•The marine fishery ecological footprint model and accounts are preliminarily built.•The spatial–temporal variation of marine fishery EF, BC and ED are deeply discussed.•Decoupling effects between ...marine fishery EF and economy are measured and analyzed.•Marine fishery EF prediction is evaluated for sustainable development in the future.
The ecological security of global marine fishery is facing severe threat. Overfishing and pollution contributes to drastic declines in sustainable fishing yields and generally curtails the ecological resilience of marine systems. However, marine fishery ecological system provides an essential source of sustenance and economic livelihood for populations throughout the world, and is considered the “backbone” of global food and nutrition security. Thus, sustaining marine fishery ecological security is essential for the future of economic and food security. This study used the modified ecological footprint model and Tapio elastic decoupling model to further research the spatial–temporal variation characteristics of marine fishery ecological footprint (EF) and the decoupling effects related to the fishery economy from 2010 to 2019 of 11 coastal provinces in China. The results showed that marine fishery EF from 2010 to 2019 of 11 coastal provinces in China increased in a fluctuating manner. The differences of spatial distribution pattern expanded, and “polarization” was prominent. The biocapacities (BC) of marine fishery were consistently stable overall, and those of the southern provinces were slightly better than those in the northern provinces. Spatial distribution pattern changed from relative dispersion to gradual concentration. Ecological deficit (ED) was continuously exacerbated in marine fishery, represented by the spatial expansion. Decoupling effects between the marine fishery EF and fishery economy in China were mainly subjected to weak decoupling, strong decoupling, and expansive negative decoupling status. Additionally, combined with the prediction analysis of ARIMA model and GM(1,1) model, the marine fishery EF in China will increase overall in the future five years. The ecological security situation of marine fishery is extremely serious. These research findings provide profound significance for marine fishery sustainable development in China as well as for the coastal areas in other countries and serve as an important reference for the ecological security governance of global marine fishery.
•An integrated framework for ecological protection and restoration is proposed.•Recreational service is estimated by considering spatial accessibility.•Priority areas of protection are identified ...based on trade-off of ecosystem service.•Ecological protection and restoration pattern is identified at the two scales.•Land management measures are proposed for ecological protection and restoration.
Ecological protection and restoration is an important bridge to adjust the contradiction between ecological protection and economic development, and it is essential for ecological security and sustainable development. An integrated evaluation framework for multiscale ecological protection and restoration based on multi-scenario trade-offs of ecosystem services was proposed in this study, and the city of Nanjing was taken as an example to identify key areas and land strategies for ecological protection and restoration. In our framework, carbon storage, habitat quality, nitrogen retention, and water conservation services were quantified by InVEST model, and recreational service was quantified as the total areas of green spaces within ecological land accessibility. The ordered weighted averaging model was used to simulate the priority areas of ecological protection under 11 scenarios of trade-offs of ecosystem services, and ecological sources, ecological corridors, ecological pinch points and ecological barriers at the Nanjing city scale and the main urban scale were identified based on circuit theory. We also nested the ecological conservation and restoration patterns at two scales and analyzed the coincidence degree between two scales. Our results showed that the S7 scenario had the highest average conservation efficiency among the 11 scenarios. The priority areas for ecological protection in this scenario had an area of 1582 km2 and are mainly distributed in the central and southern parts of Nanjing. In our study, 50 ecological sources (with an area of 1153.36 km2), 77 ecological corridors (with a length of 443.04 km), 25 key nodes for ecological protection and 31 key nodes for ecological restoration were identified in Nanjing. By nesting the ecological protection and restoration patterns of two scales, we found that the overlap of ecological sources and ecological pinch points at two scales is 100%, and the overlap of ecological corridors and ecological barriers is 45.28% and 57.14%, respectively, which means that the ecological protection and restoration patterns at the two scales in Nanjing were well connected, but the ecological network at the large scale cannot fully reflect the real ecological problems and needs at the small scale. We suggest regarding the ecological protection and restoration pattern at large scale as the basis and the pattern at small scale as the supplement. We also propose that priority should be given to the protection and restoration of key areas where the two scales overlap, and strictly control their land development to promote sustainable development. This framework and these strategies are applicable to other rapidly urbanizing regions of the world.
The excessive use of cultivated land for non-grain production activities is considered a threat to grain security. This study presents an analysis framework on unraveling the causal mechanisms for ...non-grain production of cultivated land. We apply the analysis framework in Liyang, which is located in the Yangtze River Delta and is also an important “national grain base” county of China. We first determine four non-grain production categories as immediately recoverable (IMR), simple-engineering recoverable (SER), engineering recoverable (ENR), and irrecoverable (IR) based on the effect of non-grain activities on the degree of soil damage of the cultivated land, especially the difficulty of restoring the capacity for grain production. Then, we analyze the spatial pattern features for non-grain production of four given categories at the village scale. Furthermore, we reveal the mechanisms of the four categories using multiple linear regression modeling with geophysical, demographic, economic, and policy variables. The results show that the total non-grain area of cultivated land in Liyang is 28,158.38 hectares, and the non-grain rate is 48.09%, ranging from 10.59% to 96.75% among villages. The IMR, SER, ER, and IR rates are 11.81%, 17.76%, 15.07%, and 3.45%, respectively. There is also a significant neighborhood effect among the four categories, indicating that non-grain production activities have a stimulating effect on the surrounding operators of cultivated land. Farming conditions such as the proportion of irrigated farmland and economic variables such as the tourism scale have stronger effects on non-grain production than demographic variables. Policy variables, especially the cultivated land transfer policy, neither inhibit nor promote non-grain production. Based on these findings, we make policy suggestions for reducing non-grain production activities and protecting cultivated land. This analysis framework contributes to a new perspective for unraveling the causal mechanisms and making categorical governance decisions of non-grain production on cultivated land at the village level.
Vegetation plays a dominant role in and serves as the structural foundation of island-land ecosystems. Island cities, as sea-land ecological complexes, are able to somewhat reflect the general ...realities of island ecological environments. By using the Landsat series remote-sensing images and an ecosystem service value (ESV) evaluation system, in this paper, the temporal and spatial evolution characteristics of the NDVIs and ESVs of China's 12 island counties over the past three decades are analyzed. According to the research results, (1) The average NDVI of China's island counties dropped from 0.380 to 0.347 in 1990-2018, reflecting a continuous downtrend. The NDVIs of Changhai County and Changdao County show significant changes, with decreases of 45.24% and 37.57%, respectively. (2) The total ESV of China's island counties showed a "V"-shaped change trend from 1990-2018; the minimum value reached USD 362 million in 2010, then essentially recovered to the 2000 level in 2018. (3) The high and low values of NDVI and ESV in island counties over the years were distributed with the spatial characteristics of high values in the center of the islands and low values at the edges of the islands. The island counties north of the Yangtze River showed the largest changes in NDVI and ESV. (4) Forest cover is the main factor that drives ESV reduction in China's island counties, followed by grassland cover. This study provides an effective method to study the changes in the NDVI and ESV of island cities and proposes the strengthening of island vegetation protection and the promotion of sustainable development in the ecological environments and economies of island cities.
The studies of urban heat islands or urban thermal environments have attracted extensive attention, although there is still a lack of research focused on the analysis of long-term urban thermal ...environment change with fine spatial resolution and actual exposure of urban residents. Taking the rapidly urbanizing city of Nanjing, China as an example, this study utilizes the Landsat-derived daytime time-series land surface temperature data to comprehensively assess the city’s long-term (30-year) urban thermal environment change. The results showed that: (1) The overall surface urban heat island intensity showed a noticeable trend of first increasing and then decreasing from 1990 to 2020. (2) It exhibited the detailed spatial distribution of urban heat/cold islands within the urban center boundary. The percentage of surface urban heat islands was 77.01% in 1990, and it increased to 85.79% in 2010 and then decreased to 80.53% in 2020. (3) More than 65% of the urban residents have lived in areas with a surface urban heat island intensity greater than 3.0 °C, which also showed a trend of first increasing and then decreasing from 1990 to 2020. The methods and findings of this study can provide a reference for other studies on urban thermal environment changes and urban sustainable development.
Islands are the confluence of terrestrial ecology and marine ecology. With urban expansion and economic development, the ecological environment of islands is facing serious threats. In order to study ...the island area land use change/cover (LUCC) and its impact on the ecosystem service value (ESV), this study was conducted. This study evaluated the ESV of Zhoushan Islands based on the LUCC, using the equivalent coefficient method, and simulated and analyzed the ESV of Zhoushan Islands in 2025 under different scenarios using the "Future Land Use Simulation Model". The results showed: (1) From 2000 to 2020, the ESV of Zhoushan Islands showed a "∧" type change trend, and the total amount decreased by 14.1141 million yuan. (2) The spatial distribution and changes of ESV have a certain regularity. The ESV in the center of the island and in the water system area is relatively high but does not change significantly over time, while the ESV of urban buildings and cultivated areas on the edge of the island is low, and, over time, the change is significant. (3) Compared with 2020, the total ESV under the business-as-usual (BAU) scenario shows a slow downward trend, the ESV under the socio-economic development (SED) scenario shows a significant downward trend, and the total ESV under the ecological protection priority (EPP) scenario has increased. This research provides a theoretical basis and support for the development and utilization of island space and the improvement of "eco-economy-society" benefits; in addition, the research results provide support for scientific decision-making on the sustainable use of resources in island areas (island cities) and the sustainable management of ecosystems.
Context
The study of landscape sustainability plays an important role in the development of sustainability science. Landscape sustainability assessment is crucial for landscape planning and ...governance, serving as a fundamental basis for achieving regional and global sustainable development.
Objectives
The goal is to propose an assessment framework for landscape sustainability based on ecosystem services (ESs) supply-flow-demand, and select a case study area to test it.
Methods
We started from the connotation of landscape sustainability and theoretically explained the relationship between landscape patterns, ESs, and human well-being. We proposed a conceptual framework for landscape sustainability assessment based on the supply-flow-demand of ESs. Yixing City was selected as a case study area for empirical research.
Results
We constructed a conceptual framework and assessment steps for landscape sustainability assessment based on the supply-flow-demand of ESs and applied it to assess the landscape sustainability of towns in Yixing City. The framework focuses on the concept of landscape sustainability and can be applied at various temporal and spatial scales, with high operability and replicability. However, there are still certain limitations that need to be further considered, including the determination of landscape boundaries, multi-scale assessment, the trade-offs/synergies between different ESs.
Conclusions
The landscape sustainability assessment framework based on the supply-flow-demand of ESs can expand the perspectives and methods of landscape sustainability assessment. It is also practical and replicable, aiming to provide support for landscape planning and governance.
Nanoparticles anchored charged polymer chains increase the ionic conductivity of solid lithium batteries.
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Polymer electrolytes are essential for next-generation lithium batteries ...because of their excellent safety record. However, low ionic conductivity is the main obstacle restricting their commercial application. Composites with nanoparticles are a promising route to overcome this obstacle. In this work, lithium polystyrene sulfonate brushes (LiPSS) is anchored to silicon dioxide nanoparticles with chemical bonding using atom transfer radial polymerization (SI-ATRP). The composite polymer electrolytes are made by mixing vinylene carbonate and nanoparticles via a facile in situ polymerization process. The ionic conductivity of composite polymer electrolytes is improved to 7.2 × 10−4 S/cm at room temperature, which is attributed to the low degree of crystallinity of polymer electrolyte and the fast ion transport on the surfaces of polymer brush layers that act as a conductive network. The composite polymer electrolytes show a wide electrochemical window of approximately 4.5 V vs. Li+/Li and excellent cycling performance retention of approximately 95% after 100 cycles at ambient temperature. The results also prove that surface groups of ceramic nanoparticles are an important way to increase the electrochemical properties of composite polymer electrolytes.
The aqueous redox flow battery (ARFB), a promising large-scale energy storage technology, has been widely researched and developed in both academic and industry over the past decades owing to its ...intrinsic safety and modular designability. However, compared to other technologies (e.g. Li-ion batteries), the relatively low energy density, inferior efficiency, and high investment cost of the ARFB limit its further applications. Although tremendous efforts have been made to improve the performance as well as the cost-effectiveness of ARFB by various approaches, it is still a challenge to recognize a united and general roadmap for the next commercial-available ARFB. Here we review the evaluation criteria for the performance of flow batteries and the development status of different types of flow batteries. The factors affecting the performance of flow batteries are analyzed and discussed, along with the feasible means of improvement and the cost of different types of flow batteries, which is expected to provide useful references for the further development of high-efficiency and low-cost flow batteries.
•Performance/cost balance is the key to low cost flow batteries•The characteristics of various aqueous redox flow batteries are discussed•Challenges include low energy density, slow kinetics, and instability•Future trends favor aqueous organic and iron-based chemistries
Background
Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have dramatically improved survival in advanced gastrointestinal (GI) cancer patients, but also resulted in immune-related adverse events (irAEs). This ...study aimed to evaluate serological biomarkers of irAEs and treatment response in GI cancer patients.
Patients and methods
Metastatic GI cancer patients were enrolled between August 1, 2015, and July 31, 2017. Serum samples were collected at baseline, and a panel of 59 serum biomarkers was tested. The occurrence of irAEs was analyzed, and serological biomarker expression was correlated with irAE incidence and prognosis.
Results
Fifty-one patients were enrolled, of whom 47.1% (24/51) were diagnosed with irAEs, including 4 patients (7.8%) with grade 3-5 irAEs. The most common irAE was thyroiditis (9/51, 17.6%), followed by colitis (7/51, 13.7%). The expression of CD28 (P = 0.042), IL-4 (P = 0.033), IL-15 (P = 0.024) and PD-L1 (P = 0.018) was significantly elevated in patients with grade 3-5 irAEs. For organ-specific irAEs, IL-6 levels were higher in patients with thyroiditis and colitis, while IL-22 and SCF levels were higher in patients with colitis. Increased IL-1α, IL-21, LIF, and PIGF-1 levels were significantly associated with myositis incidence, while the serum levels of six cytokines (BTLA, GM-CSF, IL-4, PD-1, PD-L1 and TIM-3) were higher in patients with rash. Prognostic analysis showed that patients with irAEs had better tumor response (P = 0.029), improved PFS (median survival: undefined vs. 2.1 months, P = 0.002), and extended OS (median survival: undefined vs. 4.3 months, P = 0.003). The prognostic value of irAEs was only significant in patients who received anti-PD-1 inhibitors, but not in those who received anti-PD-L1 inhibitors. Besides, elevated BTLA (median OS: not reached vs. 7 months; P = 0.0168) and PD-1 (median OS: not reached vs. 7 months; P = 0.0223) concentrations were associated with longer OS.
Conclusions
Serological proteins are promising markers for predicting immune-related toxicity and prognosis in GI cancer patients. Organ-specific irAEs have various cytokine profiles. Although further validation is needed before clinical application, this study provided a direction for identifying patients at risk for irAEs, and guiding patient selection for ICI therapy.
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