Article
Environmental Sciences
Siqing Zhao, Xiang Zhao, Jiacheng Zhao, Naijing Liu, Mengmeng Sun, Baohui Mu, Na Sun, Yinkun Guo
Summary: This study proposes an effectiveness score to assess the effectiveness of national nature reserves (NNRs) in Inner Mongolia in grassland protection. The results show that most of the NNRs are effective in protecting the grasslands and contribute to an increase in sustainable trends and greening. Different types of protection measures have varying levels of effectiveness.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Jian Lina, Shuang Liuna, Tao Hong, Weibin You, Xisheng Hu
Summary: The study shows that the forest loss rates inside China's nature reserves are significantly lower than those outside, and leakage is not common in the buffer zones. Although there is a slight increasing trend in forest loss and leakage is observed in certain areas of some reserves, overall, the protection measures have been successful.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Peng Wu, Hua Zhou, Yingchun Cui, Wenjun Zhao, Yiju Hou, Chengjiang Tan, Guangneng Yang, Fangjun Ding
Summary: This study found that vegetation succession significantly influenced the nutrient contents and stoichiometric ratios of leaf, litter, and soil in a karst region. The utilization efficiency and reabsorption rates of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) varied among different stages of growth and senescence. There was an allometric relationship between N and P contents in plant leaves, indicating different strategies used by species to adapt to the karst environment. Overall, plants in the karst region mainly improve their P utilization efficiency to cope with low phosphorus stress during vegetation succession.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Jiarong Liao, Xinyi Cai, Yixiong Yang, Qibing Chen, Suping Gao, Guangli Liu, Lingxia Sun, Zhenghua Luo, Ting Lei, Mingyan Jiang
Summary: Dwarf bamboo has potential for use in remediation of Pb-contaminated soil due to its clonal growth habit. The species showed gradual physiological adaptation to Pb stress, with some showing higher antioxidant enzyme activities and free proline levels under Pb treatment. These species may be suitable for long-term continuous remediation of Pb-contaminated soil.
Article
Forestry
Shuyuan Tang, Sainan Yin, Yanlong Shan, Bo Yu, Chenxi Cui, Lili Cao
Summary: Moisture content is a crucial factor in the emission characteristics of smouldering combustion in forests. This study discusses the gas and particulate emissions of the Huzhong National Nature Reserve with different moisture contents. The results show that the emission factors of CO2 and CO are 100.71 +/- 39.14 g/kg and 11.76 +/- 3.89 g/kg, respectively. The emission factors of PM2.5, PM4 and PM10 are 87.11 +/- 19.47 g/kg, 353.37 +/- 159.25 g/kg and 602.59 +/- 276.80 g/kg, respectively. There is no significant difference in the emission factors of CO2 and CO with different moisture contents, but there is a significant difference in the emission factors of PM4 and PM10. The peaks of CO2 and CO occur at around 2 to 3 hours, while the peak of PM2.5 lags behind that of PM4 and PM10. Regression analysis provides experimental expressions for modified combustion efficiency (MCE) and PM emission factors.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Chunyan Lu, Lin Li, Zili Wang, Yanlin Su, Yue Su, Yufei Huang, Mingming Jia, Dehua Mao
Summary: Mangroves are highly productive ecosystems that are globally protected. Establishing nature reserves is crucial for conserving mangrove ecosystems and countering the negative impacts of human activities. This study evaluated the conservation effectiveness of national mangrove nature reserves in China and identified the driving factors affecting their effectiveness. The results showed that most nature reserves were effective in conserving mangroves, with an overall increase in mangrove area. The effectiveness was influenced by both anthropogenic and natural factors, and the implementation of protection policies contributed to the improvement of conservation effectiveness.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2022)
Article
Forestry
Chunchen Ni, Youjun Chen, Xiaokang Hu, Jianmeng Feng
Summary: Vegetation dynamics in the Cangshan mountain of the Cangshan Erhai National Nature Reserve were investigated using Landsat remote sensing imagery. The results show an expansion of vegetated area, an increase in vegetation coverage, and an intensification of vegetation landscape fragmentation. Climate change and human activities have contributed to these changes. Prompt adjustments in protective measures are necessary to safeguard the vegetation in the Cangshan mountain.
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Faisal Hayat, Mohanned Abdalla, Muhammad Usman Munir
Summary: The research shows that mucilage released by plant roots can alter the hydraulic properties of the rhizosphere, enhancing unsaturated hydraulic conductivity. These findings help us better understand how plants absorb water and suggest that mucilage secretion may be an advantageous trait for plant survival during soil drying.
Article
Forestry
Jiayuan Feng, Fusheng Chen, Fangran Tang, Fangchao Wang, Kuan Liang, Lingyun He, Chao Huang
Summary: Ecosystem services are directly related to human well-being and can be altered by management policies and human activities. This study focused on the spatiotemporal changes of water yield, soil conservation, and carbon sequestration in the Jiulianshan National Nature Reserve. The results showed increasing trends in water yield and carbon sequestration, while soil conservation exhibited marginal degradation. Spatially, synergies dominated the interactions among ecosystem services, while trade-offs were concentrated in fringe areas. Different vegetation types and elevation bands also influenced the relationships of ecosystem services.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Xiaoyao Zhang, Sisi Li, Hu Yu
Summary: The analysis of ecosystem service function (ESF) from 1992 to 2015 in the National Nature Reserve in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau revealed that carbon storage, water conservation, soil retention, and habitat quality were highest in the east and decreased to the west. Forest ecosystem nature reserves had the highest ESF, while desert ecosystem nature reserves had the lowest. The protection effect of ecosystem services inside the reserve was higher than outside, and the comprehensive ESF in forest ecosystem nature reserves ranked highest.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Yonglin Mu, Xiaowen Li, Chen Liang, Peng Li, Yun Guo, Fangyuan Liang, Junhong Bai, Baoshan Cui, Hazrat Bilal
Summary: The study developed a new rapid assessment methodology for evaluating the conservation effectiveness of wetland national nature reserves in China by combining area and pattern-based landscape indices. The research found that wetland landscape changes were dominated by spatially heterogeneous drivers, with many reserves showing relatively low conservation effectiveness, especially in densely populated and socioeconomically developed regions.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Kaoru Niiyama, Mitsue Shibata, Tomoyuki Saitoh, Shoji Naoe
Summary: We conducted a 32-year study on the clonal competition of dwarf bamboo species in a pristine bamboo forest in central Japan. Our results showed that Sasa borealis had a competitive advantage over other species and successfully invaded and replaced them.
PLANT SPECIES BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Forestry
Xinyao Zhou, Wenzuo Zhou, Feng Li, Zhouling Shao, Xiaoli Fu
Summary: This study compares the performance of different models in classifying vegetation types in Baishuijiang National Nature Reserve and finds that the 3D-CNN model achieves the highest accuracy. It effectively captures vegetation changes at different elevations and outperforms other models when using a small amount of data. Fusing feature bands also improves the overall accuracy of the models.
Article
Ecology
Jie Zhang, Yue Zhang, Lichen Zhang, Xingchen Liu, Yin Wang, Yong Ji
Summary: This study assessed the impacts of human disturbance, wetland degradation, and biodiversity loss on the spatial distribution of phytoliths in Nanjishan Nature Reserve. It was found that the typical communities in the study area significantly degraded from 1986 to 2003.
ECOLOGICAL INFORMATICS
(2022)
Article
Environmental Studies
Yefei Liu, Gui Meng, Shuirong Wu, Xufeng Zhang, Chengle Zhao, Hongguo Yang
Summary: The establishment of nature reserves is crucial for the protection of Chinese alligators, but conflicts between economic development and ecological protection arise due to overlapping with human living areas. This study used contingent valuation method to measure and analyze residents' willingness to accept compensation and identified factors influencing compensation willingness through decision tree modeling and logistic regression. Results showed that the majority of residents in the study area accepted compensation, with individual characteristics, ecological protection cognition, and external impact being significant factors affecting willingness to accept compensation.