Journal of Mountain Science

Tourism-led economic growth and tourism-driven urbanization have attracted increasing attention by provinces and regions in China with abundant tourism resources. Due to low data availability, the current tourism literature lacks empirical evidence of the tourism network in less-developed mountainous regions where the development of transport infrastructure is more variable. This paper aims to provide such evidence using Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in China as a case study. Using User Generated Content (UGC) data, this study constructs a tourism network in Guangxi. By integrating social network analysis with spatial interaction modelling, we compared the impact of two different transport infrastructures, highway and high-speed railway, on tourist flows, particularly in less-developed mountainous regions. It was found that the product of node centrality and flow could best describe the significant pushing and pulling forces on the flow of tourists. The tourism by high-speed railway was sensitive to the position of trip destination on the whole tourism network but self-drive tourism was more sensitive to travelling time. The increase of high-speed railway density is crucial to promote local tourism-led economic development, however, large-scale karst landforms in the study area present a significant obstacle to the construction of high-speed railways.

Peat bogs are regarded as one of the faithful archives of atmospheric polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) deposition, and a large number of studies on PAHs accumulation in peatlands have been reported in Europe and North America. Comparatively little information is available on peat chronological records of atmospheric PAHs flux in China. We investigated the concentrations and historical accumulation rates of PAHs (AR PAHs) through geochemical analysis of three 210Pb-dated ombrotrophic peat cores from Great Hinggan Mountain, northeast China. Eight USEPA priority PAHs were detected and they are naphthalene (Nap), acenaphthylene (Acl), acenaphthene (Ace), fluorence (Flu), phenanthrene (Phe), anthracene (Ant), fluoranthene (Fla) and pyrene (Pyr), respectively. The average total eight PAHs (tPAHs) concentrations are 135.98–262.43 μg kg−1 and the average AR tPAHs over the last two centuries are 96.45–135.98 μg m−2 yr−1. The Ace, Acl and Phe account for 30.93–54.04%, 25.29–35.81%, and 9.14–19.84% of the tPAHs, respectively, and have significant positive correlations with the tPAH. As a result, they are regarded as the iconic compounds of PAHs pollution in this area. A ca. 200-yr atmospheric PAHs contamination history was reconstructed from the temporal sequences of both concentration and AR tPAHs, suggesting the variation of local environmental pollution. The main sources of the PAHs are identified by two isomer ratios as petrogenic origin including oil extraction and refining process as well as their combustions for industrial development. In addition, the contribution of coal combustion for industrial activities and resident heating could not be ignored. But prior to 1860, the undeveloped industry and most of agricultural activities might mainly account for the low level of PAHs, although it could infer a long-range input of atmospheric PAHs from other industrial areas. Therefore, there is a global implication to study longterm PAHs pollution records and all the results will provide practical significance in formulating policies to achieve sustainable and healthy development.

Nghiên cứu này đề cập đến việc đánh giá tích hợp nguy cơ (bao gồm cả sạt lở đất) và rủi ro đá lăn cho các tuyến đường cao tốc S301, Z120 và Z128, là những hành lang giao thông quan trọng đến khu di sản thế giới Công viên Quốc gia Jiuzhai Valley ở Tứ Xuyên, Trung Quốc. Các tuyến đường này đang bị đe dọa nghiêm trọng bởi các sự kiện đá lăn hoặc sạt lở đất sau trận động đất 7.0 độ Richter tại Jiuzhaigou vào năm 2017. Khảo sát thực địa (14–18 tháng 9 năm 2017, 15–20 tháng 5 năm 2018, và 9–17 tháng 9 năm 2018), thiết bị bay không người lái (UAV) và hình ảnh vệ tinh đã xác định được các sự kiện đá lăn có địa hình cao và sự cố sạt lở đất trong quá trình thi công đường dọc theo cao tốc. Nguy cơ đá lăn được đánh giá định tính bằng cách sử dụng số lượng khối đá, vận tốc và chiều cao bay thông qua mô phỏng đá lăn 3D ở quy mô địa phương và khu vực. Rủi ro đá lăn được đánh giá định lượng với xác suất sự kiện đá lăn, xác suất lan truyền, xác suất không gian, và độ dễ bị tổn thương cho các loại khối đá có thể tích khác nhau. Khoảng 21.5%, 20.5% và 5.3% chiều dài đường được xác định là thuộc về lớp rủi ro không thể chấp nhận (UA) cho phương tiện dọc theo các tuyến cao tốc S301, Z120 và Z128, tương ứng. Khoảng 20.1% và 3.3% chiều dài đường thuộc lớp rủi ro UA cho du khách dọc theo các tuyến Z120 và Z128, tương ứng. Kết quả cho thấy các sự kiện đá lăn có địa hình cao chủ yếu phát sinh tại các khoảng cách đường từ K50 đến K55 (từ Guanmenzi đến Ganheba) và K70 đến K72 (từ Jiudaoguai đến làng Shangsizhai) dọc theo cao tốc S301, cũng như từ KZ18 đến KZ22 (từ Hồ Hoa Năm đến Hồ Tre Bằng Mũi Tên), KZ30 (từ Hồ Thiên Nga đến Rừng Nguyên Sinh), và KY10.5 km trong thung lũng Jiuzhai. Đá lăn tại các vị trí này được phân loại dưới lớp rủi ro UA và chỉ số nguy hiểm từ trung bình đến rất cao. Các sự cố đá lăn trong quá trình thi công đường này được phát hiện tại K67 (Thiên Đường Jiuzhai) và K75–K76 dọc theo cao tốc S301, cũng như tại KZ12 đến KZ14 (từ Hồ Tê Giác đến Thác Nuorilang), KZ16.5 đến KZ17.5 (Hồ Chuông Vàng), KY5 (Hồ Lưu Vực Thấp), và KY14 (Hồ Lưu Vực Cao) dọc theo các tuyến Z120 và Z128 trong thung lũng Jiuzhai. Các sự cố đá lăn trong các khu vực này nằm trong rủi ro có thể chấp nhận và chỉ số nguy hiểm rất thấp đến trung bình. Cuối cùng, các biện pháp phòng ngừa, bao gồm lưới linh hoạt, tường bê tông, và các đường hầm nhân tạo, có thể được lựa chọn phù hợp dựa trên chỉ số nguy hiểm đá lăn và lớp rủi ro. Nghiên cứu này đã tiết lộ sự tích hợp giữa đánh giá nguy cơ đá lăn định tính và đánh giá rủi ro đá lăn định lượng, điều này rất quan trọng trong việc nghiên cứu phòng ngừa và giảm thiểu đá lăn.

European mountains are particularly sensitive to climatic disruptions and land use changes. The latter leads to high rates of natural reforestation over the last 50 years. Faced with the challenge of predicting possible impacts on ecosystem services, LUCC models offer new opportunities for land managers to adapt or mitigate their strategies. Assessing the spatial uncertainty of future LUCC is crucial for the definition of sustainable land use strategies. However, the sources of uncertainty may differ, including the input parameters, the model itself, and the wide range of possible futures. The aim of this paper is to propose a method to assess the probability of occurrence of future LUCC that combines the inherent uncertainty of model parameterization and the ensemble uncertainty of the future based scenarios. For this purpose, we used the Land Change Modeler tool to simulate future LUCC on a study site located in the Pyrenees Mountains (France) and two scenarios illustrating two land use strategies. The model was parameterized with the same driving factors used for its calibration. The definition of ’static vs. dynamic’ and ’quantitative vs. qualitative (discretized)’ driving factors, and their combination resulted in four parameterizations. The combination of model outcomes produced maps of the spatial uncertainty of future LUCC. This work involves adapting the definition of spatial uncertainty in the literature to future-based LUCC studies. It goes beyond the uncertainty of simulation models by integrating the uncertainty of the future to provide maps to help decision makers and land managers.

Coastal dunes are a common geomorphic type in sandy coastal zones. They are a record of the coupled evolutionary processes of the wind and ocean waves. Many coastal dune fields have developed on the east coast of Fujian China and now occur as widespread typical coastal aeolian sand landforms on the Liuao Peninsula, Gulei Peninsula and Dongshan Island, but it is difficult to evaluate the dynamic geomorphologic process of sandy coast due to the lack of systematic and accurate chronological data. In this study, we selected the Hutoushan (HTS) aeolian dune on the Liuao Peninsula as the research object. Optical dating and grain-size analysis were applied to sand samples from the aeolian sequence of a profile of the HTS dune. The results show that the ages of seven samples of this profile were in the range of 37.8–0.19 ka from 4.0 to 0.2 m deep. These correspond to the Marine Isotope Stage 3 (MIS3), abrupt climatic change events of 4.2 and 1.1 ka and the Little Ice Age (LIA), respectively. These samples displayed evidence of a longer-term climate trend in this area. The period of formation of this coastal aeolian dune corresponds to a cold and arid climate associated with the East Asia Winter Monsoon (EAWM). Periods of dune fixation and rubification are evidence of a hot and humid climate. Mobilization and stabilization of the aeolian dune is an important characteristic of the coastal evolution in South China since the late Pleistocene.

Underground mining activities and rainfall have potential important influence on the initiation and reactivation of the slope deformations, especially on the steep rock slope. In this paper, using the discrete element method (UDEC), numerical simulation was carried out to investigate deformation features and the failure mechanism of the steep rock slope under mining activities and rainfall. A steep rock slope numerical model was created based on a case study at the Wulong area in Chongqing city, China. Mechanical parameters of the rock mass have been determined by situ measurements and laboratory measurements. A preliminary site monitoring system has been realized, aiming at getting structure movements and stresses of unstable rock masses at the most significant discontinuities. According to the numerical model calibrated based on the monitoring data, four types of operation conditions are designed to reveal the effect of mining excavation and extreme rainfall on the deformation of the steep rock slope.

Identifying the structure of protected mountain ecosystems is an important task for understanding conservation sustainability. The study area, the Fırtına Valley, located in the Rize City on the Eastern Blacksea Coast, is one of the biological hotspots and a National Park of Turkey. In order to identify the structure of mountain ecosystems, we generated a GIS database for the main environmental parameters of the study area, including elevation, slope and aspect layers for topographic structure, 10 year mean values of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), data for vegetation structure, annual mean temperature and precipitation layers for climatic structure, main soil groups for soil structure and stream flow accumulation, stream flow length and stream order layers for hydrological structure.To identify the complex relations among environmental factors in the study area a data reduction method is applied with Principal Component Analysis (PCA). PCA is performed using data of 16 layers from Geographical Information Systems (GIS). PCA analysis reduced 16 dimensions into 5 dimensions containing 75% of the variation in all data. It is also revealed that the topographic structure, mainly altitude, dominates the ecosystems of the Fırtına Valley, but it should be considered that the interactions of environmental factors in an ecosystem dynamics are very complex. The ecosystem structure is determined by the environmental factors direct or indirect effects on energy regulation of an ecosystem. Therefore the relationship between topographic elements and other abiotic-biotic elements in the Fırtına Valley are important for environmental assessment and sustainability of a protected area, and these effects are explained in this study.

In this study, the sources of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) from atmospheric deposition in the waters of Guizhou’s Caohai Lake were investigated in addition to the potential risks to human health. Moss bags were used to enrich PTEs from atmospheric deposition, and eight monitoring sites that best represented geographic variation were established around Caohai Lake. Moss bags were collected and examined at every 3 months to identify spatiotemporal patterns of dry and wet atmospheric deposition of PTEs. Zn was the most abundant metal identified from deposition in Caohai (72.07%–95.94%), followed by Pb and Cd, while Hg was the least abundant (0.008%–0.354%). The contributions of wet deposition of PTEs were greater than those of dry deposition, and deposition during the heating season from December to April was greater than that between April to July. Hg was mainly derived from atmospheric dry deposition (65.38%–84.44%). Spatial distribution analysis indicated that atmospheric deposition was associated with the intensity of human activities and heating emissions. Exposure via hand-to-mouth contact accounted for over 99% of the total exposure risk although overall exposure was lower than threshold acceptable levels for carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic metals, indicating an overall lack of risk towards human health. Nevertheless, the health risk from atmospheric deposition of PTEs in Caohai Lake may be reduced by focusing on Zn, Pb, and Cd deposition in rainfall and minimizing the hazards associated with hand-to-mouth exposure to PTEs.

Mountainous regions have disadvantages in economic development because of harsh physical and climatic conditions. However, winter tourism activities are one of the key components for supporting economic development in the highlands. Establishing a ski resort area supports direct and indirect employment in a region, and it stops immigration from mountainous regions to other places. This research aimed to assess the potential ski areas using a multi criteria evaluation technique in the Van region which is located in the eastern part of Türkiye. In this context, snow cover duration, sun effect, slope, slope length, elevation, population density, distance from main roads and lake visibility were used as input factors in the decision making process. Each factor was standardized using a fuzzy technique based on existing well-known ski centers in Türkiye. The weight of inputs was defined by applying a survey to the professional skiers. The most important factors were detected as transportation opportunities and snow covers whereas, the least important factors were elevation and population density. Additionally, lake visibility was very important to make a difference from other existing facilities in the region. Therefore, it was included as constraints and lake visible areas were extracted at the final stage of the research. Potential ski areas were mapped in three levels as professional, intermediate and beginner skiers. One of the suitable areas was selected as a sample projection and for the 3D simulation of the ski investment area. Potential costs and benefits were discussed. It was found that a ski tourism area investment can be amortized in 3 years in the region.

In order to improve our knowledge of the mechanical effect of the roots of mixed-plantings on soil reinforcement and slope protection, the influence of roots of a mixed-planting with four herb species (Medicago sativa L., Elymus nutans Griseb., Puccinellia distanx (L.), and Poa pratensis L.) and one shrub species (Caragana korshinskii Kom.) were investigated on the shear strength characteristics of saline loess soil. The root distribution characteristics were assessed via a survey when the plants grew for one year. The effects of the root biomass density, the root mass ratio (RMR) of the fine roots to the coarse roots, the moisture content, and the salt content on the shear strength index of the rooted soil were analyzed via a triaxial compression test, and the mechanism of these effects was discussed. The results indicate that the biomass density decreased linearly with increasing depth. The RMR initially decreased with depth and then increased, exhibiting in a quadratic relationship. The cohesion of the rooted soil increased linearly as the biomass density increased. The cohesion of the rooted soil initially increased with increasing RMR and salt content, and then it decreased. The turning point of the cohesion occurred when the RMR was 0.6 and the salt content was 1.18%. The internal friction angle of the rooted soil initially increased with biomass density and then decreased, and the turning point of the internal friction angle occurred when the biomass density was 0.015 g/cm3. The relationships between the internal friction angle of the rooted soil and the RMR and salt content were exponential incremental and linear subtractive relationship, respectively. Both the cohesion and the internal friction angle of the rooted soil linearly decreased with increasing moisture content.