Ecological Engineering Institute

Background and Objectives: China’s natural forest conservation policy impacts community livelihoods, with farmers’ policy awareness being a key determinant of conservation effectiveness. However, research gaps remain regarding how this policy shapes farmers’ perceptions of livelihood capital drivers and influences their willingness to participate in sustainable forest management. With this study, we aim to quantify the relationship between livelihood capital and farmers’ policy awareness, providing scientific evidence for formulating more effective sustainable policies. Materials and Methods: Using household survey data, we conducted empirical analysis on 498 randomly sampled households from nine villages in Menghai County and Changting County. Generalized ordered logit and binary logistic regression models were employed to examine the impact of multidimensional livelihood capital on policy awareness levels. Results: Our findings indicate heterogeneous effects of livelihood capital. Conclusions: Policymakers should prioritize targeted interventions to enhance the effectiveness of natural forest conservation policies by moving away from a one-size-fits-all approach. Research Highlights and Significance: This study reveals that livelihood capital across different dimensions exerts complex and inconsistent effects on farmers’ policy cognition. Through comparative analysis of two representative regions in China, this study provides empirical evidence for this core finding from both ecological and economic perspectives. The results further offer precise policy implications for enhancing forest conservation policy effectiveness by optimizing livelihood capital structures.

Recent years have witnessed a spurt of progress in China’s tourism industry, contributing greatly to the economy, culture, and ecology. Cultural relics and historic sites boast significant value in terms of tourism, economic, ecological service, cultural, and scientific research value, yet the intentional destruction makes it a serious problem threatening human natural and cultural heritage. So far, there is no scientific and standardized method to assess the value of the damaged cultural relics and historic sites and the corresponding ecological compensation. This study fills up a critical gap in developing a new ecological damage assessment method for the intentional destruction of cultural relics and monuments by taking the graffiti of Taishan Mountain, a World Heritage Site in China, as an example. The method consists of four steps: (1) selecting the assessment indicators based on the characteristics of cultural relics and historic sites, (2) obtaining the evaluation weights of the indicators by conducting a questionnaire survey among experts and the public, (3) determining the spatial distribution of the protected areas and the damage grade of the cultural relics and historic sites by using GIS and remote sensing techniques, and (4) calculating the economic value of the damaged cultural relics and historic sites by using the market price method, the travel cost method, and the contingent valuation method. The results show that the total value of ecological damage in the case was 70,588.07 yuan ($9958.11), which was successfully accepted by both parties involved in the case.

Our study deals with how the short nine-spine stickleback Pungitius kaibarae uses visual cues to select among habitats, thereby reducing predation pressure from the Japanese eel Anguilla japonica. We examined the behaviour of P. kaibaraein selecting four habitats (water weed, sandy, rocky and open water) under the presence/absence of A. japonica. Using video tracking technology, we found that in the presence of A. japonica, sticklebacks preferred specific refuge patches, such as waterweed and rocks, over open water with a sandy bottom. Thus, our investigation demonstrated the importance of habitat structures in evoking escape behaviour. We discuss the importance of this bold behaviour patterns of the prey fish.Keywords: Bold behaviour, Stickleback, Eel, Swimming speed, Video tracking

環境省の2019年度「プラスチック資源循環戦略」には，世界的なプラごみ問題への我が国としての対策として，紙やバイオプラに代替していくことが明確に謳われ，特に食品トレー等の「使い捨てプラスチック容器」に焦点を当て，最も積極的に変わらなければならないとされている。その大きな理由は，我が国の年間廃プラスチック排出量が900万tあり，この内の約半分が使い捨てプラスチック容器と言われているからである。

The effects of the composition of the coagulation bath (NaOH solution) on the preparation of in situ generated Y-based nanoparticles (NPs)/polyethersulfone (PES) composite adsorptive membranes were investigated in terms of membrane structure, composition, surface hydrophilicity, water permeability, phase inversion and adsorption performance for defluoridation for the first time. The changes of NaOH concentration in the coagulation bath altered the membrane structure, which was believed to be associated with the change of the phase inversion kinetics in membrane formation process. With the increase in NaOH concentration of the coagulation bath, the demixing way changed from an instantaneous demixing to a delayed demixing process, which led to the suppression of the formation of macro-voids and the generation of more sponger-like structures. Consequently, the surface porosity and permeability of the resulted membranes decreased, e.g. M2-1 > M2-2 > M2-3 > M2-4. From an over view, the contents of Y-based NPs in nanocomposite membrane matrix decreased with slower phase inversion kinetics. The M10-2 showed the best adsorption performance with the maximum adsorption capacity of 51.058 mg g−1 for fluoride among those prepared membranes, which also contained the most Y-based NPs in membrane. The M10-2 can effectively treat 1770 bed volume of the fluoride contaminated water at neutral pH by continuous filtration, with no leakage of NPs in the permeate. Furthermore, the presence of humic acid and bicarbonate slightly hindered the removal of fluoride in batch and filtration models. This suggested that the prepared in situ nanocomposite adsorptive membranes can be used as a potential membrane for practical treatment of fluoride contaminated water.

Xylan, de-alkaline lignin and microcrystalline cellulose were employed as representative models of hemicellulose, lignin and cellulose in lignocellulosic biomass. These three model compounds, together with the real-world biomass, wheat straw were pretreated using the newly developed PHP pretreatment (concentrated phosphoric acid plus hydrogen peroxide) to better understand the structural changes of the recovered solid and chemical fractions in the liquid. Results showed that almost all xylan and higher than 70% lignin were removed from wheat straw, and more than 90% cellulose was recovered in the solid fraction. The pretreated model xylan recovered via ethanol-precipitation still maintained its original structural features. The degree of polymerization of soluble xylooligosaccharides in liquid was reduced, resulting in the increase of monomeric xylose release. Further xylose oxidization via the path of 2-furancarboxylic acid → 2(5H)-furanone → acrylic acid → formic acid was mainly responsible for xylan degradation. The chemical structure of de-alkaline lignin was altered significantly by PHP pretreatment. Basic guaiacyl units of lignin were depolymerized, and aromatic rings and side aliphatic chains were partially decomposed. Ring-opening reactions of the aromatics and cleavage of C–O–C linkages were two crucial paths to lignin oxidative degradation. In contrast to lignin, no apparent changes occurred on microcrystalline cellulose. The reason was likely that acid-depolymerization and oxidative degradation of cellulose were greatly prevented by the formed cellulose phosphate.

Relationships between fish size and otolith measures were analysed in four species from the south-eastern Yellow Sea: marbled flounder Pseudopleuronectes yokohamae (Günther, 1877), bastard halibut Paralichthys olivaceus (Temminck & Schlegel, 1846) (Pleuronectiformes), and Korean rockfish Sebastes schlegelii Hilgendorf, 1880, and greenling, Hexagrammos otakii Jordan & Starks, 1895 (Scorpaeniformes). The analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to test the effect of the categorical factor sex in the fish weight and total length relationship. Significant difference in fish weight and total length relationship between males and females was highlighted in P. yokohamae only. The relationship between fish standard length and total length was described by means of a linear regression model, while the relationships between fish weight-total length, otolith length-fish total length, otolith weight-length, and otolith width-length were analysed by means of non-linear models.

The relationships between total length and wet weight and between total length and standard length are presented for six flounder species from the eastern coast of Korea between 2011 and 2012: Paralichthys olivaceus (Temminck & Schlegel, 1846), Cleisthenes pinetorum (Jordan & Starks, 1904), Glyptocephalus stelleri (Schmidt, 1904), Platichthys stellatus (Pallas, 1787), Pseudopleuronectes herzensteini (Jordan & Snyder, 1901), and Pseudopleuronectes yokohamae (Günther, 1877). The values of exponent b, estimated using nonlinear least squares of weight and length data, ranged from 3.076 to 3.469. All relationships between total length and standard length were linear (all r2 > 0.948). Fisheries scientists apply these size conversions (total length calculated from standard length) to understand several aspects of the population dynamics.

A concise strategy to improve thep-nitrophenyl palmitate catalytic activity and enantioselectivity towards secondary alcohols ofPcL is described.