Ecosystem risk is a new concept in understanding environmental problems. It is important to study and develop quantitative methods for regional ecosystem risk analysis. In this study, some new indicators and methods f...Ecosystem risk is a new concept in understanding environmental problems. It is important to study and develop quantitative methods for regional ecosystem risk analysis. In this study, some new indicators and methods for measuring oasis ecosystem risk were established using reliability theory. These indicators are linked to water resource, which is the key restricting factor in arid area oasis ecosystems. They have clear meanings and can also be compared in different arid area oases. A case study in the Liangzhou oasis of the Shiyang River Basin in China shows how to calculate these ecosystem risk indicators. The results of the case study are as follows： the reliability indicator, risk indicator, stability indicator, and integrated loss indicator of the Liangzhou oasis are 0.686, 0.314, 0.743, and 0.301, respectively. This means that the reliability degree of the oasis＇s ecosystem safety is 68.6%; the degree of risk that it is unsafe is 31.4%; the stability degree is 74.3%; and 30.1% of the oasis＇s area is supported by over-exploiting underground water and damaging the lower reaches of the ecosystem. This result can be used as a guide in controlling and managing ecosystem risk in the research area.展开更多
Based on simulations by the Beijing Climate Center climate system model version 2(BCC-CSM2), the possible changes in net primary productivity (NPP) of the terrestrial ecosystemin China during the 21st century are expl...Based on simulations by the Beijing Climate Center climate system model version 2(BCC-CSM2), the possible changes in net primary productivity (NPP) of the terrestrial ecosystemin China during the 21st century are explored under the Shared SocioeconomicPathway 2 (SSP2) 4.5 scenario. We found both the near-term and long-term terrestrial NPPbasically shows a unanimously increasing trend, which indicates low ecosystem productivityrisk in the future. However, the simple linear regression is insufficient to characterize thelong-term variation of NPP. Using the piecewise linear regression approach, we identify adecreasing trend of NPP in large areas for the latter part of the 21st century. In the northeastregion (NER) from east Inner Mongolia to west Heilongjiang province, NPP decreases significantlyafter 2059 at a rate of −0.9% dec-1. In the south region (SR) from Zhejiang toGuangxi provinces, a rapid decline of −2.4% dec-1 is detected after 2085. Further analysisreveals that the rapid decline in SR is primarily attributed to the decrease in precipitation, withtemperature playing a secondary role, while the NPP decline in NER seems to have no evidentrelations with climate change. These findings are useful for making preparations forpotential ecosystem crisis in China in the future.展开更多
The Lower Mekong River basin (LMB) covers the lower part of the Mekong river basin, including Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. Due to numerous pressures from high population growth and intensive hydropower develo...The Lower Mekong River basin (LMB) covers the lower part of the Mekong river basin, including Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. Due to numerous pressures from high population growth and intensive hydropower development, the LMB has been facing significant challenges concerning its biodiversity and ecosystem. In 2017, Mekong River Commission (MRC), an intergovernmental organisation founded in 1995 among LMB countries, established the Council Study, which analysed the impacts of water development scenarios concerning the environmental, socioeconomic aspects of the LMB. This paper explores the nature of risks to the LMB water development and subsequently evaluates LMB’s water development scenarios described in the Council Study by using a multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) method. MCDA method has been widely applied in the field of water resource management in order to assist the decision-making process by systematically evaluating a certain number of alternatives against well-selected criteria through a preference rating scheme. By implementing a risk-based comprehensive assessment of the LMB transboundary water, this study provides insights into the impacts of the increasing risks to the ecosystem and human beings on the water development of the basin over time, which assists to change the awareness and the perspective toward humans’ risks and transboundary river ecosystem of decision-makers. This paper provides valuable recommendations for MRC to improve their policy concerning benefit-sharing scheme, water planning and risk mitigation strategies.展开更多
Concentrations of heavy metals in 74 sediment samples from the Fenghe River, which originates from the north of the Qinling Mountains and flows through Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China, were characterized by employi...Concentrations of heavy metals in 74 sediment samples from the Fenghe River, which originates from the north of the Qinling Mountains and flows through Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China, were characterized by employing geographic information system(GIS)mapping, fuzzy synthetic assessment, and multivariate statistical analysis to determine the enrichment characteristics of heavy metals as well as their potential risks of pollution to sediments. Al, Cd, and Co were the major pollutants, with a high enrichment factor(EF) value. Heavy metal concentrations from samples near the paper plant were maintained at a high level. Significant enrichment of Al, Ba, Cr, Ni, Pb, and Co was found in the midstream and downstream, while high concentration of Cu occurred in the headwater stream. Based on the cluster and principal component analyses, sediment metals mainly came from the paper plants, agronomic practices, natural sources, and tourism, with a contribution of 51.59%, 23.01%, 14.21%, and 9.88%, respectively. Sediment pollution assessment explored using fuzzy theory based on the entropy method and toxicity coefficient showed that 26, 32, and 11 sites fell into Class III(slightly polluted), Class IV(moderately polluted), and Class V(heavily polluted), respectively, and their scores of membership degree in the polluted level were on the rise, suggesting a relatively high degree of sediment metal pollution in the study area. Closely related to the excessive industrial and agricultural applications, metal pollution in sediment is necessary to be addressed in the Fenghe River.展开更多
The environmental risks associated with genetically-engineered( GE) organisms have been controversial,and so have the models for the assessment of these risks. We propose an ecologically-based environmental risk asses...The environmental risks associated with genetically-engineered( GE) organisms have been controversial,and so have the models for the assessment of these risks. We propose an ecologically-based environmental risk assessment( ERA) model that follows the 1998 USEPA guidelines,focusing on potential adverse effects to biological diversity. The approach starts by( 1) identifying the local environmental values so the ERA addresses specific concerns associated with local biological diversity. The model simplifies the indicator endpoint selection problem by( 2) classifying biological diversity into ecological functional groups and selecting those that deliver the identified environmental values.( 3) All of the species or ecosystem processes related to the selected functional groups are identified and( 4) multi-criteria decision analysis( MCDA) is used to rank the indicator endpoint entities,which may be species or ecological processes. MCDA focuses on those species and processes that are critical for the identified ecological functions and are likely to be highly exposed to the GE organism. The highest ranked indicator entities are selected for the next step.( 5) Relevant risk hypotheses are identified. Knowledge about the specific transgene and its possible environmental effects in other countries can be used to assist development of risk hypotheses.( 6) The risk hypotheses are ranked using MCDA with criteria related to the severity of the potential risk. The model emphasizes transparent,expert-driven,ecologically-based decision-making and provides formal methods for completing a screening level-ERA that can focus ERA on the most significant concerns. The process requires substantial human input but the human capital is available in most countries and regions of the world.展开更多
Climate change continues to intensify existing disaster risks and vulnerabilities in the Philippines. Thus, implementation of climate change adaptation strategies is vital to counter the effects of climate change. It ...Climate change continues to intensify existing disaster risks and vulnerabilities in the Philippines. Thus, implementation of climate change adaptation strategies is vital to counter the effects of climate change. It is in this context that this study was undertaken to analyze the need or urgency to adopt community and ecosystem-based adaptation strategies among selected coastal barangays (villages) of Masinloc, Zambales, Philippines. Various methods of data collection were utilized such as secondary data collection, primary data collection through household survey, key informant interviews, and focus group. Results of the study indicate that in terms of community-based adaptation strategies, all of the seven barangays in Masinloc have moderate necessity. However, only Barangays Bani and Collat have high adaptation capacity in terms of infrastructure and disaster preparedness. The execution of several community-based adaptation strategies helps these barangays to respond immediately and appropriately to the moderate risk posed by floods and storm surges. On the other hand, in terms of ecosystem-based adaptation strategies, all of the seven barangays have moderate necessity which implies that they have moderate vulnerability and risk to flood and storm surge but have high adaptation capacity in terms of the conservation and protection of coastal resources (mangroves and sea grasses). The barangays implemented the necessary ecosystem-based adaptation mechanisms that they might need in the future. This only means that when they are faced with disaster, the local communities are prepared to respond appropriately and to cope up with the effects of extreme weather events which lead to floods and storm surge. Even though most of the ecosystem-based adaptation strategies are conducted by the seven barangays, there are several community-based adaptation strategies that are still lacking which will protect them from the effect of floods and storm surges. Hence, carrying out the missing adaptation strategies, both community-based and ecosystem-based, will help in improving the adaptive capacity of the affected barangays and will help them become more resilient to the amplified effects of climate change.展开更多
In 12th February 2008 UN launched IYPE,and some of the missions were;to demonstrate the great potential of Earth Sciences in the building of a safer, wealthier and safer society,as the Earth and Life are origins of di...In 12th February 2008 UN launched IYPE,and some of the missions were;to demonstrate the great potential of Earth Sciences in the building of a safer, wealthier and safer society,as the Earth and Life are origins of diversity.Currently we experience human activities posing impacts such as climate variability and huge diseases burden due to exploring of Geo resources.The paper describes potential health risks such as ionizing radiation,Geo hazards,chemicals展开更多
The Philippines is one of the most hazard prone and vulnerable countries in the world to climate change effects due to its geographical location. Climate change is already happening and affecting many places causing h...The Philippines is one of the most hazard prone and vulnerable countries in the world to climate change effects due to its geographical location. Climate change is already happening and affecting many places causing huge problems to coastal ecosystems. Vulnerability and disaster assessment and mapping in coastal areas are essential tasks and undertakings for coastal disaster risk management. The objectives of this study were to assess the climate change vulnerability and disaster risks in the four municipalities (Sta. Cruz, Candelaria, Masinloc and Palauig) of Zambales and to determine the climate change community-based adaptation (CBA) and ecosystem-based adaptation (EBA) strategies. Remote sensing, GIS, secondary data gathering and key informant interview were used to assess vulnerability and disaster risks and mapping in the four municipalities. Survey questionnaire, focus group discussion and key informant interview were utilized in gathering data for the determination of climate change adaptation strategies. Using remote sensing technology, it was revealed that coastline changes have occurred in the shorelines of the four coastal municipalities after a decade. Sea level rise happened in Sta. Cruz and Masinloc, Zambales while there was build-up of soil in the coastline of Candelaria and Palauig, Zambales. Twelve hazard maps, 12 vulnerability maps and 12 disaster risk maps were generated for the three major disasters (flood, landslide, storm surge) in the four coastal municipalities. Based on the flood vulnerability and disaster risk assessment, the municipality of Palauig was found to be the most prone to flooding while the municipality of Candelaria was found to be the most vulnerable to landslide compared to other municipalities. All coastal barangays in the four municipalities were susceptible to storm surge. The four coastal municipalities were conducting community-based adaptation (CBA) and ecosystem-based adaptation (EBA) approaches in order to protect their coastal resources from the damaging impacts of climate change and improve the resilience of their local communities.展开更多
Antibiotic-contaminated wastewater poses a global threat to aquatic ecosystems.Fenton-like oxidative processes effectively decompose recalcitrant pollutants.While these oxidative processes effectively break down targe...Antibiotic-contaminated wastewater poses a global threat to aquatic ecosystems.Fenton-like oxidative processes effectively decompose recalcitrant pollutants.While these oxidative processes effectively break down target contaminants,they may also produce uncontrolled intermediates,potentially resulting in unexpected combined toxicities.This review explores the chemical mechanisms behind Fenton-like reactions,particularly in antibiotic removal,and evaluates the formation of byproducts and their potential toxicological effects.Furthermore,recommendations for optimizing catalyst design and treatment conditions are provided to enhance degradation performance while minimizing ecological risks.This study highlights critical concerns regarding the toxicity of degradation byproducts and their impact on ecosystems by integrating chemical and biological risk assessments.By integrating chemical and biological risk assessments with computational toxicology,particularly quantitative structure-activity relationship(QSAR)modeling,this study proposes a comprehensive approach to evaluate degradation and toxicity.This work highlights the importance of a comprehensive framework for evaluating degradation efficiency and toxicity,contributing to safer and more effective antibiotic wastewater treatment strategies.The findings underscore the importance of balancing degradation efficiency with environmental safety in wastewater treatment processes involving advanced oxidative technologies.展开更多
基金Project supported by the China Scholarship Council and the National Basic Research Program (973) of China (No. 2002CCA00300).
文摘Ecosystem risk is a new concept in understanding environmental problems. It is important to study and develop quantitative methods for regional ecosystem risk analysis. In this study, some new indicators and methods for measuring oasis ecosystem risk were established using reliability theory. These indicators are linked to water resource, which is the key restricting factor in arid area oasis ecosystems. They have clear meanings and can also be compared in different arid area oases. A case study in the Liangzhou oasis of the Shiyang River Basin in China shows how to calculate these ecosystem risk indicators. The results of the case study are as follows： the reliability indicator, risk indicator, stability indicator, and integrated loss indicator of the Liangzhou oasis are 0.686, 0.314, 0.743, and 0.301, respectively. This means that the reliability degree of the oasis＇s ecosystem safety is 68.6%; the degree of risk that it is unsafe is 31.4%; the stability degree is 74.3%; and 30.1% of the oasis＇s area is supported by over-exploiting underground water and damaging the lower reaches of the ecosystem. This result can be used as a guide in controlling and managing ecosystem risk in the research area.
基金National Key Research and Development Program of China,No.2018YFC1509003,No.2018YFC1508902National Natural Science Foundation of China,No.41701033Strategic Priority Research Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences,No.XDA19040304。
文摘Based on simulations by the Beijing Climate Center climate system model version 2(BCC-CSM2), the possible changes in net primary productivity (NPP) of the terrestrial ecosystemin China during the 21st century are explored under the Shared SocioeconomicPathway 2 (SSP2) 4.5 scenario. We found both the near-term and long-term terrestrial NPPbasically shows a unanimously increasing trend, which indicates low ecosystem productivityrisk in the future. However, the simple linear regression is insufficient to characterize thelong-term variation of NPP. Using the piecewise linear regression approach, we identify adecreasing trend of NPP in large areas for the latter part of the 21st century. In the northeastregion (NER) from east Inner Mongolia to west Heilongjiang province, NPP decreases significantlyafter 2059 at a rate of −0.9% dec-1. In the south region (SR) from Zhejiang toGuangxi provinces, a rapid decline of −2.4% dec-1 is detected after 2085. Further analysisreveals that the rapid decline in SR is primarily attributed to the decrease in precipitation, withtemperature playing a secondary role, while the NPP decline in NER seems to have no evidentrelations with climate change. These findings are useful for making preparations forpotential ecosystem crisis in China in the future.
文摘The Lower Mekong River basin (LMB) covers the lower part of the Mekong river basin, including Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. Due to numerous pressures from high population growth and intensive hydropower development, the LMB has been facing significant challenges concerning its biodiversity and ecosystem. In 2017, Mekong River Commission (MRC), an intergovernmental organisation founded in 1995 among LMB countries, established the Council Study, which analysed the impacts of water development scenarios concerning the environmental, socioeconomic aspects of the LMB. This paper explores the nature of risks to the LMB water development and subsequently evaluates LMB’s water development scenarios described in the Council Study by using a multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) method. MCDA method has been widely applied in the field of water resource management in order to assist the decision-making process by systematically evaluating a certain number of alternatives against well-selected criteria through a preference rating scheme. By implementing a risk-based comprehensive assessment of the LMB transboundary water, this study provides insights into the impacts of the increasing risks to the ecosystem and human beings on the water development of the basin over time, which assists to change the awareness and the perspective toward humans’ risks and transboundary river ecosystem of decision-makers. This paper provides valuable recommendations for MRC to improve their policy concerning benefit-sharing scheme, water planning and risk mitigation strategies.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.41030744 and 41173123)
文摘Concentrations of heavy metals in 74 sediment samples from the Fenghe River, which originates from the north of the Qinling Mountains and flows through Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China, were characterized by employing geographic information system(GIS)mapping, fuzzy synthetic assessment, and multivariate statistical analysis to determine the enrichment characteristics of heavy metals as well as their potential risks of pollution to sediments. Al, Cd, and Co were the major pollutants, with a high enrichment factor(EF) value. Heavy metal concentrations from samples near the paper plant were maintained at a high level. Significant enrichment of Al, Ba, Cr, Ni, Pb, and Co was found in the midstream and downstream, while high concentration of Cu occurred in the headwater stream. Based on the cluster and principal component analyses, sediment metals mainly came from the paper plants, agronomic practices, natural sources, and tourism, with a contribution of 51.59%, 23.01%, 14.21%, and 9.88%, respectively. Sediment pollution assessment explored using fuzzy theory based on the entropy method and toxicity coefficient showed that 26, 32, and 11 sites fell into Class III(slightly polluted), Class IV(moderately polluted), and Class V(heavily polluted), respectively, and their scores of membership degree in the polluted level were on the rise, suggesting a relatively high degree of sediment metal pollution in the study area. Closely related to the excessive industrial and agricultural applications, metal pollution in sediment is necessary to be addressed in the Fenghe River.
文摘The environmental risks associated with genetically-engineered( GE) organisms have been controversial,and so have the models for the assessment of these risks. We propose an ecologically-based environmental risk assessment( ERA) model that follows the 1998 USEPA guidelines,focusing on potential adverse effects to biological diversity. The approach starts by( 1) identifying the local environmental values so the ERA addresses specific concerns associated with local biological diversity. The model simplifies the indicator endpoint selection problem by( 2) classifying biological diversity into ecological functional groups and selecting those that deliver the identified environmental values.( 3) All of the species or ecosystem processes related to the selected functional groups are identified and( 4) multi-criteria decision analysis( MCDA) is used to rank the indicator endpoint entities,which may be species or ecological processes. MCDA focuses on those species and processes that are critical for the identified ecological functions and are likely to be highly exposed to the GE organism. The highest ranked indicator entities are selected for the next step.( 5) Relevant risk hypotheses are identified. Knowledge about the specific transgene and its possible environmental effects in other countries can be used to assist development of risk hypotheses.( 6) The risk hypotheses are ranked using MCDA with criteria related to the severity of the potential risk. The model emphasizes transparent,expert-driven,ecologically-based decision-making and provides formal methods for completing a screening level-ERA that can focus ERA on the most significant concerns. The process requires substantial human input but the human capital is available in most countries and regions of the world.
文摘Climate change continues to intensify existing disaster risks and vulnerabilities in the Philippines. Thus, implementation of climate change adaptation strategies is vital to counter the effects of climate change. It is in this context that this study was undertaken to analyze the need or urgency to adopt community and ecosystem-based adaptation strategies among selected coastal barangays (villages) of Masinloc, Zambales, Philippines. Various methods of data collection were utilized such as secondary data collection, primary data collection through household survey, key informant interviews, and focus group. Results of the study indicate that in terms of community-based adaptation strategies, all of the seven barangays in Masinloc have moderate necessity. However, only Barangays Bani and Collat have high adaptation capacity in terms of infrastructure and disaster preparedness. The execution of several community-based adaptation strategies helps these barangays to respond immediately and appropriately to the moderate risk posed by floods and storm surges. On the other hand, in terms of ecosystem-based adaptation strategies, all of the seven barangays have moderate necessity which implies that they have moderate vulnerability and risk to flood and storm surge but have high adaptation capacity in terms of the conservation and protection of coastal resources (mangroves and sea grasses). The barangays implemented the necessary ecosystem-based adaptation mechanisms that they might need in the future. This only means that when they are faced with disaster, the local communities are prepared to respond appropriately and to cope up with the effects of extreme weather events which lead to floods and storm surge. Even though most of the ecosystem-based adaptation strategies are conducted by the seven barangays, there are several community-based adaptation strategies that are still lacking which will protect them from the effect of floods and storm surges. Hence, carrying out the missing adaptation strategies, both community-based and ecosystem-based, will help in improving the adaptive capacity of the affected barangays and will help them become more resilient to the amplified effects of climate change.
文摘In 12th February 2008 UN launched IYPE,and some of the missions were;to demonstrate the great potential of Earth Sciences in the building of a safer, wealthier and safer society,as the Earth and Life are origins of diversity.Currently we experience human activities posing impacts such as climate variability and huge diseases burden due to exploring of Geo resources.The paper describes potential health risks such as ionizing radiation,Geo hazards,chemicals
文摘The Philippines is one of the most hazard prone and vulnerable countries in the world to climate change effects due to its geographical location. Climate change is already happening and affecting many places causing huge problems to coastal ecosystems. Vulnerability and disaster assessment and mapping in coastal areas are essential tasks and undertakings for coastal disaster risk management. The objectives of this study were to assess the climate change vulnerability and disaster risks in the four municipalities (Sta. Cruz, Candelaria, Masinloc and Palauig) of Zambales and to determine the climate change community-based adaptation (CBA) and ecosystem-based adaptation (EBA) strategies. Remote sensing, GIS, secondary data gathering and key informant interview were used to assess vulnerability and disaster risks and mapping in the four municipalities. Survey questionnaire, focus group discussion and key informant interview were utilized in gathering data for the determination of climate change adaptation strategies. Using remote sensing technology, it was revealed that coastline changes have occurred in the shorelines of the four coastal municipalities after a decade. Sea level rise happened in Sta. Cruz and Masinloc, Zambales while there was build-up of soil in the coastline of Candelaria and Palauig, Zambales. Twelve hazard maps, 12 vulnerability maps and 12 disaster risk maps were generated for the three major disasters (flood, landslide, storm surge) in the four coastal municipalities. Based on the flood vulnerability and disaster risk assessment, the municipality of Palauig was found to be the most prone to flooding while the municipality of Candelaria was found to be the most vulnerable to landslide compared to other municipalities. All coastal barangays in the four municipalities were susceptible to storm surge. The four coastal municipalities were conducting community-based adaptation (CBA) and ecosystem-based adaptation (EBA) approaches in order to protect their coastal resources from the damaging impacts of climate change and improve the resilience of their local communities.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.52370168)the Key Laboratory of Functional Biology and Pollution Control in red soil regions of Jiangxi Province(No.2023SSY02051)。
文摘Antibiotic-contaminated wastewater poses a global threat to aquatic ecosystems.Fenton-like oxidative processes effectively decompose recalcitrant pollutants.While these oxidative processes effectively break down target contaminants,they may also produce uncontrolled intermediates,potentially resulting in unexpected combined toxicities.This review explores the chemical mechanisms behind Fenton-like reactions,particularly in antibiotic removal,and evaluates the formation of byproducts and their potential toxicological effects.Furthermore,recommendations for optimizing catalyst design and treatment conditions are provided to enhance degradation performance while minimizing ecological risks.This study highlights critical concerns regarding the toxicity of degradation byproducts and their impact on ecosystems by integrating chemical and biological risk assessments.By integrating chemical and biological risk assessments with computational toxicology,particularly quantitative structure-activity relationship(QSAR)modeling,this study proposes a comprehensive approach to evaluate degradation and toxicity.This work highlights the importance of a comprehensive framework for evaluating degradation efficiency and toxicity,contributing to safer and more effective antibiotic wastewater treatment strategies.The findings underscore the importance of balancing degradation efficiency with environmental safety in wastewater treatment processes involving advanced oxidative technologies.
