Interpretable flash flood susceptibility mapping in Yarlung Tsangpo River Basin using H2O Auto-ML.

Flash flood susceptibility mapping is essential for identifying areas prone to flooding events and aiding decision-makers in formulating effective prevention measures. This study aims to evaluate the flash flood susceptibility in the Yarlung Tsangpo River Basin (YTRB) using multiple machine learning (ML) models facilitated by the H2O automated ML platform. The best-performing model was used to generate a flash flood susceptibility map, and its interpretability was analyzed using the Shapley Additive Explanations (SHAP) tree interpretation method.

How many people can the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau hold, and how large cities can be built in recent hundred years?

The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) serves as a vital barrier for both national security and ecological preservation. Overpopulation and urban sprawl pose threats to its ecological security, while underpopulation and small urban cities also undermine national security. Hence, optimizing population distribution and urban development on the QTP is crucial for bolstering the national security perimeter and ensuring basic modernisation across China.

Assessing the spatial occupation and ecological impact of human activities in Chengguan district, Lhasa city, Tibetan Plateau.

In this study, the ecological impact of human activities and the space occupied by construction and arable land on the Tibetan Plateau were examined, focusing on changes in the net primary productivity (NPP) as a key indicator of ecological health. With the utilization of land use data and multiyear average NPP data from 2002 to 2020, we analyzed the effects of the conversion of zonal vegetation into construction and arable land on carbon sequestration and oxygen release in Chengguan District, Lhasa city. Our findings indicated a marked spatial difference in the NPP among different land types.

Calcium oxide nanoparticles mitigate lead stress in Abelmoschus esculentus though improving the key antioxidative enzymes, nutritional content and modulation of stress markers.

Lead (Pb) is thought to be one of most injurious metals on the earth. Lead stress in plants enhances synthesis of highly toxic reactive oxygen species (ROS). During present research, impact of calcium-oxide nanoparticles (CaO-NPs) was observed on antioxidative defense mechanism in Abelmoschus esculentus plants prone to Pb stress.

Assessment of suitable areas for afforestation and its carbon sink value in fragile ecological areas of northern China.

Afforestation and reforestation are pivotal in mitigating land degradation and bolstering the carbon sink capacity of terrestrial ecosystems. However, the potential economic ramifications of afforestation and reforestation in the context of climate change remain largely unexplored. In this study, we employed an interdisciplinary methodology to establish a framework for assessing future forest potential and carbon sequestration in the Eastern Loess Plateau region of China.

Identifying the driving forces of cultivated land fragmentation in China.

Cultivated land fragmentation (CLF) has severely affected China's agricultural production efficiency, large-scale operations, agricultural modernization, and food security. Exploring the spatiotemporal evolution patterns and driving forces of CLF is crucial for agricultural modernization. However, the driving forces of CLF in different agricultural regions in China still need to be clarified.

The spatial effect of industrial transfer on carbon emissions under firm location decision:A carbon neutrality perspective.

Climate change is a global concern. The goal of carbon neutrality and emission peak is a challenge for China and other developing countries. The carbon reduction policy for carbon neutrality and industrial transfer policy will be a research hotspot on carbon emissions.

Global impacts of future urban expansion on terrestrial vertebrate diversity.

Rapid urban expansion has profound impacts on global biodiversity through habitat conversion, degradation, fragmentation, and species extinction. However, how future urban expansion will affect global biodiversity needs to be better understood. We contribute to filling this knowledge gap by combining spatially explicit projections of urban expansion under shared socioeconomic pathways (SSPs) with datasets on habitat and terrestrial biodiversity (amphibians, mammals, and birds).

Global simulation of fine resolution land use/cover change and estimation of aboveground biomass carbon under the shared socioeconomic pathways.

Land use change driven by human activities plays a critical role in the terrestrial carbon budget through habitat loss and vegetation change. Despite the projections of the global population and economic growth under the framework of the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs), little is known of land use/cover change (LUCC) at a fine spatial resolution and how carbon pools respond to LUCC under different SSPs. This study projected the future global LUCC with 1 km spatial resolution and a 10-year time step from 2010 to 2100 and then explored its direct impacts on aboveground biomass carbon (AGB) under SSPs.

The Global South political economy of health financing and spending landscape - history and presence.

The Global South nations and their statehoods have presented a driving force of economic and social development through most of the written history of humankind. China and India have been traditionally accounted as the economic powerhouses of the past. In recent decades, we have witnessed reestablishment of the traditional world economic structure as per Agnus Maddison Project data.

Regional disparity in clinker emission factors and their potential reduction in China.

Detailed analysis the disparity and reduction potential of clinker emission factors at the provincial level is important for regional reduction policies. Using the surveyed data from 185 new suspension and pre-heater (NSP) process lines and 69 shaft kiln lines, this study firstly analyzed the disparity in emission factors based on production process, production scale, and regional distribution in 2015. We found that the emission factor of the shaft kiln process (898.

Interaction between urbanization and the eco-environment in the Pan-Third Pole region.

Due to the high ecological vulnerability of the Pan-Third Pole region and the complexity of its ecological process, the impact of urbanization on the ecological environment (eco-environment) in this specific region attracts global attention. Here, we established an effective framework to evaluate the coupling coordination process of urbanization and eco-environment, and investigated the spatial distribution and dynamic evolution of this coupling coordination. Results showed that the Pan-Third Pole is undergoing an accelerated process of urbanization.

The influence of environmental efficiency on PM pollution: Evidence from 283 Chinese prefecture-level cities.

Environmental inefficiency caused by the extensive economic growth pattern is considered a critical driver of the unprecedented PM (fine particulate matter) pollution in China. However, the nexus between environmental efficiency and PM concentrations has rarely been examined. We used a recently developed data envelopment analysis method to measure environmental efficiency, environmental total factor productivity, and their compositions in China at the prefecture level from 2003 to 2013 and examined the effects of environmental efficiency on PM pollution.

Material-energy-water nexus: Modelling the long term implications of aluminium demand and supply on global climate change up to 2050.

Aluminium is a widely used metal and one of the most energy intensive industries, and therefore it has been included in most energy models and scenarios. Material demand and supply are broadly linked to energy, water, and climate change. In this study, we develop four global and regional process based scenarios for the material-energy-water nexus combined with CO emissions and applied to aluminium.

Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Ecological Total-Factor Energy Efficiency and Their Drivers in China at the Prefecture Level.

Improvement of ecological total-factor energy efficiency (ETFEE) is crucial for transformation of China's economic growth pattern, energy conservation and emissions abatement. Here we combined the epsilon-based measure (EBM) and the Global Malmquist-Luenberger (GML) productivity index to evaluate ETFEE and ecological total-factor energy productivity (ETFEP) and its decompositions for 283 prefecture-level cities in China between 2003 and 2013. A spatial econometric model is used to investigate factors influencing ETFEE and ETFEP.

Urban sprawl in China: Differences and socioeconomic drivers.

China's unprecedented urbanization has resulted in accelerating urban sprawl, which is threatening the country's eco-environmental quality and socioeconomic sustainability. In this study, we integrated urban land census data and urban district population data to examine the pattern of urban sprawl and identify differences, and to investigate the socioeconomic drivers of urban sprawl in China between 2006 and 2014. The results revealed that China has experienced drastic urban sprawl over almost all of the last decade with an average urban sprawl index (USI) of 3.

Factors governing variations of provincial consumption-based water footprints in China: An analysis based on comparison with national average.

Although several studies have revealed that the consumption-based water footprint (WF) is unequal in space, the contributing factors to this spatial inequality have rarely been quantified. This study addresses this need by quantifying the effects that determine the difference of one region's WF per capita and a benchmark average value. A decomposition framework is developed.

Water footprints in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei: A perspective from comparisons between urban and rural consumptions in different regions.

Examination of a region/country's water footprint and its underlying influencing factors is essential for enhancing understanding of water resource problems and challenges. This study addresses the influencing factors that lead to different consumption-based water footprints (WFs) per capita in different countries/regions, with emphasis on differentiating urban and rural WFs and examining the role of urbanization. Structural decomposition analysis, which is conventionally used for investigating temporal changes of an environmental variable, is adapted to inspect the factors shaping spatial difference.

Mechanical traits of fine roots as a function of topology and anatomy.

Background And Aims: Root mechanical traits, including tensile strength (Tr), tensile strain (εr) and modulus of elasticity (Er), are key functional traits that help characterize plant anchorage and the physical contribution of vegetation to landslides and erosion. The variability in these traits is high among tree fine roots and is poorly understood. Here, we explore the variation in root mechanical traits as well as their underlying links with morphological (diameter), architectural (topological order) and anatomical (stele and cortex sizes) traits.

The Effect of Economic Growth, Urbanization, and Industrialization on Fine Particulate Matter (PM) Concentrations in China.

Rapid economic growth, industrialization, and urbanization in China have led to extremely severe air pollution that causes increasing negative effects on human health, visibility, and climate change. However, the influence mechanisms of these anthropogenic factors on fine particulate matter (PM) concentrations are poorly understood. In this study, we combined panel data and econometric methods to investigate the main anthropogenic factors that contribute to increasing PM concentrations in China at the prefecture level from 1999 to 2011.

Changing and Differentiated Urban Landscape in China: Spatiotemporal Patterns and Driving Forces.

Urban landscape spatiotemporal change patterns and their driving mechanisms in China are poorly understood at the national level. Here we used remote sensing data, landscape metrics, and a spatial econometric model to characterize the spatiotemporal patterns of urban landscape change and investigate its driving forces in China between 1990 and 2005. The results showed that the urban landscape pattern has experienced drastic changes over the past 15 years.

Exploring spatiotemporal changes in ecosystem-service values and hotspots in China.

Although ecosystems are valuable, they have been allowed to deteriorate globally in recent decades. However, the spatiotemporal changes in ecosystem-service values (ESVs) and their hotspots in China are not well understood. Here, long-term land-cover data, the spatial analysis method and an econometric analysis model were used to examine these changes.

High anemia prevalence in western China.

We assessed the prevalence of anemia among schoolchildren in western China as determined by seven cross-sectional surveys involving 12,768 children aged 8-12 years. Subjects were selected randomly from 283 primary schools in 41 economically disadvantaged counties of Ningxia, Qinghai, Shaanxi and Sichuan Provinces. Data were collected through questionnaires and hemoglobin levels were measured.