Image perception of ice and snow tourism in China and the impact of the Winter Olympics.

This study analyzes image perceptions of ice and snow tourism destinations in China. Using network text analysis on data from several online travel platforms such as Ctrip, Qunar, and Meituan, it further investigated how the Winter Olympics impacts destination image. Results reveal the following 1) The development patterns of ice and snow attractions in northern and southern China are different.

Diversity of bacterium communities in saline-alkali soil in arid regions of Northwest China.

Background: The saline-alkali soil area accounts for over 1/4-1/5 of the land area in Gansu Province of China, which are mainly distributed in the north of Hexi corridor and Jingtai basin. The unique ecological environment contains unique and diverse microbial resources. The investigation of microbial diversity in saline environment is vital to comprehend the biological mechanisms of saline adaption, develop and utilize microbial resources.

The effects of the environmental protection tax law on heavily polluting firms in China.

In 2016, China implemented an environmental protection tax (EPTL2016) to promote the transformation and upgrading of heavily polluting industries through tax leverage. Using panel data of China's listed companies, this study assesses the treatment effects of the EPTL2016 on the transformation and upgrading of heavily polluting firms by incorporating the intermediary role of the financial market. The empirical findings show that the EPTL2016 significantly reduced the innovation investment and productivity of heavily polluting firms but had no significant effect on fixed-asset investment.

Long-Term Chili Monoculture Alters Environmental Variables Affecting the Dominant Microbial Community in Rhizosphere Soil.

Continuous cropping negatively affects soil fertility, physicochemical properties and the microbial community structure. However, the effects of long-term chili monoculture on the dominant microbial community assembly are not known. In this study, the impact of long-term chili monoculture on the correlation between the dominant microbial community and soil environmental variables was assessed.

Archaeal community diversity in different types of saline-alkali soil in arid regions of Northwest China.

High-throughput sequencing was used to investigate the archaeal community structure and diversity, and associated influencing factors in the 5 subtypes and 13 genera of saline-alkali soil in Gansu Province, China. The results indicated the analysis of chemical parameters demonstrated statistically significant differences in these soils. Operational taxonomic units (OTUs), Chao 1, ACE, Simpson, and Shannon indexes of the archaeal community varied significantly in the 5 subtypes and 12 genera of soil except for chloride-type orthic solonchaks.

[Effects of irrigation quota on moisture and salt redistribution in apple orchard soil in arid region].

Taking the salinized apple orchard soil in Qin'an County of Gansu Province, Northwest China as test object, a field experiment was conducted to study the effects of different irrigation quota (0, 900, 1800, 2700, and 3600 m3 x hm(-2)) on the redistribution of moisture and salt in 0-100 cm soil profile on the 10, 20, and 30 d during apple florescence stage. With the increase of irrigation quota, the leached depth of Na+ increased and its hysteretic effect of redistribution was more obvious, "the zero flux plane" of Ca2+ disappeared gradually, the scope of "the zero flux plane" of Mg2+ increased gradually, the leaching-migration mode of Cl- changed from "fluctuation" to "straight-line" and the evaporation-migration changed from "fluctuation" to "ladder", the redistribution pattern of SO4(2-) showed "point", and the position of redistribution and accumulation of HCO3- shifted gradually from the bottom to upper layer in soil profile. In the middle of the soil profile with deeper groundwater table, there existed a "zero flux plane" of salt, which shifted gradually from the upper layer to the bottom during the redistribution of moisture in soil profile, embodying the characteristics of moisture depletion in upland soils.