Coastal wetland in South China:Degradation trends,causes and protection countermeasures

There are abundant coastal wetlands in South China and their main characters are the tidal flats, mangroves and coral reefs. In this paper, the status quo of coastal wetlands in South China is introduced and their degradation trends in the last decades are analyzed based on the existing literatures and information. Their degradation trends are characterized by reduction of coastal wetlands’ area, pollution of seawater environment, degeneration of ecological environment, sharp decrease of biodiversity in the wetlands and so on. At the same time, the causes resulting in the above-mentioned degradations are discussed, mainly concluding imperfect systems of management and legislation, deficient property and assessment systems of the wetlands, weak consciousness of protecting coastal wetlands, shortage of basic study and backward management level and so on. Some countermeasures are put forward for the sake of a sustainable use of the coastal wetlands of South China, mainly including establishing and perfecting administrative and legal systems for the coastal wetlands, developing the study on assessment of coastal wetland, heightening the consciousness of public participation, and strengthening scientific research and establishment of wetland nature reserves.     

Sustainable utilization of biological resources from coastal wetlands in China

The main utilization of biological resources from coastal wetlands in China and the major limiting factors on sustainable utilization of these resources are reviewed. Strategies for the sustainable utilization of coastal wetlands are proposed. These include further studies on saline agriculture and wetland ecosystems, optimizing methods for maximizing metabolic production from organisms, developing microbial resources and efficient utilization of biological genetic resources, and exploiting bioenergy from coastal wetlands.     

Ecological functioning of free-living marine nematodes in coastal wetlands: an overview

Nematodes are small multicellular, thread-like organisms, inhabiting almost all conceivable environments; among these, some 25 % are free-living marine forms with a population density of （1-12） × 10^6 inds m^-2 in seabed sediment, reaching maximum values in muddy estuaries and salt marshes. A large quantity of carbon from the salt marsh plants enters the ecosystem via the detritus pathway, in which nematodes play an important role through their feeding and bioturbation activities. Vegetation influences the sedimentary environment and modifies the distribution pattern of nematode communities in coastal wetlands. Nematodes are coupled closely with bacteria/detritus in microbial food webs, stimulating bacterial growth and subsequent nutrient remineralization; they provide food sources for higher trophic levels and serve as a linkage between micro- and macro-fauna. Furthermore, nematodes have a potential to provide proxies that can be used in diagnosing environmental quality. In China, only a limited number of nematode data sets are available for the coastal wetlands across several different climatic zones. It is necessary to carry out additional investigations into the biology and ecology of nematodes in order to delineate their ecological functioning in coastal wetlands. On such a basis, the contribution made by nematodes to material cycling and the ecological functioning in coastal wetlands can be quantified. The assessment of their biological diversity should be a focus, which is fundamental in the study of wetland ecosystem dynamic mechanisms. In addition to laboratory and mesocosm experiments, mathematical models should be established to predict the responses of ecosystem to the environmental disturbance. Finally, it is necessary to improve the techniques for nematode analysis, to enhance the efficiency of data acquisition.     

Nitrogen cycle in the hyporheic zone of natural wetlands

Nitrogen （N） is one of the most important components and ecological factors for natural wetland ecosystems. It is mainly derived from runoff input, atmospheric deposition, and biological N fixation. The transport and transformation of N in natural wetlands primarily occur in the hyporheic zone （HZ）, a buffer area of intensifted biogeochemical activity that is often regarded as the sink, source, and converter of N in wetlands. The main ways of N attenuation in the HZ are denitrification, anaerobic ammonia oxidation （anammox）, and wetland plant adsorption. The effects of internal and human factors on the N cycle are illustrated in this article. The results indicate that N sources are influenced by human factors such as agricultural activities and fossil combustion, while N attenuation is affected by internal factors, including oxygen concentration, carbon and phosphorus availability, pH and Eh changes, and microorganism actions. Finally, some research trends are provided to get a better understanding of the N cycle in the HZ of natural wetlands. This study may provide a clear perspective of N cycle in the HZ and their interactions between various factors.     

Mapping wetland changes in China between 1978 and 2008

Four wetland maps for all China have been produced,based on Landsat and CBERS-02B remote sensing data between 1978 and 2008 (1978,1990,2000 and 2008).These maps were mainly developed by manual interpretation and validated by substantial field investigation in 2009.Based on these maps,we analyzed the 2008 wetland distribution in China and discussed wetland changes and their drivers over the past 30 years.(i) There were about 324097 km 2 of wetlands in 2008,for which inland marshes or swamps were the most common wetland type (35%),with lakes (26%) second.Most of the wetlands were in Heilongjiang,Inner Mongolia,Qinghai and Tibet,occupying about 55% of the national wetland area.(ii) From 1978 to 2008,China’s wetland area continually and significantly decreased,by about 33% based on changes in the wetland map.This was in sharp contrast to the increase in artificial wetlands,which increased by about 122%.Inland marshes accounted for the main loss of total wetlands from 1978 to 2000.From 2000 through 2008,riverine and lacustrine wetlands constituted the main wetland loss.Fortunately however,the rate of wetland loss decreased from 5523 to 831 km 2 /a.(iii) The change ratio of lost natural wetlands (including inland and coastal wetlands) to non-wetlands has decreased slightly over the past 30 years.From 1978 to 1990,nearly all natural wetlands (98%) lost were transformed into non-wetlands.However,the ratio declined to 86% from 1990 to 2000,and to 77% from 2000 to 2008.(iv) All Chinese provinces were divided into three groups according to patterns of wetland changes,which could relate to the driving forces of such changes.Tibet was completely different from other provinces,as it was one representative example in which there was a net wetland increase,because of global warming and decreased human activity since 1990.Increased economic development caused considerable wetland loss in most eastern provinces,and artificial wetlands increased.     

Effects of anthropogenic disturbance on richness-dependent stability in Napahai plateau wetland

Unique plateau wetlands in China provide essential ecosystem functions and services and influence the health,environment and security of the downstream regions.In recent years,these plateau wetlands have experienced significant anthropogenic disturbance,but studies that evaluate the effects of such disturbance on ecological stability are rare.Our study tested how three typical types of human-related activities affect plant richness and ecological stability in Napahai plateau wetland,Shangri-La,China.The results showed that the anthropogenic disturbance had a direct effect on richness,and an indirect effect on stability mediated by richness.Anthropogenic disturbance did not alter the positive relationship between plant richness and community stability,and the stabilizing effect of richness could be explained by statistical averaging,overyielding effect,and component population stability.Our study complements previous studies that tested the richness-stability relationships in synthesized assemblages with richness specifically manipulated and studies that introduced mowing treatment to mimic real anthropogenic disturbance.The results further suggest that necessary steps,such as anthropogenic disturbance mitigation and plant richness conservation,are urgently required for maintaining healthy plateau wetlands and for sustaining their ecosystem functions and services.     

Protection efficacy of national wetland reserves in China

Wetlands have the most abundant biodiversity,the highest carbon sequestration capacity,and the highest values for ecological services per unit area,of all the world’s ecosystems.Practice has shown that establishing reserves is the most effective way of protecting typical ecosystems and their biodiversity,and saving rare or endangered wildlife.The Chinese government’s policy is to protect wetland systems by establishing reserves that encompass a massive network of wetlands,including wetland nature re-serves,internationally important wetlands,and wetland parks.Many are already established.The effect of protecting wetland nature reserves at the national level has not yet been reported.We used the latest database evaluating the protection value of wet-land reserves,and remotely sensed wetland maps(1978-2008) ,developed by the same mapping specialists and based on the same classification system,and related environmental data,to evaluate the effects of protecting China’s national wetland reserves over the last 30 years.We conclude that(i) the total area of wetland in the national wetland reserves has decreased over the last 30 years to 8152.47 km2,and just 8% of China’s net decrease in wetlands;(ii) about 79% of the 91 national wetland reserves are in a poor condition.These are generally located around the Yangtze River,Eastern Coast,the Three Rivers Source,and Southwest China.Protection measures should be undertaken urgently in these areas.Only 15% of national wetland reserves are under sound protection,and these are generally located in the upper reaches of the Songhua River;(iii) although 88% of national wetland re-serves are primitive(relatively natural) ,implying that the site selection has been scientific,a high percentage of national wetland reserves show early warning signs of decline and require urgent attention;(iv) based on our evaluation of protection effects and pressures on ecology,we have made a priority list of national wetland reserves,and propose several protection strategies.     

Research on Systematic Analysis and Countermeasures of the Buildings Construction Safety Problems

The buildings construction safety problems contain various safety-hidden dangers that caused by the human unsafe behaviors, the substance unsafe conditions, operation environment unsafe factors and management defects. The authors summarize comprehensively the problems of buildings construetion safety in China at present based on grasping the whole safety status of buildings construction, and the synthetic countermeasures including the systems about laws, management, technology and education civilization for buildings construction safety management are brought up based on the viewpoint of safety system theory. Then it is thought that huilding scientific management mechanisms and popularizing effective management methods and measures are the fundamental ways for improving further the level of safety management for buildings construction in China at present.     

Preliminary estimation of the organic carbon pool in China’s wetlands

Accurate estimation of wetland carbon pools is a prerequisite for wetland resource conservation and implementation of carbon sink enhancement plans.The inventory approach is a realistic method for estimating the organic carbon pool in China’s wetlands at the national scale.An updated data and inventory approach were used to estimate the amount of organic carbon stored in China’s wetlands.Primary results are as follows:(1) the organic carbon pool of China’s wetlands is between 5.39 and 7.25 Pg,accounting for 1.3%-3.5% of the global level;(2) the estimated values and percentages of the organic carbon contained in the soil,water and vegetation pools in China’s wetlands are 5.04-6.19 Pg and 85.4%-93.5%,0.22-0.56 Pg and 4.1%-7.7%,0.13-0.50 Pg and 2.4%-6.9%,respectively.The soil organic carbon pool of China’s wetlands is greater than our previous estimate of 3.67 Pg,but is lower than other previous estimates of 12.20 and 8-10 Pg.Based on the discussion and uncertainty analysis,some research areas worthy of future attention are presented.     

Tension leg platform project execution

The first floating platform concept design work for South China Sea is undergoing in DMAR’s office now. This tension leg platform has potential to become the first advanced floating production platform project. Project execution is always a challenge for floating system. This paper focuses on the critical elements of project execution for tension leg platform,and studies potential implications to future oil and gas exploration in South China Sea. There are many factors affecting successful execution of floating system project,including technical issues, engineering management,interface management,etc. There are also failure examples of project execution in the industry. The author has participated 28 large detailed projects and has gained extensive experience on floating projects,with ample hands-on project experiences. A detailed tension leg platform project study example and discussions in depth are presented for future project execution in China deepwater development.     

Ecological Impact Analysis of Tidal Flat Development ——A Case of Qingdao Joy Coastal City

In recent years,tidal flat development project in coastal cities in China continuously advancing practice proved that tidal flat development project is the coastal cities of effective measures to resolve the land factors of economic development limitation,but at the same time the impact of the environment and the using of tidal flat development become the focus of attention.Analysis the coastal shoreline development and economic utilization,social benefits and the impact on the ecological environment combined with Qingdao joy of coastal project is under construction and proposed management measures to provide a theoretical basis for the tidal flat development and management has a very important significance.     

Eco-environmental water requirement for wetlands in Huang-Huai-Hai Area, China

Based on the related literature and the analysis of the relationship between wetland ecosystem and hydroperiod, the estimating and classifying methods of eco-environmental water requirement for wetlands are established. The data collected from Huang-Huai-Hai Area are from the electronic map (1∶250000) of China National Topographical Database of 1997 and the historical statistics since the 1980s.The results indicate that the minimum eco-environmental water requirement for wetlands is 16.98×109 m3 and the optimal one is 38.38×109 m3 in the studied area. For the five wetland nature reserves covered in the area, the values are 1.47×109 m3 and 3.31×109 m3 respectively. The comparisons of the mentioned minimum water requirement with the status water use, which is 17.05×109 m3 for wetland ecosystem (1997 as the status year), suggest that the water use has not met the minimum eco-environmental water requirement in the Haihe and Huanghe Basins of the studied area. However, the status water use guarantees and exceeds the minimum eco-environmental water requirement in the Shandong Peninsula and the Huaihe Basin. Based on the eco-environmental programming and water resource planning of the studied area, the study establishes the water requirement of the year of 2010, 2030, 2050, when the eco-environmental water requirement for wetlands is 18.30×109 m3, 21.64×109 m3 and 26.76×109 m3, respectively.     

Application of Grey Associative Analysis to the Assessment of Regional Water Security

The assessment of water security is an important content in the security management of water resources due to the fact that the state of water security directly affects both the sustainable development of regional economy and the improvement on the living quality of mankind. Grey associative analysis is introduced and applied to assessment of water security on the basis of grey characteristics of the assessment index system of water security. As a case study shows, grey associative analysis is used for evaluating water security of some provinces in China, and the satisfactory assessment results are obtained. The sequence of provinces in China with regard to water security from good to poor is obtained and, moreover, the water security level of each region is also confirmed. The results obtained accord with the actual state of each region. They are of practical significance and can be used to guide the management of regional water security and a sustainable development of the economy therein. At the same time, the results demonstrate that grey associative analysis provides a new method for assessing water security     

Calcimicrobialite after end-Permian mass extinction in South China and its palaeoenvironmental significance

Calcimicrobialites, which could be correlated to the layer 27 in Meishan section according to the Hindeodus parvus, occur abruptly on the end-Permian mass extinction boundary in South China. Microbialites mainly distribute on the top of reef facies or shallow carbonate platforms, thinning into deep facies. All the microbialites discovered are composed of micrite and coarse crystal digitate carbonate or patch carbonate. Microfossils usually dominate in the microbialites, and small gastropods, bivalves and ostracodes can also be found. This fossil assemblage represents a simple but particular remanent biota after the end-Permian mass extinction on the top of reefs or shallow carbonate platforms.Abrupt occurrence of microbialites above the mass extinction boundary is the ecological response to the end-Permian global event in reef or shallow carbonate facies. Many studies have been done on the Permian-Triassic boundary and event in deep water facies sections or middle to lower shelf facies sections. However, the calcimicrobialites in South China are mainly located above reef facies or shallow carbonate platform facies. It will surely be helpful for people to know more about the different responses in different depths of ancient marine environment during the transition between Permian and Triassic by the study of petrology,palaeontology and palaeoecology of the calcimicrobialites.     

Application of Grey Associative Analysis to the Assessment of Regional Water Security

The assessment of water security is an important content in the security management of water resources due to the fact that the state of water security directly affects both the sustainable development of regional economy and the improvement on the living quality of mankind．Grey associative analysis is introduced and applied to assessment of water security on the basis of grey characteristics of the assessment index system of water security．As a case study shows,grey associative analysis is used for evaluating water security of some provinces in China,and the satisfactory assessment results are obtained．The sequence of provinces in China with regard to water security from good to poor is obtained and,moreover,the water security level of each region is also confirmed．The results obtained accord with the actual state of each region．They are of practical significance and can be used to guide the management of regional water security and a sustainable development of the economy therein．At the same time,the results demonstrate that grey associative analysis provides a new method for assessing water security quantitatively but needs a further study．     

Integrated simulation of the dualistic water cycle and its associated processes in the Haihe River Basin

Water resource shortages, water environmental deterioration, and water ecological degradation are becoming increasingly prominent in the Haihe River Basin under the effects of global climate change and intense human activity. Finding ways to solve these problems reasonably is an urgent task in basin water resources management. The water cycle describes the formation and transformation of every water drop, while it interacts with associated water ecology and water environment processes. Therefore, to fundamentally solve the above problems, the three processes must be combined and the evolutionary trends of the ecology and water environment driven by the water cycle must be determined. To comprehensively diagnose and solve the problems of water resources, ecology and water environment in the basin, an integrated simulation platform of the dualistic water cycle and its associated processes in the Haihe River Basin was established by fully analyzing the "natural-social" dualistic characteristics of the evolution of the basin water cycle in this study. Accordingly, it is a supporting tool to evaluate the future trends of water resources, ecology and the water environment by setting scenarios based on the predictions of a climate mode and water control conditions. The results show that with climate change, the water consumption, groundwater overexploitation, and the amount of water flowing to the sea could develop soundly and satisfy the requirements of national economic growth in the future planning year 2030 through the implementation of water consumption control management and the South-North Water Diversion Project. Meanwhile, associated water environmental deterioration can be alleviated, and a growing trend for production capacities of the natural ecosystem and agro-ecosystem is seen. The above results provide a foundation for implementing basin water resources regulation and the most strict water resources management.     

Biomineralization of phototrophic microbes in silica-enriched hot springs in South China

Microbial mats in two hot springs in South China were sampled for the research of mineralization of microbes and its mechanism by the methods of geology and modern biology. The results show that hot spring microbes have the key capability for enrichment of Si, Al, Fe, Ca and other elements, and the microbes are also crucial for the formation of SiO2, CaCO3, clay and so on. The extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) play important roles in the process of mineralization of hot spring microbes, which mainly takes place in the layer of EPS outside cell wall or sheath of cyanobacteria. The sheath outside cell wall, which keeps the normal metabolism of cyanobacteria during the process of mineralization on its surface, is also considerable for the biomineralization of cyanobacteria. According to structure and mineralization characteristics of two microbial mats, the process of mineralization can be divided into three stages, namely, early surface mineralization, middle degradation mineralization, and late des- quamation of mineral. The above conclusions are significant for comprehension of the process of mineralization, the process of deposition and the preservation of microfossil in modern and ancient extreme environments.     

A hierarchical algorithm for cyberspace situational awareness based on analytic hierarchy process

The existing network security management systems are unable either to provide users with useful security situation and risk assessment, or to aid administrators to make right and timely decisions based on the current state of network. These disadvantages always put the whole network security management at high risk. This paper establishes a simulation environment, captures the alerts as the experimental data and adopts statistical analysis to seek the vulnerabilities of the services provided by the hosts in the network. According to the factors of the network, the paper introduces the two concepts： Situational Meta and Situational Weight to depict the total security situation. A novel hierarchical algorithm based on analytic hierarchy process （AHP） is proposed to analyze the hierarchy of network and confirm the weighting coefficients. The algorithm can be utilized for modeling security situation, and determining its mathematical expression. Coupled with the statistical results, this paper simulates the security situational trends. Finally, the analysis of the simulation results proves the algorithm efficient and applicable, and provides us with an academic foundation for the implementation in the security situation     

基于云模型和混合半定量决策方法的闭矿风险管理

Mine closure is associated with many negative impacts on society and the environment. If these effects are not rationally addressed, they would pose risks of mine closure. Thus, a risk management method is needed to mitigate these adverse impacts and address mine-closure issues. An integral framework for mine-closure risk management that includes risk assessment and risk treatment was proposed. Given the fuzziness and randomness of the transformation between qualitative and quantitative knowledge in the risk assessment process, a novel risk assessment method based on the cloud model was presented, which fully considers the uncertainty in risks themselves and in the reasoning process. Closed mine reutilization is an effective risk treatment option in response to the identified high risks, but it requires selecting optimal reutilization strategies for the successful implementation of the reuse plan. To this end, a hybrid semi-quantitative decision method is proposed to optimize decision-making. The results of a case study showed that this risk management methodology can help budget planning for risk treatment and provide an instructional framework to effectively reduce the negative effects of closed mines.     

NO and N2O fluxes from agricultural soils in Beijing area

Chinese agriculture represents one of the most intensively managed agroecosystems in the world. Typical nitrogen fertilization rates are more than three times those of the world' s average, resulting in dramatically accelerated nitrogen cycling in China. In this study, we have examined NO and N2O exchange in the upland agricultural systems of Beijing area. Inorganic and organic fertilizer treatments were arranged in order to evaluate their impact on the magnitude and proportion of trace gas emissions. Increasing inorganic fertilization rates showed a highly significant impact upon emissions of both NO and N2O. Organic matter amendment did not have a statistically significant impact on the N-gas fluxes examined here. Overall losses of added nitrogen by NO and N2O emission averaged 1.24% and 0.22% respectively over the range of treatments in this study. Results from our field study indicate that compared with other studies done elsewhere, emissions of reactive nitrogen from agricultural systems in Beijing area are not so large as expected before.