Transboundary conservation hotspots in China and potential impacts of the belt and road initiative

Aim

Biodiversity hotspots often span international borders, thus conservation efforts must as well. China is one of the most biodiverse countries and the length of its international land borders is the longest in the world; thus, there is a strong need for transboundary conservation. We identify China's transboundary conservation hotspots and analyse the potential effects of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) on them to provide recommendations for conservation actions.

Location

China, Asia.

Methods

We compiled a species list of terrestrial vertebrates that span China's borders. Using their distribution, we extracted the top 30% of the area with the highest richness value weighted by Red List category and considered these transboundary hotspots for conservation priority. Then we analysed protected area (PA) coverage and connectivity to identify conservation gaps. To measure potential impact of the BRI, we counted the species whose distribution range is traversed by the BRI, and calculated the aggregation index, proportion of natural land and night light index along its routes.

Results

We identified 1964 terrestrial vertebrate species living in the border region. We identified four transboundary hotspots and found insufficient PA coverage and low connectivity in three of them. The BRI routes intersected all four hotspots and traversed 82.4% (1619/1964) of the transboundary species, half of which (918) are sensitive to the potential risks brought by the BRI. Night light index increased generally along the BRI. However, the proportion of natural land and the aggregation index near the BRI showed different trends in hotspots.

Main Conclusions

There is an urgent need for conservation action in China's transboundary region. The BRI should put biodiversity conservation at the core of its development strategy. Furthermore, we suggest using the planned BRI as a platform for dialogue and consultation, knowledge and data sharing, and joint planning to promote transboundary conservation.     

Coal Tar‐Containing Asphalt Resource or Hazardous Waste?

Abstract: Coal tar was used in Sweden for the production of asphalt and for the drenching of stabilization gravel until 1973. The tar has high concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), some of which may be strongly carcinogenic. Approximately 20 million tonnes of tar-containing asphalt is present in the public roads in Sweden. Used asphalt from rebuilding can be classified as hazardous waste according to the Swedish Waste Act. The cost of treating the material removed as hazardous waste can be very high due to the large amount that has to be treated, and the total environmental benefit is unclear. The transport of used asphalt to landfill or combustion will affect other environmental targets. The present project, based on three case studies of road projects in Sweden, evaluates the consequences of four scenarios for handling the material: reuse, landfill, biological treatment, and incineration. The results show that reuse of the coal tar-containing materials in new road construction is the most favorable alternative in terms of cost, material use, land use, energy consumption, and air emissions.     

Linkages between unpaved forest roads and streambed sediment: why context matters in directing road restoration

Unpaved forest roads remain a pervasive disturbance on public lands and mitigating sediment from road networks remains a priority for management agencies. Restoring roaded landscapes is becoming increasingly important for many native coldwater fishes that disproportionately rely on public lands for persistence. However, effectively targeting restoration opportunities requires a comprehensive understanding of the effects of roads across different ecosystems. Here, we combine a review and a field study to evaluate the status of knowledge supporting the conceptual framework linking unpaved forest roads with streambed sediment. Through our review, we specifically focused on those studies linking measures of the density of forest roads or sediment delivery with empirical streambed sediment measures. Our field study provides an example of a targeted effort of linking spatially explicit estimates of sediment production with measures of streambed sediment. Surprisingly, our review uncovered few studies (n = 8) that empirically tested the conceptual framework linking unpaved forest roads and streambed sediment, and the results varied considerably. Field results generally supported the conceptual model that unpaved forest roads can control streambed sediment quality, but demonstrated high‐spatial variability in the effects of forest roads on streambed sediment and the need to address hotspots of sediment sources. The importance of context in the effects of forest roads is apparent in both our review and field data, suggesting the need for in situ studies to avoid misdirected restoration actions.