With the aid of the 3S technology(RS,GIS and GPS),spatial data of the land use of the Yangbijiang River watershed were obtained.Rastre-conversion and chartographic algebraic operation were conducted of the Yangbijiang River watershed land use map,using a complex method integrating GIS spatial analysis with traditional statistical analysis,to create a new GRID database,of which statistic computation was performed to acquire transfer matrix data of land use variation and soil erosion data of various types of land uses during the research period.Analysis of the soil erosion degrees of various types of land use and their variations revealed that cultivated land,forestland and grassland show great impact on variation of soil erosion intensity.Land use transforming from cultivated land towards forestland or grassland favors decrease in soil erosion intensity,whereas the reverse transformation aggravates soil erosion.

Based on the landsat images of the years of 1987 and 2002 and land use data of 1997,variation of the agricultural landscape patterns of the flooded area of the Yellow River in Henan Province in the past 20 years and its driving factors were analyzed quantitatively,using landscape indexes,such as patch density,landscape diversity index,landscape fragmentation index,landscape dominance index and distribution centroids of various landscape types.Results show that within the study area,the agricultural landscape patterns changed significantly from 1987 to 2002,especially in total area,patch number and patch density of each type of landscape.Irrigated land,dry land and construction land increased in area and became dominant ones,accounting for 83.51% in the study area in 2002.As a result of intensified human activities,landscape diversity index and fragmentation index of the area were increasing while its landscape dominance index was decreasing,illustrating that the differences between various landscapes got narrower in acreage percentage,but the fragmentation degree rose.Agricultural development,population growth,economic development,improvement of the living standard,accelerated urbanization and so on are the main driving factors.

Habitat is a synthesis of pattern,process,and scale as a landscape system.As a result,landscape connectivity is introduced into the study on habitat of red-crowned crane(Grus japonensis) during its breeding season in the Naoli River basin.With the habitat suitability index(HSI) model and ArcView,landscape connectivity zones can be delineated in the maps.Based on the statistics,it is found that the number of small habitat patches,defined as less than 0.1 km² in area,takes up 71.88% of the total of suitable habitat patches.And the area of the suitable habitats just accounts for 5.35% of the whole basin.What is more,only 78.37% of the suitable habitats in area is considered to be used by the bird in its breeding season.It could be found that the suitable habitats are extremely fragmented.Human activities,along with landscape connectivity and percolation among the habitat patches,are the main causes for the decrease in area of useful habitats and the habitat fragmentation.Besides,landscape connectivity zones are distributed mainly along river banks within the basin.It also shows that landscape connectivity has a great impact on the use of small habitat patches.This study helps us to know the current situation of the red-crowned crane habitats and their distribution.

The ecological services valuation method is adopted to calculate variation of the ecological services value of the forestry in the Yili River basin before and after it was built into a forestry ecological sci-tech demonstration zone.Results show that the ecological services value was 64.0×10⁴ yuan·a-1 before grassland degradation,and dropped to 45.9×10⁴ yuan·a^-1 in 2003 owing to over-loading and over-grazing in the past decades.However,after the establishment of the demonstration zone,it soared up in 2006,being 64.5% over that before the grassland was degraded,and 129.2 % over that in 2003.The increment was mainly attributed to improved indirect ecological services value.Obviously the construction of the demonstration zone has greatly raised the ecological services value of the Yili River basin,and its ecological economic benefits are significant.

The rocky desertification management demonstration zone in Du′an County of Guangxi was cited for a case stu-dy.An index system was established for evaluation of benefit of ecological management of rocky desertification,using a fuzzy comprehensive evaluation model.Results show that the ecological benefit,economic benefit and social benefit of the unmanaged zone was general,poor and very poor,respectively,and turned out to be general,general and good,respectively after the management.The pre-management zone was graded poor in comprehensive evaluation,and the post-management zone was graded general,which suggests that the management of the rocky desertification in Du′an County has made certain progress.

Eupatorium adenophorum is a worldwide noxious weed with a very high invasive ability.An interspecific competition experiment was conducted in a greenhouse to observe growth of E.adenophorum affected by interspecific competition,and to interpret the relationship between the interspecific competition and population density.Result indicate that interspecific competition reduced average plant height and lamina number,root sprout number,and biomass of individual E.adenophorum as planting density increased from 25 to 700 plants·m^-2.The lg biomass was highly negatively correlated with the lg density with r²=0.99 and gradient=-5/6.Meanwhile,differences between plants of various size hierarchy intensified as the plant density increased,indicating that different plant individuals were exposed to different density stress within the community.When the planting density was very high,E.adenophorum plants would control formation of root sprouts,or even let them die so as to reduce their consumption of resources for survival in the habitat.This suggested that vicarious species should be planted and germinated earlier than E.adenophorum once applying substitution method,by which E.adenophrum could be suppressed by the planted vicarious neighbors.

Rapid-growth poplars have been planted in large areas because they can bring about huge economic benefit.Soil organic carbon(SOC),total nitrogen(TN) and microbial biomass in soils of a farmland and two poplar woodlots,4-year-old and 7-year-old,in Dezhou,Shandong Province were selected for comparison.Results show that microbial biomass,SOC and TN were all concentrated in the soil layers of 0-5 cm and 5-10 cm,and significantly lower in the woodlot soils than in the farmland soil,especially microbial biomass.But no significant difference was found between the three sites when it went down to 10 cm below in soil depth.Significant positive linear relationship was found between SOC and microbial biomass carbon,and between soil TN and microbial biomass N.Obviously once farmland is turned into rapid-growth poplar plantation,soil fertility decreases.

In order to study distribution of soil macroand meso-animal communities in the north suburbs of Urumqi,four sampling sites different in land use were selected and soil animals were collected in three different soil levels: 0-5,5-10 and 10-15 cm from May to July,2007.A total of 1 543 individuals of macro-and meso-animals were gathered,belonging to 18 order,9 classes and 3 phyla.Among them,Insecta,Gastropoda,Collembola and Arachnida were the dominant classes,which account for 80.04% of the all captured animals.Malacostraca and Diplura were the common species,accounting for 6.28%,whereas Diplopoda was the rare one,accounting for only 1.04%.Differences existed between the four sampling sites in species diversity and evenness indexes of the soil macro-and meso-animal communities.Natural woodlot was the highest in species diversity,while farmland the lowest,which was assumed to be related to difference in soil fertility(organic matter and nutrient contents),and application of agro-chemicals.The characteristics of vertical distribution of the soil animals showed an obvious feature of surface assembly in soil.

Analysis of the fractal dimensions of soil particle size distribution in soils of an apricot orchard,a mulberry garden,and a crop field in Lintong revealed that in the apricot orchard,and the crop field,the volumetric fractal dimensions of the soils had extremely significant positive correlations with the contents of soil particles,<0.002 mm and 0.002-0.05 mm in size,and extremely significant negative correlations with the contents of soil particles,0.05-0.1 mm and 0.1-0.25 mm in size,but nothing with the content of soil particles,0.25-0.5 mm in size.However,in the soil of the mulberry garden,they had strongly significant positive correlation with the content of soil particles,<0.002 mm and 0.002-0.05 mm in size and nothing with the contents of soil particles,0.05-0.1 mm,0.1-0.25 mm and 0.25-0.5 mm in size.The soil particle size fractal dimensions of the soils in the mulberry garden and the apricot orchard showed significant multiple correlations with soil pH and content of soil organic matter,but in the crop field they did not show any.

Non-point source pollution from agricultural watersheds has an increasing contribution to rapid deterioration of downstream water environmental quality in recent years.Two typical agricultural watersheds(Liucha River valley and Qianxi River valley),characterized by high grain yield and multi-pond in the Yangtze-Huaihe region of China,were selected as examples to study effect of inflow rivers in small-scaled catchments on water quality in the convergence area of the river and lake,using grey relationship analysis (GRA).Water quality in the rivers and in the convergence area in the lake was monitored twice a month from September 2004 to September 2005.It was found that not only the concentration of TN and TP,but also dissolved metals,such as manganese,iron and aluminum,were the highest in the lake water in the period between October and December in 2004.Grey correlative analysis showed that the water quality in the inflow rivers of the two catchments was highly related to that in the convergence area of the lake with grey correlativity ranging between 0.687 and 0.896.In the case of a small-scaled catchment,water quality in the lake responded rapidly to the variation of water quality in the inflow river,which suggests the non-point source pollution from an agricultural watershed contributes significantly to the pollution of the waterbody of the lake.

Neural network technology is introduced in establishing a model to predict water quality of the Yellow River,and Levenberg-Marquardt(LM) algorithm is used to improve its prediction precision.This model is applied to prediction of water quality of the section from Xiaolangdi to Huayuankou of the river.Performance of the prediction demonstrates that the neural network model and the LM algorithm would be adopted with better results in establishing an input-response relationship of inflowing pollutants with water quality of the functional zone of the Yellow River.

The use of great quantities of fertilizer in agricultural production is one of the causes of generation of non-point source pollution(NPS) in the Yangtze River delta economic zone.Based on the statistics of farming production and agricultural produce market during 1980-2005,economic incentives of the fast growth rate were explored from the angle of changing opportunity cost of input factors,and changing prices of agricultural produce.Results show that land opportunity cost grew much faster than the prices of fertilizers,thus leading to substitution of land with fertilizer;that rapid growth of labor opportunity cost led to substitution of labor with fertilizer;and that prices of the labor intensive agricultural produce fluctuated sharply,which are assumed to be the major contributors to the rapid growth of fertilizer input.

Effects of single and combined pollution of chlorpyrifos and acetochlor on soil enzyme activity and microbial biomass carbon were investigated in an indoor simulation experiment.Results show that response to the pollution varied with the enzymes.The catalase was inhibited,while the urease was enhanced in activity under the stress of either single or combined pollution of chlorpyrifos and acetochlor.Both acidic phosphomonoesterase and alkaline phosphomonoesterase were first stimulated and then inhibited in the same condition.However,application of acetochlor alone showed the most significant inhibitive effect on catalase and acidic phosphomonoesterase.Soil microbial biomass carbon was enhanced under the stress of simple pollution of chlorpyrifos or acetochlor in the initial stage,but it was inhibited after 14 days in the presence of combined pollution.

A pot culture experiment was carried out to study effects of application rate of used Agaricus bisporus culturing medium,called mushroom castoff(MC),on plant growth of Vigna radiate and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal infection in its root system.With arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi(AMF) inoculation,the addition of MC at a rate of 5% to 50% increased AMF infection rate,plant biomass and economic yield to a varying extent.The infection rate peaked around D35 after sowing.The addition of MC at a rate of 20% benefited the plant in growth the most,compared to the controls,the shoot length increased by 58%,plant biomass increased by 128%,bean pod dry weight increased by 598% and bean dry weight increased by 577% on D60 when the plant was harvested.A significant linear regression relationship was observed between the economic yield(bean dry weight) and the AMF infection rate on D35(P<0.05),which suggests that application of MC at a rate of ca.20% benefits the most vegetative and productive growth of the plant and AMF infection in its root system.Besides,no significant difference was found between sterilized and non-sterilized substrates in AMF infection rate in Vigna radiate root system,which indicates that MC accelerates AM infection in plant roots and,therefore,propagation of AMF.

An experiment designed to have 9 Cu treatments[3 Cu levels,10,150 and 250 mg·kg^-1 and 3 Cu forms,Cu-AA(amino acid copper),CuSO₄(copper sulfate) and TBCC(tribasic copper chloride)]was carried out on effect of addition of Cu in basic dietary on Cu digestibility of 27 crossbred growing pigs(LandraceLargewhiteDuroc) about 30 kg in body weight and Cu availability in their dungs.Results show that the effect of Cu source on Cu digestibility of pigs did not vary much(P>0.05),but the effect of Cu level did.It was more significantly when the Cu level was high(P<0.05).Availability of Cu in the pig dung varied sharply with the Cu forms.It was higher when CuSO₄ was added than when Cu-AA or TBCC was added(P<0.05),but it was more or less the same for the latter two(P>0.05).In terms of potential available Cu in pig dung,the two treatments of Cu-AA and CuSO₄ were quite similar(P>0.05) but higher than the treatment of TBCC(P<0.05).Naturally,unavailable Cu in the pig dung from Treatments TBCC was significantly higher than those from Treatments Cu-AA and CuSO₄(P<0.05).Regardless of forms of Cu added,the content of Cu in the pig dung from pigs fed with a higher level of copper in the dietary was higher than those fed with a lower level of copper in the dietary(P<0.05).

It is important for safe use of polluted soils and amendment of the soil environment quality standard to study absorption and enrichment of heavy metals by crops.Samples of lettuce(Lactuca sativa var.angustana Irish) plants and their rhizospheric soils were collected for analysis of accumulation of Cu,Zn,Cd and Pb in lettuce,and absorption and enrichment of Zn and Cd by lettuce in complex contaminated soil.Results show that in terms of accumulation,contents of the four elements in lettuce was in the order of root>leaf>stem,and Zn>Cu>Cd>Pb,with the bioconcentration factors(BCF) being Cd≈Zn>Cu>Pb.The ability of the lettuces of absorbing and accumulating heavy metals varied significantly with the sampling sites.The response models that may depict transfer of Zn and Cd in the soil-lettuce system are non-linear ones;and somewhat differ between the two elements and between parts of the lettuce plant.However,all the responses of the two elements in various parts of the lettuce plant can be described with a cubic curve equation.The absorption of Zn and Cd by lettuce is not only affected by elements themselves,but also by co-existent elements,and the effect of the co-existent elements depends on their concentration in the soils.

As the technology of dry anaerobic digestion of organic solid waste is an effective approach to the disposing and recycling of organic solid waste as energy,it has become a hot spot of the research on this technology all over the world.A review of the status quo of the research on the technology of dry anaerobic digestion of organic solid waste inside and outside the country has been presented,and an outlook of the development of the technology has been given.

"Three-Grille-Mode" septic tank is a common approach used in renovating latrines in the rural areas in Jiangsu,accounting for about 50% of the total sanitary latrines in the area.Its treatment efficiency directly affects quality of the rural water environment.A total of 168 normally running "Three-Grille-Mode" latrines in 9 cities(counties) of Jiangsu were selected as objects of the research.In the period from June to August,2006,water samples were collected at the inlet and outlet of the latrines 3 times consecutively with an interval of 5 days.Analysis of the samples showed that "Three-Grille-Mode" septic tanks could reduce COD_Cr by 48.51%,TN by 6.83% and TP by 23.92%,and the efficiency varied with the influent concentration,and followed a decreasing order of South Jiangsu>Central Jiangsu>North Jiangsu.Generaly its treatment efficiency was lower than the biogas-digester′s.The treated water flowing out of the septic tanks fails to meet the criteria of the national standard for wastewater discharge and its discharge will significantly affect the environment.

Lignin biodegradation plays an important role in biological disposition of agricultural wastes.Five strains of microorganisms were isolated from compost of agricultural and forestry wastes.They were identified to be Bacillus subtilis,Pseudomonas aeruginosa,Aspergillus niger,Penicillium simplicissim,and Streptomyces badius.These strains were proved to be capable of decomposing hydroxybenzene and nonhydroxybenzene lignin compounds of low molecular weight.To develop a high-efficiency of microbial inocula for composting,this research was designed to have a heap of natural rice straw inoculated with these strains of different ratios and composted for 30 days through solid-state fermentation.The strain mixture showed ligninolytic ability,which was further proved by analyses of enzyme production.Five different enzymes,lignin peroxidase,manganses peroxidase,laccase,cellulase and hemicellulase,were believed to be the most important catalysts in biodegrading process,and they always worked synergistically.When the ratio of bacteria∶actinomycete∶fungus was 85∶5∶10;Bacillus subtilis∶Pseudomonas aeruginosa,55∶25;and Aspergillus niger∶Penicillium simplicissim,2∶1,the degradation rate of lignin,cellulose and hemicellulose was the highest,being 22.13%,48.97% and 55.93%,respectively,after 30 days′ incubation.In rice straws without pre-sterilization,inoculation with the strain mixture of this ratio and fermentation for 30 days increased the degradation rate of lignin,cellulose and hemicellulose by 19.16,38.25,and 46.30 percent points,respectively,over the control,i.e.rice straws without inoculation.

Topsoil samples taken from the Biluochun tea plantations in Xishan of Tai Lake were analyzed for contents and distribution of heavy metals(Cd,Hg,As,Pb,Cr and Cu) in the soil.Effects of geomorphological characters,such as slope and land use,on the distribution of soil heavy metals were also discussed.Soil quality was evaluated by the standard(NY 5199-2002) for soil environmental quality of organic tea plantations and the Criteria of Grade II of the National Standards for Soil Environmental Quality(GB 15618-1995).It was found that all the heavy metals in the soil,except Hg,were in compliance with the standards in concentration,and that their integrated pollution index was 0.78,suggesting that the soil is still clean and of the Alert Grade in pollution,and that its major pollutant is Hg.

Access and benefit sharing(ABS) of genetic resources and related traditional knowledge has become a hot issue at a great many international forums.The Convention on Biological Diversity(CBD) firstly established the principle of access and benefit sharing of genetic resources and related traditional knowledge in 1992.Following CBD,UNFAO,UNESCO,WHO,WTO and WIPO(World Intellectual Property Organization) have all set up forums on ABS(access and benefit sharing) and patent issues related to genetic resources and related traditional knowledge,requiring the parties to respect and recognize the rights of indigenous people and local communities providing genetic resources and traditional knowledge.However,China has not yet formulated any specific policies in this aspect or established any law and regulation systems.Therefore it is essential for China to establish a national ABS regime that will ensure fair and equitable benefit-sharing,embody the state sovereignty over genetic resources and related traditional knowledge and respect the rights and interests of indigenous people and local communities.