Journal of Environmental Management最新文献

Climate change profoundly affects water resource allocation by disrupting the availability, distribution, and quality of water across various regions. Optimal allocation of water resources represents a comprehensive strategy for water resource management by addressing the intricate connections between water allocation systems and their repercussions on the environment, society, and economy. In this study, an Optimal Water Resources Management (OWRM) framework was developed, focusing on the optimal allocation of water resources and crop planting structures across various sectors. The Munneru river basin, located in the lower Krishna River region of India, was selected as the study area to validate the proposed framework. Five distinct water-demanding sectors-irrigation, domestic, livestock, industrial, and irrigation water requirements for major agricultural seasons-were identified in the study area, and their sectoral water demands were calculated at the basin level. The crop water and irrigation water requirements for various crops were estimated using the CROPWAT tool, while the framework also optimized crop planting structures to maximize returns and resource efficiency. The Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm-II (NSGA-II) was applied, with two objectives focused on equity and economic value. Superior solutions were then identified using the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS). The OWRM framework was applied after identifying critical cases of water availability in future periods under climate change scenarios. Through this integrated approach, an average annual increase of 52.6% in agricultural sector returns was achieved for the simulation period (2016-17 to 2022-23). For a condition of providing at least 90% water supply to each sector, the optimal crop patterns led to revenue increases of 136.4%, 59.2%, and 74.7% compared to actual revenues for the water years 2020-21, 2021-22 and 2022-23 respectively. The developed OWRM methodology can be applied to other basins across the world that are impacted by climate change.

Much of the existing literature on environmental performance has focused on human capital and intangible assets such as environmental policies and strategies, the role of intellectual capital has largely been overlooked. This study aims to investigate the impact of intellectual capital on environmental performance at the firm level, specifically in the electrical and electronics (E&E) sector in China. By considering human, relational, and structural capital as integral elements of intellectual capital, we assess their direct influence on environmental performance and explore how these components interact with other factors in driving environmental outcomes. We also examine the role of environmental related absorptive capacity in this relationship. The data is collected from 113 firms in the E&E sector, and PLS-SEM is applied to analyse the relationship between intellectual capital and environmental performance. Our findings reveal a significant and positive impact of intellectual capital on environmental performance, highlighting its critical role in promoting sustainable business practices. Managers and policymakers are urged to integrate sustainability-focused training, strengthen inter-organizational networks, and embed environmental management systems to achieve dual goals of improved environmental and economic performance.

Glaciers provide multiple ecosystem services (ES) to human society. Due to the continued global warming, the valuation of glacier ES is of urgent importance because this knowledge can support the protection of glaciers. However, a systematic valuation of glacier ES is still lacking, particularly from the perspective of ES contributors. In this study, we introduce the concept of emergy to establish a methodological framework for accounting glacier ES values, and take the Tibetan Plateau (TP) as a case study to comprehensively evaluate the spatiotemporal characteristics of glacier ES during the early 21st century. The results show that the total glacier ES values on the TP increased from 2.36E+24 sej/yr in the 2000s to 2.40E+24 sej/yr in the 2010s, with an overall growth rate of 1.6%. The values of the various services in the 2010s are ranked in descending order: climate regulation (1.59E+24 sej/yr, 66.1%), runoff regulation (4.40E+23 sej/yr, 18.4%), hydropower generation (1.88E+23 sej/yr, 7.8%). Significantly higher glacier ES values were recorded in the marginal TP than in the endorheic area. With the exception of climate regulation and carbon sequestration, all other service values increased during the study period, partially cultural services, which have experienced rapid growth in tandem with social development. The results of this study will help establish the methodological basis for the assessment of regional and global glacier ES, as well as a scientific basis for the regional protection of glacier resources.

Desert ecosystems, as an important part of terrestrial ecosystems, are considered potential hidden carbon sinks in the global carbon cycle. The Gurbantunggut Desert, as China's largest fixed/semi-fixed desert, has received little research on its role in the global carbon cycle and future trends. This study utilizes continuous observational data from the Gurbantunggut Desert from 2018 to 2022 and integrates CMIP6 global climate model scenario data to study the evolution of carbon balance in the desert ecosystem, carbon source/sink functions, and future trends. The result showed that: 1) The CO₂ flux in the Gurbantunggut Desert shows Carbon sink during the day and carbon source at night, with an annual cumulative carbon sink duration of over 240 days.2)From 2018 to 2020, the desert ecosystem of the Gurbantunggut Desert functioned as a net CO₂ sink.3) Desert ecosystems were subjected to concurrent influences from multiple environmental factors across varying time scales, with photosynthetically active radiation, air temperature, and soil temperature identified as the most influential factors affecting CO₂ flux in the Gurbantunggut Desert. 4) The climate of the Gurbantunggut Desert is projected to exhibit a trend of warming and increased humidity in the future. Against the backdrop of future warming and humidification, the Gurbantunggut desert ecosystem is anticipated to exhibit a pronounced carbon sink characteristic.

Flow cessation leads to severe degradation of river corridor landscape structure, habitat quality, and ecological functions. This study focuses on the representative river with ceased flow in northern China, the Yongding River plain section. Utilizing long-term, high-resolution satellite remote sensing imagery and the InVEST model, we analyzed the spatiotemporal evolution of landscape structure and habitat quality (HQ) before and after river corridor flow cessation over the past 50 years. The study further employs partial least squares regression (PLSR) to explore the impact of landscape structural changes on HQ and uses generalized additive models (GAMs) and geographical detector (GeoDetector) to quantitatively identify key factors affecting habitat degradation and their interactive effects. Results indicate that from 1967 to 2018, mid-channel bar, floodplain, and waterbody decreased sharply from 37.4% to 3.8%. The mean HQ value dropped from 0.58 to 0.34 after flow cessation. Although HQ slightly recovered post-2004, high-quality habitat areas remain absent. Different landscape structures significantly influence HQ, with increased size and area of the waterbody and forest patches positively contributing, while cultivated land, barren land, and built-up land generally have negative impacts. PLAND, LPI, MPS, and AWMPFD are key metrics for optimizing landscape structure and implementing habitat restoration in river management. Anthropogenic activities emerged as the primary driver of river corridor habitat degradation post-flow cessation. Different drivers exhibit complex linear and nonlinear effects on HQ. Based on these findings, we propose ecological management strategies for river corridors with ceased flow. This study is essential for a deeper understanding of river corridors' structural dynamics and degradation mechanisms, providing a scientific basis for effective ecological restoration and management.

The water quality and associated ecological risks in subsidence water bodies formed by underground coal mining are an increasing global concern. However, long-term water quality changes in these subsidence water bodies, especially across different spatial regions, remain poorly understood. This paper, by mapping the Forel-Ule index (FUI) a key indicator of water color, using Landsat datasets to reveal the dynamic evolution of water quality in 402 subsidence water bodies in the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain of eastern China from 1990 to 2020, covering their life cycle from formation to extinction. We identified three types of subsidence water bodies, including growing (14.4%), stable (35.1%), and shrinking (50.5%), almost all of which were found to exhibit eutrophic conditions. The findings revealed a blue-shift trend, indicative of improved water quality, was observed in nearly half (45.3%) of the water bodies. During mining, water quality was generally poor with higher average FUI values, but gradually improved at an average rate of -0.09 yr⁻¹. FUI values experienced a brief period of stability before deteriorating post-mining, with an average rate of 0.05 yr⁻¹. Our study provides valuable insights into the governance of subsidence water bodies in coal mining areas by revealing large-scale, long-term trends in water quality evolution.

The readiness of leaf-litter to burn in the presence of fire differs greatly between species. Thus, forests composed of different species vary in their susceptibility to fire. Fire susceptibility of forests may also differ from the arithmetic means of flammability of their component species, i.e., non-additive effects exist. Here, we assessed nine indices of flammability and five physicochemical properties of the leaf litter of eight common subtropical tree species in China. We then tested the net effects on litter flammability of different mixtures of the eight species. We measured the following variables: time to ignition, combustion time, spread rate, ignition temperature, mass loss, maximum flame height and three temperature indices, moisture, cellulose, lignin and ash contents, and specific leaf area (SLA). Our results show that the flammability of leaf litter: time to ignition, combustion time, ignition temperature, and flame height, varies widely between the eight species. Time to ignition was short (<3 s) for the three conifer species and Quercus variabilis and Q. aliena, but long (3.5-8.8 s) for Q. fabri, Q. glauca, and Liquidambar formosana. The five species with a short time to ignition all have high cellulose and lignin contents, and SLA, and are highly flammable. In contrast, the three species with long time to ignition have low cellulose and lignin contents, and SLA, and high ash content. Cellulose and lignin contents, and SLA are the major drivers of litter flammability, and ash and moisture contents are important negative drivers. Mixed litters containing species with high cellulose and lignin contents and SLA have positive non-additive effects (synergistic) on overall flammability whereas those containing species with low cellulose and lignin contents, and SLA have negative non-additive effects (antagonistic) on flammability. These results are essential for assessing forest fire-risks and assisting species selection in plantations or fire-break forests as a part of a forest fire-management strategy.

The hydrologic benefits of catchment-scale implementation of stormwater control measures (SCMs) in mitigating the adverse effects of urbanization are well established. Nevertheless, recent studies indicate that the Unified Stormwater Sizing Criteria (USSC) regulations, mandating the combined use of distributed and storage stormwater controls, do not protect channel stability, despite their effectiveness in reducing runoff from impervious surfaces. The USSC are the basis of SCM design in 11 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. This study employed a calibrated, sequential modeling approach, which integrated a catchment-scale Storm Water Management Model (SWMM) with the Hydrologic Engineering Center River Analysis System (HEC-RAS), to evaluate the effectiveness of two alternative stormwater regulations in preventing channel erosion. A three-step methodology was developed using the calibrated SWMM and HEC-RAS models: (1) establish the pre-development scenario; (2) design SCMs for channel stability under design storm conditions; and, (3) assess regulation effectiveness through continuous simulations. The modeling results revealed that designing stormwater controls using the USSC increased sediment transport for the 1-, 2-, and 5-yr, 24-hr annual recurrence interval (ARI) design storms 2 to 2.7 times the pre-development conditions. SCM designs aimed at matching the sediment transport of the pre-development catchment reduced peak flows 30-70% and prevented knickpoint formation, as compared to designs based on hydrologic targets only. Study results demonstrate that to protect channels from degradation following urban development, the morphology and bed material of the receiving channel must be considered in the design of stormwater controls.

Extreme climate change induced by carbon emissions has received extensive attention from governments worldwide. Strong competition in local governments' dual-carbon attention (GCA) produces an effective influence on the reduction of regional carbon emissions, confirming crucial policy implications. In this study, textual content analysis is employed to measure the GCA level and GCA competition, and the mechanism by which GCA competition reduces regional carbon emissions in China is explored from the perspective of competition behaviors. The findings demonstrate that the increase of GCA competition positively influences the reduction of regional carbon emissions. Influence mechanism analyses verify that increasing GCA competition primarily stimulates the greater reduction of regional carbon emissions by intensifying competition in energy consumption reduction and the optimization of the energy consumption structure. The influence of GCA competition on reduced regional carbon emissions is significantly related to industrial structure upgrading, the energy consumption structure, and environmental governance investment, as well as inter-government competition in these areas. The detailed findings of this research can provide economic and environmental benefits for policymakers, and can provide corporations with more targeted policy recommendations related to dual-carbon attention and carbon emission reduction.

Providing different grades of water is a promising solution to address the challenges of urban water supply, including water quality, quantity, and energy consumption. However, quantifying the effectiveness of this strategy and understanding its economic, environmental, and social impacts remain significant challenges. This study introduces a simulation-based method to predict household water use and evaluate the applicability and sustainability of the water supply system. A system dynamics model was developed to simulate household water behavior under different water supply scenarios, incorporating different water quality combinations, price mechanisms, and regional population composition. The results were analyzed regarding the optimal water completion degree, user satisfaction, water supply yield, and water volume stability to evaluate the system's applicability. Our findings suggest that scenarios involving simultaneous provision of high-quality and common water are deficient due to overlapping functions. In addition, a dynamic water pricing mechanism can improve user satisfaction and supply stability, especially in the area with a large population. Concurrent supply of high-quality, low-quality, and reclaimed water emerges as an efficient alternative, achieving dual objectives of resource conservation and water quality improvement.