The main research result points out that incorporating small scale incineration plants along with recycling using Thermal Pyrolysis Hydrolysis (TPH) plants can help to sustainably dispose-off diapers. The results also indicate the importance for policy makers and industrial sector to find solutions to facilitate implementation of circular economy principles for diapers. In fact, the recycling of diapers using waste-to-energy technologies is a significantly eco-efficient alternative for the Pakistani market, which can be pivotal for Sustainable development and initiation of a circular economy model.An accurate characterization of spatial-temporal emission patterns and speciation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) for multiple chemical mechanisms is important to improving the air quality ensemble modeling. In this study, we developed a 2017-based high-resolution (3 km × 3 km) model-ready emission inventory for Guangdong Province (GD) by updating estimation methods, emission factors, activity data, and allocation profiles. In particular, a full-localized speciation profile dataset mapped to five chemical mechanisms was developed to promote the determination of VOC speciation, and two dynamic approaches based on big data were used to improve the estimation of ship emissions and open fire biomass burning (OFBB). Compared with previous emissions, more VOC emissions were classified as oxygenated volatile organic compound (OVOC) species, and their contributions to the total ozone formation potential (OFP) in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region increased by 17%. Formaldehyde became the largest OFP species in GD, accounting for 11.6% of the total OFP, indicating that the model-ready emission inventory developed in this study is more reactive. The high spatial-temporal variability of ship sources and OFBB, which were previously underestimated, was also captured by using big data. Ship emissions during typhoon days and holidays decreased by 23-55%. 95% of OFBB emissions were concentrated in 9% of the GD area and 31% of the days in 2017, demonstrating their strong spatial-temporal variability. In addition, this study revealed that GD emissions have changed rapidly in recent years due to the leap-forward control measures implemented, and thus, they needed to be updated regularly. All of these updates led to a 5-17% decrease in the emission uncertainty for most pollutants. The results of this study provide a reference for how to reduce uncertainties in developing model-ready emission inventories.Intense sand and gravel mining has created numerous man-made lakes around the world in the past century. These small quarry lakes (1-50 ha) are usually hydrologically isolated, often deep (6-40 m) and stratify during summer and in cold winters. Due to their small size, these deep man-made lakes are usually not included in the regular monitoring campaigns, e.g. as required for the European Water Framework Directive (WFD). Therefore, not much is known about the ecological functioning of these novel ecosystems. During two summers, we determined the macrophyte diversity and measured a range of physico-chemical and biological parameters in 51 quarry lakes in the catchment area of the rivers Meuse and Rhine. We compared the results of this campaign to the chemical and macrophyte sampling as performed for the WFD in the immediate surrounding shallow standing waters. Alpha (local) and beta diversity (regional), and local contribution to beta diversity were calculated for the whole region of which beta diversity was further partitioned into a true species replacement and richness difference component. Quarry lakes contain higher water quality reflected by lower nutrient and chlorophyll-a concentration compared with shallow water bodies. Additionally, quarry lakes contribute significantly to the regional macrophyte diversity pool by harboring distinctly different macrophyte communities (beta diversity - replacement). Specifically quarry lakes with a total phosphorus concentration in the water column below 35 μg P/l contribute most to beta diversity among quarry lakes. Novel ecosystems such as deep quarry lakes are often perceived as less valuable ecosystems, with strong implications regarding their management. Our results show that quarry lakes are in general of better chemical and biological quality compared with shallow standing waters. We therefore call for a more integrated assessment of the quality of quarry lakes and corresponding management strategy of these waters by water managers.Protected areas (PAs) form the backbone of global conservation efforts. Although many studies have evaluated the impact of PAs on land cover, human disturbances, and people's welfare, PAs' impact on wildlife habitat quality remains poorly understood. By integrating wildlife habitat mapping and information of 2183 rural households, we assessed the impacts of nature reserves (a type of PAs) across the entire geographic range of giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) on panda habitat suitability change between 2001 and 2013 using the matching approach. We found the impact of nature reserves is concentrated in areas susceptible to human pressure, where 65% of the habitat suitability increase is attributable to the nature reserves' protection. The impact of nature reserves has spilled over to nearby unprotected areas and enhanced habitat suitability there. Nature reserves supported by the central government showed higher performance in improving habitat suitability than their counterparts supported by local governments. Older nature reserves perform better than those established more recently. https://www.selleckchem.com/products/azd1080.html Our results also show that local households' participation in tourism and labor migration (people temporarily leaving to work in cities) enhanced the ability of nature reserves to improve habitat suitability. These results and methods provide valuable information and tools to support effective management of PAs to enhance the habitat quality of giant pandas and other wildlife species in China and elsewhere.Boreal peatlands store a disproportionately large quantity of soil carbon (C) and play a critical role within the global C-climate system; however, with climatic warming, these C stores are at risk. Increased wildfire frequency and severity are expected to increase C loss from boreal peatlands, contributing to a shift from C sink to source. Here, we provide a comprehensive review of pre- and post-fire hydrological and ecological interactions that affect the likelihood of peatland burning, address the connections between peatland fires and the C-climate cycle, and provide a conceptual model of peatland processes as they relate to wildland fire, hydro-climate, and ecosystem change. Despite negative ecohydrological feedback mechanisms that may compensate for increased C loss initially, the cumulative effects of climatic warming, anthropogenic peatland fragmentation, and subsequent peatland drying will increase C loss to the atmosphere, driving a positive C feedback cycle. However, the extent to which negative and positive feedbacks will compensate for one another and the timelines for each remains unclear.