黄土碳酸盐的研究

黄土是过去气候变化研究的重要对象之一。黄土中的碳酸盐则是黄土研究的一个重要内容。黄土碳酸盐的研究涉及了对次生碳酸盐的辨识、碳酸盐的含量、碳酸盐中的碳氧同位素以及碳酸盐的Sr同位素及其它微量元素等内容。对前人在这几个方面的研究作一初步的归纳总结,包括次生碳酸盐的辨识和提取对解释古气候环境有重要意义;碳酸盐的含量可反映出黄土和古土壤之间的不同气候状况;根据碳酸盐中的碳氧同位素则能大体定量得到古温度以及古植被状况进而反映古降水情况;而Sr同位素及其它微量元素则能反映出当时的化学风化程度,指示季风的强弱变化。     

风尘Sr同位素研究

黄土和红粘土为风尘物质,其Sr同位素的研究较为深入,其它风尘物质还包括深海沉积物和冰芯中的粉尘物质,以及现代风尘物质,它们的Sr同位素亦有较多研究。Sr主要以分散形式存在于风尘物质含钙矿物中。风尘物质中碳酸盐矿物Sr同位素值低,硅酸盐矿物高。风尘物质Sr同位素示踪研究一般采用硅酸盐组分,但不同粒级组分Sr同位素组成不同,2μm组分具有最高值,它影响全岩Sr同位素组成;采用固定粒级具有很好的示踪效果。利用碳酸盐Sr同位素进行风尘物源示踪,表明中国北方沙漠碳酸盐具有不同的Sr同位素组成,它受控于地质背景和化学风化程度。     

夏季风降水在我国西北地区不同粒级方解石记录上的反映

碳酸盐含量一直被作为指示干旱和季风变化的良好指标,但其发生与夏季风降雨的关系始终没有得到明确的科学证明。通过西北黄土覆盖区到物源区现代土壤、全新世古土壤S0和末次冰期最盛期黄土L1中不同粒级方解石含量的系统分析,揭示出中、粗粒级方解石含量少、变化小和无规律性,而＜2 μm粒级的细粒方解石含量高、变化大,且规律性强。现代土壤和古土壤S0淋溶层中的细粒方解石含量随降水量的增大而降低,黄土L1中方解石的含量变化则没有明显的规律性,与方解石总量和碳酸盐含量变化类似。这表明细粒方解石含量是导致方解石总量和碳酸盐含量变化的主体,代表了成壤时期形成的次生方解石,反映了成壤作用的强度和夏季风降水的变化。     

柴达木盆地盐湖卤水及其沉积物硼同位素地球化学研究进展

综述了柴达木盆地盐湖卤水及其沉积物的硼同位素研究成果,并从pH值、离子浓度、物源补给等几方面对盐湖卤水及其沉积物的硼同位素组成进行了探讨。强烈的蒸发作用可以导致盐湖卤水的pH值降低,从而使δ¹¹B值相应地升高；卤水中的B可能会随碳酸盐的析出而进入到固相中,因此Ca²⁺浓度和Ca/Cl比值较高的湖泊,其卤水的δ¹¹B值一般都比较高；盐湖卤水及其补给水源的δ¹¹B值与B/Cl比值具有中等程度的负相关关系,这种特性也可以用来指示河水中硼的来源；当易风化的硅酸盐矿物经剥蚀迁移并最终在湖泊中沉积时,盐湖沉积物的δ¹¹B值会因这些低δ¹¹B值的物源加入而变低；此外,强烈的化学风化会使湖泊中沉积较多的细粒粘土矿物,由于粘土矿物的吸附作用也会使得盐湖沉积物中的δ¹¹B值偏低。关于柴达木盆地盐湖硼同位素的研究,不仅可以为盐湖的形成、演化及成盐成矿规律的研究提供可靠依据,而且可以为盐湖资源评价及合理开发提供科学依据。     

黄土碳酸盐碳同位素环境意义讨论

黄土碳酸盐碳同位素广泛应用于第四纪气候环境变化的研究中,以往的大多数研究中无论是利用钙结核、次生碳酸盐还是成壤碳酸盐,认为其反映了C4植物的丰度。黄土高原碳酸盐碳同位素表现为黄土层高,古土壤层中低,即黄土层中C4植物丰度高于古土壤层。然而,这样的结果和黄土有机碳同位素得到的结果矛盾,有机碳同位素的结果表明温度对C4植物的分布起到了决定性作用。由于有机碳同位素对植物类型的反映更为直接而可靠,因此碳酸盐碳同位素反映C4植物丰度存在疑问。对黄土高原黄土碳酸盐碳同位素的系统概括后认为,第四纪期间黄土碳酸盐碳同位素与C4植物有直接联系,但C4植物丰度不是唯一决定性的因素,碳酸盐碳同位素的指示意义存在复杂性。在黄土高原地区,植被发育程度、与大气CO2交换程度、植被本身的碳同位素值的变化以及原生碳酸盐的影响等因素都会对碳酸盐碳同位素产生影响。由黄土碳酸盐碳同位素的讨论可延伸到不同土壤碳酸盐碳同位素揭示的环境指示意义,不同的土壤环境,其气候条件、植被类型及发育程度、大气CO2的交换情况、微生物的活动及土壤次生碳酸盐受原生碳酸盐溶解的影响等因素都会对碳同位素产生不同程度影响,哪种或哪几种因素产生主要作用,在不同区域土壤环境中是不一样的。具体研究中需确定影响的核心因素,才能确定碳同位素的环境指示意义。     

中国北方干旱半干旱区表土的有机质碳同位素、磁化率与年降水量的关系

古土壤和湖泊中的有机质碳同位素与磁化率指标被广泛应用于古气候的重建。但由于各地自然条件的差异,其气候意义具有一定的区域性。通过对中国秦岭到内蒙古北部的中蒙边境(34°N～43°N)连续剖面上的102个采样点的表层土壤样品的有机质碳同位素和磁化率进行测定,并搜集了该区域部分站点的降水资料。研究表明有机质碳同位素波动在-22‰～-30‰之间,其碳同位素值与降水量存在显著的线性负相关关系。磁化率与年均降水量也存在显著的函数关系,总体上磁化率随着年降水量的增加而增加。研究进一步证明,在中国干旱和半干旱区,表土中的有机质碳同位素δ13C和磁化率对年降水量具有显著的指示作用,因此可以用古土壤中的有机质碳同位素和磁化率作为代用指标,来反映古降水的变化。     

天山北麓典型黄土地球化学特征研究

选择天山北麓地区典型风成黄土钟梁剖面进行常量元素地球化学特征研究。结果表明:天山北麓黄土与黄土高原黄土、伊犁黄土具有相似的常量元素组成,但风化程度明显偏低。在化学风化偏弱的内陆干旱表生环境中,黄土剖面Na元素的活动性强于Ca。进一步分析发现,由于研究区碳酸盐的淋溶淀积作用不明显,Rb/Sr等一些在黄土高原地区能较好指示古气候变化的代用指标并不能很好指示天山北麓黄土成壤强度;但不受物源和沉积环境差异影响的化学蚀变指数CIA能够较好的反映天山北麓黄土成壤强度,可作为在西北内陆干旱区古环境重建的气候代用指标。     

红黏土磁化率增强机制

对于黄土-古土壤序列,磁化率增强机制已经被大家认可,并且磁化率被广泛作为古夏季风强弱变化的代用指标。红黏土伏于第四纪黄土之下,同为风成沉积物,对红黏土磁化率增强机制的研究程度不高,且对强发育红黏土获得比较低的磁化率值的原因不清楚。本文通过对佳县红黏土进行系统岩石磁学分析得出：(1) 红黏土磁性矿物种类以磁铁矿为主,同时含有一定量磁赤铁矿、赤铁矿;磁性矿物平均粒径为PSD颗粒;强发育层含有较多的软磁性矿物,弱发育层含有较多的硬磁性矿物。(2) χ、χfd和χARM两两之间表现出很好线性正相关关系,说明红黏土中含有大量SP和SD颗粒亚铁磁性矿物,这些细小磁颗粒是在成壤过程中产生,成壤作用导致古土壤层磁化率升高。(3) 红黏土χfd、χfd%值较高,说明经历较强的成壤过程,成壤环境与黄土高原黄土-古土壤序列类似,与阿拉斯加、西伯利亚黄土-古土壤明显不同。     

黄土碳酸盐碳同位素环境意义讨论

黄土碳酸盐碳同位素广泛应用于第四纪气候环境变化的研究中,以往研究中多利用钙结核、次生碳酸盐或成壤碳酸盐,认为其反映了C4植物的丰度.黄土高原碳酸盐碳同位素表现为黄土层高,古土壤层中低,即黄土层中C4植物丰度高于古土壤层.然而,这样的结果和黄土有机碳同位素得到的结果矛盾,有机碳同位素的结果表明温度对C4植物的分布起到了决...     

硝酸盐氮同位素指示的青海湟水河中可能的氮污染来源

系统测定了青海湟水河枯水期河水的硝酸盐(NO-₃)含量及其氮同位素组成(δ¹⁵N-NO-₃),详细分析了青海湟水河流域硝酸盐浓度及氮同位素组成的变化特征,基于此初步探讨了河水中可能的氮污染来源。结果显示,研究时段内湟水河河水的NO-₃浓度范围为0.1~38.0 mg/L,平均值为15.9 mg/L,约56%的河水样品中的NO-₃含量超过我国《地表水环境质量标准》中V类水氮含量的标准限值。湟水河河水δ¹⁵N-NO-₃值的变化范围为+2.7‰~+16.8‰,平均值为+8.5‰,反映出受不同氮来源的影响。总体而言,湟水河NO-₃浓度自源头至下游整体呈增大趋势,但各区段δ¹⁵N-NO-₃值的变化幅度却存在较大差异。对比分析发现,流域内河水较高的δ¹⁵N-NO-₃值可能指示河水中的硝态氮主要来源于工业生产以及人类生活排放的污水或粪便;而较低的δ¹⁵N-NO-₃值指示河水中的硝态氮主要来源于大气氮沉降或与农业活动有关的土壤。     

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.