Afforestation projects were applied in the Poyang Lake Basin of China at the beginning of 1980s. The large-scale plantation may dramatically influence the changes in carbon storage of forests in this basin. Therefore, climate-induced variations in the carbon balance of the Poyang Lake Basin’s forests may play an important role in the carbon cycle of China. However, we have little understanding of their long-term behavior, especially the future trend of carbon sink/source patterns under climate change and rising atmospheric CO₂. The annual carbon budget of the Poyang Lake Basin’s forests during 1981–2050 was estimated by using the Integrated Terrestrial Ecosystem Carbon-budget model (InTEC) coupled with projected climate change simulated by Regional Integrated Environmental Model System (RIEMS 2.0). During 1981–2000, the rapid increment of annual NPP in this basin was possible due to large plantation. Soil organic carbon storage (0–30cm) of forests generally decreased by 1.0% per year at the beginning of plantation. Moreover, forests in this basin converted from carbon source in 1980s to carbon sink in 1990s. By 2040–2050, total carbon stocks of forest ecosystems will increase by 0.78Pg C, compared to recent years (2001–2010). Under future climate and CO₂ concentration in A1B scenario, NEP of forests in Poyang Lake Basin lean to keep relative stable (20–30Tg C y^-1) because of old forests except for some years induced by extreme droughts. Our results also showed that prediction of NEP of forests in Poyang Lake Basin was controlled by water limitation; in contrast, temperature was the main factor on inter-annual variability of NPP.

Atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition caused by anthropogenic activities may alter litter decomposition and species composition, and then affect N cycling and carbon (C) sequestration in an ecosystem. Using the litterbag method, we studied the effects of N addition (CK: no N addition; low-N: 1 g N m^-2 y^-1; high-N: 2 g N m^-2 y^-1) on changes in mass remaining of shoot litter decomposition of three grasses (Stipa baicalensis, Carex pediformis and Leymus chinensis) over 28 months in the Hulun Buir meadow steppe of Inner Mongolia. The results showed that the addition of high and low N had no significant effect on the decomposition of single-species litter, but low N addition slightly inhibited the decomposition of litter mixtures. In addition, litter decomposition was strongly species dependent. Our results suggest that species type is likely the main determinant of litter decomposition, and low N deposition in natural ecosystems does not influence single-species litter decomposition.

Accompanied by global climate change, the annual mean air temperature has experienced a strongly increasing trend in the western China, especially in Xinjiang. The Global Climate Model (GCM) provides an efficient and direct method to assess the process of global climate change and project future climate driven by various factors, especially human activity. Since GCMs’ low spatial resolution cannot capture the characteristics of local climate change due to the land surface’s complexity, downscaling methods, including Regional Climate Model (RCM), Bias Correction method and Statistical Method, are proposed to process raw data from GCMs for local climate change assessment. This study applied the delta method, one of Bias Correction methods, to make horizontal resolution of 24 GCMs models’ monthly outputs into 0.5℃ for analyzing Xinjiang’s future climate pattern under three IPCC SRES. A comparison between the results from downscaled dada and raw data from GCMs shows that downscaling methods can improve local climate changing feature in complex land surface and topography and to reduce the uncertainty of climate data generated from GCMs in Xinjiang. The results showed that scenarios A1B, A2 and B1 generated similar patterns and trends in annual mean air temperature and annual precipitation in the early 21^st century with fluctuations in the middle of the 21^st century. The annual mean air temperature will reach 10℃ 11.1℃ and 8.5℃ in A1B, A2 and B1 by the end of the 21^st century, respectively, while the annual precipitation during the projection period will experience an increasing trend with a little fluctuation. During 2020 and 2070, the annual temperature in A1B scenario is greater than the other scenarios on regional average. The annual precipitation in the A1B scenario is also greater than other scenarios during 2020 and 2040 on regional average. However, there exists a large uncertainty within different SRES with an range of 6℃ in annual temperature and about 200 mm in annual precipitation. Regionally, annual temperature increases less in the middle Tianshan Mountains, Yili River Basin, the Southern Tianshan Mountains, and downstream of Tarim River than in the Junggar Basin, Pamirs and the northern slope of Kunlun Mountains by the late 21^st century. In the western portion of southern Xinjiang, the annual precipitation shows a slightly decreasing trend, but a significant increasing trend was found in eastern Changji, Turpan, Hami and northern Kunlun-Altun Mountains.

Natural wetland is one of the most important ecosystems on the earth. However, the natural wetlands in China suffered great loss and degradation due to the rapid growth of human population and economy, together with the long-term over-exploitation. Therefore, improving and restoring wetlands’ various functions, such as slowing the runoff, flood control and drought prevention, water purification and restoring and rebuilding wetlands in the appropriate geographical places are the pressing issues human face today. Based on the fundamental concepts of the wetland restoration, this article expounded its principles and guidelines, illustrated three basic modes, and summarized the main goal and basic strategy in China. Finally the assessment and future trends of the wetland restoration were discussed.

Grassland in northern Tibet plays an important role in the eco-security of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the restoration of deserted and degraded grassland is now a focus for governments. We used remote sensing, simulations and field surveys to analyze the current status, trends and causes of grassland degradation across northern Tibet. We develop several recovery models for degraded grassland based on field experiments in the region. We found that slightly degraded grassland covers 62% and that moderate to severely degraded grassland occupied 15.1% in the Chang Tang Plateau. The amount of degraded alpine steppe increased from 1991, and the amount of area classified as severely degraded increased sharply from 2000. The cause of degraded steppe in northwestern Tibet may be the result of warming and an arid climate; the cause of severe degradation in mid and eastern regions was mainly from overgrazing. Three restoration models are proposed for different levels of degradation: “enclosures” for slightly degraded areas, “enclosures with fertilization” for moderately degraded areas, and “enclosure with oversowing and fertilization” for severely degraded areas.

Water shortage is an important constraint factor in the construction of the Three-North Shelterbelt (TNS). Here, we analyzed temporal-spatial patterns in water resources and trends in the Three-North region. We evaluated the water resource carrying capacity (WRCC) of 623 counties in the project area during the fifth phase of the TNS Development Program. Results show that 387 counties are appropriate for forestation, 185 counties can be planted, and 60 counties are inappropriate for forestation because of water resource constraints.

Part-time farming has been increasing steadily in China. It is currently the largest segment among all the farm sectors in the country. Based on rural household survey data in Taipusi County as a case site ofecologically-vulnerable areas in North China, we firstly classify farm households into four types according to the proportion of non-farm income in total income, and then compare their agricultural land use patterns to empirically examine the impacts of part-time farming on agricultural land use in this area. The results suggest that non-farming households rent out all their land and give up farming, and this satisfies the expectation of other households to expand land area. The crop planting structure was not significantly different among the households, which reflected the farmers’ will to pursuit labor productivity. Part-time farming households invest more capital and materials than full-time faming households because the income derived from non-farm employment relaxes the financial constraint of households. However, the amount of labor input of part-time farming households tends to be less, and farming practices are dominated by the elderly, female and laborers with relative low educations.Yields of crops and the benefit of agricultural land use incline to reduce, which suggest that the potential of land use productivity is more elastic to labor inputs than capital inputs in the study area.

China’s energy security situation is increasingly severe. There are many challenges and opportunities in the energy development sector. Bio-fuel has much superiority: abundant resources, product diversification, recycling and increasing rural income. Speeding up bio-fuel development should be a strategic direction for China. In this study we evaluate the relationship between bio-energy utilization and food security using the grey relational analysis method. The results show that China’s biomass energy development has caused little negative impact on food security as determined by agricultural production. However, that does not mean China’s bio-energy can develop in an unrestricted way. Developing bio-energy requires the consideration of many factors, including large investment in the short term and fierce competition from biomass supply.

The paper analyzes coupling mechanisms and the evolution between industrial restructuring and environmental pollution. We empirically examined a case study from Gansu Province and found that industrial restructuring had promoted economic development but increased pressure on the environment. Given that heterogeneous industries generate different kinds of pollution, optimizing industrial structure is a feasible solution to fully realizing sustainable development.

In China, the Hani ethnic groups are one of the unique ethnic minorities inhabited in Yuunan Province, mainly scattered in the wide areas in between the south of the Honghe River and the east of the Lancang River. Honghe Hani and Yi Nationality Autonomous Prefecture is the main Hani-inhabited area, mainly concerned a few counties like Honghe, Yuanyang, Luchun and Jinping. However the mountainous area of Benna River area in the territory of the Honghe Prefecture is really the main place where the Hani ethnic groups are inhabited.

Using meteorological and remote sensing data and changes in vegetation cover during the wind erosion season in northern China, a revised wind erosion equation was applied to evaluate spatiotemporal variation in soil erosion and conservation since the 1990s, and to reveal the effects of the change of vegetation coverage on the wind erosion control service. The results showed that average soil erosion in northern China between 1990 and 2010 was 16.01 billion tons and was decreasing. The most seriously eroded areas were mainly distributed in large desert areas or low cover grasslands. Most wind erosion occurred in spring, accounting for 45.93% of total wind erosion. The average amount of sand fixation service function for northern China between 1990 and 2010 was 20.31 billion tons. Given the influence of wind erosion forces, the service function for sand fixation cannot effectively highlight the role of sand fixation from the ecosystem itself. The retention rate of service function for sand fixation reveals the role of the ecosystem itself. The distribution characteristics of the soil retention rate are similar to vegetation cover, which shows a gradual decrease from southeast to northwest in the study area. Improved spring vegetation cover was observed mainly on the Loess Plateau, Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, in northern Hebei, eastern Inner Mongolia and northeast China after the implementation of ecosystem projects. The soil retention rate in most areas showed a significant positive relationship with grassland vegetation in spring (r > 0.7, p < 0.01). The increments of ecosystem service function for various ecological systems are different. Increments for the grassland ecosystem, forest ecosystem, farmland ecosystem and desert ecosystem are 2.02%, 1.15%, 0.99% and 0.86%, respectively.

The first task in ensuring a reduction in CO₂ emissions is to quantitatively measure the factors and their effect size on increasing CO₂ emissions due to fossil fuel consumption. An extension of the buying and import-noncompetition economy-energy-CO₂ emission input-output model was designed to analyze CO₂ emission increases for Beijing from 1997-2007. The increase in CO₂ emissions because of energy consumption was broken down into nine kinds of effects including the change in energy consumption intensity and structure, and economic scale expansion. We found that the effect of economic scale expansion such as consumption investment, export and selling were the main factors increasing CO₂ emissions. The effect of the change in energy consumption intensity was the dominant factor reducing CO₂ emissions. CO₂ emissions increased rapidly from 2002. The first increase in carbon emissions was related to the service industry, adjustment in industrial structure and the priority given to tertiary industries. High energy consumption manufacturing was the industrial branch driving CO₂ emissions; the main industry driving CO₂ emission reductions was the energy industry. The new round of industrialization with ‘high carbon’features meant that CO₂ emissions increased rapidly from 2002-2007. The quantity and direction of the nine focal effects varied across industries and different industrial sectors.

The Angstrom-Prescott formula is commonly used in climatological calculation methods of solar radiation simulation. Fitting the coefficients is carried out using linear regression and in recent years it has been found that these coefficients have obvious spatial variability. A common solution is to divide the study area into several subregions and fit the coefficients one by one. Here, we use ground observation data for sunshine hours and solar radiation from 1961 to 2010. Adopting extraterrestrial radiation as the initial value, Angstrom-Prescott coefficients are obtained by Geographically Weighted Regression at a national scale. The surfaces of solar radiation are obtained on the basis of the surfaces of sunshine hours interpolated by high accuracy surface modeling and astronomical radiation; results from spatially nonstationary and error comparison tests show that Angstrom-Prescott coefficients have significant spatial nonstationarity. Compared to existing research methods, the method presented here achieves a better simulation effect.

The objective of this paper is to test three main hypotheses in grassland succession by using 17-year observational data: (ⅰ) species diversity increases during early pioneering stages; (ⅱ) the similarity rate of experimental plant communities increases along with the succession process (dissimilarity rate among plots decrease with succession age); and (ⅲ) plant communities in different field plots converge towards a quite similar composition during the initial years of succession. Results draw from quantitative statistics which including: the general development of plant communities, Shannon's H and E, Bray-Curtis dissimilarity and community turnover, indicate that after first 5 years of succession, species diversity rapidly becomes alike among all the plots. The average species number in all plots increased constantly from 8 to 25. Meanwhile, the total species number for all plots increased constantly from 23 to 55, accompanied by a steady decrease in Standard Deviation (S.D.) from 4.6 to 0.3. Additionally, dissimilarity of all stands in species composition decreased, indicating a clear trend towards a rapid convergence in species richness and composition. The most important effect of cessation of weeding is that the artificial diversity gradient from 1 to 16 species gets diminished by immigration in species poor plots.

Rapid growth in population and gross domestic product in Chinese urban regions such as Beijing has resulted in a large amount of CO₂ emissions from fossil fuels. Forests are considered the most important carbon sink to offset these carbon emissions. In this study we estimated forest carbon storage in Beijing using forest inventory data and the biomass expansion factors method. We analyzed trends in the forest ecosystem and its fractions along altitudinal gradients. We concluded that broad-leaved forest is the main forest carbon pool in Beijing, and forest carbon is mainly stored in plains at an altitude of <60 m a.s.l. and in the low mountainous area at an altitude of 60-600 m a.s.l. Forest ecosystem carbon density in Beijing increases with altitudinal gradients but slightly decreases in regions at altitudes that range from 200-400 m a.s.l. Forest vegetation carbon density of the plain area at an altitude of <60 m a.s.l. is much higher than other areas, attributable to the high ratios of the plantation of Populus spp. and Larix principisrupprechtii with higher vegetation carbon densities than others and human practices such as fertilization and irrigation which are beneficial for vegetation carbon accumulation. The forest soil carbon density in Beijing also increases with increasing altitude, attributable to decreasing soil carbon output with altitude. Management practices such as understory cultivation, irrigation, fertilization and scarification directly accelerate carbon emissions from soil heterotrophic respiration which decreases with altitude. Soil erosion in areas that range from 200-800 m a.s.l. also decrease with altitude as management practices decrease. This study will underpin scientific knowledge for local forest managers to adopt more appropriate practices to protect forest ecosystems and to improve forest carbon storage.

Energy consumption is one of the main human activities driving global climate change, and therefore research on the carbon footprint of energy consumption is of great significance. In this paper, concepts and methods relating to the carbon footprint of energy consumption were used to calculate total carbon footprint, carbon footprint of each type of energy, output value of the carbon footprint and its ecological pressure from 1990 to 2009 in Gansu Province, northwestern China. The ridge regression function within the STIRPAT model was applied to study the quantitative relationship between carbon footprint and economic growth and at the same time verify the existence of an Environmental Kuznets Curve. A decoupling index was introduced to further explore the dynamic relationship between economic growth and carbon footprint. We found that the total carbon footprint increased from 0.091 ha per capita in 1990 to 0.191 ha per capita in 2009 and followed a fluctuating rising trend. Coal and oil occupy the dominant position within the carbon footprint composition, while natural gas is of little effect. The output value of the carbon footprint increased from 11 800 CNY per ha in 1990 to 25 100 CNY per ha in 2009, representing an average annual growth rate of 4.1%. The ecological pressure intensity of the carbon footprint increased to 0.24 in 2009, and remains much lower than developed provinces Jiangsu and Shanghai, due to the vast area of woodland in Gansu. Development of a low-carbon economy in Gansu remains hindered by limited energy, a fragile ecological environment and irrational energy structure. Population and GDP per capita growth were the main factors driving the increasing carbon footprint; the impact of population is 3.47 times of that of per capita GDP. Regression analysis and decoupling index analysis have proved the existence of the Environmental Kuznets Curve for economic growth and carbon footprint, but 33 years are required to reach the inflection point.

The interactive effects of natural and human factors on ecosystems have been well studied, and the quantitative assessment of large-scale ecological vulnerability caused by natural and human factors is now one of the most active topics in the field. Taking the Guangxi Xijiang River Economic Belt in southwest China (GXEB) as a case study, we assess ecological vulnerability based on the Vulnerability Scoping Diagram (VSD) model. The indices system is decomposed into three sub objects, ten elements and 25 indicators layer by layer, which included factors from both natural and human fields. Results indicate that zones with lower, middle-lower, middle, middlehigher and higher vulnerability account for 11.31%, 22.63%, 27.60%, 24.39%, and 14.07%, respectively. The western and eastern parts of GXEB are more vulnerable than the central part and the mountain and urban areas are of higher vulnerability than the basins and river valleys. Compared with a vulnerability assessment based on natural factors only, it is concluded that human activities indeed cause the transition from naturally stable zones to vulnerable zones. The nature-dominated vulnerable zones are different with human-dominated ones in size and distribution, the latter being smaller, more scattered and distributed in urban areas and their surroundings. About 53% of total construction land is distributed in zones with middle and middle-higher ecological vulnerability; less vulnerable zones should attract construction in the future. Relevant suggestions are proposed on how to reduce vulnerability according to inducing factors. The VSD model has a significant advantage in the quantitative evaluation of ecological vulnerability, but is insufficient to distinguish nature-or human-dominated vulnerability quantitatively.

Agriculture has both economic value and non-economic value. The calculation of the non-economic value of agriculture has become a research hotspot in academic circles. This paper divides the value of agriculture into products production value and ecological value, and adopts an authoritative ecological value calculation idea, i.e. the method proposed by Costanza et al. in 1997 as the basis to calculate the ecological value of agriculture. However, the study has come under heavy criticism: for example, some data have major deviation, underestimating the ecological value of cultivated land while overestimating the wetland. XIE Gaodi et al. in 2003 came up with more reliable results to make up for the deficiency of the methods from Costanza et al. Referring to some of the results and on the basis of a questionnaire survey to 200 Chinese ecologists, this paper presented an equivalent factor table for evaluating the ecological service value (ESV) of China's ecosystem. Based on this table and the practical situation of Tianjin, the paper formulates an applicable calculation method for ecological value and actually calculates the ecological value of agriculture in Tianjin with official statistics. The results show that the actual value of the ecological value of agriculture in Tianjin in 2012 was 111.20 billion CNY, about triple of the economic value of agriculture (37.56 billion CNY) in the same year.

Agricultural Best Management Practices (BMPs) are effective ways to reduce agricultural nonpoint source pollution from their source area to receiving water bodies. Characterization of BMPs in a watershed model is a critical prerequisite for evaluating their impacts on water quantity and water quality in a complex system. However, limited research has reported about the representation of BMPs in fully distributed models. This paper presents a stepwise procedure for representation of several BMPs and assessment of their hydrologic impacts with a fully distributed model, SEIM (Spatially Explicit Integrated Modeling). A case study is conducted in the 73 km² Luoyugou watershed located in the Loess Plateau of China, where rainstorm erosion accounts for more than 60% of annual sediment load in average. Three BMPs are selected in this study including (ⅰ) conversion from farmland to forest, (ⅱ) terrace, and (ⅲ) no-till farming. These management practices are represented in the model through the alteration of model parameters characterizing their physical processes in the field. The results of scenario assessment for a historical storm event showed that the maximum sediment reduction after terrace is about 97.3%, the average sediment reduction after no-till farming is about 9.5%, and the average sediment reduction after conversion from farmland to forest is 75.6%.

As the fast economic development and urban expansion, it is difficult for traditional methods to monitor land use changes in short time interval. Moreover, remotely sensed data acquired by optical sensors is often limited by bad weathers and cloud cover. SAR images, such as RADARSAT-1, are an ideal tool for weather-proof observation on ground surface. This paper analyzed the results of land use change detections with time lags of 24, 48 and 72 days according to the period of acquisition dates of RADARSAT-1. The results need a compromise between accuracies and efficiencies related to the time lags. For most of the situation, it is sufficient of using a time lag of 24 days to obtain accuracy of 60% or above. In some cases of months, a time lag of 48 days is needed. For obtaining higher accuracies, longer time lag such as 72 days is needed.

Reference conditions having no or only minor anthropogenic disturbances, are a basic requirement for ecological studies in rivers. To study ecological impact of a dam, two sites were pre-classified as reference or least disturbed in the Andhi Khola River, Nepal, using Rapid Field Bioscreening (RFB) protocol. Biological (macroinvertebrates) and physico-chemical samples were collected in the month of January and February 2013. Multi-habitat sampling (MHS) was employed in sample collection of macro-invertebrates fauna. Validation of the pre-classified sites was done using several indices viz. Nepalese biotic score (NEPBIOS), Biological monitoring working party (BMWP), Hindu-Kush Himalayan biotic score (HKHBIOS), Hilsenhoff (HILSENHOFF) & National Sanitation Foundation Water Quality Index (NSFWQI). The NEPBIOS, HKHBIOS, HILSENHOFF, RFB & NSFWQI indices predicted the river quality at all two sites as good with quality class II. Only BMWP/ASPT water quality index predicted the river quality at all two sites as Excellent with quality class I. Hence preselected sites with quality of rank II i.e. good qualities were validated as reference sites. The study demonstrated that the multi-metric approach is suitable for application in the monitoring and assessment of rivers where dams are built to produce hydropower.

Based on the functional process of carbon sequestration of forest, we categorize carbon sequestration in two parts: carbon capture and carbon storage. Here, Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica was used to simulate the dynamic changing process of carbon sequestration of forest in a century using tree growth formula and the cost of carbon capture and sequestration. We found that the total carbon captured and stored by 100-year-old P. sylvestris var. mongolica are both 966 kg C tree^-1. On the assumption that the current year is the planting year, the present total carbon sequestration value (capital value) of 100-year-old P. sylvesrtis var. mongolica is 54.78 USD tree^-1 at the discount rate of 3%, with the present total carbon capture value of 18.92 USD tree^-1 and carbon storage value of 35.86 USD tree^-1. The dynamic process of the annual value of carbon capture is illustrated by an upside-down U shape curve, while that of carbon storage service follows an S shape curve. The combination of the dynamic processes of carbon capture value and carbon storage value represent the changing process of carbon sequestration value, which appears to be an S shape curve.

We used a FluorCam portable chlorophyll fluorescence imaging system to measure QY-max (the maximum light quantum yield, Fv/Fm, the largest light quantum efficiency of PS II) of submerged plants in wetlands of Baisha Lake and Changhu Lake, Jiangxi Nanjishan Wetland National Nature Reserve, in winter 2013. Specifically, we measured ΦPS II (PS II actual quantum efficiency), qP (photochemical quenching) and corresponding fluorescence images. Using the visual method and sampling sites method to obtain coverage, richness and abundance of submerged plants, and determined nutrient levels in water. The results show that the QY-max of Hydrilla verticillata and Vallisneria natans in Baisha Lake ranged from 0.48 to 0.68 and 0.52 to 0.71, respectively; the ΦPS II of these two species ranged from 0.32 to 0.58 and 0.20 to 0.46, respectively. The two plants had similar photosynthetic efficiency. The QY-max of Nymphoides peltatum and V. natans in Changhu Lake ranged from 0.66 to 0.77 and 0.19 to 0.68, respectively; the ΦPS II of these two species ranged from 0.26 to 0.48 and 0.22 to 0.43, respectively. The observed higher photosynthetic efficiency of N peltatum suggests it is more likely to become the dominant species. In Baisha Lake, the frequency of occurrence of plants was: H. verticillata, 90%; V. natans, 93.3%; Najas minor 26.7%, and Potamogeton franchetii 10%. In Changhu Lake, the frequency of N. peltatum was 86.7%, V. natans was 16.7%, and N. minor was 56.7%. The overall frequency of submerged plants living in Baisha Lake was much higher than that of submerged plants living in Changhu Lake, with different species dominating the two lakes. According to comprehensive analysis and comparison of trophic levels, biodiversity and photosynthetic fluorescence characteristics in the two lakes, eutrophication of Baisha Lake was higher than for Changhu Lake; and H. verticillata and V. natans were the dominant species, with similar photosynthetic activity. Conversely, in Changhu Lake, N. peltatum and V. natans were the dominant species, but the photosynthetic activity of N. peltatum was higher than V. natans. Differences in eutrophication levels in different water bodies in the Nanjishan Wetland and differing ecological niches of submerged plant species are characteristic of this system.

Due to special topographical, geological and meteorological conditions, debris flows occur frequently and result in heavy losses of lives and properties in mountainous areas, which become a great threaten to the sustainable development of regional economy and society in western China. At present, debris-flow prevention has performed well in many mountainous countries and has made headway in early warning, disaster mitigation by structural engineering methods, and risk analysis and management. In this paper, debris-flow prevention techniques have been introduced from the aspects of botanical methods, geotechnical engineering methods, and synthetic prevention system based on the above two methods. In addition, the treatment system of multilevel runoff and unconsolidated soil in the catchment with a chain of “slope-gully-valley” is set up in consideration of sediment load of main rivers, incorporation of slope improvement and gully retention, as well as micro-site factors for matching species with the site. Furthermore, attentions should be paid to the mechanism and technical details of vegetation measures for debris-flow prevention, as well as effective incorporation between botanical method and geotechnical method.

Soil dissolved organic carbon (DOC) is an active fraction of the soil organic carbon (SOC) pool and links terrestrial and aquatic systems. The degradation of DOC can affect carbon cycling, nutrient dynamics and energy supply to microorganism, and consequently change biogeochemical processes. This study investigated the vertical and seasonal variability of soil DOC concentrations and its controls in a 23-year-old planted slash pine (Pinus elliottii) forest at Qianyanzhou Forest Experimental Station (QFES) in Southern China. Soil solutions were collected at bimonthly intervals at depths of 10, 20 and 30 cm by a mechanical-vacuum extractor from November 2007 to March 2009, and at monthly intervals at depths of 10, 30 and 50cm from April 2009 to October 2010. The DOC concentrations were determined with a total organic carbon (TOC) analyzer. Mean (±standard deviation) DOC concentrations at depths of 10cm, 20cm, 30cm and 50cm were 12.4±4.4, 10.6±6.3, 8.7±2.6, and 8.0±5.9 mg L^-1, respectively. Both seasonal and spring means of DOC concentration showed a decreasing trend with increasing depth, while there was no clear trend for the summer, autumn, or winter seasons. DOC concentrations during spring, summer, autumn and winter ranged from 4.8 to 21.5, 4.9 to 26.2, 5.4 to 17.1, 4.9 to 14.6 mg L^-1, respectively, their mean DOC concentrations were 10.2, 10.5, 10.8 and 8.3 mg L^-1, respectively. No consistent pattern of seasonal variability of DOC concentrations at different depths was observed. No obvious relationship between organic carbon content of forest litter and DOC concentration was found. There was a positive linear relationship between SOC and DOC concentration (R²=0.19, p<0.01), which showed that SOC was one of the main controls of DOC. A positive exponential relationship existed between soil temperature at 5 cm and DOC concentrations at 10 cm depth in slash pine, masson pine (Pinus massoniana) and Chinese fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata) planted forests (R²=0.12, p<0.01). DOC concentrations showed a negative linear relationship with soil moisture at all depths in slash pine forest (R²=0.15, p<0.001), and DOC concentrations at depth of 10 cm demonstrated a negative exponential relationship with soil moisture at 5 cm depth in three planted forests (R²=0.13, p<0.001). Precipitation in sampling months and mean seasonal DOC concentration were not correlated. However, a more detailed analysis of precipitation events at different times before sampling and seasonal DOC concentration showed that the timing of precipitation events prior to sampling had different effects on seasonal DOC concentrations at different depths. Our study highlights the importance of DOC dynamics for the carbon cycle in planted slash pine forest and it provides evidence for evaluating the effects of ecological restoration in subtropical red soil region.

Land use change and landscape patterns have a large effect on land productivity and ecosystem biodiversity. Based on geographical information system technology and remote sensing data related to land use and land cover of Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces and Shanghai (Jiang-Zhe-Hu area), we analyzed patterns of landscape change and predicted land use dynamics using the CA-MARKOV model. We also analyzed the conversion rate and area among landscape classes using the CA-Markov model. We found that from 1980 to 2005, there was a significant decrease in the area of farmland, and much of this landscape was transformed into settlements. Most of the landscape classes have become fragmented and isolated. The areas of farmland, settlement land and water tend to be complex in their shape and spatial clustering. The shapes of other land class patches have become simpler, and overall landscape fragmentation has increased. Landscape diversity and heterogeneity have increased. The CA-MARKOV model predicted that settlement land will continue to grow from 2005 to 2015, but the speed of conversion will be reduced. The speed of the reduction in farmland and forest has increased, and increased settlement areas are clustered along the Yangtze River. Land use dynamics and change in the landscape pattern have affected land productivity and made the ecosystem more sensitive and fragile in this study region.

Chinese water resource management (CWRM) has passed through four stages: infancy, initial development, rapid development, and formation. In the last of these stages some problems persist and will affect management performance. CWRM was a decentralised, imperfectly codified and weakly implemented system that lacked a sound market policy, rational water prices, water conservation awareness, technical support and a performance appraisal system. The government of China proposed two new strategies in 2009: the Three Red Lines and the Interconnected River System Network (IRSN). This paper analyses these two strategies and reflects on new CWRM concepts. Both strategies strive for the sustainable utilisation of water resources and human-water harmony. The concepts, quantification method and application of harmony theory to water resources management is discussed. Applications of harmony theory to water resources management include (i) harmony between humans and nature; (ii) a harmony strategy for water resources management; (iii) a rational allocation model for water resources among different areas and departments based on harmony theory; (iv) harmony-based water allocation issues associated with transboundary rivers; (v) harmony-based interbasin water transfer problems; and (vi) harmony-based control of pollution discharge. We conclude by discussing how harmony theory and its applications provide an appropriate pathway for water resource management in China.

Agricultural ecosystems are the largest managed ecosystem in the world.The sustainable development of agriculture is significant to the reversion of dramatic loss of biological diversity in the world.Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems(GIAHS)project launched by Food and Agriculture Organization(FAO)of the United Nations is among the global efforts to conserve and dynamically manage the specific agricultural knowledge system and landscapes.Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries(MAFF),Japan stressed the environmental concern of conventional farming practices in Japan in 1992.Noto Peninsula and Sado City were designated as two new GIAHS pilot sites in Japan as part of local level initiative to preserve the traditional agricultural systems in 2011.This paper reviewed the development process of sustainable farming in Japan and analyzed the challenges and new possibilities to its further extension.The current situation of various sustainable farming practices:such as farming with reduced input of chemical fertilizers and pesticides to conserve rich biodiversity,and organic farming,were reviewed.Emphasis was given to the sustainable farming practices in Hokuriku region,in particular,Ishikawa Prefecture and Sado City in Niigata Prefecture.Based on the recent official documents,reports and research papers,policy implication was brought forward.The challenges of sustainable farming practices and market valuation of sustainable farming products were analyzed.It was concluded that the environmental concerns of farmers and consumers are key to extend the sustainable farming practice in Japan.Conversion to bottom up policy making process paying attention to farmers' interest with involvement of multi stakeholders including government,researchers and private sectors is effective for sustainable farming extension.

The renewed interest in "cultural landscapes" is a global phenomenon to be explained in a multi dimensional way.The process of revalorising traditional habitats,people and their way of living in a particular environment,is closely linked to the introduction of heritage as "a cultural,social and economic construct".The recognition of cultural landscapes as a new category on the world heritage list(UNESCO)since the 1990s,emphasises the importance of the human-environment interaction and the need for understanding the dynamics of landscapes in time and space.Values are changing and new opportunities emerge for a "dynamic preservation" of iconic landscapes and traditional communities.A cross disciplinary understanding of interacting processes is essential to plan and manage sustainable heritage(land)scapes.Various pilot projects and case studies-world-wide-lead to critical reflections about the sustainability of heritage landscapes and the sovereign role of tourism.The perspective of "Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Sites" (GIAHS),supported by economic resources generated by tourism,requires a research-based approach analysing opportunities and expectations,assessing strategic policies and top down politics.

Population growth,loss of biodiversity,and climate change necessitate a new vision for the future of both agriculture and biodiversity.In order to safeguard and support the world's agricultural heritage systems,in 2002 the FAO started an initiative for the conservation and adaptive management called Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems(GIAHS).Tourism is suggested as part of the future as it is considered to be an alternative income source that will not only promote local economic development,but also provide the opportunity for tourists to learn about agriculture and ecology. However,inappropriate tourism in GIAHS sites will bring impacts on local culture and living styles, which not only threatens tourism's sustainable development,but also has the potential to damage these unique agricultural systems.This paper proposes that agriculture-based tourism is suitable for GIAHS and that Multi-functionality of Agriculture(MFA)can be the link between agriculture and tourism.This study constructs the framework for tourism development in GIAHS through MFA and applies it to the four GIAHS sites in China.Referring to the quantitative assessment for MFA and a qualitative analysis of the relationship between agriculture and tourism,we can give advice on agricultural tourism development in GIAHS sites.This framework also offers a universal methodology that allows stakeholders to communicate about the multiple functions of GIAHS across scales.