate change mitigation all over the world and proposes the city-to-city cooperation on climate change mitigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Russia is typical of the extensive economic development pattern. Its economic growth greatly relies on natural resources, especially fossil fuels, which can lead to large quantities of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In this study, which is based on the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories, we systematically estimated the economy-related GHG emissions in Russia over the period of 1998–2013 in terms of energy consumption emissions, industrial process emissions, animal husbandry emissions, and fugitive emissions. The proportion and variations in the different emission categories were analyzed in the Russian context. The inverted U-shaped relationship between the GDP per capita and economy-related GHG emissions per capita was tested, and the results supported the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis under a business-as-usual scenario. Our estimation indicated that Russia will reach its turning point in 10 years if its economic growth rate remains stable. Since optimizing the energy structure and improving the energy efficiency and changing industrial structure will have a positive effect on GHG emission reduction in Russia, the Russian government needs to guide its economic development to reach its EKC turning point through the implementation of effective policies, instead of waiting for the turning point. This study analyzed the impact of the economic development on GHG emissions in Russia and will serve as a reference for countries and regions that are at this stage of the economic transformation process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transfer of industrial clean technology can contribute to the transformation of industry sustainable development to address the dual challenges of climate change and environmental pollution. Although its importance is widely acknowledged, there is still a lack of scientific and quantitative assessment framework to precisely and effectively identify high-potential cooperation targets in the context of countries with diverse backgrounds. To fill this gap, this study proposed a multidimensional assessment framework for industrial clean technology transfer potential with application in 58 BRI developing countries. This study reviewed existing literature on the main barriers and drivers of clean technology transfer and extracted four assessment dimensions as primary indicators, namely the recipient country's macro environment, industry development, clean technology demand, and clean technology transfer guarantee, with 13 secondary indicators, 52 tertiary indicators based on the open-source database and common assessment index. The established framework was then used to assess the potential for China's industrial clean technology transfer to 58 developing countries under the Belt and Road Initiative, with the weights of indicators at all levels determined by the analytic hierarchy process method based on expert questionnaires and equal weighting method. The findings demonstrate that there are significant differences in clean technology transfer potential among studied countries. Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Malaysia are the best options for China, while Bolivia, Cameroon, and Algeria have the lowest technology transfer potential. Our work can not only assist technology providers with overall country selection in industrial cleaner technology transfer cooperation and strengthen their risk prevention capacity, but also help countries with low cooperation potential or obvious weaknesses to identify deficiencies and make targeted improvements, as well as serve as a reference for other international technology cooperation assessments. • The study develops a novel framework to quantify the potential for industrial clean technology transfer for the first time. • The framework can guide country selection of clean technology transfers, and identify defiencies for low-potential countries. • The framework evaluated 58 BRI developing countries, revealing Qatar, UAE, and Malaysia as the top 3 with high potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecosystem services (ES) are key to maintaining sustainable regional development. Climate change and land cover and land use change (LULC) are one of the main factors leading to changes in regional ecosystem services. Existing studies have simulated regional ES changes under different future scenarios, providing valuable guidance for regional sustainable management. However, most studies focus on the effects of individual factors (LULC or climate change) on ES, paying insufficient attention to the coupled effects of the two elements. Yunnan Province is a biodiversity hotspot facing challenges in ES in the context of future climate change and rapid socio-economic development. In order to achieve sustainable management, policies must be developed in advance to address possible future ecological risks. In this study, we simulated the coupled effects of climate change and LULC on six types of ES using the SD, FLUS, and InVEST models. The scenario framework of shared socioeconomic pathways SSP245 and SSP585 was combined with LULC scenario dynamics to assess the changes of ES in 2030 and 2050, identifying sensitive areas and providing a scientific basis for local ecosystem management. In 2020, the eastern part of Yunnan Province was the coldspot area for all ES. Under the future scenarios, Yunnan Province's ES show different loss rates and distinct spatial heterogeneity. Future climate change and LULC changes have a more significant negative impact on water conservation and water quality purification. About 66% of its counties will become sensitive areas for water production services, and 37% of counties will endure reduced water purification functions by more than 50%. According to the analytical results, we then proposed several suggestions to improve regional ES management. • The coupled effects of climate change and LULC on Yunnan's ESs was evaluated. • Yunnan's ESs show different loss rates and distinct spatial heterogeneity in the future. • Water yield and purification functions suffered the most significant loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growing environmental concerns and the prospect of irreversible climate change highlight the necessity for the rapid transformation from fossil-based economy to the modern circular bio-based economy. Yet the urgency of green transformation may lead to insufficient consideration of scientific concerns about the sustainability of accelerated biomass deployment, and the inherent complexity and uncertainty in the assessment present a challenge to policy makers, researchers, and industry. This review aims to provide a retrospect towards the status of biomass resources from the feedstock to conversion process, and end-use. Understanding the distribution and potential projections of major biomass types are also critical steps to ensuring sustainable supply chains. A novel indicator framework was further established for assessing the sustainability of biomass resources by integrating the environmental and social-economic dimensions. Different indicators are interdependently connected and vary significantly among the feedstock categories, land use types and management practices. All of which are important considerations of the criteria for systematic research in the future, understanding the alternative potential of biomass resources, providing important insights for accelerating the transition to bio-based economy, as well as policy regulation. • A retrospect of biomass feedstocks, conversion approaches and final use. • Detailed classification, distribution and estimation methods of biomass feedstocks. • A novel indicator framework for sustainability assessment of biomass resources. • Challenges and prospects towards the achievement of sustainable bioeconomy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]