Browsing by Author "Su J"

Now showing 1 - 6 of 6
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    Assessing the win-win situation of forage production and soil organic carbon through a short-term active restoration strategy in alpine grasslands
    (Frontiers Media S.A., 2024-01-11) Wang Y; Wang Z; Kang Y; Zhang Z; Bao D; Sun X; Su J
    INTRODUCTION: Grassland degradation has seriously affected the ecological environment and human livelihood. To abate these, implementing effective management strategies to restore and improve the service functions and productivity of degraded grasslands is crucial. METHODS: To evaluate the influences of restoration measures combined with different grazing intensities on short-term (1 year) grassland restoration, the changes in soil physicochemical properties, as well as plant traits under restoration measures of different grazing intensities, reseeding, and fertilization, were analyzed. RESULTS: Soil organic carbon (SOC) increased to varying degrees, whereas available nutrients decreased under all combined restoration measures. Reseeding, alone and in combination with fertilization, substantially increased SOC, improved grassland vegetation status, and enhanced grassland productivity. The aboveground biomass of Gramineae and the total aboveground biomass increased under the combined restoration measures of transferring livestock out of the pasture 45 days in advance, reseeding, and fertilization (T4). Redundancy analysis revealed a strong correlation between grassland vegetation characteristics, SOC, and available potassium. Considering soil and vegetation factors, the short-term results suggested that the combination measures in T4had the most marked positive impact on grassland restoration. DISCUSSION: These findings offer valuable theoretical insights for the ecological restoration of degraded grasslands in alpine regions.
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    Aviation resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic: A case study of the European aviation market
    (Elsevier, 2023-10-05) Su J; Wu H; Tsui KWH; Fu X; Lei Z
    The European aviation industry experienced an unprecedented disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which may have a profound impact on the industry in the years to come. An investigation of the European aviation market's performance during the pandemic and the recovery pattern is very important. Such an analysis provides an assessment of the aviation industry's actual resilience against large-scale disruptions thus that the sector can be better prepared for future disruptions and challenges. More importantly, it contributes to a better understanding of the best business practices and industry policies in a dynamic aviation environment, and how the aviation industry may sustain growth in the years to come. For these purposes, this study first presents an overview of the European aviation market's performance for the period of 2019–2020. In general, aviation connectivity (airports and airlines) recovered to around 60 % of the 2019 level, but less than 40 % in terms of flight movements at the end of 2020. Second, an ordered Probit model is applied to investigate the driving factors for airport and airline resilience in the European aviation market, respectively. Four key findings are obtained: (i) the number of flights is an important indicator of airport and airline resilience/recovery performance; (ii) higher airline concentration at an airport might have improved the airport's recovery from the COVID-19 crisis. On the airline side, an airline's higher concentration of flights at airports tends to benefit its resilience (iii) the implementation of the airport slot waiver policy, which suspended the “use it or lose it” rules, had positive impacts on airline resilience; (iv) airports with higher shares of full-service airlines (FSAs) services, or more low-cost carriers (LCCs) in service, are better positioned in recovery. There are no systematic differences caused by carrier types. Overall, our study of the European aviation market reveals positive resilience effects of market concentration and firm scale. The findings reveal another dimension in assessing the effects of market concentration and scale, in addition to their implications on competition and market power.
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    Comparative transcriptomes reveal geographic differences in the ability of the liver of plateau zokors (Eospalax baileyi) to respond and adapt to toxic plants
    (BioMed Central Ltd, 2023-12) Tan Y; Wang Y; Liu Q; Wang Z; Shi S; Su J
    BACKGROUND: Environmental changes are expected to intensify in the future. The invasion of toxic plants under environmental changes may change herbivore feeding environments. Herbivores living long-term in toxic plant-feeding environments will inevitably ingest plant secondary metabolites (PSMs), and under different feeding environments are likely to have unique protection mechanisms that support improved adaptation to PSMs in their habitat. We aimed to compare different subterranean herbivore population responses and adaptations to toxic plants to unveil their feeding challenges. RESULTS: Here, we investigated the adaptive capacity of the liver in two geographically separated populations of plateau zokors (Eospalax baileyi) before and after exposure to the toxic plant Stellera chamaejasme (SC), at the organ, biochemical, and transcriptomic levels. The results showed no significant liver granules or inflammatory reactions in the Tianzhu (TZ) population after the SC treatment. The transaminase level in the TZ population was significantly lower than that in the Luqu population. Transcriptome analysis revealed that the TZ population exhibited interactions with other detoxification metabolic pathways by oxytocin pathway-associated genes, including diacylglycerol lipase alpha (Dagla), calcium/calmodulin dependent protein kinase II Alpha (Camk2a), and CD38 molecule (Cd38). The phase II process of liver drug metabolism increased to promote the rate of metabolism. We found that alternative splicing (AS) and the expression of the cyclin D (Ccnd1) gene interact-a TZ population hallmark-reduced liver inflammatory responses. CONCLUSION: Our study supports the detoxification limitation hypothesis that differences in liver detoxification metabolism gene expression and AS are potential factors in herbivore adaptation to PSMs and may be a strategy of different herbivore populations to improve toxic plant adaptability.
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    Himalayan Marmot (Marmota himalayana) Redistribution to High Latitudes under Climate Change
    (MDPI (Basel, Switzerland), 2023-08-28) Wang Z; Kang Y; Wang Y; Tan Y; Yao B; An K; Su J; Crowther M
    Climate warming and human activities impact the expansion and contraction of species distribution. The Himalayan marmot (Marmota himalayana) is a unique mammal and an ecosystem engineer in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP). This pest aggravates grassland degradation and is a carrier and transmitter of plagues. Therefore, exploring the future distribution of Himalayan marmots based on climate change and human activities is crucial for ecosystem management, biodiversity conservation, and public health safety. Here, a maximum entropy model was explored to forecast changes in the distribution and centroid migration of the Himalayan marmot in the 2050s and 2070s. The results implied that the human footprint index (72.80%) and altitude (16.40%) were the crucial environmental factors affecting the potential distribution of Himalayan marmots, with moderately covered grassland being the preferred habitat of the Himalayan marmot. Over the next 30-50 years, the area of suitable habitat for the Himalayan marmot will increase slightly and the distribution center will shift towards higher latitudes in the northeastern part of the plateau. These results demonstrate the influence of climate change on Himalayan marmots and provide a theoretical reference for ecological management and plague monitoring.
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    Possibility of Wild Boar Harm Occurring in Five Provinces of Northwest China
    (MDPI (Basel, Switzerland), 2023-12-08) Liu P; Wang Z; An K; Tan Y; Ji W; Su J; Phillips CJC
    With the implementation of ecological engineering projects and related policies in China, wild boar (Sus scrofa) populations have surged, leading to increasingly serious conflicts with humans. We evaluated their potential habitat changes from the perspective of environmental suitability. To elucidate the suitable habitat characteristics for wild boars, we obtained data from 79 sites in five provinces in northwest China using database retrieval, human-wildlife conflict (HWC) incident questionnaires, and document retrieval. Thus, 10 environmental variables with lower correlation were selected, and potentially suitable distribution areas for wild boars under the current climate scenario were predicted based on the maximum entropy model. These areas were superimposed with different land use types in different periods to explore habitat selection. Precipitation seasonality (26.40%), human footprint index (16.50%), and elevation (11.90%) were the main environmental factors affecting wild boar distribution. The areas with high potential suitability for wild boars were mainly in the southeast and northwest of the region (total area of 2.63 × 105 km2). The land use types in the high-suitability zones are mainly woodland and grassland with high coverage, canopy density, and cultivated land borders. This study provides a reference for the effective prevention of HWC and management of wild boars.
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    Regenerative agriculture in Aotearoa New Zealand - research pathways to build science-based evidence and national narratives.
    (2021-02-22) Grelet G; Lang S; Merfield C; Calhoun N; Robson-Williams M; Horrocks A; Dewes A; Clifford A; Stevenson B; Saunders C; Lister C; Perley C; Maslen D; Norton D; Selbie D; Chan D; Burns E; Le Heron E; Crampton E; Curran-Cournane F; Doolan-Noble F; Griffin F; Good H; Pinxterhuis I; Todd J; Vernon J; Su J; Cavanagh J; Laubach J; King J; Jones J; Orwin K; MacMillan K; Minor M; Anderson M; Buckley M; Harcombe M; McGlone M; Davidson M; Barry M; Taitoko M; Kirschbaum M; Donovan M; Conland N; Stanley-Clarke N; Masters N; Schon N; Mason N; Gregorini P; Mudge P; Tapsell P; Bruce-Iri P; Tait P; Roudier P; Mellor R; Teague R; Gregory R; Price R; Holdaway R; Dynes R; Lavorel S; O'Connell S; Letica S; Belliss S; McNeill S; Apfelbaum S; Driver T; Fraser T; Baisden T; Kerner W