山地垂直带坡向信息提取方法

坡向对垂直带的空间分布有重要的影响作用。长期以来,垂直带坡向数据的质量较低,主要以阴坡和阳坡数据为主,4个坡向和8个坡向的数据非常罕见。数据质量的问题严重阻碍了垂直带坡向效应的定量研究。为了克服这个难题,我们利用GIS、遥感、程序设计等现代信息技术手段提出了山地垂直带坡向信息提取的方法(SAI-IMAB),实现垂直带随坡向分布情况全数字化、定量化地显示和表达。本方法包括以下步骤:1.数据预处理,2.垂直带坡向数据库的构建,3.定量表达,4.图形显示。在Matlab 2010b平台下开发绘图函数,根据以下形式来表达和显示垂直带的分布情况,包括:点阵分布模式(PDP)、点阵界限模式(PLP)、曲线带谱模式(CSP)。和传统柱状图的显示方法相比,这些方法具有数据概括程度低、精度高、与现实相似度高的特点。以巴基斯坦Kaghan流域作为试验区,植被图和地形图作为数据源,利用该方法,我们高精度提取出Kaghan地区随坡向变化的山地垂直带谱数据。该方法的提出,有效地提升了山地垂直带的识别精度,提高了垂直带数据的质量,使垂直带分布规律的定量化研究成为可能,有助于更加准确地揭示山地垂直带随坡向变化的规律。     

火山干扰下的长白山植被分布规律

距今约800 a前,长白山天池火山发生大规模普林尼式喷发,喷出的巨量火山浮石及火山灰毁灭性地破坏了长白山植被。由于受喷发倾角和强劲高空西北风影响,使各坡向火山灰和浮石的沉积厚度不同,东坡最厚,南坡和西坡次之,北坡最少。火山灰与浮石形成疏松的成土母质,在流水持续侵蚀下,对破坏后的植被演替产生了长期影响。利用野外调查和现有资料,论证了长白山植被分布独特性规律是长白山火山喷发及喷发物水蚀过程对生态系统作用的结果,确认火山喷发虽历经800多a,目前各坡向植被仍然处在演替的不同进程之中,呈现差异性分布规律。     

横断山区垂直带谱的分布模式与坡向效应

根据收集到的横断山区山地垂直带谱数据,对山地垂直带的坡向效应和空间分布规律进行了分析和研究.结果表明:1)主要的垂直带和垂直带界线如林线、暗针叶林带、雪线等的纬度和经度地带性分布规律明显并且分布模式都相似,纬向上呈开口向下的二次曲线分布模式,经向上呈开口向上的二次曲线分布模式,两者共同形成"双曲抛物面"分布模式,充分反映了横断山区的环境与生态的复杂性和独特性,也进一步丰富和发展了山地垂直带谱的二次曲线假说; 2)横断山区山地垂直带谱表现出明显的基于水分驱动的坡向效应,主要表现为同一山体的东、西坡往往具有不同的基带和带谱结构,相同类型的带谱出现的海拔和分布范围不同,迎风坡表现出较为湿润的类型和带谱结构,而背风坡则表现出更为干旱的类型和组成结构;横断山区的坡向效应主要是由于山体对当地盛行季风的影响,造成迎风坡和背风坡水热条件相差很大,从而发育不同的山地垂直带谱类型.从横断山区山地垂直带谱的空间分布规律来看, 28°～29°N、98°～101°E范围内,即大致在澜沧江以东-雅砻江以西,山地垂直带谱普遍表现出干热的特点,为横断山区干热气候的核心地带.但如何定量分析山地的坡向效应尚有待于进一步的研究和讨论.此外、数据质量和数据误差也对分析的结果,尤其是空间分布模式的数学模拟结果产生一定的影响,在以后的研究中尚需进一步完善.     

《山体效应研究》评述

正全球山地植被垂直带基本类型有限,但其组合形式和结构千姿万态,为世界呈现出无限的山地垂直带谱,特别是同一类垂直带在不同纬度、不同离海距离、不同山体位置都表现出不同的高度分布。垂直带分布在山体或高原内外的高度差异,是非地带性作用的主要结果之一。但对于非地带性作用的规律和机理,一直是自然地理学中最为薄弱的环节。中国科学院地理科学与资源研究所张百平研究员等撰写《山体效应研究》于2015年9月由中国环境出版社出版,该书对山体效应及其影响进行了全面系统地研究,使对非地带性及其作用的认识上了一个台阶,也使对丰富多彩的山地垂直带谱的研究达到了新的科学高度。     

青藏高原增温效应对垂直带谱的影响

青藏高原作为巨大的热源对亚洲气候、高原生态格局等产生重要的影响。但青藏高原的增温效应最初是20世纪50年代因其对亚洲气候的重大影响而被发现的,因此,大量的相关研究主要集中在高原夏季增温对气候的影响方面,而高原增温效应对高原地理生态格局的影响研究却非常少。利用收集到的气象台站观测数据、基于MODIS地表温度估算的青藏高原气温数据、林线数据和垂直带谱数据及DEM数据,通过对比分析高原内部与外围山区垂直带谱高度的变化及林线的分布规律,并以高原内部与边缘地区相同海拔高度上的气温差、最热月10℃等温线、15℃·月的温暖指数等温度指标来定量描述高原的增温效应及其对垂直带谱和林线的影响。研究结果表明:1由于青藏高原增温效应的影响,高原内部气温和生长季长度高于边缘地区,相同海拔高度上,高原内部各月气温比边缘地区高2~7℃;在4500 m高度上,高原内部各月气温比四川盆地高3.58℃(4月)到6.63℃(6月);最热月10℃等温线的海拔高度也从东部边缘(4000 m以下)向内部逐渐升高,在拉萨-改则一带则可出现在4600~5000 m的高度;15℃·月的温暖指数的海拔高度也从边缘向内部逐渐升高,在4500 m的海拔高度上,横断山区、高原南部和中部地区的温暖指数均能达到15℃·月以上,而其它边缘地区则都低于15℃·月。2青藏高原垂直带谱和林线的分布规律与增温效应的规律极其一致,即均从东部边缘向内部逐渐升高,表明增温效应抬升了高原内部垂直带谱的分布范围和高度:山地暗针叶林带的分布范围在高原内部比东部边缘地区高1000~1500 m;山地草甸带的分布范围在高原内部比东部边缘高出700~900 m;高原内部林线比外围地区高500~1000 m左右。最热月10℃等温线和15℃·月温暖指数的分布规律与林线分布规律一致,表明高原增温效应对垂直带谱的分布具有重要的影响。     

长白山森林植被NPP主要影响因子的敏感性分析

对影响森林植被净第一性生产力的主要因子进行敏感性分析是准确估计NPP的需要。本文以长白山自然保护区为例,利用敏感性矩阵,对北部生态系统生产力模拟模型的三个主要输入因子——叶面积指数、温度和降水量,分别分析了各单一因子对森林植被NPP的敏感性,并建立敏感性分析矩阵。分析结果表明,在长白山自然保护区,森林植被的NPP与叶面积指数呈正相关 ,与温度呈负相关,与降水量无明显相关关系。同时,还统计了不同森林植被类型的NPP对输入参数的敏感性,得出了针叶林对环境的适应性最强、生长最稳定的结论。     

新疆天山山地自然灾害垂直带谱及其特征

分析天山山地由气候原因引起的自然灾害分布的垂直带谱,主要灾害类型有１２种,可分为３个带：（１）基带（暴雨－塌方带）：主要是由中、低山突发性的降雨引起的各种灾害。此带灾害频发时期与最大降水期是同步的。（２）中带（融水－冰冻带）：其灾害大多同温度的变化有密切的关系。（３）上带（风吹雪－雪崩带）：由积雪运动造成的灾害多集中在这里。山地坡向和高度对自然灾害垂直带谱的组成和灾害出现的频率影响很大。由于温度和     

长白山苔原湿地资源及可持续利用研究

本文按照海拔、坡向、地貌特征及植被结构把长白山苔原湿地划分为5个类型，并分别概述了各类苔原湿地的分布特征。长白山独特的生境蓄育了独特的植被与植物资源、土壤资源、水资源和旅游资源；为使其开发与保护协调发展，就必须对苔原湿地资源进行可持续开发利用。     

黄土丘陵区坡面柠条(Caragana korshinskii)林地草本植物分布特征

人工植被恢复会显著影响林下草本的分布及多样性,而人工植被恢复耦合坡面微地形变化对草本群落分布及其多样性响应尚缺乏系统的认识。以位于半干旱黄土丘陵区的甘肃定西龙滩小流域为研究区,系统调查和监测了不同坡向上、中和下坡位人工柠条(Caragana korshinskii)林地草本群落组成、生物量与柠条生长状况、凋落物量及土壤水分含量,分析草本群落的分布特征及其影响因素。结果表明:(1)不同坡向草本群落组成明显不同,阴坡人工柠条林地草本物种丰富度、优势度和多样性指数显著高于半阳坡和阳坡,而均匀度指数各坡向间差异不显著;(2)不同坡向间草本地上生物量为阴坡>半阳坡>阳坡,但差异不显著;阴坡上、中坡位草本生物量显著高于下坡位,半阳坡和阳坡各坡位间草本生物量差异不显著;(3)pRDA分析结果表明,坡向影响了坡面水热条件,对草本分布的影响最大,解释了15.2%的草本群落变异;(4)柠条种植密度和坡向与草本物种丰富度呈显著负相关;阿尔泰狗娃花(Heteropappus altaicus)和长芒草(Stipa bungeana)与坡向呈显著正相关,主要分布在阴坡,茵陈蒿(Artemisia capillaris)和赖草(Leymus secalinus)等与坡向呈显著负相关,主要分布在阳坡。半干旱黄土丘陵区坡向通过影响水热条件从而影响了植被生长,坡面微地形调整可以在一定程度上削弱坡位对草本植物生长的影响,但坡向及人工植被种植密度决定了草本的分布格局。     

荒漠植被红砂（Reaumurta soongorica）水热响应的年轮学研究

 红砂是黄土高原荒漠植被带主要建群植物种之一，在植被恢复重建和生态建设中具有重要意义。本文以皋兰县40 a天然植被封育区为例，运用树木年轮学方法，对不同坡向红砂与当地水热条件变化的时空响应及分布格局进行了研究。研究结果表明，红砂具有明显的年轮特征，可以进行树木年轮方面的研究。虽然不同坡向水分条件和植被状况有很大差异，但红砂径向生长对区域水热变化具有非常一致的响应模式：同生长季降水呈正相关关系，尤以7月降水量最为显著；同生长季气温呈负相关关系，以6月最为显著。根据不同坡向红砂年龄分布格局分析结果，并考虑到水土流失的防治效果，黄土高原西部荒漠植被带的封育期限不宜少于10 a。     

BOOK REVIEWS

Book Reviewed in this article: Development and Environment in Peninsular Malaysia . S. Robert Aiken, Colin H. Leigh, Thomas R. Leinbach, Michael R. Moss. The Rural-Urban Fringe: Canadian Perspectives . Ken B. Beesley and Lorne H. Russwurm, eds. Women and Development . Lourdes Benería, ed. The Border that Joins: Mexican Migrants and U.S. Responsibility . Peter G. Brown and Henry Shue, eds. Cities of the World: World Regional Urban Development . Stanley D. Brunn and Jack L. Williams, eds. Time Resources, Society, and Ecology: On the Capacity for Human Interaction in Space and Time (Vol. I, Preindustrial Societies). Tommy Carlstein. Urban Geography . David Clark. Spanish City Planning in North America . Dora P. Crouch, Daniel J. Garr, and Axel I. Mundigo. Not On Our Street: Community Attitudes to Mental Health Care . M. J. Dear and S. M. Taylor Unequal growth: Urban and Regional Employment Change in the U.K. Stephen Fothergill and Graham Gudgin. Agricultural Land in an Urban Society . Owen J. Furuseth and John T. Pierce. The Petroleum Industry in Oil-Importing Developing Countries . Fariborz Ghadar. Historical Understanding in Geography, An Idealist Approach . Leonard Guelke. Regional Planning in Europe . R. Hudson and J. R. Lewis, eds. Remote Sensing for Resource Management . Chris J. Johannsen and James L. Sanders, eds. Geography and The State . R. J. Johnston. Texas Graveyards: a Cultural Legacy . Tlrry G. Jordan. The Politics of Location: An Introduction . Andrew Kirby. A Social Geography of the City . David Ley. Energy and the Future . Douglas MacLean and Peter Brown, eds. The Natural Environment of Newfoundland Past and Present . A. G. Macpherson and J. B. Macpherson, eds. Tourism: Economic, Physical and Social Impacts . Alister Mathieson and Geoffrey Wall. Railroads and Land Grant Policy: A Study in Government Intervention . Lloyd J. Mercer. Progress in Rural Geography . Michael Pacione, ed. Progress in Urban Geography . Michael Pacione, ed. Models of Spatial Inequality: Settlement Patterns in Historical Archaeology . Robert Paynter. Natural Hazard Risk Assessment and Public Policy, Anticipating the Unexpected . William J. Petak and Arthur A. Atkisson. The Nature of Geomorphology . Alistair F. Pitty. Regional Conflict and National Policy . Kent A. Price Women and Spatial Change: Learning Resources for Social Science Courses . Arlene C. Rengert and Janice J. Monk, eds. Urban and Regional Analysis for Development Planning . Richard Rhoda. Rivers: Form and Process in Alluvial Channels . Keith Richards. This Remarkable Continent: An Atlas of United States and Canadian Society and Culture . John F. Rooney, Jr., Wilbur Zelinsky, and Dean R. Louder, gen. eds. The Origins of Open-Field Agriculture . Trevor Rowley, ed. Residential Location Determinants of the Older Population . Gundars Rudzitis. Borderland Sourcebook: A Guide to the Literature on Northern Mexico and the American Southwest . Ellwyn R. Stoddard, Richard L. Nostrand, and Jonathan P. West, eds. Arctic and Antarctic . David Sugden. Tall Timbers Ecology and Management Conference, February 22–24, 1979, Proceedings No. 16 . Graphic Communication and Design in Contemporary Cartography (Progress in Contemporary Cartography , Vol. II). D. R. Fraser Taylor, ed. Living with Energy Shortfall: A Future for American Towns and Cities . Jon Van Til. The United States: Habitation of Hope . J. Wreford Watson. Air Photo Interpretation for Archaeologists . D. R. Wilson. Urban and Rural Change in West Germany . Trevor Wild, ed. Population and Resources . Harry Robinson.     

Assessment of GIAHS in Shizuoka: The Traditional Tea-grass Integrated System

<正>1 Introduction In 2013,Chagusaba,which is traditional tea-grass integrated system in Shizuoka,were accepted as new world heritage site of agriculture.Shizuoka prefecture occupies a variety of elevations,from 0 to 3000m or more above sea level.Because of the diversity of land features and climates,this area produces 167 agricultural commodities.In addition,a lot of traditional agriculture and over200 local native varieties of crops have been conserved in Shizuoka     

ERAHS: A New Platform for the Exchange of Regional Information and Experience on Agricultural Heritage Systems

<正>There are more than 10000 years of agricultural development history in the world that has provided very fruitful and ingenious traditional knowledge and experiences reflecting the evolution of humanity and the nature.In2002,the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations(FAO)initiated an international partnership initiative of"Conservation and Adaptive Management of Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems     

BOOK REVIEWS

Book Reviewed in this article: Geography and the Third World. International Seminar, 14–18 May 1980, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia . Ishmail Ahmad and Jamaluddin Md Jahi, eds. The Growth Dilemma: Residents' Views and Local Population Change in the United States . Mark Baldassare. Sport and Place: A Geography of Sport in England, Scotland & Wales . John Bale. The Deindustrialization of America: Plant Closings, Community Abandonment, and the Dismantling of Basic Industry . Barry Bluestone and Bennett Harrison. Selected Essays 1963–1975: Carl O. Sauer . Bob Callahen, ed. Housing and Planning in the Countryside . G. Clark. Conflict, Politics and the Urban Scene . Kevin R. Cox and R. J. Johnston, eds. Thematic Maps: Their Design and Production . David J. Cuff and Mark T. Mattson. Wine: A Geographic Appreciation . Harm Jan de Blij. USSR in Maps . J. C. Dewdney. Political Geography: A Contemporary Perspective . Ramesh D. Dikshit. Rethinking Human Adaptation . Rada Dyson-Hudson and Michael A. Little, eds. Sacred Sands: The Struggle for Community in the indiana Dunes . J. Ronald Engel. Geography of the Biosphere . A. Furley and Walter W. Newey. Disaster and Reconstruction . Robert Geipel. Glasgow: The Making of a City . Andrew Gibb. Design for Arid Regions . Giden S. Golany, ed. Urbanization and Cancer Mortality: The United States Experience, 1950–1975 . Michael R. Greenberg. Geology in the Nineteenth Century: Changing Views of a Changing World . Mott T. Greene. Colonización y Destrucción de Bosques en Panamá . Stanley Heckadon Moreno and Alberto McKay, eds. Urban Geography: A First Approach . David T. Herbert and Colin J. Thomas. The Visual and Spatial Structure of Landscapes . Tadahiko Higuchi. Climate from Tree Rings . M. K. Hughes, P. M. Kelly, J. R. Pilcher, and V. C. LaMarche, Jr., eds. The structure of Nineteenth Century Cities . James H. Johnson and Colin G. Pooley, eds. The American Planner: Biographies and Recollections . Donald A. Krueckeberg, ed. Urban Land Policy For the 1980s, the Message for State and Local Government . George Lefcoe, ed. Regional Planning: Evolution, Crisis and Prospects . Gill C. Lim, ed. Relevance and Ethics In Geography . Bruce Mitchell and Dianne Draper. China: The Geography of Development and Modernization . Clifton W. Pannell and Laurence J. C. MA. The Urban Retailing System . Robert B. Potter. Hants. Nonconventional Energy Resources . Philip R. Pryde. Caribbean Migrants: Environment and Human Survival on St. Kitts and Nevis . Bonham C. Richardson. Population and Resources . Harry Robinson. East Los Angeles: History of A Barrio . Ricardo Romo. Integrated Impact Assessment . Frederick A. Rossini and Alan L. Porter, eds. Environmental Aesthetics: Essays in Interpretation . Barry Sadler and Allen Carlson, eds. Earthwatch . Charles Sheffield. Field Techniques and Research Methods in Geography . Robert H. Stoddard. Haiti: Land of Poverty . Robert J. Tata. Weathering and Erosion: Sources and Methods in Geography . Stephen T. Trudgill. Once Beneath the Forest. Prehistoric Terracing in the Río Bec Region of the Maya Lowlands . B. L. Turner, II. The Historical Geography of Scotland since 1707 . David Turnock.     

BOOK REVIEWS

Book Reviewed in this article: The City in Cultural Context . John Agnew, John Mercer, David Sopher, eds. Soils and Geomorphology Peter W. Birkeland. Urbanization and Settlement Systems, International Perspectives . L. S. Bourne, R. Sinclair, and K. Dziewoński. eds. An Introduction to Urban Historical Geography . Harold Carter. Overshoot, The Ecological Basis of Revolutionary Change . William J. Catton, Jr. Rivers of the World . Eberhard Czaya. Jewish Communities in Frontier Societies: Argentina, Australia and South Africa . Daniel J. Elazar with Peter Medding. Color in Public Spaces: Toward a Communication-Based Theory of the Urban Built Environment. Kenneth E. Foote. Spatial Statistics and Models. Gary L. Gaile and Cort J. Willmott, eds. Mega-Geomorphology. Rita Gardner and Helen Scoging, eds. Technological Change and Regional Development. Gillespie, ed. The Arid Lands: Their Use and Abuse. R. L. Heathcote. The Location of Industry in Britain. A. G. Hoare. Groundwater as a Geomorphic Agent . R. G. LaFleur, ed. Rural Public Services: International Comparisons. Richard E. Lonsdale and Gyorgy Enyedi, eds. Saving Water in a Desert City. William E. Martin, Helen M. Ingram, Nancy K. Laney, and Adrian H. Griffin. Water Resources: Distribution, Use and Management. John R. Mather. Transnationals and the Third World: The Struggle for Culture. Armand Mattelart. South Hadley, MA: USGS Digital Cartographic Data Standards. R. B. McEwen, R. E. Witmer, and B. S. Ramey, eds. The Ecosystem Concept in Anthropology. Emilio F. Moran, ed. Boulder, CO: Women, Men, and the International Division of Labor. June Nash and Maria Patricia Fernandez-Kelly, eds. Nuclear Power: Assessing and Managing Hazardous Technology. Martin J. Pasqualetti and K. David Pijawka, eds. Mary Somerville and the Cultivation of Science 1815-1840. Elizabeth Chalmers Patterson. An Introduction to Coastal Geomorphology. John Pethick. Late Quaternary Environments of the United States , Vol. 1, The Late Pleistocene. Stephen C. Porter, ed. Planning and Ecology. R. D. Roberts and T. M. Roberts, eds. Regionalism and the Pacific Northwest. William G. Robbins, Robert J. Frank, and Richard E. Ross, eds. Environment and Health. Anthony J. Rowland and Paul Cooper. Sunbelt/Snowbelt: Urban Development and Regional Restructuring. Larry Sawers and William K. Tabb, eds. The Bad Earth. Environmental Degradation in China. Vaclav Smil. Armonk, NY: Voyage into Substance: Art, Science, Nature, and the Illustrated Travel Account, 1760–1840. Barbara Maria Stafford. The Institute of British Geographers: The First Fifty Years. Robert W. Steel. Visions of the Past. Christopher Taylor and Richard Muir. Glacial Lake Agassiz. J. T. Teller and Lee Clayton, eds. The Tule Breakers: The Story of the California Dredge. John Thompson and Edward A. Dutra. The Balkan City 1400–1900. Nikolai Todorov. Explanation, Prediction and Planning: the Lowry model. Michael J. Webber. Mercedes Reales: Hispanic Land Grants of the Upper Rio Grande Region. Victor Westphall. The World Atlas of Revolutions. Andrew J. M. Wheatcroft. The West European City, A Social Geography. Paul White. Urban Elites and Mass Transportation. J. Allen Whitt. Princeton, NJ: Urban Life In Contemporary China. Martin King Whyte and William L. Parish. The Demand for Energy in the Soviet Union. David Wilson. London and Canberra: Rethinking Geographical Inquiry. J. David Wood, ed.     

PRODUCTIVITY OF AMERICAN PH.D.-GRANTING DEPARTMENTS OF GEOGRAPHY

Reviews of geographic software in this article:

DEMO-GRAPHICS: WORLD POPULATIONS AND PROJECTIONS.

ESP

GAUSS.

CEMODEL S. Damus

LIMDEP. William H. Greene

MICROSTAT 4.1

OTIS

PCIPS. (Personal Computer Image Processing System). H.J. Meyers and R. Bernstein.

REGRESSION ANALYSIS OF TIME SERIES (RATS)

SPSS/PC+

URBAN DATA MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE (UDMS)     

BOOK REVIEWS

Book Reviewed in this article: Rabat: Urban Apartheid in Morocco . Janet Abu -Lughod . Marketplaces in a Developing Country: The Case of Western Nigeria . Isaac Ayinde Adalemo . Farming Development and Space: A World Agricultural Geography . Bernd Andreae . Section and Party: A Political Geography of American Presidential Elections, from Andrew Jackson to Ronald Reagan . J. Clark Archer and Peter J. Taylor . Women and Space: Ground Rules and Social Maps . Shirley Ardener , ed. European Progress in Spatial Analysis . R. J. Bennett , ed. The Origins of Academic Geography in the United States . Brian W. Blouet Geographic Perspectives on Global Problems . Ronald Reed Boyce . Seasonal Dimensions to Rural Poverty . Robert Chambers , Richard Longhurst and Arnold Pacey eds. The New Nationalism and the Use of Common Spaces: Issues in Marine Pollution and the Exploitation of Antarctica . Jonathan I. Charney , ed. Communications Tomorrow: The Coming of the Information Society . Edward Cornish , ed. The Design of Suburbia . Arthur Edwards . Explorer on the Northern Plains: Lieutenant Gouverneur K. Warren's Preliminary Report of Explorations in Nebraska and Dakota in the Years 1855–56–57. With an Introduction by Frank N. Schubert . The Changing Climate: Responses of the Natural Flora and Fauna . Michael J. Ford . Essentials of Physical Geography . Robert E. Gabler , Robert J. Sager , Sheila Brazier , and Daniel L. Wise. The Road to Jaramillo . William Glen . Valued Environments . John R. Gold and Jacquelin Burgess , eds. Proximity and Preference: Problems in the Multidimensional Analysis of Large Data Sets . Reginald G. Golledge and John N. Rayner , eds. A Search for Common Ground . Peter Gould and Gunnar Olsson , eds. Geography: Its History and Concepts . Arild Holt -Jensen . A Population Geography . Huw R. Jones . The Human Mosaic: A Thematic Introduction to Cultural Geography, 3rd ed. Terry G. Jordan and Lester Rowntree . Urban Social Geography: An Introduction . Paul Knox . The Anatomy of Job Loss: The How, Why and Where of Employment Decline . Doreen Massey and Richard Meegan . The Information Society as Post-Industial Society . Yoneji Masuda . Map Librarianship, 2nd ed. Harold Nichols . India: Cultural Patterns and Processes . Allen G. Noble and Ashok K. Dutt , eds. The God that Limps: Science and Technology in the Eighties . Colin Norman . Geography: An Introductory Perspective . Robert E. Norris , Keith D. Harries and John D. Vitek . The Politics of Technology Assessment . David M. O'Brien and Donald A. Marchand . Ethnic Segregation in Cities . Ceri Peach , Vaughan Robinson and Susan Smith , eds. Churches and Church Membership in the United States, 1980 . Bernard Quinn , Herman Anderson , Martin Bradley , Paul Goetting and Peggy Shriver . Energy in Australia: Politics and Economics . Hugh Saddler . Development from Above or Below? The Dialectics of Regional Planning in Developing Countries . Walter B. Stóuhr and D. R. Fraser Taylor , eds. Human Impact on the Ecosystem . Joy Tivy and Greg O'Hare . Plants and People: Vegetation Change in North America . Thomas R. Vale . The Mapmakers: The Story of the Great Pioneers in Cartography from Antiquity to the Space Age . John Noble Wilford .     

Deserts and Aeolian Desertification in China: Book review and some thoughts

Desertification is a global phenomenon that affects about two billion people. It occurs in arid zones where the annual precipitation is below 400 mm, partic- ularly in the marginal areas of the world＇s largest deserts. It is a result of water and wind erosion, over- grazing, global warm-ing, improper soil cultivation, and increased pressure ot population growth, and it causes degradation of soil and natural and agricultural vegetation. The direct result is less food for people and livestock, which influences pop- ulation and animal husbandry fluctuations. Despite ef- forts to combat and reduce desertification, the affected areas are annually increasing.     

BOOK REVIEWS

Book Reviewed in this article: The Rice Economy of Asia . Randolph Barker and Robert W. Herdt with Beth Rose. Using Microcomputers: A Guidebook for Writers, Teachers, and Researchers in the Social Sciences . Blaine A. Erie—the Lake that Survived . Noel M. Burns. Geology and Society . Donald R. Coates. Caves and Karst of Kentucky . Percy H. Dougherty, ed. Altered Harvest: Agriculture, Genetics, and the Fate of the World's Food Supply . Jack Doyle. The Middle East and North Africa, A Political Geography . Alasdair Drysdale and Gerald H. Blake. Clamor at the Gates. The New American Immigration . Nathan Glazer, ed. Development and the Landowner: An analysis of the British experience . Robin Goodchild and Richard Munton. Discovering Landscape in England and Wales . Andrew Goudie and Rita Gardner. The Modern Plantation in the Third World . Edgar Graham and Ingrid Floering. Social Relations and Spatial Structures . Derek Gregory and John Urry, eds. The World Food Problem 1950–1980 . David Grigg. Costa Rica: A Geographical Interpretation in Historical Perspective . Carolyn Hall. The Urbanization of Capital: Studies in the History and Theory of Capitalist Urbanization . David Harvey Consciousness and the Urban Experience: Studies in the History and Theory of Capitalist Urbanization . David Harvey. Reviving Main Street . Deryck Holdsworth, ed. Rural Roads and Poverty Alleviation . John Howe and Peter Richards, eds. Uneven Development in Southern Europe: Studies of Accumulation, Class, Migration and the State . Ray Hudson and Jim Lewis, eds. Karst Geomorphology . J. N. Jennings. The Geomorphology of North-west England . R. H. Johnson, ed. Climate Impact Assessment: Studies of the Interaction of Climate and Society . Robert Kates, Jesse Ausubel, Mimi Berberian, eds. Public Service Provision and Urban Development . Andrew Kirby, Paul Knox, and Steven Pinch, ed. State and Market: The Politics of the Public and the Private . Jan-Erik Lane, ed. Living Cities . Twentieth Century Fund Task Force on Urban Preservation Policies. World Climatic Systems . John G. Lockwood. Urban Ethnicity in the United States. New Immigrants and Old Minorities . Lionel Maldonaldo and Joan Moore, eds. Culture and Conservation: The Human Dimension in Environmental Planning . Jeffrey A. McNeely and David Pitt, eds. The Andean Past. Land, Societies, and Conflicts . Magnus Mörner. Gaia: An Atlas of Planet Management . Norman Myers, ed. Progress in Industrial Geography . Michael Pacione, ed. Progress in Political Geography . Michael Pacione, ed. Rivers and Landscape . Geoff Petts and Ian Foster. Urbanization and Planning in the 3rd World: Spatial Perceptions and Public Participation . Robert B. Potter. One Island, Two Nations? A Political Geographical Analysis of the National Conflict in Ireland . D. G. Pringle. Circulation in Third World Countries . R. Mansell Prothero and Murray Chapman. The Ozarks Outdoors: A Guide for Fishermen, Hunters, and Tourists . Milton D. Rafferty. Suburban Burglary: A Time and a Place for Everything . George Rengert and John Wasilchick. Geomorphology and Soils . K.S. Richards, R.R. Arnett, and S. Ellis, eds. The Homes and Homeless of Post-War Britain . Frederick Shaw. Indochinese Refugees in America . Paul J. Strand and Woodrow Jones, Jr. Wild Horses and Sacred Cows . Richard Symanski. Forever Wild: Environmental Aesthetics and the Adirondack Forest Preserve . Philip G. Terrie. The Regional Economic Impact of Technological Change . A.T. Thwaites and R.P. Oakey, eds. The Good Life . Yi-Fu Tuan.