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Climate and land use/cover changes are among the primary driving forces for soil loss, but their impacts are complex because of their interactions. Decoupling their effects could help to understand the magnitude and direction of soil loss change in response to human activities. Meanwhile, the overall and relative roles of land use/cover changes on soil loss could provide some scientific suggestions to regional ecosystem management. Here, the RUSLE model was applied to estimate the spatial-temporal variations of the soil loss rate in the Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR) area during 2001∼2015, then we decoupled the effects of climate and land use/cover changes on soil loss through scenario design. The results revealed that increasing rainfall could significantly exacerbate the soil loss caused by water erosion with annual 2.90 × 107 t soil, but annual soil loss and rainfall of the TGR area presented opposite changing trends. The overall effect of all land use/cover changes could retain about annual 1.10 × 107 t soil. However, only afforestation could potentially improve the soil retention service. Negative human activities would potentially aggravate soil loss with the annual amount of 1.40 × 106 t. Among them, storing water and urbanization contributed to 50% and 43% for the potential soil loss of the whole TGR area, respectively. Moreover, land use/cover changes and their effects on soil loss change exhibited distinct spatial variances. Afforestation accounted for 15.5% and scattered throughout the TGR area. Storing water of the Three Gorges Dam exacerbated soil loss in some counties which located downstream of the TGR area and were close to the dam, while urbanization exacerbated soil loss in other counties because of development policies and incentives. Our findings suggested that ecological restoration is difficult to offset the impact of climate change on soil loss, but could offset the negative environmental effects caused by urbanization and economic construction.
Chunbo Huang; Zhixiang Zhou; Mingjun Teng; Changguang Wu; Pengcheng Wang. Effects of climate, land use and land cover changes on soil loss in the Three Gorges Reservoir area, China. Geography and Sustainability 2020, 1, 200 -208.
AMA StyleChunbo Huang, Zhixiang Zhou, Mingjun Teng, Changguang Wu, Pengcheng Wang. Effects of climate, land use and land cover changes on soil loss in the Three Gorges Reservoir area, China. Geography and Sustainability. 2020; 1 (3):200-208.
Chicago/Turabian StyleChunbo Huang; Zhixiang Zhou; Mingjun Teng; Changguang Wu; Pengcheng Wang. 2020. "Effects of climate, land use and land cover changes on soil loss in the Three Gorges Reservoir area, China." Geography and Sustainability 1, no. 3: 200-208.
Increasing the number of street trees can be a promising method to reduce impacts of climate change currently impacting urban public health. However, the quantitative relationships between tree canopy cover and thermal comfort remains unclear, particularly in areas with high temperature and high humidity. This study aims to provide a better understanding of the effects of different degrees of tree canopy cover on human thermal comfort in shallow street canyons in a high temperature, high humidity area of China. Microclimatic measurements and qualitative surveys were conducted on sunny summer days in a shallow street canyon in Wuhan. The results suggest that microclimate benefits are greater for areas with a high-percentage tree canopy cover compared to medium- and low-percentage tree canopy cover—especially at noon. In streets with a high-percentage tree canopy cover, afternoon air temperatures and mean radiant temperatures can be reduced by up to 3.3 °C and 13.9 °C, respectively, compared to a similar street with no tree shade. The thermal sensation prediction formula is proposed and the relationship between human thermal sensation and microclimate factors is established. Blocking solar radiation and increasing wind speed are more feasible than controlling air temperature and humidity as ways to improve human thermal comfort.
Zhuodi Huang; Changguang Wu; Mingjun Teng; Yaoyu Lin. Impacts of Tree Canopy Cover on Microclimate and Human Thermal Comfort in a Shallow Street Canyon in Wuhan, China. Atmosphere 2020, 11, 588 .
AMA StyleZhuodi Huang, Changguang Wu, Mingjun Teng, Yaoyu Lin. Impacts of Tree Canopy Cover on Microclimate and Human Thermal Comfort in a Shallow Street Canyon in Wuhan, China. Atmosphere. 2020; 11 (6):588.
Chicago/Turabian StyleZhuodi Huang; Changguang Wu; Mingjun Teng; Yaoyu Lin. 2020. "Impacts of Tree Canopy Cover on Microclimate and Human Thermal Comfort in a Shallow Street Canyon in Wuhan, China." Atmosphere 11, no. 6: 588.
Clearing of understory plants is a common management method in plantation forests, but its long-term impact on soil properties and understory plant diversity is still poorly understood. In order to uncover the potential relationship between understory diversity and soil properties, we categorized understory plants into herbs and shrubs, and took soil depth into consideration. We measured the soil variables and investigated the understory plant diversity in four stand age-classes (9-year-old for young, 18-year-old for intermediate, 28-year-old for near-mature, and 48-year-old for mature) in a Pinus massoniana plantation. We aimed to examine how the diversity of herbs and shrubs changed with stand succession and to determine which of the three soil depths (0–10 cm, 10–20 cm, 20–40 cm) had the strongest explanation for the understory plant diversity. Furthermore, structural equation modeling (SEM) was performed to assess the direct and indirect effect of understory clearing and stand age on understory diversity. We found that understory clearing influenced the trend of diversity of herbs and shrubs with stand age, and understory diversity showed a strong correlation with soil physical properties in all three soil layers. The soil properties in the 10–20 cm soil layer related with the diversity of herbs and shrubs most, while the 20–40 cm soil layer properties related with them the least. Understory clearing reduced soil available phosphorus (AP). Understory clearing and stand age were found to benefit understory plant diversity directly and decreased the understory diversity indirectly via AP. Consequently, to improve our understanding of the impact of understory clearing and stand age on biodiversity, we should take into account its direct and indirect effects.
Dong Dai; Ashfaq Ali; Xin Huang; Mingjun Teng; Changguang Wu; Zhixiang Zhou; Yu Liu. Soil Available Phosphorus Loss Caused by Periodical Understory Management Reduce Understory Plant Diversity in a Northern Subtropical Pinus massoniana Plantation Chronosequence. Forests 2020, 11, 231 .
AMA StyleDong Dai, Ashfaq Ali, Xin Huang, Mingjun Teng, Changguang Wu, Zhixiang Zhou, Yu Liu. Soil Available Phosphorus Loss Caused by Periodical Understory Management Reduce Understory Plant Diversity in a Northern Subtropical Pinus massoniana Plantation Chronosequence. Forests. 2020; 11 (2):231.
Chicago/Turabian StyleDong Dai; Ashfaq Ali; Xin Huang; Mingjun Teng; Changguang Wu; Zhixiang Zhou; Yu Liu. 2020. "Soil Available Phosphorus Loss Caused by Periodical Understory Management Reduce Understory Plant Diversity in a Northern Subtropical Pinus massoniana Plantation Chronosequence." Forests 11, no. 2: 231.
Microclimatic condition is a fundamental indicator for evaluating outdoor space livability and vitality. Research has shown that poorly designed building layouts can lead to discomfort; however, the mechanisms influencing outdoor microclimate based on residential building layout are unclear for high temperature and high humidity regions. This study explores the relationship between residential building layouts and the outdoor wind and thermal environment at the pedestrian level in Wuhan, a city renowned for high temperatures and high humidity. Six typical residential building layouts were simulated, using the ENVI-met numerical model, to determine the spatial distribution of wind speed and air temperature. The Universal Thermal Climate Index was adopted as a comprehensive index with which to assess spatial and diurnal variations in microclimates surrounding each building layout. Results showed that parallel building layouts formed a ventilation corridor that increased wind speeds by approximately 0.3 m/s. A staggered building layout, in line with the prevailing wind direction, facilitated airflow in the ventilation corridor and further increased wind speeds. Windward buildings blocked high-temperature airflows and reduced air temperatures by approximately 1 ℃ in parallel layouts, and 1.4 ℃ in enclosed layouts. However, the cooling effect of windward buildings on high-temperature airflow was weaker than the warming effect caused by the wind shadow effect and direct sunlight. Additionally, the performance of the thermal comfort of the enclosed type layout was significantly better, for most of the day, than the parallel type layout.
Yingjie Jiang; Changguang Wu; Mingjun Teng. Impact of Residential Building Layouts on Microclimate in a High Temperature and High Humidity Region. Sustainability 2020, 12, 1046 .
AMA StyleYingjie Jiang, Changguang Wu, Mingjun Teng. Impact of Residential Building Layouts on Microclimate in a High Temperature and High Humidity Region. Sustainability. 2020; 12 (3):1046.
Chicago/Turabian StyleYingjie Jiang; Changguang Wu; Mingjun Teng. 2020. "Impact of Residential Building Layouts on Microclimate in a High Temperature and High Humidity Region." Sustainability 12, no. 3: 1046.
Forest network development in urban areas faces the challenge from forest fragmentation, human-induced disturbances, and scarce land resources. Here, we proposed a geotechnology-based modeling to optimize conservation of forest network by a case study of Wuhan, China. The potential forest network and their priorities were assessed using an improved least-cost path model and potential utilization efficiency estimation. The modeling process consists of four steps: (i) developing species assemblages, (ii) identifying core forest patches, (iii) identifying potential linkages among core forest patches, and (iv) demarcating forest networks. As a result, three species assemblages, including mammals, pheasants, and other birds, were identified as the conservation targets of urban forest network (UFN) in Wuhan, China. Based on the geotechnology-based model, a forest network proposal was proposed to fulfill the connectivity requirements of selected species assemblages. The proposal consists of seven forest networks at three levels of connectivity, named ideal networks, backbone networks, and comprehensive network. The action priorities of UFN plans were suggested to optimize forest network in the study area. Additionally, a total of 45 forest patches with important conservation significance were identified as prioritized stepping-stone patches in the forest network development. Urban forest conserve was also suggested for preserving woodlands with priority conservation significance. The presented geotechnology-based modeling is fit for planning and optimizing UFNs, because of the inclusion of the stepping-stone effects, human-induced pressures, and priorities. The framework can also be applied to other areas after a sensitivity test of the model and the modification of the parameters to fit the local environment.
Mingjun Teng; Zhixiang Zhou; Pengcheng Wang; Wenfa Xiao; Changguang Wu; Elizabeth Lord. Geotechnology-Based Modeling to Optimize Conservation of Forest Network in Urban Area. Environmental Management 2015, 57, 601 -619.
AMA StyleMingjun Teng, Zhixiang Zhou, Pengcheng Wang, Wenfa Xiao, Changguang Wu, Elizabeth Lord. Geotechnology-Based Modeling to Optimize Conservation of Forest Network in Urban Area. Environmental Management. 2015; 57 (3):601-619.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMingjun Teng; Zhixiang Zhou; Pengcheng Wang; Wenfa Xiao; Changguang Wu; Elizabeth Lord. 2015. "Geotechnology-Based Modeling to Optimize Conservation of Forest Network in Urban Area." Environmental Management 57, no. 3: 601-619.