The national key ecological function zone could be delineated as one type of ecological conservation redline. Mine ecological environment damage is recognized as one of the largest causes of regional ecological security problem. For many years, the exploitation of mineral resources has effectively promoted regional economic and social development, in the meanwhile, caused serious problems in the ecology and environment of mining areas. Distribution of historical mines in the key ecological function zones and their ecology and environment problems were retrospectively analyzed in the Yangtze River Economic Belt, combining the requirements of delineation and supervision of ecological conservation redline, and the main issues of ecological restoration in the mining area were furtherly discussed. In order to make the transition from mine geological disaster control, vegetation restoration/land reclamation, biodiversity reconstruction to regional ecological function restoration, and finally to promote the integrity of ecosystem among mountain, water, forest, farmland, lake and grassland, and the technical support for the improvement of regional ecological security, a series of countermeasures have been put forward to promote the ecological restoration in the mining area. Specifically, the countermeasures include (1) establishing a mechanism for the supervision and assessment of mine ecological restoration covering all elements of the ecological environment, (2) formulating a special plan for the ecological restoration of mine areas, (3) carrying out the mine ecological environment damage assessment and the research and development of ecological function repair technology, (4) and studying and formulating national standards for mine area ecological restoration.

The exploitation of coal resources is moving toward the west China acceleratively, which aggravate the land damage in northwest mining area. Considering the traditional monitoring methods can hardly achieve the goal of overall diagnosis of land damage, Wuhai mining area was taken as study area and a model for measuring the land damage in mining area was proposed. The model mainly combined the functions of land structure damage and function damage. Landsat TM/OLI images, Sentinel-1A SAR images, 3S technology and InSAR technology are used to extract the model's critical parameters such as vegetation damage index, ground deformation index, land cover, etc. The results show that the spatial distribution of land damage is featured by attenuation around the mining working face. 42.36 km² of land has high land damage value between 4.5 and 8.0, accounting for 2.68% of the total area. 544.21 km² of land has moderate land damage value, accounting for 34.43%, while 994.02 km² of land is non-damage area, accounting for 62.89%. The measurement of land damage can refine the design of environmental restoration and provide reference for the land consolidation and restoration of Wuhai mining area.

Vegetation recovery is a key stage of mine ecological restoration, while the horizontal vegetation coverage and vertical structure parameters are important indicators for the evaluation of vegetation recovery effectiveness. The three parameters of vegetation structure(leaf area index, gap rate and crown density) were extracted through taking Zhangzhou abandoned mine area as a case study, based on the point cloud data produced by Terrestrial LiDAR (T-LiDAR). The impacts of Digital Elevation Model(DEM) resolution and three dimensional point cloud pixel size on the extraction of vegetation structure parameters in different stages of ecological restoration were then analyzed and discussed. The results show that:(1) with the increase of the resolution of DEM (precision reduction), the leaf area index(LAI) and crown density on both well revegetated and semi-bare abandoned mine area decreased, while gap rate increased, the suitable resolution of DEM was 10 and 20 cm, respectively, three parameters of vegetation structure on bare abandoned mine area were all not changed with the increased of DEM resolution, the suitable resolution of DEM was 50 cm. (2) With the increase of three dimensional point cloud pixel size, the LAI and crown density on different stages of ecological restoration on abandoned mine area all increased, while the gap rate decreased. Three parameters of vegetation structure on well revegetated abandoned mine area exhibited similar changing curves with semi-bare abandoned mine area, while both of them were higher than that of bare abandoned area.

In arid and semi-arid coal mine areas, the environment is usually fragile and vegetation recovery is difficult with a long recovery cycle. It is important to study the role of moderate human intervention and regulation in the process of vegetation recovery in such areas. In the case study of the Daliuta coal mine area, seven remote sensing images acquired during 1988-2016 were interpreted for the vegetation growth. The locations of samples at different human intervention levels (Ⅰ-Ⅵ) were determined based on the situation of planted Salix psammophila, and the trend of vegetation coverage was compared with contrasting intervention to model vegetation restoration for coal mine areas with human intervention and regulation. The error coefficient was also calculated to assess the validity of the model. Results show that:(1) The average EC was -0.12% while the absolute average EC was below 5.80%, which proves that the model is acceptable and valid. (2) The intervention levels of Ⅳ (33.54%) and Ⅲ (33.45%) approached the T value thresholds (35%) faster. When the area for rows of Salix psammophila accounted for 15% to 25%, the vegetation restoration reached optimal conditions quickly. (3) The scattered distribution of the T value was more intensive and the stability of vegetation restoration was higher under the medium intervention (Ⅲ and Ⅳ) in the period of 1988-2016. (4) Human intervention mostly occurred near the areas with human activities, and almost did not exist in remote locations. Based on the results, it is proposed to implement the Ⅲ level intervention for vegetation restoration. The study provides a theoretical basis for low-cost and high-efficiency vegetation restoration in coal mine areas.

The "Energy Golden Triangle" area provides abundant energy for China, and its surface vegetation condition is closely related to the ecological restoration and reconstruction. The dynamic change of vegetation of the border regions of the three provincial areas (Ningxia, Shaanxi and Inner Mongolia) from 2005 to 2015 was studied with the aid of a pixel-by-pixel trend analysis method using RS and GIS technology and taking the normalized vegetation index product (MODIS NDVI) as the data source. Geo-weighted regression model is constructed based on a regular grid to explore the effect of 7 factors (elevation, slope, soil clay content, multi-year mean temperature, year average precipitation, distance to coal mine area and distance to road) on vegetation change and its spatial nonstationarity. The results show that the annual average of NDVI of the research area displayed a fluctuating upward trend with a linear tendency being 0.083·(10 a)^-1 (P<0.05) during 2005-2015. As for spatial distribution, NDVI showed a decreasing trend from southeast to the northwest. The area with improved NDVI is larger than the degraded area, and accounting for 27.11% and 0.64% of the total study area, respectively. The significant rising area is mainly distributed in the eastern part of Yulin City. NDVI decreased significantly in the whole area, and had stronger spatial clustering (Moran's I is 0.851) from 2013 to 2015, but the degree of variation was spatially heterogeneous, compared with that of 2005 to 2012 years. The change of vegetation in the two periods (2005-2012 and 2012-2015) of the whole region is greatly affected by the natural factors such as climate and so on. The main factors affecting vegetation change are different in time and space. Human activities have double effects on vegetation change.

To achieve a high coupling coordination degree of urban land use efficiency by considering the social, economic and ecological impacts is of significance for promoting the sustainable development of regional economy. In this study, 36 prefecture-level cities from typical mining cities in Western China have been investigated to analyze the coupling coordination degree of land use efficiency in terms of the economic, social and ecological benefits. On the basis of previous studies, the years of 2000, 2005, 2010, and 2015 were taken as four time points and the index system of land use efficiency was formed. The improved entropy method was used to evaluate the comprehensive benefits of land use in the typical mining cities of Western China, which avoided the disadvantages of traditional entropy method that always produces the extreme and negative values. The coupling coordination degree can be calculated by the coupled coordination model. The results show that the urban land use efficiency is distributed as echelon characterization and the comprehensive level of land use efficiency is gradually increased through the index evaluation of land use efficiency of typical mining cities in Western China. The analysis of coupling degree shows the number of cities in a lower coupling degree is three times of that of cites in a poor stage between 2000 and 2015. Overall, the coupling degree of land use efficiency of typical mining cities in Western China is not high and most of them are low. The analysis of coordination degree shows the coordination degree is between 0-0.69 from 2000 to 2015, which is mainly dominated as the coupling and coordination degree of land use efficiency shows obvious decrease from the center to the periphery.

Due to the worsening resource and environmental problems throughout the world, the rational use of agricultural inputs for the green development and structural reform of agricultural supply front has become increasingly important. The present situation of main agricultural inputs, including fertilizers, pesticides, and agricultural films of five different agricultural zones in Sichuan Province was investigated. Analyses were conducted on the basis of past statistical data. Results show that the total amount of fertilizer application had been increasing in the past 60 years, and the application amounts in four zones exceeded the limit standard of developed countries (225 kg·hm^-2). Organic fertilizers showed an opposite trend. The fertilizer input exhibited a structural imbalance with a high nitrogen content. Fertilizer efficiency varied among agricultural zones, in which the Northwestern Plateau had the highest efficiency (25.72 kg·kg^-1), whereas the Panxi Mountain Region had the lowest efficiency (13.14 kg·kg^-1). The total application amount of pesticides increased by 56.96% between 1993 and 2013. The amount for the Chengdu Plain (6.17 kg·hm^-2) was three times as much as that for the Panxi Mountain Region. The input structure was irrational and concentrated on insecticide. The total amount of agricultural films increased by 290% from 1993 to 2013. Most were mulch films, of which only 10% were degradable. Agricultural input intensity was positively correlated with planting convenience and urbanization rate but negatively correlated with planting structure. Planting structure adjusted rapidly with the market economy, which led to the emergence of environmental risks due to increasing chemical input intensity for large plantation of cash crops. For these reasons, highly efficient techniques for environmental protection must be promoted to solve the problems of increasing amounts of agricultural inputs, regional unbalance, and irrational structure. Planting structure should also be optimized and circular agriculture should be developed according to local conditions. Proper management mode and unified management with agricultural mechanization should be encouraged. Furthermore, subsidies that focus on high-technology products and services must be implemented.

The impact of excessive use of chemical fertilizers on the environment is intensifying steadily nowadays. Based on the survey of farm households in four counties (cities) in the mountainous region of Zhejiang Province, CD production function method was used to analyze economically whether the application of chemical fertilizers in the region exceeds the actual need or not. It was found that the chemical fertilizer application rate prevailing in the four counties exceeded the optimal rate in the economic sense. The farmers over-fertilized food crops and cash crops, particularly food crops. Meanwhile, the econometric model was used to analyze factors stimulating over-consumption of chemical fertilizers. Results show that the proportion of the farmer population participating in non-agricultural employment, quality of the land and irrigation conditions are the major factors stimulating excessive application of chemical fertilizers. Based on the findings, some suggestions are put forth for policy-making.

The toxicity data of 22 representative aquatic organisms were collected from the laboratory toxicity tests, authoritative toxicity databases and published in literature following principles of accuracy, relevance and reliability. The aquatic life criteria (ALC) for malathion in the Yangtze River Delta Region were derived by Species Sensitivity Distributions (SSDs) and Toxicity Percentile Rank (TPR) respectively. The results show that the acute and chronic ALCs of malathion derived by SSD were 0.865 5 and 0.036 2 μg·L^-1, respectively; the acute and chronic ALCs of malathion derived by TPR were 0.400 0 and 0.033 4 μg·L^-1, respectively. The final criteria derived by TPR were recommended as ALCs for malathion to protect aquatic organisms in the Yangtze River Delta Region. In addition, the recommended ALCs for malathion were compared with criteria abroad and existing Chinese water quality standards (WQS). The present research could provide scientific reference for WQS revision and aquatic risk assessment in China.

To assess levels of heavy metals exposure in whooper swan (Cygnus cygnus) adults and juveniles from Yellow River wetland in Sanmenxia, primaries collected in overwintering stages of different years from 2001 to 2017 were analyzed using wet digestion method. Then, atomic absorption spectrophotometer was employed to determine the concentrations of copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr) and nickel (Ni). Results show that Zn levels were at highest whereas Ni levels were at lowest in primaries from both juveniles and adults. Differences were noted among heavy metal concentrations in primaries of whooper swans from different years. Concentrations of Cu, Pb and Cd in primaries of whooper swan juveniles in 2013 showed a downtrend and Zn concentrations showed an uptrend compared with those in 2001. Moreover, Cr and Ni concentrations in primaries of whooper swan juveniles in 2013 were comparable with those in 2001. In recent years, Cu and Cr concentrations in whooper swan adults were comparable with those of past several years, while Zn, Pb, Cd and Ni concentrations showed a downtrend. In addition, adults and juveniles showed comparable Zn concentrations in primaries. However, concentrations of Cu, Pb, Cd, Cr and Ni in primaries of whooper swan adults were higher than those of juveniles. All in all, as non-essential elements, Pb and Cd concentrations in primaries of whooper swan adults and juveniles showed declined tendencies in recent years, indicating there are decrease trends of Pb and Cd exposure risks. At last, heavy metal concentrations in primaries of whooper swan were at safe levels compared with other birds' feathers.

Vicia faba seedlings were hydroponically cultivated in different concentrations of carboxylated multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs-COOH) (0, 2.5, 5.0, and 10 mg·L^-1), 20.0 μmol·L^-1 Pb+5.0 μmol·L^-1 Cd (shortened as Pb+Cd), and Pb+Cd+MWCNTs-COOH for 15 days respectively, and several related physiological and biochemical parameters were assayed to evaluate the ecotoxicological risks of MWCNTs-COOH and its joint exposure with Pb+Cd in the leaves. The results show that the reactive oxygen species (ROS) such as superoxide radical (O₂^·-) and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) were overproduced in response to MWCNTs-COOH exposure or combination with Pb+Cd compared with the control, accompanied by enhanced patterns of isozymes and total activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and guaiacol peroxidase (POD). The activities of CAT were activated significantly under 2.5 mg·L^-1 of MWCNTs-COOH or combined with Pb+Cd, however, it decreased significantly under 10.0 mg·L^-1 Pb+Cd+MWCNTs-COOH. Thus, CAT activities can be used as a sensitive biomarker for early warning of MWCNTs-COOH exposure or combination with heavy metals in the contaminated environment. MWCNTs-COOH exposure resulted in the accumulation of carbonylated proteins, heat shock protein 70 (HSP70), and non-protein thiol (NPT), as well as activated the activities of endopeptidase (EP) isozymes enhancing. After combination with Pb+Cd, the production of carbonylated proteins and NPT, and the activities of EP isozymes were significantly enhanced, whereas HSP70 presented in a declined state, The increased activities of antioxidant enzymes and EPs, and the overproduction of HSP70 and NPT should be the crucial defense mechanisms in the Vicia faba seedlings to alleviate the oxidative stress and damage under MWCNTs-COOH exposure or combined with Pb+Cd. It can be concluded that MWCNTs-COOH caused oxidative stress and defense responses in the leaves of Vicia faba seedlings, and the joint exposure with Pb+Cd aggravated the oxidative damages and protein degradation.

Biochar has received extensive attention as soil amendment, solid carbon sequestration and pollution reduction method in recent years. Hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) of biomass to produce hydrothermal carbon, i. e., hydrochar, has attracted great interest in the past few years. Hydrochar produced with HTC process exhibited many advantages over pyrochar, such as lower side-effects during production, less energy consumption as well as higher yield and better application prospect as precursor. However, there were limited studies on the application of hydrochar to farmland, and up to now, few reports are related to the application of hydrochar to rice paddy field. Herein, soil column experiment was conducted and hyrochar was for the first time applied to rice paddy field. As comparison, biochar prepared under high temperature pyrolysis conditions (pyrochar, PSBC) and hydrothermal carbonized conditions (hydrochar, HSBC) of sawdust were applied with two application rates (w=0.5%, w=3%, respectively). And their influences on rice growth, yield and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) were evaluated. Results show that PSBC-0.5% and HSBC-0.5% were observed no significant effect on rice yield (P>0.05). PSBC-3% had no prominent influence on rice yield and growth, surprisingly, HSBC-3% induced a significant reduction (P<0.05) by 64.73% in rice yield, mainly resulted from the reduction of grains per spike and seed setting rate. Additionally, nitrogen uptake of grain, NUE and agronomic efficiency of PSBC-0.5% treatment increased by 23.68%, 57.46% and 1.86% compared with CKU, respectively. In contrast, the treatment of HSBC-3% significantly inhibited rice growth, which reduced nitrogen uptake of grain by 67.46% compared with CKU, and the utilization efficiency and agronomy efficiency of nitrogen fertilizer were negative. Results show that HSBC with high application rate had a significant negative impact on rice growth, while this phenomenon was not observed in low application rate of HSBC. Therefore, to prevent the adverse effects on agricultural production, hydrochar application rate should be controlled strictly or some engineering pretreatment measures are recommended to improve their biocompatibility.

Sintering flue gas produced by iron and steel enterprises has the characteristics of low temperature and multi-pollutant emission. Activated carbon (AC) is the carbonaceous sorbing material having a porous structure and considerable specific surface area. Ni/AC has better characteristics of low-temperature desulfurization. To research the usability of a desulfurizer for low-temperature desulfurization of iron-steel sintering flue gas, coconut husk AC was taken as the object of our research. Coconut husk AC is modified using nitric acid and loaded using nickel. By simulating sintering flue gas, we analyzed the desulfurization influence factors of reaction temperature and modifying conditions by conducting a desulfurization experiment. The surface properties of AC and the desulfurizer were studied via SEM, BET, XRD, and FTIR. The results of the desulfurization test were as follows:the Ni optimum load quantity is 1%, the optimum reaction temperature for 1Ni/NAC desulphurization is 60℃, and the desulfurizing properties of 1Ni/NAC have been raised. Through characterization of the structure and compose of AC, NAC, Ni/AC, and 1Ni/NAC, the acid modification AC still has a considerably porous structure, its specific surface area, micropore volume, and total volume markedly increased, and the nitric acid can remove the impurity and increase the acidity oxygen-containing functional groups. These research findings can aid in low-temperature desulfurization and the simultaneous control of multiple pollutants for iron-steel sintering flue gas by making use of modified AC.