Net Phosphorus Requirements of Dorper×Thin-tailed Han Crossbred Ram Lambs

A comparative slaughter trial was conducted to estimate the phosphorus (P) requirement for maintenance and growth of crossbred lambs of Dorper with a Chinese indigenous sheep breed, thin-tailed Han sheep. Thirty-five Dorper×thin-tailed Han crossbred, noncastrated ram lambs (20.3±0.22 kg of shrunk body weight (SBW)) were used. Seven lambs were randomly chosen and slaughtered at 20 kg SBW as the baseline group for measuring initial body composition. Another seven lambs were also randomly chosen and offered a pelleted mixed diet for ad libitum intake and slaughtered at 28 kg SBW. The remaining 21 sheep were randomly divided into 3 groups with 7 sheep each and subject to the same diet of either 70 or 40% of ad libitum intake. The 3 groups were slaughtered when the sheep fed ad libitum reached 35 kg of SBW. Body P contents were determined after slaughter. The results showed that the net P requirement for maintenance was 30.0 mg/kg of empty body weight (EBW) or 23.4 mg/kg body weight (BW), and the P requirement for growth decreased from 5.3 to 5.0 g/kg of EBW gain as the lamb grew from 20 to 35 kg. The net P requirement for growth of Dorper×thin-tailed Han crossbred ram lambs was lower than that of sheep adopted by the American nutritional system

Environmental impact assessments of the Three Gorges Project in China: issues and interventions

The paper takes China's authoritative Environmental Impact Statement for the Yangzi (Yangtze) Three Gorges Project (TGP) in 1992 as a benchmark against which to evaluate emerging major environmental outcomes since the initial impoundment of the Three Gorges reservoir in 2003. The paper particularly examines five crucial environmental aspects and associated causal factors. The five domains include human resettlement and the carrying capacity of local environments (especially land), water quality, reservoir sedimentation and downstream riverbed erosion, soil erosion, and seismic activity and geological hazards. Lessons from the environmental impact assessments of the TGP are: (1) hydro project planning needs to take place at a broader scale, and a strategic environmental assessment at a broader scale is necessary in advance of individual environmental impact assessments; (2) national policy and planning adjustments need to react quickly to the impact changes of large projects; (3) long-term environmental monitoring systems and joint operations with other large projects in the upstream areas of a river basin should be established, and the cross-impacts of climate change on projects and possible impacts of projects on regional or local climate considered. © 2013 Elsevier B.V.Xibao Xu, Yan Tan, Guishan Yan

Three Gorges Project: effects of resettlement on nutrient balance of the agroecosystems in the reservoir area

This paper reports on the effects of human resettlement on the nutrient balance of the agroecosystems in Three Gorges Reservoir Area (TGRA) of China. The analysis used is the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) 'Soil Surface Nitrogen Balance Model' and agricultural statistical data for the county level in 1985-2005. Spatial and temporal changes of nutrient balance and the impacts of resettlement on such changes were examined. The results demonstrate that rural resettlement has significantly increased soil surface nitrogen and phosphorous surplus since 2000. The structural transformation of agricultural activities from grain production to horticulture or forestry should be encouraged, and more people may need to be moved out of the TGRA to reduce nutrient water pollution.Three Gorges Project, resettlement, nutrient balance, agroecosystems,

Urban household carbon emission and contributing factors in the Yangtze River Delta, China.

Carbon reduction at the household level is an integral part of carbon mitigation. This study analyses the characteristics, effects, contributing factors and policies for urban household carbon emissions in the Yangtze River Delta of China. Primary data was collected through structured questionnaire surveys in three cities in the region--Nanjing, Ningbo, and Changzhou in 2011. The survey data was first used to estimate the magnitude of household carbon emissions in different urban contexts. It then examined how, and to what extent, each set of demographic, economic, behavioral/cognitive and spatial factors influence carbon emissions at the household level. The average of urban household carbon emissions in the region was estimated to be 5.96 tonnes CO2 in 2010. Energy consumption, daily commuting, garbage disposal and long-distance travel accounted for 51.2%, 21.3%, 16.0% and 11.5% of the total emission, respectively. Regulating rapidly growing car-holdings of urban households, stabilizing population growth, and transiting residents' low-carbon awareness to household behavior in energy saving and other spheres of consumption in the context of rapid population aging and the growing middle income class are suggested as critical measures for carbon mitigation among urban households in the Yangtze River Delta

Integrating Multi-Source Remote Sensing to Assess Forest Aboveground Biomass in the Khingan Mountains of North-Eastern China Using Machine-Learning Algorithms

Forest aboveground biomass (AGB) is of great significance since it represents large carbon storage and may reduce global climate change. However, there are still considerable uncertainties in forest AGB estimates, especially in rugged regions, due to the lack of effective algorithms to remove the effects of topography and the lack of comprehensive comparisons of methods used for estimation. Here, we systematically compare the performance of three sources of remote sensing data used in forest AGB estimation, along with three machine-learning algorithms using extensive field measurements (N = 1058) made in the Khingan Mountains of north-eastern China in 2008. The datasets used were obtained from the LiDAR-based Geoscience Laser Altimeter System onboard the Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation satellite (ICESat/GLAS), the optical-based Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), and the SAR-based Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS) Phased Array type L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (PALSAR). We show that terrain correction is effective for this mountainous study region and that the combination of terrain-corrected GLAS and PALSAR features with Random Forest regression produces the best results at the plot scale. Including further MODIS-based features added little power for prediction. Based upon the parsimonious data source combination, we created a map of AGB circa 2008 and its uncertainty, which yields a coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.82 and a root mean squared error of 16.84 Mg ha−1 when validated with field data. Forest AGB values in our study area were within the range 79.81 ± 16.00 Mg ha−1, ~25% larger than a previous, SAR-based, analysis. Our result provides a historic benchmark for regional carbon budget estimation

Investigation of inner-basin variation: Impact of large reservoirs on water regimes of downstream water bodies

Large dams and reservoirs alter not only the natural flow regimes of streams and rivers but also their flooding cycles and flood magnitudes. Although the effect of dams and reservoirs has been reported for some vulnerable locations, the understanding of the inner-basin variation with respect to the effects remains limited. In this study, we analyse the Three Gorges Dam (TGD) built on the Changjiang mainstream (Yangtze River) to investigate the dam effect variations in the system of interconnected water bodies located downstream. We investigated the effect of flow alterations along the downstream river network using discharge time series at different gauging stations. The river–lake interactions (referring to the interactions between the Changjiang mainstream and its tributary lakes i.e. the Dongting and Poyang lakes) and their roles in modifying the TGD effect intensity were also investigated in the large-scale river–lake system. The results show that the water storage of the tributary lakes decreased after the activation of the TGD. Severe droughts occurred in the lakes, weakening their ability to recharge the Changjiang mainstream. As a consequence, the effect of the TGD on the Changjiang flow increase during the dry season diminished quickly downstream of the dam, whereas its impact on the flow decrease during the wet season gradually exacerbated along the mainstream, especially at sites located downstream of the lake outlets. Therefore, when assessing dam-induced hydrological changes, special attention should be paid to the changes in the storage of tributary lakes and the associated effects in the mainstream. This is of high importance for managing the water resource trade-offs between different water bodies in dam-affected riverine systems

Silica-gel-supported Ce(SO₄)₂·4H₂O-mediated cyclization of 2′-amino and 2′-hydroxychalcones under solvent-free conditions

<p>A simple, efficient, and environmentally friendly approach for the synthesis of flavones, <i>aza</i>-flavones, and <i>aza</i>-flavanones from corresponding 2′-hydroxy or 2′-aminochalcones has been developed. The reactions are successfully conducted in presence of silica-gel-supported Ce(SO₄)₂·4H₂O under solvent-free conditions.</p

Flat rare earth element patterns as an indicator of cumulate processes in the Lesser Qinling carbonatites, China

The Lesser Qinling carbonatite dykes are mainly composed of calcites. They are characterized by unusually high heavy rare earth element concentrations (HREE; e.g. Yb > 30 ppm) and flat to weakly light rare earth element (LREE) enriched chondrite-normali

Net protein and metabolizable protein requirements for maintenance and growth of early-weaned Dorper crossbred male lambs

Abstract Background Dorper is an important breed for meat purpose and widely used in the livestock industry of the world. However, the protein requirement of Dorper crossbred has not been investigated. The current paper reports the net protein (NP) and metabolizable protein (MP) requirements of Dorper crossbred ram lambs from 20 to 35 kg BW. Methods Thirty-five Dorper × thin-tailed Han crossbred lambs weaned at approximately 50 d of age (20.3 ± 2.15 kg of BW) were used. Seven lambs of 25 kg BW were slaughtered as the baseline animals at the start of the trial. An intermediate group of seven randomly selected lambs fed ad libitum was slaughtered at 28.6 kg BW. The remaining 21 lambs were randomly divided into three levels of dry matter intake: ad libitum or 70% or 40% of ad libitum intake. Those lambs were slaughtered when the lambs fed ad libitum reached 35 kg BW. Total body N and N retention were measured. Results The daily NP and MP requirements for maintenance were 1.89 and 4.52 g/kg metabolic shrunk BW (SBW0.75). The partial efficiency of MP utilization for maintenance was 0.42. The NP requirement for growth ranged from 12.1 to 43.5 g/d, for the lambs gaining 100 to 350 g/d, and the partial efficiency of MP utilization for growth was 0.86. Conclusions The NP and MP requirements for the maintenance and growth of Dorper crossbred male lambs were lower than the recommendations of American and British nutritional systems