Energy financing, energy projects retrofit and energy poverty: a scenario-analysis approach for energy project cost estimation and energy price determination.

The research aims to determine the nexus of energy projects retrofit and poverty under two scenarios: energy project cost estimation and energy price determination. Households in rural areas of northern China are now required to switch from coal to cleaner heating options, including natural gas and electricity, as part of a government-led clean heating initiative. This initiative significantly increased the heating expense for participating homes, even when substantial subsidies were applied.

[Research progress on air pollutant distribution in urban street canyons].

Urban street canyon is one of the most important characteristics and spatial forms of cities. It is one of the most frequently used public spaces in cities, with the most serious automobile exhaust pollution and the largest population density. The unreasonable space configuration and internal composition might decrease self-purification of urban ventilation but increase local air pollutant concentration.

Tropospheric ozone and cadmium do not have interactive effects on growth, photosynthesis and mineral nutrients of Catalpa ovata seedlings in the urban areas of Northeast China.

Heavy metal contamination and tropospheric ozone (O) pollution often co-occur in heavy industrial urban areas, adversely affecting urban plant health. Little is known about the characteristics of growth, physiological metabolism, bioaccumulation of cadmium (Cd) and mineral nutrients in urban trees under the combination of soil Cd contamination and elevated O exposure. In this study, one-year-old street tree Catalpa ovata G.

[Effects of increased O concentration on growth, subcellular structure and reactive oxygen metabolism of turf-type Festuca arundinace].

Taking ambient environmental O(40 nmol·mol) as control, the study was conducted to assess the impact of elevated O(80 and 160 nmol·mol) on the growth, subcellular structure and reactive oxygen metabolism of turf-type Festuca arundinace in open top-chambers (OTCs). The results showed that under 14-day fumigation, the height and leaf width of F. arundinace decreased significantly, and the total biomass decreased by 43.

[The latest progress in ecosystem service flow research methods.].

Ecosystem service flow is the key point and difficulty of ecosystem services research, which is now at the initial stage and show a developing trend of quantity and spatialization. However, the term "ecosystem service flow" is ambiguous. In this paper, we presented two descriptions about the term, and two corresponding theories and methods: the transmission of a service from ecosystems to people and distributed ecosystem model, and the flow of benefits accruing to people as generated by stocks of ecosystem structure and grey/black box theory.

[Effects of elevated O3 on leaf litter decomposition and nutrient release of Quercus mongolica in city].

The leaf litters of 10-year-old Quercus mongolica were put in nylon bags and exposed to elevated 03 level (120 nmol . mol-1) with the control of 40 nmol . mol-1 in open top chambers (OTCs) for 150 days to test the effect of high O3 on the litter decomposition.

[Tree-ring growth responses of Mongolian oak (Quercus mongolica) to climate change in southern northeast: a case study in Qianshan Mountains].

Mongolian oak is one of the most important broad-leaved tree species in forests, Northeast China. Based on the methodology of dendrochronology, the variations of tree ring radial growth of Mongolian oak in Qianshan Mountains, south of Northeast China, were analyzed. Combined with the temperature and precipitation data from meteorological stations since 1951, the relationships between standardized tree ring width chronology and main climatic factors were analyzed.

[Metabolism and interaction of C and N in the arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis].

The arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) is the symbiont formed by the host plant and the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). The transfer and metabolism of C and N in the symbiosis plays an important role in keeping nutrient balance and resource reallocation between the host plant and the fungi. The carbohydrates produced by plant photosynthesis are transferred to the fungi, where they are metabolized as materials and energy used for fungal spore germination, mycelium growth and uptake of nitrogen and other nutrients.

[Effects of elevated ozone on Pinus armandii growth: a simulation study with open-top chamber].

By using open-top chamber (OTC) and the techniques of dendrochronology, this paper studied the growth of Pinus armandii under elevated ozone, and explored the evolution dynamics and adaptation mechanisms of typical forest ecosystems to ozone enrichment. Elevated ozone inhibited the stem growth of P. armandii significantly, with the annual growth of the stem length and diameter reduced by 35.

[Effects of soil PAHs pollution on plant ecophysiology].

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are the ubiquitous organic persistent pollutants in natural environments (especially in soil), giving serious potential risks to the eco-environment, plants, and human beings. At present, the remediation of PAHs-polluted soil is one of the hot topics in the research fields of soil and environment. Phytoremediation is one of the environmental restoration techniques with most potentiality.

Differences in the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi-improved rice resistance to low temperature at two N levels: aspects of N and C metabolism on the plant side.

We performed an experiment to determine how N and C metabolism is involved in the low-temperature tolerance of mycorrhizal rice (Oryza sativa) at different N levels and examined the possible signaling molecules involved in the stress response of mycorrhizal rice. Pot cultures were performed, and mycorrhizal rice growth was evaluated based on treatments at two temperatures (15 °C and 25 °C) and two N levels (20 mg pot(-1) and 50 mg pot(-1)). The arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) colonization of rice resulted in different responses of the plants to low and high N levels.

[Nitrogen metabolism and translocation in arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiote and its ecological implications].

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) can form mutually beneficial relations with more than 80% of vascular plants, and the existence of the symbiote is of significance in promoting the growth and stress tolerance of host plants. AMF can obtain the photosynthate carbohydrates from host plants, and in the meantime, effectively promote the nitrogen (N) uptake by host plants via the absorption of various N sources by mycorrhiza mycelia, resulting in the N exchange at population or community level, the improvement of host plants nutrition and metabolism, and the strengthening of the stress tolerance of host plants. However, there are still in debates in which ways the symbiote absorbs and transfers N and what the mechanisms the N metabolism and translocation from AMF to host plants.

[Litterfall amount and its dynamics in urban forest of Shenyang, Northeast China].

Twenty sampling sites were set in the urban forest of Shenyang to continuously observe the amount of forest litterfall and its dynamics in 2005-2007. During the three years, the leaf litters collected in twenty 1 m2 litterfall traps were of 30 tree species, which accounted for 15.5% of the entire tree species in Shenyang, but the individual number and leaf area of the populations accounted for 63.

[Responses of Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica radial growth to climate warming in Great Xing' an Mountins: a case study in Mangui].

Based on the theory and methodology of dendrochronology, the tree ring width chronology of Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica in Mangui of Great Xing' an Mountains was developed, and the relationships between the standardized tree ring width chronology and local climate factors (temperature and precipitation) as well as the effects of climate factors on the P. sylvestris var.

[Temporal changes of shoal reclamation in Jinzhou Bay sea area based on remote sensing analysis].

By using Landsat and high resolution ALOS images, and based on the comparison of the precision of sea area extracted from various water indices, a modified index MNDWI was adopted to study the shoal reclamation in Jinzhou Bay sea area in 1988, 1995, and 2006. In the period 1988-2006, the reclaimed area in Jinzhou Bay sea area reached 23.63 km2, among which, 12.

[Selection of distance thresholds of urban forest landscape connectivity in Shenyang City].

By using the QuickBird remote sensing image interpretation data of urban forests in Shenyang City in 2006, and with the help of geographical information system, this paper analyzed the landscape patches of the urban forests in the area inside the third ring-road of Shenyang. Based on the habitat availability and the dispersal potential of animal and plant species, 8 distance thresholds (50, 100, 200, 400, 600, 800, 1000, and 1200 m) were selected to compute the integral index of connectivity, probability of connectivity, and important value of the landscape patches, and the computed values were used for analyzing and screening the distance thresholds of urban forest landscape connectivity in the City. The results showed that the appropriate distance thresholds of the urban forest landscape connectivity in Shenyang City in 2006 ranged from 100 to 400 m, with 200 m being most appropriate.

[Recognition of landscape characteristic scale based on two-dimension wavelet analysis].

Three wavelet bases, i. e., Haar, Daubechies, and Symlet, were chosen to analyze the validity of two-dimension wavelet analysis in recognizing the characteristic scales of the urban, peri-urban, and rural landscapes of Shenyang.

[Effects of elevated CO2 and O3 on active oxygen metabolism of Quercus mongolica leaves].

By using open top chamber fumigation method, this paper studied the effects of elevated O3 (approximately 80 nmol x mol(-1)) and CO2 (approximately 700 micromol x mol(-1)), single and in combination, on the active oxygen metabolism of Quercus mongolica leaves. Elevated O3 increased the superoxide anion radical (O2 divided by) generation rate, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and malondialdehyde (MDA) contents, and electrolyte leakage (EL) (P < 0.05), but decreased the superoxide dismutase (SOD), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), and catalase (CAT) activities and ascorbate (AsA) content (P < 0.

[Effects of elevated CO2 or/and O3 on growth and daily changes of photosynthesis in leaves of Pinus armandi].

To study the responses of growth and daily changes of photosynthesis in leaves of Pinus armandi to elevated O3, elevated CO2 and elevated O3 + CO2 in urban area, experiment was conducted in Shenyang Arboretum located at the center of the city. Five-year-old trees grown in open-top chambers (OTC) were exposed to control, elevated O3 and elevated O3 + elevated CO2 for a growing season, and the growth (fresh weight, dry weight, leaf length, axial shoot, lateral shoot), daily changes and diurnal assimilation amounts of Pinus armandi leaves were measured. The results showed that (1) the increments of fresh weight and dry weight in 70 days were reduced 45.

[Urban vegetation coverage change inside the Third-Ring Road of Shenyang City, China: a study with linear spectral unmixing technique].

Based on the Landsat TM images of 2001 and 2006, and by using linear spectral unmixing (LSU) technique, the information of urban vegetation coverage inside the Third-Ring Road of Shenyang City was extracted, and the dynamic change of the vegetation coverage in 2001-2006 was analyzed, in combining with a land use map derived from the visual interpretation of a QuickBird image of 2006. The results showed that in 2001-2006, the urban vegetation coverage in study area changed drastically. Urban greening and the cropland encroachment caused by urban sprawl coexisted, and the vegetation gain from urban greening was larger than the vegetation loss from cropland encroachment.

[Selection of landscape metrics for urban forest based on simulated landscapes].

Based on the existing urban forest landscape of Shenyang, four landscape pattern gradients were simulated, and one existing landscape pattern gradient in accordance with the trend of these gradients was selected. By analyzing the responses of 28 landscape metrics for landscape fragmentation and patch shape complexity to various landscape pattern gradients, preference landscape metrics were selected for describing the degree of the two landscape pattern characteristics. The results showed that patch density (PD) and mean patch area (AREA_MN) regularly responded to the change of landscape fragmentation.

[Effects of elevated O3 concentration on anti-oxidative enzyme activities in Pinus tabulaeformis].

An open-top chamber experiment was conducted to study the effects of high concentration O3 (80 nmol x mol(-1)) on the superoxide anion radical (O2*-) generation rate, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) content, activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), dehydroascorbate reductase (DHAR), monodehydroascorbate reductase (MDHAR) and glutathione reductase (GR), and ascorbic acid content in Pinus tabulaeformis leaves. Under high concentration O3 exposure, the superoxide anion radical generation rate and H2O2 and malondialdehyde (MDA) contents increased, while the ascorbic acid content and the activities of SOD, APX, DHAR, MDHAR, and GR increased in early growth season but decreased then to a level lower than the control, which illustrated that the antioxidant system of P. tabulaeformis did respond in an acclimation way in the early growth season, but could not bear the damage of long-term elevated O3 exposure.

[Effects of elevated ozone on phenolic substances content and total antioxidative capacity of Quercus mongolica leaves].

An open-top chamber experiment was conducted to examine the effects of elevated atmospheric O3 (80 +/- 8 nmol x mol(-1)) on the total phenols, flavonoid, condensed tannin, and MDA contents, and the total antioxidative capacity of Quercus mongolica leaves. Elevated O3 increased the contents of total phenols and condensed tannin by 48.17% and 26.

Effects of elevated atmospheric CO2 and O3 on Hill activity and Ca2+/Mg2+-ATPase activity of Pinus tabulaeformis Carr.

The main photo-physiological characteristics of Pinus tabulaeformis Carr. were analyzed in open-top chambers under elevated carbon dioxide and ozone concentrations. The results indicated that the leaves net photosynthetic rates (p < 0.