Top Ten Scientific and Technological Advances in China's Ecological Environment in 2023 Released
The China Association for Science and Technology Ecological Environment Industry-University Consortium (hereinafter referred to as the Consortium) recently released the top ten scientific and technological advances in China's ecological environment in 2023 in Beijing.
The top ten scientific and technological advances in China's ecological environment in 2023 include: Construction of my country's water quality benchmark theory and technical system, global extreme wildfires growth and elimination mechanisms and climate and environmental effects, research on plant community functional characteristics and their regulation mechanisms on ecosystem productivity, research and development and application of the Yangtze River simulator, key technologies and applications for clean and low-carbon ships,"three carbon" technical model for green recycling of agricultural and forestry waste, development and application of high-precision online analyzer for localized atmospheric active nitrogen, vegetation restoration and efficiency improvement plans based on the food chain, Integration and application of multifunctional coupled ultra-low emission technology for key processes in the steel industry, new technical equipment and engineering applications for efficient green prevention and control of algae blooms and microscopic pests in land and sea waters.
The top ten scientific and technological advances in China's ecological environment were recommended by academicians of the two academies, consortium member units, universities and scientific research institutes, and were produced after review and voting by a jury composed of 13 academicians. This year is the fifth consecutive year that this activity has been carried out. The progress content selected in 2023 reflects the cutting-edge development trends in the field of ecological and environmental science and technology in my country. It plays a positive role in leading technological innovation in the field of ecological and environmental science, encouraging ecological and environmental scientific research, and enhancing public awareness of environmental protection. It has far-reaching impact and great significance.
It is reported that the meeting was hosted by the consortium and hosted by the Chinese Society of Environmental Sciences, the Chinese Society of Ecology, the consortium Academic Exchange Working Committee, and the School of Environmental Science and Engineering of Peking University. Supported by the Chinese Meteorological Society, the Chinese Geological Society, the Chinese Geographical Society, the Chinese Oceanography Society, the Chinese Renewable Energy Society, the Chinese Agricultural Society, the Chinese Forestry Society, the Chinese Soil Society, and the China Science and Technology Journalism Society.
The picture shows the site of the press conference. Map provided by China Association for Science and Technology
Appendix: Introduction to the top ten scientific and technological advances in China's ecological environment in 2023
1. Construction of my country's water quality benchmark theoretical and technical system
Water quality benchmarks are the scientific basis for formulating and revising water environment standards, implementing differentiated management and risk prevention and control. They are the cornerstone, scale and foundation of national water environment protection work. With "theoretical and method innovation-breakthrough in key technologies-management and application practice" as the main line, the project has established a theoretical methodology for water quality benchmarks suitable for my country's national conditions, broken through a series of key technologies for water quality benchmark formulation and basic data acquisition, and the results have been upgraded to a series of national standards. Water quality benchmark thresholds were issued for the first time, forming a basic environmental benchmark management system and promoting its application, improving the effectiveness, scientificity and standardization of my country's environmental management and policy standards.
2. Global extreme wildfires generation and elimination mechanisms and climate and environmental effects
By independently developing a global near-real-time quantitative tracking system for wildfire emissions, the project team clarified the spatio-temporal dynamic change pattern of global wildfire carbon emissions and revealed the driving factors for the increase in wildfire emissions in the mid-high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. The project reveals the complex physical and chemical mechanisms and key control processes for the occurrence, development and extinction of wildfires on a weather scale, and finds that the radiant effects of aerosols emitted by extreme wildfires can significantly enhance extreme wildfire events in different coastal areas around the world. It is pointed out that extreme wildfires in the middle and high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere may continue to increase in the context of accelerated Arctic warming, weakening the carbon sink function and exacerbating global warming, forming positive feedback on climate change-wildfires carbon emissions.
3. Research on functional characteristics of plant communities and their regulatory mechanisms on ecosystem productivity
How to integrate plant functional characteristics to accurately predict temporal and spatial variations in ecosystem productivity is a hot topic and difficulty in current international research. This study developed the "two-dimensional characteristics of plant community functional traits" and introduced the classic "engine power output model", and originally established a theoretical framework (TBP) for predicting ecosystem productivity based on plant community functional traits. Many case studies have demonstrated the high predictive ability and scientific nature of the new theoretical framework from the sample plots-region-global scale, from different perspectives such as single traits-productivity and multiple traits-ecosystem multi-functions. TBP takes community functional characteristics as the core and has developed a third productivity prediction model in addition to the "light quantum transfer model" and the "layered light energy utilization model". It has the ability to integrate multi-source data and high-tech remote sensing data, providing ecosystem research on the mechanism of carbon and nitrogen cycle regulation provides a new way and lays a theoretical foundation for the development of a new generation of ecological mechanism process models.
4. Development and application of Yangtze River simulator
The Yangtze River simulator refers to a basin simulation system and scientific device developed by coupling natural processes and human processes with the Yangtze River Basin as an object, using the basin water cycle as a link. The Yangtze River Basin Simulator emphasizes the interconnection and interaction between the upper, middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, as well as lakes, reservoirs, shorelines, and urban agglomerations, emphasizes the joint dispatch of Yangtze River flood prevention, hydropower and aquatic biological protection, and emphasizes the coordination of protection and development in the Yangtze River Basin., with the integrated function of "monitoring-simulation-evaluation-early warning-decision-regulation". Some results of the Yangtze River simulator have been applied to national ministries and government departments such as the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the Ministry of Water Resources, the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Ministry of Emergency Management, the Three Gorges Group, the Chongqing City Government and the Wuhan City Government. The research and development of the Yangtze River simulator has provided important scientific and technological support for the protection of the Yangtze River and the high-quality green development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt.
5. Key technologies and applications for clean and low-carbon ships
Pollutants and carbon dioxide emissions from ships are important causes of atmospheric environmental problems in coastal areas and port cities. The joint research team led by Academician Gao Xiang has overcome key technologies such as efficient purification of ship exhaust gas and efficient carbon emission reduction, and developed a technical system for efficient collaborative management of ship carbon pollution. The emission indicators are significantly better than the requirements of International Maritime Organization regulations. The results have been certified by nine major classification societies in the world, including China, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Since 2023, they have been promoted on a large scale on 496 ships of internationally renowned shipping companies such as Swiss Mediterranean and Canadian Sesbanian, promoting the development of clean and low-carbon technology for ships., providing key scientific and technological support for realizing my country's becoming a world shipbuilding power and a green shipping power.
6."Three Carbon" Technology Model for Green Recycling of Agricultural and Forestry Waste
Aiming at the bottleneck of slow carbon conversion of waste decomposition and low efficiency of returning to fields, a "three carbon" technical model for green recycling of agricultural and forestry waste has been established.
A "micro-environment control method" targeted carbon conservation and decomposition technology for waste, a quantitative carbon and fertilizer enrichment technology for returning soil to fields, and a regionally adapted farmland coupled ecological and low-carbon technology model have been created. This technical model has become the main model for the management of degraded cultivated land by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. As a result, a demonstration project has been established in the Miyun Water Source Reserve, making Heishansi Village in Miyun China's first United Nations sustainable development demonstration village; the technical model has been highly praised by national experts at the 18th Water Resources Conference and adopted by relevant departments of the United Nations Development Program.
7. Development and application of domestically produced high-precision online analyzer for atmospheric active nitrogen
Reactive nitrogen plays a core pivotal role in tropospheric atmospheric chemistry and is PM2.5and O3The key driving force formed. However, at present, my country's atmospheric active nitrogen measuring instruments mainly rely on imports and have the problem of "acclimatization". To this end, the project team independently developed CH3C(O)OONO2(PAN), NOx, HONO and NO3/N2O5The comparison test results of the online analyzer show that its performance indicators and automation degree are at or are partially superior to the level of similar international analyzers; based on the above instruments, the concentration levels and unknown sources of atmospheric reactive nitrogen in typical cities, rural areas and plateau areas of my country have been ascertained. and their environmental impact provide technical support and theoretical basis for the prevention and control of air pollution.
8. Vegetation restoration and efficiency improvement plan based on the food chain
Efficiently promoting ecological restoration is of great significance to achieving harmonious coexistence between man and nature. The He Qiang team of Fudan University conducted systematic research on vegetation restoration, revealed the regulatory role of multi-trophic animals in the food chain on the restoration of vegetation and its ecological functions, and built a vegetation restoration and efficiency improvement plan based on the food chain. The research results will be published in Science and other journals in the form of a cover paper in 2023, promoting the comprehensive regulation and expansion of vegetation restoration from focusing on environmental stress management and tree/grass species selection to integrating key ecosystem processes such as the food chain, which can provide scientific support for national ecological restoration.
9. Integration and application of multifunctional coupled ultra-low emission technology for flue gas in key processes in the steel industry
The steel industry is facing the contradiction between high pollutant emissions and limited environmental carrying capacity, and ultra-low emission transformation has become the key to its green development. The research team has overcome the problems of high energy consumption, low energy efficiency, and low by-product utilization caused by the simple superposition of conventional emission reduction technologies, and has developed a multi-functional coupling system suitable for deep purification of pollutants, efficient utilization of energy and recycling of by-products suitable for complex flue gases in the steel industry, reaching the advanced level of similar technologies at home and abroad. The large-scale application of research results has significantly reduced my country's air pollutant emissions, significantly improved ambient air quality, and made positive contributions to the construction of a beautiful China.
10. New technical equipment and engineering applications for efficient green prevention and control of algal blooms and microscopic pests in land and sea waters
At present, algal blooms and microscopic pest disasters in my country's land and sea waters seriously threaten the security of the marine ecosystem, causing economic losses of hundreds of billions of yuan every year. This project has achieved original innovative results in the theory, technology/equipment of hydroxyl radical (·OH) generation in atmospheric pressure ionization discharge, created a high-efficiency green prevention and control theory and engineering technology system for·OH, and realized the engineering scientific and technological innovation for the prevention and control of algal blooms and marine aquaculture animals in the basin. Insect diseases and marine red tide disasters has been applied in the Jiulong River Basin of Fujian Province-coastal waters and the Haihe River Basin of Tianjin City-coastal waters. Significantly reducing the import of land-based nutrients into the Taiwan Strait and the Bohai Sea provides a successful example for my country's "land and sea coordination" marine ecological and environmental protection and makes an important contribution to accelerating the construction of a maritime power.
