Urbanization,urban land expansion and environmental change in China

China’s economic reforms and unprecedented growth have generated many fascinating issues for scholarly research. An understanding of urbanization and land use change in China is required for appropriate strategies and policies to facilitate future sustainable development. This paper reviews the literature on urbanization, land use and sustainable development in China with a focus on land use change. We argue that land use and environmental research are embedded in the complex economic-geographical processes and multiple trajectories of development and urbanization in China. This paper highlights the important role of space–time modeling in a multi-disciplinary setting in the study of urbanization, land use and sustainable development. It also points out potential areas for future research.     

山地城市河流土地利用结构对水质的影响--以重庆市为例

以重庆主城区6条次级河流为研究区域,运用遥感和地理信息系统计算研究区土地利用构成,借助相关性分析和冗余分析等数理统计手段,分析监测断面汇水区内不同尺度土地利用结构与水质指标间的相关关系.结果表明:研究区土地利用结构以建设用地和林地为主,未利用地和农业用地所占面积比例较少;研究区土地利用结构对各水质指标有重要影响,其中建设用地和农业用地对河流水质恶化具有明显的作用,河流沿岸林地布局能显著改善水质,但随着雨季的到来林地将成为硝态氮的来源.冗余分析进一步证实土地利用类型对水环境有一定影响.研究成果对重庆市河流水环境管理具有重要的实际指导意义,并可为山地城市河流水环境研究提供借鉴.     

Modeling the impacts of policy interventions from REDD+ in Southeast Asia: A case study in Indonesia

Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) and enhancing “removals of greenhouse gas emissions by forests” in developing countries through positive incentives is regarded as an essential component of the post-2012 climate regime for stabilizing greenhouse gas emissions and an important way of engaging developing countries in global mitigation efforts. We aimed to evaluate the potential effectiveness of REDD+ by integrating it into a land use option framework. One of our goals was to develop scenarios for evaluating the impacts of land use changes on carbon and environmental processes. In addition, we aimed to quantify the potential economic benefits to society of compensated reductions and to identify hotspots for applying REDD+. Three land use change scenarios were examined: (I) business as usual (BAU), (II) economic development, and (III) REDD+. A case study in Indonesia was examined using these land use scenarios and policy interventions, evaluating their effects on carbon emissions, socioeconomics, and environmental features of a spatial system using land use models. Significant emissions and water erosion reductions were predicted to be achieved under the REDD+ scenario, due to reduced deforestation of <6% over the next decade; >0.14 Mt CO₂e reduction was predicted relative to the BAU scenario. Furthermore, the spatial land use model indicated that REDD+ payments of forest carbon credits in the compliance market would play a key role in compensating rural communities and plantation companies for their opportunity cost in ending deforestation. This study provides an example of integrating land use modeling with a scenario analysis framework to evaluate plausible future forecasts and to evaluate the potential impacts of REDD+.     

太湖流域上游土地利用变化机制的实证分析--以浙江省安吉县为例

近10年来,太湖流域上游地区经济发展逐步趋于活跃,受此影响,区域人口-资源、环境-发展(PRED)出现了新的特点与趋势。基于上游地区土地利用/覆被变化对流域整体水环境与生态安全格局所具有的重要意义,本文选择安吉县作为典型案例,分析其区域土地利用的基本特征,土地利用变化与景观格局动态的过程,以及驱动因素与机制,由此揭示山区土地利用/覆被变化的一般性规律,为太湖流域上游地区经济发展与土地利用、环境保护相互协调,提供决策借鉴与依据。     

太湖上游低山丘陵地区不同用地类型氮、磷收支平衡特征

不同用地类型的土壤氮、磷收支平衡决定了氮、磷在土壤的富集,进一步影响氮、磷的流失强度,分析该过程有助于揭示不同用地类型对区域的环境效应.以位于太湖上游低山丘陵地区的天目湖流域为研究区,采用农户调查问卷、土壤和植被生物量实验分析、文献调研和氮、磷表观平衡模型的方法,选择研究区的茶园、水田、马尾松林和竹林四种典型用地类型,系统分析了氮、磷的输入要素,包括肥料输入、大气沉降、秸秆返田/枯枝落叶、生物固氮、人畜排泄物返田,以及输出要素,包括植物生长吸收、氨挥发、反硝化,并比较不同用地类型氮、磷收支特征.在此基础上进一步与土壤表层氮、磷含量比较,揭示太湖流域上游丘陵山区主要用地类型的水环境效应.研究结果显示:土壤氮、磷盈余量大小顺序为茶园 > 水田 > 马尾松林 > 竹林,分别是648.6、248.9、115.5、53.6 kgN/(hm²·a)和319.9、29.7、1.2和-3.4 kgP/(hm²·a);氮、磷利用效率以竹林最高,茶园的氮、磷利用效率均最低,仅为15.0%和3.1%;土壤氮盈余量与表层氮含量未能呈现出一致的关系,土壤磷盈余量与表层磷含量比较类似,并由此得出竹林比马尾松林更有利于水环境保护,而茶园对水环境的不利影响超过水田.     

Land use change in a 200‐year period and its effect on blue and green water flow in two Slovenian Mediterranean catchments—lessons for the future

The overexploitation and impairment of our freshwater resources require land management strategies that support the preservation of green and blue water flow and various ecosystem services. Historical landscape analysis and the influential driving factors of landscape development provide an essential basis for tackling current environmental questions in land and water management. Hence, this article investigates the influence of historical land use pattern on the hydrological processes and provision of blue and green water flow and storage for man and ecosystems under current climate conditions. Moreover, we discuss in how far these findings could be used to predict or optimise future land management options or as a reference for future land and water management. We used digitalized historical land use maps from 1787, 1827, 1940 and 1984 and a digital land use map of present situation from 2009 for our study areas, which are two small scale Slovenian catchments (Reka and Dragonja). The integrated river basin model soil and water assessment tool was used to simulate the land use change effects on blue and green water flow. The results showed for both catchments that the influence of land use change on total and green water quantity would be statistically insignificant but would have considerable effects on the seasonal flows. In the Reka catchment, historical situations indicate effects on spring and summer blue and green water flow due to a decreased percentage of forest and an increased percentage of grassland and vineyards in the past. Results for the Dragonja catchment indicate past shift from arable land use to forest as decrease in summer green water flow and increase in blue water flow. Possible effects are also increased levels of blue water flow and decreased levels of green water flow during the growing period of the year. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Potential wind erosion rate response to climate and land‐use changes in the watershed of the Ningxia–Inner Mongolia reach of the Yellow River,China, 1986–2013

Climate and land‐use changes could strongly affect wind erosion and in turn cause a series of environmental problems. Thus, the objective of this study was to assess potential wind erosion rate (PWER) response to climate and land‐use changes in the watershed of the Ningxia–Inner Mongolia Reach of the Yellow River (NIMRYR), China. The watershed of NIMRYR suffers from serious wind erosion hazards, and over recent decades, wind erosion intensity and distribution has changed, following climate and land‐use changes. To understand these processes in the NIMRYR watershed, the Integrated Wind Erosion Modelling System (IWEMS) and the Revised Wind Erosion Equation (RWEQ) were used to calculate the PWER under different climate conditions and land‐use scenarios, and to assess the influences of climate and land‐use changes on the PWER. The results show the PWER in the whole watershed had a significant declining trend from 1986 to 2013. The results of the relationship among PWER, climate change, and land‐use changes showed that climate change was the dominant control on the PWER change in this watershed. Compared to the period 1986–1995, the average PWER decreased 23.32% and 64.98% as a result of climate change in the periods 1996–2005 and 2006–2013, respectively. In contrast with climate change, the effects of land‐use changes on the average PWER were much lower, and represented a change in PWER of less than 3.3% across the whole watershed. The study method we used could provide some valuable reference for wind erosion modelling, and the research results should help climate and land‐use researchers to develop strategies to reduce wind erosion. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The impact of land use change and check‐dams on catchment sediment yield

Extensive land use changes have occurred in many areas of SE Spain as a result of reforestation and the abandonment of agricultural activities. Parallel to this the Spanish Administration spends large funds on hydrological control works to reduce erosion and sediment transport. However, it remains untested how these large land use changes affect the erosion processes at the catchment scale and if the hydrological control works efficiently reduce sediment export. A combination of field work, mapping and modelling was used to test the influence of land use scenarios with and without sediment control structures (check‐dams) on sediment yield at the catchment scale. The study catchment is located in SE Spain and suffered important land use changes, increasing the forest cover 3‐fold and decreasing the agricultural land 2·5‐fold from 1956 to 1997. In addition 58 check‐dams were constructed in the catchment in the 1970s accompanying reforestation works. The erosion model WATEM‐SEDEM was applied using six land use scenarios: land use in 1956, 1981 and 1997, each with and without check‐dams. Calibration of the model provided a model efficiency of 0·84 for absolute sediment yield. Model application showed that in a scenario without check dams, the land use changes between 1956 and 1997 caused a progressive decrease in sediment yield of 54%. In a scenario without land use changes but with check‐dams, about 77% of the sediment yield was retained behind the dams. Check‐dams can be efficient sediment control measures, but with a short‐lived effect. They have important side‐effects, such as inducing channel erosion downstream. While also having side‐effects, land use changes can have important long‐term effects on sediment yield. The application of either land use changes (i.e. reforestation) or check‐dams to control sediment yield depends on the objective of the management and the specific environmental conditions of each area. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Quantitative analysis of agricultural land use change in China

This article reviews the potential impacts of climate change on land use change in China. Crop sown area is used as index to quantitatively analyze the temporal–spatial changes and the utilization of the agricultural land. A new concept is defined as potential multiple cropping index to reflect the potential sowing ability. The impacting mechanism, land use status and its surplus capacity are investigated as well. The main conclusions are as following;

• 1.During 1949–2010, the agricultural land was the greatest in amount in the middle of China, followed by that in the country’s eastern and western regions. The most rapid increase and decrease of agricultural land were observed in Xinjiang and North China respectively, Northwest China and South China is also changed rapid. The variation trend before 1980 differed significantly from that after 1980.
• 2.Agricultural land was affected by both natural and social factors, such as regional climate and environmental changes, population growth, economic development, and implementation of policies. In this paper, the effects of temperature and urbanization on the coverage of agriculture land are evaluated, and the results show that the urbanization can greatly affects the amount of agriculture land in South China, Northeast China, Xinjiang and Southwest China.
• 3.From 1980 to 2009, the extent of agricultural land use had increased as the surplus capacity had decreased. Still, large remaining potential space is available, but the future utilization of agricultural land should be carried out with scientific planning and management for the sustainable development.

     

Effects of precipitation and landuse on runoff during the past 50 years in a typical watershed in the Loess Plateau, China

In the past century, great progress has been made worldwide in our understanding of forest-water relationship. The successful forestation programs implemented in China-which have improved the ecological environmental conditions-have gained the attention of many researchers and highlighted the relationship between forestation and water yields. The arid and semi-arid Loess Plateau has received attention from water engineers and eco-hydrological researchers in China because of a shortage in water resources. We selected one of the oldest stations conducting soil and water conservation experiments, the Xifeng soil and water conservation station, and chose the Nanxiaohe catchment and its paired catchments （Yangjiagou catchment and Dongzhuanggou catchment） as our research areas. Trends in precipitation, air temperature, streamflow over the past 50 years, and the effect of changing land use on streamflow were analyzed. The Mann-Kendall test showed that precipitation had a negative trend （downward trend）, whereas air temperature showed a positive trend （upward trend） from the past to present in the Nanxiaohe catchment. However, the trends seen in precipitation, air temperature did not contain any ＂jumping points.＂ The paired catchment approach is used to detect the effects of land cover change on hydrology in the Yangjiagou and the contrast catchment, i.e., Dongzhuanggou catchment in our study. The results showed a large change in land use in the Yangjiagou catchment from 1954 to 2008. An increase in forested land （from 0% to 40.08% from 1954 to 2008） and a reduction of bare land （from 51.26% to 5.50% from 1954 to 2008） accounted for a large part of the change in land use. However, the land use changed little in the contrast catchment. The comparison of streamfiow in the paired catchments showed that forestation reduced streamflow by 49.63% （or 6.5 mm） each year.     

The responses of hydrological processes and sediment yield to land‐use and climate change in the Be River Catchment,Vietnam

In this study, we investigated the responses of hydrology and sediment yield with impacts of land‐use and climate change scenarios in the Be River Catchment, using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) hydrological model. The calibration and validation results indicated that the SWAT model is a powerful tool for simulating the impact of environmental change on hydrology and sediment yield in this catchment. The hydrologic and sediment yield responses to land‐use and climate changes were simulated based on the calibrated model. The results indicated that a 16.3% decrease in forest land is likely to increase streamflow (0.2 to 0.4%), sediment load (1.8 to 3.0%), and surface runoff (SURQ) (4.8 to 10.7%) and to decrease groundwater discharge (GW_Q) (3.5 to 7.9%). Climate change in the catchment leads to decreases in streamflow (0.7 to 6.9%) and GW_Q (3.0 to 8.4%), increase in evapotranspiration (0.5 to 2.9%), and changes in SURQ (?5.3 to 2.3%) and sediment load (?5.3 to 4.4%). The combined impacts of land‐use and climate changes decrease streamflow (2.0 to 3.9%) and GW_Q (12.3 to 14.0%), increase evapotranspiration (0.7 to 2.8%), SURQ (8.2 to 12.4%), and sediment load (2.0 to 7.9%). In general, the separate impacts of climate and land‐use changes on streamflow, sediment load, and water balance components are offset each other. However, SURQ and some component of subsurface flow are more sensitive to land‐use change than to climate change. Furthermore, the results emphasized water scarcity during the dry season and increased soil erosion during the wet season. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

土地利用和水环境因子对大型底栖动物次级生产力的影响:以东北地区连环湖为例

土地利用和水环境因子是影响湖泊生态系统的关键因素,探究大型底栖动物次级生产力受环境因子的作用机制,可揭示底栖动物栖息地的生态系统与外源环境的关系。为了解土地利用和水环境因子对大型底栖动物次级生产力的影响,2020年对连环湖13个主要湖泊的土地利用类型及6、8和10月的大型底栖动物、水环境因子进行调查,共采集到大型底栖动物75种,隶属于3门32科56属,其中优势种属及重要种属以摇蚊幼虫和腹足纲为主,前突摇蚊(Procladius sp.)为第一优势种。主成分分析表明,土地利用及水环境因子具备明显的时空梯度,而大型底栖动物次级生产力也存在明显的时空变化。春季、夏季、秋季次级生产力和P/B值分别为5.65、6.06、4.31 g/(m²·a)和2.74、2.55、2.40 a^-1,其中春季次级生产力集中于东北部湖区,龙虎泡集中于湖心区;夏季次级生产力逐渐向各湖区扩散,龙虎泡整体偏低;秋季次级生产力集中于西北部及东南部湖区,龙虎泡集中于东北部湖区。P/B值随季节的推移呈现由东部湖区向西部湖区逐渐递增的趋势,而龙虎泡始终集中于南部湖区。次级生产力和P/B值的结构分析表明,春季次级生产力主要由腹足纲构成,进入夏、秋季后以双壳纲对次级生产力的贡献最高。其中腹足纲、双壳纲、摇蚊幼虫和寡毛纲次级生产力主要集中于北部湖区、东南部湖区、中部湖区和龙虎泡,而甲壳纲仅出现于阿木塔泡。寡毛纲和双壳纲P/B 值随季节的推移逐渐降低,摇蚊幼虫和腹足纲P/B 值呈先升后降的趋势。通径分析表明,pH、人造地表和叶绿素a是影响年均大型底栖动物次级生产力的关键环境因子。典范对应分析表明,总磷和电导率是影响不同季节大型底栖动物次级生产力的重要环境变量。耕地、人造地表与总磷、电导率和悬浮物呈显著正相关,农业生产和城镇建设的增加是连环湖呈富营养化状态的重要原因,且此现象已对大型底栖动物次级生产力形成威胁。未来应通过控制农业面源污染、秸秆腐熟还田、鼓励粪便施肥、科学规划用地等措施改善连环湖流域的生态环境,以促进大型底栖动物资源合理的开发利用。     

沙漠-绿洲陆-气相互作用和绿洲效应的数值模拟

本文利用一个已发展的陆面过程参数化方案与大气边界层模式耦合,模拟了半干旱区绿洲戈壁非均匀下垫面的陆面过程及其与大气边界层的相互作用,给出了“绿洲效应”这一自然现象垂直剖面上更为清晰、准确和细致的结构特征.数值模拟的结果与早前的许多观测实验结论相吻合,即“绿洲效应”具有明显的“冷岛效应”和“湿岛效应”;它表现为在绿洲区域比戈壁沙漠区域环境温度低、湿度大、湍流动能输送弱,具有下沉气流而导致与周围戈壁沙漠区域产生水平输送环流.而更加细致地研究这些现象对于深入了解绿洲气候的形成和绿洲的维持机理具有重要的意义.     

Abundance, diversity and succession of aquatic Coleoptera and Heteroptera in a cluster of artificial ponds in the North German Lowlands

Our study describes and evaluates environmental influences on assemblages of aquatic Coleoptera and Heteroptera in artificial ponds situated near Lake Steinhude in Lower Saxony (Germany). We determined temporal dynamics and colonization patterns for 14 ponds of different age. In total, we recorded 4941 individuals that represented 87 species of aquatic beetles and bugs. Between 30 and 40 species were found in most of the ponds. Heteropteran species of the families Corixidae and Notonectidae acted as pioneer species in new ponds, while aquatic coleopterans predominated in older ponds. The results of Canonical Correspondence Analyses (CCA) showed that among the key factors affecting community structure were land use, vegetation cover, water chemistry and the age of the ponds. We found that the distribution of adjacent ponds on areas with different land use has a positive influence on the diversity and abundance of the aquatic insect fauna.     

Anthropogenic pressures on productive soils in Corlu and Cerkezkoy

Unplanned land use is mainly arising from previous regional (local) planning policies based on economic growth, which resulted in the misuse of the land. The fertile lands are converted to industrial/urban areas along with forest areas converted to agricultural zones which directly affect the flora and fauna in a negative way. This study aims to identify the land use transformations by using Remote Sensing and GIS due to prior socio-economic return focused politics resulting in environmental degradations. Additionally, this paper presents an analysis of the transformation of fertile lands into industrial/urban zones with respect to Land Capability Classes. The study area is one of the most urbanized and industrialized zones in Turkey. The reason behind this transformation lies solely in the fact that the aforementioned area is quite appealing to industrialization due to its easy access to infrastructure and its compliance with the spatial requirements. Up until now the development plans of the region have been prepared with a socioeconomic agenda promoting the economic growth while disregarding the ecological and environmental balance, which unfortunately boosted the large-scale degradation of the environment. Although the focus area is within a zone suitable for industrialization, this region also takes place within a wide river basin (Ergene River Basin) making it an ideal location for highly productive crop cultivation (LUC Classes 1 to 4), which is a rare commodity in long term.     

Integrating ecological damages into the user charge for land reclamation: a case study of Xiamen, China

Land reclamation has become one of the great concerns of many coastal states for its serious environmental and ecological effects. User charge is an effective market-based approach for regulating land reclamation. The user change should be designed to reflect the full effect of converting sea to land to ensure sustainable use of marine resources. In this paper, we present an ecological-economic framework to estimate the user charge that covers both the ecological damages and the rent associated with the reclaimed land. We apply the framework to Xiamen’s West Sea. Results of the case study suggest that the rents of reclaimed land for industrial and commercial uses are 49 yuan/m² and 1,066–2,704 yuan/m², respectively. The unit value of ecological damages of land reclamation is 605 yuan/m². The present user charge is too low to regulate excessive land reclamation. The user charge for land reclamation in the study area should be modified to 653 yuan/m² for industrial uses and 35–40% of adjacent land prices for commercial uses.     

Comparative analysis of water-use scenarios for lower don water management system

The major attention is paid to the methods and details of the development of complex water use scenarios. Comprehensive estimates of the state, formation, and use of water resources in Rostov province and Lower Don basin, taking into account socioeconomic trends, are given. Socioeconomic criteria are used to develop scenarios of water and land use and the procedure of their comparative analysis, taking into account environmental risks. The results of estimation of two most contrast scenarios are given.     

Carbon emissions induced by cropland expansion in Northeast China during the past 300 years

Assessments of the impacts of land use and land cover changes(LUCC) on the terrestrial carbon budget, atmospheric CO2 concentration, and CO2-related climatic change are important to understand the environmental effects of LUCC and provide information about the effects of historical carbon emissions. Using regional land cover reconstructions from historical records, with a bookkeeping model, we estimated the carbon sink changes caused by historical cropland expansion in Northeast China during the past 300 years. The conclusions are as follows:(1) There was a dramatic land reclamation of cropland during the past 300 years in Northeast China. Approximately 26% of the natural land was cultivated, and 38% of the grassland and 20% of the forest and shrubland were converted to cropland.(2) The carbon emission induced by cropland expansion between 1683 and 1980 was 1.06–2.55 Pg C, and the estimation from the moderate scenario was 1.45 Pg C. The carbon emissions of the soil carbon pool was larger than that from the vegetation carbon pool and comprised more than 2/3 of the total carbon emissions.(3) The carbon emissions of the three provinces in Northeast China were different. Heilongjiang Province had the largest carbon emissions, and Jilin Province had the second largest emissions.(4) The primary source of carbon emissions was forest reclamation(taking 60% of the total emissions in the moderate scenario), the secondary source was grassland cultivation(taking 27%), and the tertiary sources were shrubland and wetland reclamation(taking 13%). Examination on the data accuracy revealed that the high-resolution regional land cover data allowed the carbon budget to be evaluated at the county level and improved the precision of the results. The carbon emission estimation in this study was lower than those in previous studies because of the improved land use data quality and various types of land use change considered.     

Multi-agent based modeling of spatiotemporal dynamical urban growth in developing countries: simulating future scenarios of Lianyungang city,China

Urbanization is the most typical form of land use/cover change, and exploration of the driving mechanism of urban growth and the prediction of its future changes are very important for achieving urban sustainable development. In view of the ability of a multi-agent system to simulate a complex spatial system and from the perspective of combining macroscopic and microscopic decision-making behaviors of agents, a spatiotemporal dynamical urban growth simulation model based on the multi-agent systems has been developed. In this model, macroscopic land use planning behaviors implemented by macroagents and microscopic land use selection behaviors autonomously generated by microagents interact within two-dimensional spatial cells. Furthermore, the urbanization process is promoted through joint decision-making by macroagents and microagents. Considering the central region of the coastal industrial city Lianyungang as the study area, we developed three target scenarios on the basis of current trends, economic development priorities, and environmental protection priorities. Moreover, the corresponding urban growth scenarios were simulated and analyzed. The simulation results show that by combining the macroscopic and microscopic decision-making behaviors of agents to simulate spatiotemporal dynamical urban growth based on the multi-agent systems, the proposed model can provide a useful spatial exploratory tool for explaining the driving mechanism of urbanization and providing decision-making support for urban management.