Dilemma in the Development of Modern Timber Architecture and Its Countermeasures

Under the context that “peak carbon emissions” and “carbon neutrality” are included in the overall plan for the construction of ecological civilization in China, this paper discusses the value of modern timber architecture as a form of low-carbon and environmental protection movement in the whole life cycle of the construction field. It mainly analyzes the reasons for the limited resources, misunderstandings of inherent concepts, the high cost of comprehensive construction, and the shortage of professionals. Based on that, several countermeasures have been proposed, such as perfecting relevant norms and policies, strengthening technology research and development as well as demonstration guidance, moderately developing forest resources, applying digital construction operation and maintenance technology, as well as cultivating compound professionals, all of which provide a reference for the development of ecological benefits in China’s construction industry.

Promoting sustainability on Instagram: How sponsorship disclosures and benefit appeals affect the credibility of sinnfluencers

Purpose When promoting sustainable products on Instagram, influencer marketing can be an effective tool when they are perceived as credible because consumers usually cannot verify the sustainability of products themselves. However, when they disclose their posts as an ad, their credibility might be weakened which can lead to less interest in the product. Moreover, influencer marketing strategies usually focus on personal benefits and experiences, while advertisements for sustainable products emphasize altruistic motives. The purpose of this study is to investigate if the interest in the product and the credibility might be affected by such different benefit appeals. Design/methodology/approach A 2 (sponsorship: no disclosure vs disclosure) × 2 (benefit: ecological vs personal) between-subjects experiment with influencer posts promoting a sustainable travel accommodation was conducted to investigate how ad disclosures and benefits appeals affect the credibility of sustainability influencers and the interest in sustainable products among young consumers. Findings Disclosures and benefits appeals have no direct impact on the interest in further information about the product but on the credibility of the influencer. If an Instagram post for a sustainable accommodation was labeled as sponsored, the perceived expertise and likeability of the influencer were diminished. However, highlighting personal benefits instead of ecological benefits increased the influencers’ credibility compared to appeals emphasizing benefits for the environment. Originality/value In addition to sponsorship disclosures, other strategies of advertising literacy might be required to show young consumers how to cope with influencer advertising. Furthermore, it seems to be more important that influencers are popular and liked by their followers than that they are trusted.

Comprehensive Analysis on the Hydrologic Alteration and Causes of River Runoff in Min River of the Yangtze River, China

The construction of water conservancy projects has changed the hydrological situation of rivers and has an essential impact on the river ecosystem. The influence modes of different factors on runoff alteration are discussed to improve the development and utilization of water resources and promote ecological benefits. The ecological, hydrological index change range method (IHA-RVA) and hydrological alteration degree method were comprehensively used to evaluate Min River's hydrological situation. Based on six budyko hypothesis formulas, the contribution rates of climate change and human activities to runoff change are quantitatively analyzed. The study showed that the runoff of Min River basin showed a significant decreasing trend from 1960 to 2019 and a sudden alteration around 1993; The overall alteration in runoff conditions was 45% moderate, and the overall alteration in precipitation was 37% moderate; Precipitation and potential evapotranspiration also showed a decreasing trend within the same period, but the overall trend was not significant; The contribution of climate alteration to runoff alteration is 30.2%, and the contribution of human activities to runoff alteration is 69.8%, human activities are the dominant factor affecting the alteration of runoff situation in Min River basin.

Residents’ Living Environments, Self-Rated Health Status and Perceptions of Urban Green Space Benefits

Urban green space (UGS) could contribute to sustainable urban development. Studying residents’ perception of UGS ecological benefits could provide the empirical basis to improve UGS management and quality of life. Based on the questionnaire surveys of 432 residents in Beijing, assisted by non-parametric statistical tests, this paper assessed the relationships between residents’ living environments and self-rated health status and their impacts on residents’ perceptions of UGS ecological benefits. We paid attention to residents’ perceptions of UGS’s notable thermal environmental benefits under the climate-change backdrop. The results showed that: (1) Residents were inclined to perceive direct UGS ecological benefits better than the indirect types; (2) Residents growing up in the city had better self-rated health status than those growing up in the suburb and the village; and residents growing up in the suburb had a better understanding of the cooling benefits of green walls; (3) Residents currently dwelling in the city had a better understanding of UGS benefits, including shading, cooling by green roofs, mitigating the heat island effect and enhancing urban biodiversity, than those dwelling in the village; and (4) Residents with “very good” self-rated health status had a significantly better understanding of UGS benefits regarding shading, providing varied colors and habitats, storing carbon, purifying air, and collecting rainwater.

Acttra SWD Bait Formulation Against Drosophila Suzukii and its Compatibility with Berry Pollination by the Honey Bee, Apis Mellifera

Crop protection substances are continuously developed to prevent the decimation of non-target insect populations through insecticide use. The bait formulation Acttra SWD was created to attract the adult spotted-wing drosophila, a generalist pest of berries, and when mixed with insecticide would cause a reduction in the volume of insecticide applied, thus avoiding a complete coverage of crops and resulting in economic and ecological benefits to society. However, Acttra SWD has some compounds, including sugars and fruit odors, that might attract non-target fauna, especially insect pollinators. Therefore this study aimed (1) to investigate if Acttra SWD mixed with the recommended pesticide, i.e. spinosad (Entrust), is attractive to the honey bee, which is extensively used for berry pollination and (2) to evaluate the insecticidal activity of Acttra/Entrust in oral and contact tests on the same species. In all replicates, most foragers rejected feeders that offered Acttra/Entrust, and some switched to Acttra/Entrust-free feeders. Accordingly, mortality caused by this mixture in oral tests was low and did not differ from control, since the majority of bees did not consume the Acttra/Entrust treatment. However, mortality caused by this mixture was higher than in control groups in topical tests. Our results indicate that honey bees will not be attracted to and poisoned by crops sprayed with Acttra/Entrust, but contact with the bait would result in lethal or sub-lethal effects.

Lifecycle Assessment of a Non-Phase-Transition Drying Pyrolysis and Mass Conversion Technology

A lifecycle model was established to explore the efficiency, economy, and greenhouse gas emissions of a non-phase-transition drying pyrolysis and mass conversion technology, based on the principle of lifecycle assessment. The evaluation scope included straw collection and transportation, drying and crushing, biomass pyrolysis, charcoal processing, and waste heat utilization. The results show that the energy output/input ratio for non-phase-transition drying pyrolysis was 20.43, and the energy efficiency was high. The pure profit from treating wet straw was USD 45.32 per ton, the profit margin of sales was 52.11%, and the economic benefit was high. The equivalent emission of CO2 was 34.10 g·MJ−1, demonstrating high environmental benefits. Therefore, non-phase-transition drying pyrolysis and mass conversion technology is a potential biomass utilization technology with energy, economic, and ecological benefits.

Shrub Diversity and Niche Characteristics in the Initial Stage of Reconstruction of Low-Efficiency Cupressus funebris Stands

The upper reaches of the Yangtze River are a very important ecological barrier in China, but the ecological benefits of large-scale Cupressus funebris Endl.plantations are low. This study investigated 12 plantations of different compositions and densities, including two densities of Cinnamomum septentrionale Hand.-Mazz. (Cs), Alnus cremastogyne Burk. (Ac), and Toona sinensis (A. Juss.) Roem. (Ts), and mixed plantations of Cs + Ac (CA), Ts + Cs (TC), Ts + Ac (TA), and Ac + Ts + Cs (ATC) and the cutting-blank (CB), and, at the same time, the unreconstructed pure C. funebris (Cf) forest was set as the control. We aimed to explore the influence mechanism of upper tree composition and density on shrub diversity, as well as the relationship between shrub diversity and niche. Our research results are as follows: (1) Among all the patterns, the TA, CA, and TC patterns are the most conducive to improving the diversity of shrubs. The composition and density of different trees have a great influence on the diversity of shrubs. (2) Niche is closely related to the diversity of shrubs. In the patterns of low niche overlap between dominant shrubs, the diversity of shrubs is greater. These results contribute to a deeper understanding of the relationship between the diversity of overstory and shrubs, and reveals the relationship between niche and diversity.

Differential transcriptome analysis and identification of genes related to resistance to blight in three varieties of Bambusa pervariabilis × Dendrocalamopsis grandis

Background Bambusa pervariabilis × Dendrocalamopsis grandis is a fast-growing bamboo that is widely introduced in southern China and has great economic and ecological benefits. In recent years, a blight of B. pervariabilis × D. grandis caused by Arthrinium phaeospermum has led to much branch damage and even death of entire bamboo forests. Methods To screen for resistance genes in B. pervariabilis × D. grandis, transcriptome sequencing technology was used to compare the gene expression profiles of different varieties of B. pervariabilis × D. grandis with variable resistance and the same varieties under different treatments. The Clusters of Orthologous Groups of Proteins (COG) database; the Gene Ontology (GO) database; and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) database were used to annotate and analyse the differentially expressed genes. Results A total of 26,157 and 11,648 differentially expressed genes were obtained in the different varieties after inoculation with A. phaeospermum and the same varieties after inoculation A. phaeospermum or sterile water, respectively. There were 23 co-upregulated DGEs and 143 co-downregulated DEGs in #3 and #8, #6 and #8, #6 and #3. There were 50 co-upregulated DGEs and 24 co-downregulated DEGs in the same varieties after inoculation A. phaeospermum or sterile water. The results showed that many genes involved in cell wall composition synthesis, redox reactions and signal transduction were significantly different after pathogen infection. Twenty-one candidate genes for blight resistance, such as pme53, cad5, pod, gdsl-ll and Myb4l, were found. The qRT-PCR results were consistent with the sequencing results, verifying their authenticity. These results provide a foundation for the further exploration of resistance genes and their functions.

The effects of green consumer empowerment in advertising on corporate evaluations and purchase intention: the case of organic food

This research aims to investigate the potential of consumer empowerment, the activation of consumers’ perceived power over companies, to achieve improved advertising effects for organic food compared to only communicating ecological benefits (classical green appeals). Two online experiments were conducted to analyze the ad effectiveness for consumers’ responses including their evaluations of the company and purchase intentions (nStudy1 = 294; nStudy2 = 457). Results indicate that green empowerment ads reach overall better performance to increase people’s perceived customer orientation and purchase intentions compared to green appeals, while similar effects are identified for perceived corporate environmental responsibility. Empowerment tactics are especially effective when consumers perceive the supplier to be a larger, high-resource company compared to a smaller, low-resource one. The significant effects of perceived corporate resources also indicates that smaller companies should use differentiated ad strategies depending on if they intend to enhance consumers’ purchase intentions or their environmental reputation.