scholarly journals Mapping and Evaluating Human Pressure Changes in the Qilian Mountains

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 2400
Author(s):  
Quntao Duan ◽  
Lihui Luo ◽  
Wenzhi Zhao ◽  
Yanli Zhuang ◽  
Fang Liu
Keyword(s):  
Human Activities ◽  
Qilian Mountains ◽  
Western China ◽  
Eastern Region ◽  
Human Pressure ◽  
Activity Intensity ◽  
Human Footprint ◽  
Illegal Activities ◽  
The Qilian Mountains ◽  
The Impact

Human activities have dramatically changed ecosystems. As an irreplaceable ecological barrier in western China, the Qilian Mountains (QLM) provide various ecosystem services for humans. To evaluate the changes in the intensity of human activities in the QLM and their impact on the ecosystem, the human footprint (HF) method was used to conduct a spatial dataset of human activity intensity. In our study, the NDVI was used to characterize the growth of vegetation, and six categories of human pressures were employed to create the HF map in the QLM for 2000–2015 at a 1-km scale. The results showed that the mean NDVI during the growing season showed a significant increasing trend over the entire QLM in the period 2000–2015, while the NDVI showed a significant declining trend of more than 70% concentrated in Qinghai. Human pressure throughout the QLM occurred at a low level during 2000–2015, being greater in the eastern region than the western region, while the Qinghai area had greater human pressure than the Gansu area. Due to the improvement in traffic facilities, tourism, overgrazing, and other illegal activities, grasslands, shrublands, forests, wetlands, and bare land were the vegetation types most affected by human activities (in decreasing order). As the core area of the QLM, the Qilian Mountains National Nature Reserve (NR) has effectively reduced the impact of human activities. However, due to the existence of many ecological historical debts caused by unreasonable management in the past, the national park established in 2017 is facing great challenges to achieve its goals. These data and results will provide reference and guidance for future protection and restoration of the QLM ecosystem.

scholarly journals Regional and Local Moisture Gradients Drive the Resistance to and Recovery from Drought of Picea crassifolia Kom. in the Qilian Mountains, Northwest China

Forests ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 817 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lingnan Zhang ◽  
Hui Li ◽  
Yilin Ran ◽  
Keyi Wang ◽  
Xiaomin Zeng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Radial Growth ◽  
Northwest China ◽  
Qilian Mountains ◽  
Mean Annual Temperature ◽  
Western Region ◽  
Drought Event ◽  
Eastern Region ◽  
Picea Crassifolia ◽  
The Western Region ◽  
The Qilian Mountains

Increasing evidence suggests that extreme droughts cause more frequent tree growth reduction. To understand the consequences of these droughts better, this study used tree-ring cores from nine sites to investigate how moisture and altitudinal gradients affect the radial growth of Picea crassifolia Kom., a common species in the Qilian Mountains in northwest China. The total annual precipitation and mean annual temperature in the eastern region were higher than those in the western region of the Qilian Mountains. The trees in the eastern region showed stronger resistance to drought than those in the west, as they had a smaller difference in radial growth between drought disturbance and pre-drought disturbance. At the same time, the trees in the east showed weaker ability to recover from drought, as they had a subtle difference in radial growth between post-drought disturbance and drought disturbance. Furthermore, the trees in the east also showed weaker relative resilience to drought, as they had a small difference in radial growth between post-drought and drought disturbance weighted by growth in pre-drought disturbance. For trees below 3000 m a.s.l., trees with high resistance capacity usually had low recovery capacity and low relative resilience capacity. Trees at higher altitudes also showed stronger resistance to drought and weaker ability to recover from drought after a drought event than those at lower altitudes in the middle of the Qilian Mountains. Trees at lower altitudes in the middle of the Qilian Mountains had more difficulties recovering from more severe and longer drought events. In the context of global warming, trees in the western region and at lower altitudes should be given special attention and protection in forest management to enhance their resistance to extreme droughts.

Exploration of permafrost with audiomagnetotelluric data for gas hydrates in the Juhugeng Mine of the Qilian Mountains, China

Geophysics ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 84 (4) ◽  
pp. B247-B258 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bo Yang ◽  
Xiangyun Hu ◽  
Wule Lin ◽  
Shuang Liu ◽  
Hui Fang
Keyword(s):  
Gas Hydrates ◽  
Gas Hydrate ◽  
Qilian Mountains ◽  
High Resistivity ◽  
Electromagnetic Methods ◽  
Survey Technique ◽  
Resistivity Logs ◽  
Gas Hydrate Deposits ◽  
The Qilian Mountains ◽  
The Impact

In China, gas hydrates in onshore permafrost areas have so far only been found in the Juhugeng Mine of the Qilian Mountains. However, their subsurface distribution remains unclear. Electrical resistivity logs have revealed that zones containing gas hydrates have higher resistivity than surrounding zones, which makes electromagnetic methods viable for detecting gas-hydrate deposits. We have deployed a natural-source audio-magnetotelluric (AMT) survey at the Juhugeng Mine. AMT data were collected at 176 sites along five profiles, and resistivity models were derived from 2D inversions after detailed data analysis. After the available geologic and geophysical observations were combined, the inversion results from profile 1 suggested that permafrost near the surface with high resistivity and thickness is essential for underlying gas hydrates to be present. The decrease in resistivity and/or thickness of permafrost due to climate change may lead to gas-hydrate dissociation. The other four AMT transects suggested three prospective gas-hydrate sites. Our results indicate that the AMT survey technique is suitable for exploring gas hydrates in permafrost areas and analyzing the impact of permafrost characteristics on gas-hydrate occurrence.

scholarly journals Impact of Human Activities on the Distribution of Termite Communities in Teak Plantations (Tectona grandis L. F., Verbenaceae) in the Korhogo Communal Area (North Côte d'Ivoire)

2021 ◽  
pp. 140-150
Author(s):  
Tenon Coulibaly ◽  
Franceline Doh ◽  
Ekien Alloua A. Bertille Kadio ◽  
Kindo Yves-Joël Boko ◽  
Alexandre Moïse Akpa Akpesse ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Human Activities ◽  
Botanical Garden ◽  
Forest Fragment ◽  
Human Pressure ◽  
Teak Plantation ◽  
Communal Area ◽  
Teak Plantations ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Village

Aims: This study aimed to assess the impact of human activities on termites in teak plantations in the Korhogo communal area. Methodology: Termites were sampled from October to November 2020 using the transect method recommended by Jones and Eggleton (2000). The study was carried out in three teak plantations undergoing different levels of human activities, with a forest fragment as reference area. Five types of human activity were assessed and the overall proportion of human pressure on each habitat was calculated. The species richness (S), Shannon index (H'), Evenness (E) and the relative abundance were calculated of termites for each habitat type. Analyses of variance (ANOVA) were used to compare the species richness and abundance of termites. Results: The results showed that the village plantation of teak (PVT) had the highest degree of human pressure (50.94%), followed by the teak plantation of the forest of Mount Korhogo (TFMK) (29.24%). The teak plantation of Botanical Garden (TJB) was under low pressure (6.60%). A total of 30 species grouped in 19 genera and 8 sub-families of termites were identified in all plots. Termite diversity was high in the forest fragment (19.67 ± 1.15) and in the teak plantation of Botanical Garden (21.33 ± 2.08), but low in the village teak plantation (11 ± 1). The abundance of termites evolves in the same direction as the species richness. Conclusion: Anthropogenic activities affect the trophic composition of termites, particularly the humivore group. Reconstruction of the fauna and flora of the teak forests would be beneficial for the conservation of termite species. In this region, teak forests would thus play a role as a refuge for termite communities, which are recognised as the main soil fertilising organisms in the tropics.

scholarly journals The Impact of Mountain Range Geographic Orientation on the Altitude Effect of Precipitation δ18O in the Upper Reaches of the Heihe River Basin in the Qilian Mountains

Water ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 1797 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jianqiao He ◽  
Wei Zhang ◽  
Yuwei Wu
Keyword(s):  
Water Vapor ◽  
River Basin ◽  
Qilian Mountains ◽  
Heihe River Basin ◽  
Heihe River ◽  
Mountain Range ◽  
The Qilian Mountains ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Heihe River Basin ◽  
Precipitation Δ18o

The precipitation δ18O-elevation gradients are important for paleoclimate, hydrology, and paleoelevation studies. The field setting for this research was the upper reaches of the Heihe River Basin within the Qilian Mountains in the Northern Tibetan Plateau. Three study sites were established along the Heihe main river. These sites were the Yingluoxia and Qilian hydrological stations and the Yeniugou meteorological station. The Yingluoxia hydrological station was the dividing point between the upper and middle reaches of the Heihe River Basin. The altitudes of these sites range from 1600 m to 3300 m. Summer precipitation is predominant with regard to the annual precipitation amount. By analysis of variance (ANOVA), the precipitation δ18O data collected from the three sites were analyzed, spanning a year of precipitation data from 2007.10 to 2008.9. The results showed that the δ18O-elevation gradient was not significant (α = 0.05) at a seasonal or annual scale in this region and the precipitation-weighted annual mean δ18O was −7.1‰. Mechanisms that have been proposed to explain this result consider the role of two processes, including (1) mixing of moisture sources, a process common in an arid and semiarid region, and (2) the absence of a mechanism for water vapor to climb along slopes in the precipitation system. Atmospheric water vapor mainly travels along the trend of the Qilian Mountains range rather than climbing it because this region is dominated by the westerlies and the trend of the Qilian mountains is geographically aligned to the NWW (north-west-west) direction. We demonstrated that, aside from the water vapor source, the spatial relationship between the water vapor transport pathway and the trend of the mountain range are the main driving factors associated with the stable isotope trends in precipitation. As a result, it is important to re-recognize the timing and location of groundwater recharge in the Heihe River Basin.

scholarly journals Research on the Impact of Technological Finance on Financial Stability: Based on the Perspective of High-Quality Economic Growth

Complexity ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 2022 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Lu Shen ◽  
Guohua He ◽  
Huan Yan
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Financial Stability ◽  
Total Sample ◽  
Western China ◽  
Eastern Region ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Shock Effect ◽  
Short Period ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Negative Shock

This paper investigates the relationship between technological finance, high-quality economic growth, and financial stability. Based on data of 30 provinces (including autonomous regions and municipalities) collected between 2004 and 2017, this paper adopts the method of factor analysis to construct comprehensive indexes of technological finance and financial stability before calculating green total factor productivity as the index of high-quality development, using the CRS Multiplicative Model. Then it constructs the spatial SAC model and PVAR model for analyses of the just-mentioned relationship based on the total sample of the nation and regional samples in eastern, middle, and western China, respectively. The results reveal that (1) All samples, whether the total national samples or regional samples of eastern, middle, and western China demonstrate the positive influence of technological finance on high-quality economic development, with an obvious spatial spillover effect. The impact factor is the highest in the eastern region, while the western region holds the lowest factor among the three. (2) Judging by the general national sample, technological finance has an obvious negative shock effect on financial stability within a short period, but the effect gradually dwindles as time goes by. This rule applies to the sample of the eastern region, as its technological finance poses a short-time negative shock effect on financial stability, before gradually diminishing to 0. Neither western nor middle regions have displayed an obvious shock impact on financial stability.

scholarly journals Does Energy Price Induce China’s Green Energy Innovation?

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (15) ◽  
pp. 4034 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yue Liu ◽  
Siming Liu ◽  
Xueying Xu ◽  
Pierre Failler
Keyword(s):  
Alternative Energy ◽  
Eastern China ◽  
Green Energy ◽  
Western China ◽  
Energy Price ◽  
Eastern Region ◽  
Price Distortion ◽  
Innovation Capacity ◽  
Energy Innovation ◽  
The Impact

This paper aims to comprehensively analyze the relationship between energy price and green energy innovation in China, and first studies the impact of energy price on China’s green energy innovation, then further investigates the moderating role of energy price distortion in the price–innovation relationship, especially in the context of lagging energy marketization level in the process of China’s transition from planned economy to the market economy. Based on the data of 30 provinces in China from 2003 to 2017, this paper provides a measurement of green energy innovation capacity through the number of “alternative energy production” and “energy conservation” patents. Our results show that energy price has a significantly positive impact on China’s green energy innovation, no matter the number of green energy patent applications or the number of green energy patent grants is used as the proxy of green energy innovation capacity. However, there exists heterogeneity related to the influence of energy price on green energy innovation. Specifically, energy price has a noticeable role in promoting green energy innovation in central and western China, but not in eastern China. Further research results show that energy price distortion significantly reduces the inducing effect of energy price on green energy innovation. Meanwhile, the distortion degrees of energy price in the central and western regions of China are significantly lower than that in the eastern region, which explains to a large extent why the inducing effect of energy price on innovation is more prominent in the central and western regions.

scholarly journals Changes in the human footprint in and around Indonesia’s terrestrial national parks between 2012 and 2017

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Asri A. Dwiyahreni ◽  
Habiburrachman A. H. Fuad ◽  
Sunaryo Muhtar ◽  
T. E. Budhi Soesilo ◽  
Chris Margules ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Nature Conservation ◽  
Population Density ◽  
Protected Areas ◽  
National Parks ◽  
Human Activities ◽  
Human Population ◽  
Human Footprint ◽  
The World ◽  
The Impact

AbstractThe human footprint (HF) was developed to measure of the impact of human activities on the environment. The human footprint has been found to be closely related to the vulnerability of protected areas around the world. In Indonesia, as nature conservation is still seen as hindering economic development, it is especially important to assess the human footprint in order to comprehend the overall pressures resulting from the various human activities on Indonesia’s national parks. This study measured the change in the human footprint in and around 43 terrestrial national parks over 5 years, between 2012 and 2017. As many as 37 out of 43 NPs experienced an increase in the HF, ranging from 0.4 to 77.3%. Tanjung Puting in Kalimantan experienced the greatest increase (77.3%), while Ujung Kulon in Jawa Bali bioregion had the greatest decrease (10.5%). An increase in human population density and improved access to parks from roads, rivers and coastlines are the main drivers of increasing impacts on national parks.

scholarly journals Covid-19 lockdown sets wildlife free but increases poaching threats in Nepal

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Narayan Prasad Koju ◽  
Ram Chandra Kandel ◽  
Hari Acharya ◽  
Bed Dhakal ◽  
Dinesh Bhuju
Keyword(s):  
Human Activities ◽  
National Park ◽  
Fiscal Year ◽  
Virtual Communication ◽  
Paradoxical Situation ◽  
Illegal Activities ◽  
Negative Impacts ◽  
The One ◽  
Key Informant Interview ◽  
The Impact

To contain transmission of COVID-19, lockdown or strict restriction of people’s mobility outside their residence was imposed worldwide. In Nepal, the first phase of nationwide lockdown was observed from March 24 to July 21, 2020. This sudden halt in human activities brought positive and negative impacts on forests and wildlife. We undertook a study was undertaken to know the impact of the CoViD-19 lockdown on wildlife and forests in the protected areas (PAs) of Nepal. The study was carried in July and September 2020, data of illegal activities recorded by the PAs and also those reported by media were obtained and analyzed. Key Informant Interview (KII) was done with the park officers and security personnel by virtual communication that included telephone, messenger app, and ZOOM video meeting to collect detailed information and for verification. The collected data were categorized into four groups: i) wildlife killed, ii) wildlife injured, iii) arrest incidents related to forest crime, and iv) arrest incidents related to wildlife crime. Data from the fiscal year 2019-2020 were analyzed, comparing before lockdown and after. The study found trends of substantial increases in. wildlife death in two PAs, Banke National Park and Bardia National Park out of 20 during the lockdown. Similarly, Chitwan National Park (CNP) and Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park (SNNP) witnessed a rise in wildlife poaching. CNP and SNNP are located close to highly populated cities and also having human settlements in their peripheries. Interestingly, wildlife was easily sighted inside PAs during the lockdown, presumably because the absence of visitors and human activities during the lockdown decreased disturbance. Thus, a paradoxical situation was observed with the wildlife enjoying the freedom of movement on the one hand, but with poachers, many of them laid off from other activities, taking advantage of the lapse in security.

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