The influence of Chinese population policy change on resources and the environment

Universal two-child policy has been implemented since the end of 2015 in China. This policy is anticipated to bring a significant increase in the total population, with profound influences on the resources and environment in the future. This paper analyzes the changing dynamics of urban and rural population, and forecasts urban and rural population from 2016 to 2030 at national and provincial scale using a double log linear regression model. Drawing upon the results of these two predictions, the impact of the population policy change on Chinese resources consumption and environmental pollution are predicted quantitatively. Given the future total population maintains current levels on resources consumption and environmental emission, the additional demand of resources and environment demand for the new population is forecasted and compared against the capacity on supply side. The findings are as follows: after implementing the universal two-child policy, China’s grain, energy consumption, domestic water demand, and pollutant emissions are projected to increase at different rates across provinces. To meet the needs arising from future population growth, food and energy self-sufficiency rate will be significantly reduced in the future, while relying more on imports. Stability of the water supply needs to be improved, especially in Beijing, Henan, Jiangsu, Qinghai, and Sichuan where the gap in future domestic water demand is comparatively larger. Environmental protection and associated governing capability are in urgent need of upgrade not least due to the increasing pressure of pollution.     

Influence of social capital on farmer household income gap: total effect and structural effect

Based on the survey data of typical villages in Shaanxi Province, China, the effect of social capital on the income gap of farmers’ households was analyzed using the Shapley value of the total amount of social capital and the social capital structure. The results show the following: first, social capital can expand the household income gap, and the effect of this index on the household income gap is 7.54%. Second, the indexes of the social capital dimension can expand the household income gap, and the structural effects of the household income gap on social networks, social trust, and social participation are 3.17%, 3.64%, and 0.65%, respectively. Third, no dimension of the path is the same as the effect on the household income gap.     

Climate variability and changes in the major cities of Bangladesh: observations,possible impacts and adaptation

High population density, inadequate infrastructure and low adaptive capacity have made the urban population of Bangladesh highly vulnerable to climate change. Trends in climate and climate-related extreme events in five major cities have been analyzed in this paper to decipher the variability and ongoing changes in urban Bangladesh. An analysis of 55 years (1958–2012) of daily rainfall and temperature data using nonparametric statistical methods shows a significant increase in annual and seasonal mean daily maximum and minimum temperatures in all five cities. A significant increase in climate-related extreme events, such as heavy rainfall events (>20 mm), hot days (>32 °C) and hot nights (>25 °C), is also observed. Climate model results suggest that these trends will continue through the twenty-first century. Vulnerability of urban livelihoods and physical structures to climate change is estimated by considering certainty and timing of impacts. It has been predicted that public health and urban infrastructures, viz. water and power supply, would be the imminent affected sectors in the urban areas of Bangladesh. Adaptation measures that can be adopted to mitigate the negative impacts of climate change are also discussed.     

Decline of traditional rice farming constrains the recovery of the endangered Asian crested ibis (Nipponia nippon)

Traditional agriculture benefits a rich diversity of plants and animals. The winter-flooded rice fields in the Qinling Mountains, China, are the last refuge for the endangered Asian crested ibis (Nipponia nippon), and intensive efforts have been made to protect this anthropogenic habitat. Analyses of multi-temporal satellite data indicate that winter-flooded rice fields have been continuously reduced across the current range of crested ibis during the past two decades. The rate of loss of these fields in the core-protected areas has unexpectedly increased to a higher level than that in non-protected areas in the past decade. The best fit (R² = 0.87) numerical response model of the crested ibis population shows that a reduction of winter-flooded rice fields decreases population growth and predicts that the population growth will be constrained by the decline of traditional winter-flooded rice fields in the coming decades. Our findings suggest that the decline of traditional rice farming is likely to continue to pose a threat to the long-term survival and recovery of the crested ibis population in China.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s13280-015-0649-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Toxicity of sediment cores from Yangtze River estuary to zebrafish (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Danio rerio</Emphasis>) embryos

Toxicity evaluation is an important segment in sediment quality monitoring in order to protect aquatic organisms and human health. The purpose of this study is to assess the toxicity of sediments from three sediment cores in Yangtze River Estuary, China, using the zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryo tests. Fertilized zebrafish eggs were exposed to both whole sediments and sediment organic extracts prepared from collected sediments, in order to provide a comprehensive and realistic insight into the bioavailable toxicity potential of the sediments. As end points, development parameters (mortality, hatching rate, and abnormality) in the developing embryos were recorded during the 96-h exposure. The results showed that some samples increased mortality, inhibited the hatching of embryos, and induced morphological abnormalities. The embryonic toxicities presented serrated changes and irregular distribution with depth, which may be related to hydrodynamic effect and unstable environmental input. However, lethal and sub-lethal effects were more significant at the sub-surface sediments (10～40 cm), which indicated that the pollution is more serious in recent decades.     

APSFZn在富营养化湖泊型水体中的应用

采用复合共聚法制备一种新型无机高分子絮凝剂凹凸棒-聚硅酸铁锌(APSFZn),并应用于富营养化湖泊型原水的实验研究。考察了水体p H、投加量、搅拌强度影响因素对絮凝效果的影响。研究表明,APSFZn具有较宽的p H使用范围。当p H为7.6、投加量为20 mg/L、搅拌强度为快搅速度200 r/min,快搅时间2 min,慢搅速度50 r/min,慢搅时间15 min时,APSFZn絮凝剂对Chl-a、CODMn、TP和TN的去除率分别为91.57%、87.11%、93.48%和48.98%。与传统絮凝剂PAC、PFS、PSFZn对比,APSFZn的絮凝效果明显优于传统絮凝剂。该絮凝剂制备简单、具有良好的稳定性和絮凝特性、工艺无二次污染,将APSFZn应用于富营养化湖泊型原水具有良好的絮凝效果。     

Ce-Sn-W-O_x催化剂的配伍优化及脱硝影响因素

采用共混热解法制备系列Ce-Sn-W-Ox复合氧化物,用于NH3选择性催化还原NO。通过正交实验优化CeSn-W-Ox配方,采用环境扫描电镜(ESEM)、X-射线衍射仪(XRD)等表征分析催化剂的微观形貌和固相结构,确立Ce-Sn-WOx最佳配比及结构形貌。结果表明,以粒度为5~8 mm的堇青石瓷片担载分散Ce-Sn-W-Ox,进行NH3-SCR脱除NO,当Ce/Sn/W元素摩尔比为1∶0.8∶0.6时,Ce Sn0.8W0.6Ox/堇青石NH3-SCR脱除NO效果最好。当空速为7 200 h-1,催化剂在252~426℃内脱除NO效率均大于94%。重点考察了反应空速(GHSV)、水蒸气(H2O)、SO2等对Ce Sn0.8W0.6Ox/堇青石NH3-SCR脱除NO活性的影响。研究表明,空速低于10 000 h-1时,催化剂脱硝活性受空速影响小;单独通入5%H2O对催化剂脱硝活性基本没有影响;单独通入429 mg/m3SO2导致催化剂活性略有降低;同时通入429 mg/m3SO2和5%H2O,催化剂脱硝活性下降至85.33%,除去SO2和H2O后,催化剂活性又能明显回升。     

Pseudomonas sp.fz胞外分离物降解四溴双酚A

四溴双酚A(TBBPA)是全球消耗量最大的溴系阻燃剂。通过活性物质的定位、分离和TBBPA产物的分析等步骤,对Pseudomonas sp.fz胞外分离物降解TBBPA进行了研究。结果表明,存在于胞外的活性物质通过异丙基断裂和脱溴两条途径降解TBBPA。通过超滤,Sephadex G-10分离纯化得到了具有降解活性的小分子物质,分子量约为376~456 Da,初步鉴定为短肽类物质。这种小分子物质具有很好的热稳定性(30~80℃),在弱酸性条件下(2.0~5.0)活性较高,其活性还受金属离子、氧气和抑制剂(Na N3)的影响。此外,部分纯化的小分子物质在一定条件下能够产生羟基自由基(·OH)。