Urban development and sustainability challenges chronicled by a century of construction material flows and stocks in Tiexi,China

Construction materials are considerable forces of global environmental impacts, but their dynamics vis‐à‐vis urban development are poorly documented, in part because their long lifespans require elusive and sometimes nonexistent decade‐long high‐resolution data. This study analyzes the construction material flow and stock trends that shaped and were shaped by the development, decline, and renewal of the Tiexi district of Shenyang, a microcosm of China's urban transformations since the early 20th century. Chronicling building‐by‐building the material flows and stock accumulations involved in the buildup of this area, we shed light on the physical resource context of its socioeconomic history. We find that 42 million tonnes of construction materials were needed to develop the Tiexi district from 1910 to 2018, and 18 million tonnes of material outflows were generated by end‐of‐life building demolition. However, over 55% of inflows and 93% of outflows occurred since 2002 during a complete redevelopment of the district. Only small portions of end‐of‐life materials could have been reused or recycled because of temporal and typological mismatches of supply and demand and technical limitations. Our analysis reveals a dramatic decrease in median building lifetimes to as low as 6 years in the early 21st century. These findings contribute to the discussion of long‐term environmental efficiency and sustainability of societal development through construction and reflect on the challenges of urban renewal processes not only in China but also in other developing and developed countries that lost (or may lose) their traditional economic base and restructure their urban forms. This article met the requirements for a Silver/Silver JIE data openness badge described at http://jie.click/badges .     

Assessing seasonal changes in stock composition of Atlantic salmon catches in the Baltic Sea with genetic stock identification

The feasibility of using genetic stock identification to analyse seasonal changes in stock compositions of Atlantic salmon catches in the Baltic Sea was examined. The analysis employed seven variable allozyme loci from most of the potentially contributing stocks (16) from Finland and Sweden. Catch samples were collected from Finnish salmon fisheries in the eastern Bothnian Sea during the 1992 fishing season. Simulation studies were used to evaluate the feasibility of identifying Baltic salmon stocks with allozyme data. Special attention was paid to analysing the wild production of salmon stocks. Clear seasonal differences in stock composition were found. The estimates were compared with smolt production and Carlin-tag data. The proportions of the Neva and Oulujoki river stocks could be estimated as individual stocks, whereas the contributions of the remaining stocks were estimated as four composite stock groups. One of the groups consisted of wild stocks from the rivers Kalixälven and Simojoki. Identification of this group, which could be used as an index of wild production in the catches, requires catch sample sizes >300 salmon if <15% error is required.     

Recent climate changes interact with stand structure and management to determine changes in tree carbon stocks in Spanish forests

Most temperate forests are accumulating carbon (C) and may continue to do so in the near future. However, the situation may be different in water‐limited ecosystems, where the potentially positive effects of C and N fertilization and rising temperatures interact with water availability. In this study, we use the extensive network of plots of two consecutive Spanish national forest inventories to identify the factors that determine the spatial variation of the C stock change, growth, and mortality rate of forests in Peninsular Spain (below‐ and aboveground). We fitted general linear models to assess the response of C stock change and its components to the spatial variability of climate (in terms of water availability), forest structure (tree density and C stock), previous forest management, and the recent warming trend. Our results show that undisturbed forests in Peninsular Spain are accumulating C at a rate of ~1.4 Mg C ha^?1 yr^?1, and that forest structural variables are the main determinants of forest growth and C stock change. Water availability was positively related to growth and C accumulation. On the other hand, recent warming has reduced growth rate and C accumulation, especially in wet areas. Spatial variation in mortality (in terms of C loss) was mostly driven by differences in growth rate across plots, and was consistent with ‘natural’, self‐thinning dynamics related to the recent abandonment of forest management over large areas of Spain, with the consequent increase in tree density and competition. Interestingly, the negative effect of warming on forest C accumulation disappears if only managed stands are considered, emphasizing the potential of forest management to mitigate the effects of climate change. However, the effect of forest management was weak and, in some cases, not significant, implying the need of further research on its impact.     

Species richness promotes ecosystem carbon storage: evidence from biodiversity-ecosystem functioning experiments

Plant diversity has a strong impact on a plethora of ecosystem functions and services, especially ecosystem carbon (C) storage. However, the potential context-dependency of biodiversity effects across ecosystem types, environmental conditions and carbon pools remains largely unknown. In this study, we performed a meta-analysis by collecting data from 95 biodiversity-ecosystem functioning (BEF) studies across 60 sites to explore the effects of plant diversity on different C pools, including aboveground and belowground plant biomass, soil microbial biomass C and soil C content across different ecosystem types. The results showed that ecosystem C storage was significantly enhanced by plant diversity, with stronger effects on aboveground biomass than on soil C content. Moreover, the response magnitudes of ecosystem C storage increased with the level of species richness and experimental duration across all ecosystems. The effects of plant diversity were more pronounced in grasslands than in forests. Furthermore, the effects of plant diversity on belowground plant biomass increased with aridity index in grasslands and forests, suggesting that climate change might modulate biodiversity effects, which are stronger under wetter conditions but weaker under more arid conditions. Taken together, these results provide novel insights into the important role of plant diversity in ecosystem C storage across critical C pools, ecosystem types and environmental contexts.     

四川省森林植被固碳经济价值动态

<正>确估算森林植被固碳经济价值可为森林生态系统的生态效益评价提供基础数据。利用1997年和2014年两期四川省森林资源清查数据,依据不同森林类型的生物量与蓄积量回归方程和支付意愿法,估算了四川省两个时期森林植被的固碳经济价值。结果表明,从1997年到2014年,四川省森林植被固碳经济价值由703.17亿元增长到865.75亿元,净增长162.58亿元,年均增长9.56亿元,年均增长率为1.36%;在两个时期,云冷杉林的固碳经济价值比重最大,分别占总固碳经济价值的54.82%和46.62%,表明云冷杉森林植被类型在全省森林植被固碳经济价值中占有重要的地位;四川省天然林和人工林植被的固碳经济价值均呈增加趋势,并且人工林植被固碳经济价值年均增长速率(7.42%)明显高于天然林(1.03%);四川省森林植被固碳经济价值总体上随林龄的增加而增加。研究结果说明,实施包括天然林保护工程在内的森林保护和经营管理措施对提高森林植被的固碳经济价值具有重要的作用。     

农林复合系统固碳潜力研究进展

农林复合系统是解决当前资源枯竭、农林用地紧张和实现环境保护的一种可持续土壤管理模式。自《京都议定书》签订以来, 农林复合系统因其较高的固碳潜力引起了科学家的广泛关注。深入理解农林复合系统的固碳过程及其对气候变化、环境条件的改变和管理措施的响应, 是准确地预测农林复合系统在全球变化情景下固碳潜力的关键。该文综述了农林复合系统的概念和分类, 探讨了农林复合系统相比单一系统的固碳潜力及固碳机理, 分析了农林复合系统固碳潜力的测定方法和当前面临的挑战, 综述了气候因子、环境条件和人为管理措施对农林复合系统固碳潜力的影响。我国农林复合系统的固碳潜力相比全球其他区域还处于较低水平, 为提高我国农林复合系统的固碳潜力, 未来需要加强以下四个方面的工作: 扩大农林复合系统的分布面积、加强农林复合系统的合理配置和管理、选择适宜的物种组合和优化系统的群体结构。     

Effect of litter size,milk replacer and housing on production results of hyper-prolific sows

The modern hyper-prolific sow gives birth to more piglets than she has functional teats (in the following called supernumerary piglets). The aim of the present study was (1) to investigate the production consequences of hyper-prolific sows rearing supernumerary piglets equal to the mean live-born litter size, and (2) investigate whether potential negative effects on survival and growth could be alleviated by providing access to milk replacer and/or providing easier access to the udder (by loose housing). At day 1 (D1) postpartum (pp), 93 litters were standardised to 14 or 17 piglets (LS14/LS17) after which no piglets were moved between sows leading to decreased litter size if piglets died. Litters were provided with or without milk replacer in milk cups (+MILK/−MILK), and sows were either crated or loose housed (CRATE/LOOSE) in a 2 × 2 × 2 factorial design. Piglet mortality was higher in LS17 compared to LS14 (P < 0.01; OR = 2.0), higher in −MILK compared to +MILK (P = 0.01; OR = 1.2) and higher in LOOSE compared to CRATE (P = 0.02; OR = 1.8). This study showed that sow rearing of supernumerary piglets while supplying with milk replacer can increase piglet survival. It also showed that early mortality before piglets learned to drink milk replacer posed a challenge using this automatic milk replacer system. An interaction between access to milk replacer and the standardised litter size D1 affected litter weight (P < 0.01) and piglet weight day 28 (D28) (P = 0.03). The highest litter weight D28 was found in LS17 +MILK (P < 0.01) but with a lower individual piglet weight than in LS14 −MILK. Piglet weight D28 was higher in LS14 −MILK compared to LS17 regardless of access to milk replacer. Heterogeneity in piglet weight within litters D28 was larger in LS17 (P = 0.03) but could be reduced with +MILK in CRATE (P < 0.01). No effects were found on sow weight loss and feed intake (P > 0.05). In conclusion, the results showed that sows cannot rear the supernumerary piglets without further management interventions to reduce mortality. Supplying supernumerary piglets equal to the mean live-born litter size of hyper-prolific sows with milk replacer can from results of this study be an alternative strategy to the use of nurse sows.     

Discrimination of red porgy Pagrus pagrus (Sparidae) potential stocks in the south-western Atlantic by otolith shape analysis

Otolith shape analysis is a powerful method for fish stock identification. We compared the otolith shape of Pagrus pagrus (Linnaeus 1758) along with its distribution in four south-western Atlantic regions where it is commercially fished: Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Sul in southern Brazil, the Argentine-Uruguayan Common Fishing Zone (UA) and the Argentinian Exclusive Fishing Zone (AR). Otolith shapes were compared by Elliptical Fourier and Wavelet coefficients among specimens in a size range with similar otoliths, morphometric parameters and ages. Four potential stocks were identified: one in the AR, a second along the UA which included specimens from southern Brazil with well-marked opaque bands in its otoliths (MRS), the third in southern Brazil with faint or absent opaque bands in its otoliths (FRS) and the fourth along Rio de Janeiro. The difference in the otolith shape among regions followed differences reported using other stock identification techniques. The similarity between otoliths from UA and MRS (ANOVA-like, P > 0.01) can be explained by seasonal short-range migrations. Otoliths shape differences between MRS and FRS (ANOVA-like, P < 0.01) suggest that P. pagrus does not form a homogeneous group in southern Brazil.     

Length–weight and length-length relationship of eight marine fish species from Northeastern Brazilian coast

Length-weight relationships (LWR) and length-length relationships (LLR) were provided for eight species inhabiting Northeastern Brazilian coast. Nine transects (5, 15, 30 m deep) between Sergipe and Vaza-Barris rivers mouths were sampled monthly from September 2013 to August 2014. Each sampling was carried out using a shrimp boat equipped with double ring nets (4 m mouth wide, 10 m long and 20 mm mesh size) and trawlings were performed for 15 min. Fishes were measured (standard and total length, 0.1 cm) and weighted (total weight, 0.01 g). We provide LWR and LLR coefficients for these eight species, including new maximum TL for five species, and discuss the similarity of these results with estimates available in Fishbase.