The temporal change of driving factors during the course of land desertification in arid region of North China: the case of Minqin County

Taking the key research area in the arid region of North China—Minqin County—as a case, this paper analyzes the main factors impacting land desertification. Based on factor analysis method and the collection of data in the last 50 years, this paper researches the spatial changes of driving factors during the course of land desertification in Minqin, Gansu Province. The results of factor analysis indicate that the driving force of human factor on land desertification accounted for 56.33% in 1956–2004 and for 66.19% in 1981–2004, the driving force of nature factor on land desertification accounted for 11.29% in 1956–2004 and 8.11% in 1981–2004, and the synthesis of driving forces of human and natural factors accounted for 11.19% in 1956–2004 and for 14.88% in 1981–2004. This indicated that human driving force on land desertification was increasing in Minqin County gradually.     

An evaluation of the economic benefits and costs of conservation tillage

 The economic benefits of the adoption of conservation tillage depend on site-specific factors including soil characteristics, local climatic conditions, cropping patterns, and other attributes of the overall farming operation. While it is possible to draw some general inferences about components of economic returns and costs, a comprehensive assessment of the net private benefits from greater use of conservation tillage is not feasible. Received: 4 December 1997 · Accepted: 30 March 1998     

A Spatial and Temporal Analysis of Damaging Snowstorms in the United States

Records of very damaging snowstorms, those causing more than $25 million in property losses, across the United States were assessed to define the spatial and temporal dimensions of the nation’s snowstorm activity during 1949–2000. In this 52-year period 155 snowstorms occurred and caused losses totaling $21.6 billion (2000 dollars). The northeastern U.S. had the nation’s maximum storm occurrences (79 storms), total losses ($7.3 billion), and storm intensity. Two-thirds of all U.S. losses occurred in the Northeast, Southeast, and Central climate regions, and storm occurrences and losses were least in the western U.S. The incidence of storms peaked in the 1976–1985 period and exhibited no up or down trend during 1949–2000. However, national losses had a significant upward time trend, as did storm sizes and intensity. States with the greatest number of storms were New York (62) and Pennsylvania (58) with only 2 storms in Montana, Idaho, and Utah. Storm losses in the northeastern and southeastern U.S. had U-shaped time distributions with flat time trends for 1949–2000, but losses in the western regions and Deep South had distinct upward trends in losses and storm size. More than 90% of all storm losses in the western U.S. occurred after 1980. These findings indicating increased losses over time reflect that a rapidly growing population and vulnerability of more property at risk have been major factors affecting losses, and the lack of a change over time in snowstorm incidences suggests no change in climate during 1949–2000.     

中国海岸带地质资源与环境评价研究

海岸带是中国社会经济发展的前沿地带,人口密度最大、城镇化程度最高,在中国海洋强国战略中发挥重要的支撑作用,同时也是中国资源环境压力最大的区域。本文在全面分析近20年来中国海岸带地质资源环境调查成果的基础上,系统梳理了海岸带地区地质资源环境优势和存在的地质环境问题。中国海岸带地质资源环境优势突出,为绿色发展提供了良好条件,重要地质资源环境优势包括:1.2×10~4km~2滩涂后备土地资源可适度开发,以缓解海岸带建设用地紧张局面;2.8×10~4km~2绿色富硒土地和4.1×10~5km~2绿色渔场,适宜发展绿色特色农业和建设海洋牧场;浅层地温能和地热水年可开采量折合标准煤4.2×10~8t,对改善能源结构、减少大气污染有重要作用;5.8×10~4km~2滨海湿地和134处国家级和世界级地质遗迹资源,为海岸带生态文明建设提供了条件;90%的陆域适宜城镇和重大工程规划建设,地下空间开发条件较好,为海岸带地质安全提供了保障。存在的主要环境问题包括:海岸带局部存在活动断裂、地面沉降、地面塌陷、海岸侵蚀淤积、风暴潮等重大地质问题,对部分城市与重要基础设施形成威胁,局部地区水、土污染及海水入侵严重,需要高度重视。建议加大海岸带多学科综合地质调查,构建多要素、多圈层、多维度地质模型,查明自然灾害发生的规律和原因,减轻对人民生命财产造成的损失。     

Deaggregation of multi-hazard damages,losses, risks,and connectivity: an application to the joint seismic-tsunami hazard at Seaside,Oregon

This paper presents a methodology to deaggregate the results of a multi-hazard damage analysis by extending the traditional multi-hazard damage analysis to consider both population characteristics and independent hazards. The methodology is applied to the joint seismic-tsunami hazard at Seaside, Oregon, considering four infrastructure systems: (1) buildings, (2) transportation network, (3) electric power network and (4) water supply network. Damages to all infrastructure systems are evaluated, and the networked infrastructures are used to inform parcel connectivity to critical facilities. US Census data and a probabilistic housing unit allocation method are implemented to assign detailed household demographic characteristics at the parcel level. Six dimensions of deaggregation are introduced: (1) spatial, (2) hazard type, (3) hazard intensity, (4) infrastructure system, (5) infrastructure component, and (6) housing unit characteristics. The damages, economic losses and risks, and connectivity to critical facilities are deaggregated across these six dimensions. The results show that deaggregated economic loss and risk plots can allow community resilience planners the ability to isolate high-risk events, as well as provide insights into the underlying driving forces. Geospatial representation of the results allows for the identification of both vulnerable buildings and areas within a community and is highlighted by the spatial pattern of parcel disconnection from critical facilities. The incorporation of population characteristics provides an understanding of how hazards disproportionately impact population subgroups and can aide in equitable resilience planning.

     

The Hungarian diversification strategy: Constraints and opportunities

Although agricultural work is declining in Hungary, farming remains an important source of employment. However, the agrarian population should not be regarded as homogenous because many small farms are worked only for subsistence and family income supplement. This is because of prolonged economic crisis which makes for a shortage of job opportunities in other sectors of the economy. Until economic growth accelerates there is a need for transitional solutions to the problem of unemployment. It is argued that the present farming system could be diversified through labour-intensive programmes to provide piped water and drainage in small towns and villages and simultaneously engage many of the long-term unemployed who are no longer entitled to benefit and lack the qualifications for jobs that require special skills. The environment could also be protected by the afforestation of 300–400 000 ha of arable land or its conversion to grassland. Light industry could also generate employment while stimulating the growth of local farm production and the improvement of the infrastructure. Training for unemployed young people should also be a priority if the erosion of rural labour resources is not to become irreversible. A much more proactive approach is needed from government to safeguard rural labour resources and achieve greater integration between forestry, farming and processing. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The geography of part-time farming — A new vista for agricultural geographers

This paper presents a macro level geographic vista and a theoretical vista as research avenues for an approach to the study of part-time farming. In Canada about one-third of all farm operators have reported off-farm work in addition to farming in each census period since 1941. The utility of the Canadian Census is illustrated and the temporal and spatial variations in the degree and intensity of part-time farming in Canada are examined. Variations in the degree of part-time farming appear to represent an aggregate response to the needs, opportunities and traditions associated with specific regions while variations in the intensity of off-farm work appear to represent some component of the form or nature of part-time farming.The theoretical vista is a call for agricultural geographers to incorporate part-time farming as one of the elements in the systems approach to the study of agriculture and as a key index in agricultural typologies. It is also suggested that specific typologies of part-time farming be developed. In the Canadian context a theoretical spatial order consisting of 1) areas of symbiotic relationship; 2) areas of low economic opportunity; 3) rural-urban fringe areas and; 4) areas of high agricultural potential, can be utilized to synthesize the degree, intensity and form of part-time farming.     

Potential for global mapping of development via a nightsat mission

Nightsat is a concept for a satellite system capable of global observation of the location, form and density of lighted infrastructure and development within human settlements. Nightsat’s repeat cycle should be sufficient to produce an annual cloud-free composite of surface lighting to enable detection of growth rates. Airborne and satellite imagery have been used to define the range of spatial, spectral, and detection limit options for a future Nightsat mission. Our conclusion is that Nightsat should collect data from a near-synchronous orbit in the early evening with 50–100 m spatial resolution and have detection limits of 2.5E⁻⁸ W cm⁻² sr⁻¹ μm⁻¹ or better. Multispectral low-light imaging data would be better than panchromatic data by providing valuable information on the type or character of lighting, a potentially stronger predictor of variables such as ambient population density and economic activity.     

基于遥感夜间灯光数据的大连城市用地扩张的空间特征分析

为揭示大连城市用地扩张的空间分布特征,基于DSMP/OLS夜间灯光数据提取1998—2013年大连地域边界,并得到各地区的灯光阈值及地域边界分区统计面积。通过计算不同时期不同区域的城市用地增长景观格局指数,研究该市16年来的城市用地扩张方向、强度和空间景观格局变化,以揭示大连20年来城市用地扩张的空间分布特征。结果表明,城市用地扩张主要集中在沙河口区、中山区和西岗区,并以其为中心向甘井子区、旅顺口区、金州区等区域扩张。城市用地空间格局总体基本稳定,受地理条件、空间距离、经济发展和政策指引等因素的影响,城市用地扩张在不同方向上差异化显著。研究成果可作为大连城市规划的依据。     

A comparative study of nutrient transfer via surface runoff from two small agricultural catchments in north China

A field study was conducted to determine the effect of landscape spatial pattern and micro-topography on nutrient transfer via runoff from two catchments into Yuqiao Reservoir in north China. The surface runoff discharge was measured during rainfall events and water samples were analyzed in 2004 and 2005. The mean annual total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) exports per unit area from Caogezhuang catchment (C catchment) were 1.048 and 0.561 kg ha⁻¹ year⁻¹, respectively, while the TN and TP exports from Taohuasi catchment (T catchment) were 0.158 and 0.027 kg ha⁻¹ year⁻¹. In both catchments, village and vineyard shared the highest nutrient export ability due to the accumulated animal waste and heavy application of fertilizer and manure. In T catchment, the distance of village and vineyard was about 1,500 m away from the receiving water and in between were woodland and cropland. In the hydrological pathway, there were sink landscape structures of small stone dams, roadside swale, vegetated filter strip and dry ponds, which could detain water and nutrients. In C catchment, the distance between the village and the receiving water was about 200 m, and the hydrological pathway was compacted roads and ditches with no sink structures. It is suggested that the distance between the pollution source area and the receiving water and the micro-topographical features were the main factors to control the great difference in nutrient export rates.     

基于多源多时相数据集的喀什市近70a城区空间扩展遥感研究

使用民国34年（1945年）1∶1×10⁴地形图、1968年CORONA影像及近期Landsat5和2015年GE影像数据,使用遥感技术以多元多时相遥感数据融合和GIS挖掘技术为支撑,采用等扇分析法和重心转移矩阵分析了喀什市70a城市空间形态整体扩展特征,各方向上的扩展速度、强度以及空间重心转移的方向、强度。结果表明：1945-2015年间喀什市空间形态经历了带状扩展向团状扩展的转变,城市整体空间扩展强度不断加剧,空间扩展速度呈先上升后下降再上升的趋势,空间重心向东南方向绿洲腹地转移1009m,侵占甚多绿洲耕地,城市空间扩展模式粗放,亟待调整。     

Some Results on the Spatial Breakdown Point of Robust Point Estimates of the Variogram

The effect of outliers on estimates of the variogram depends on how they are distributed in space. The ‘spatial breakdown point’ is the largest proportion of observations which can be drawn from some arbitrary contaminating process without destroying a robust variogram estimator, when they are arranged in the most damaging spatial pattern. A numerical method is presented to find the spatial breakdown point for any sample array in two dimensions or more. It is shown by means of some examples that such a numerical approach is needed to determine the spatial breakdown point for two or more dimensions, even on a regular square sample grid, since previous conjectures about the spatial breakdown point in two dimensions do not hold. The ‘average spatial breakdown point’ has been used as a basis for practical guidelines on the intensity of contaminating processes that can be tolerated by robust variogram estimators. It is the largest proportion of contaminating observations in a data set such that the breakdown point of the variance estimator used to obtain point estimates of the variogram is not exceeded by the expected proportion of contaminated pairs of observations over any lag. In this paper the behaviour of the average spatial breakdown point is investigated for cases where the contaminating process is spatially dependent. It is shown that in two dimensions the average spatial breakdown point is 0.25. Finally, the ‘empirical spatial breakdown point’, a tool for the exploratory analysis of spatial data thought to contain outliers, is introduced and demonstrated using data on metal content in the soils of Sheffield, England. The empirical spatial breakdown point of a particular data set can be used to indicate whether the distribution of possible contaminants is likely to undermine a robust variogram estimator.     

Spatial variability of soil available Zn and Cu in paddy rice fields of China

As a source of nutrient supplements, the deficiency or excess of micronutrients in soil is directly connected to the plant uptake and, thereby, status of micronutrients in the human population. Proper management of micronutrients requires an understanding of the variations of soil micronutrients across the fields. This study is to investigate the spatial patterns of soil available Zn and Cu in paddy rice fields. Four hundred and sixty three soil samples were taken in Hangzhou–Jiaxing–Huzhou (HJH) watershed in Zhejiang Province, China, and available Zn and Cu were analyzed using an atomic adsorption spectrometer. Geostatistical semivariograms analysis indicated that the available Zn and Cu were best fitted to a spherical model with a range of 40.5 and 210.4 km, respectively. There were moderate spatial dependences for Zn and Cu over a long distance and the dependence were attributed to soil types and anthropogenic activities. The overlay analysis of spatial patterns and soil types gave us greater understanding about how intrinsic factors affect the spatial variation of available micronutrients. Based on the above, macroscopically regionalized management of soil available micronutrients and the implications to potential risk were discussed.     

Changes in coastal land use and the reasons for selecting places to live in Banda Aceh 10 years after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami

Ten years after the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004 and following a long process of rehabilitation and reconstruction, Aceh has finally recovered. After the tsunami, Aceh experienced a dramatic migration of its coastal population away from the city; however, after 10 years, the population has mostly recovered. As new houses have been built and new economic activities commenced in the coastal areas, there is now concern regarding potential future tsunami risks for the city. The initial rehabilitation and reconstruction plan sought to prevent the construction of any new houses 500 m from the coastline; however, this failed to happen. This paper elucidates the reasons why these new coastal communities chose their new housing areas and examines the coastal land use changes around Banda Aceh 10 years after the Indian Ocean tsunami. Questionnaires were distributed to 457 respondents, and multiple logistic regressions were used to examine the reasons for household location selection and whether a possible future tsunami was a deciding factor. To examine the coastal land use changes, a series of aerial images from the Banda Aceh coastal area were digitised. It was found that tsunami history was not a major factor in new household selection; rather, rents and land prices, distance from work, and family connections were the top three reasons motivating households to select new living places. These changes and new settlements have given the city’s disaster management agency the challenge of building more emergency infrastructure in the coastal areas.     

West North Pacific typhoon track patterns and their potential connection to Tibetan Plateau snow cover

The spatial characteristics and temporal variability of the West North Pacific (WNP) typhoon tracks are studied by analyzing the spatial pattern and temporal variability of the empirical orthogonal functions (EOFs) of the WNP typhoon track density function (TTDF) from 1945 to 2004. The results show that WNP typhoon tracks exhibit three principal EOF Modes. The first EOF Mode represents the contrasting “active” versus “inactive” typhoons defined by the overall frequency and life span of the typhoons that develop in the WNP basin. The second EOF shows a north–south dipole Mode in the TTDF depicting a seesaw pattern in typhoon frequency between Northeast Asia and Southeast Asia. The third EOF describes an east–west dipole Mode in TTDF depicting a zonal seesaw pattern between typhoons that tend to make landfalls in East Asia and typhoons that tend to stay away from the East Asia landmasses. Further analysis of the EOF time series of the WNP TTDF indicates that an important climatic factor associated with the WNP typhoon activity is the snow cover over the Tibetan Plateau (TP), which is also correlated with the East Asia summer monsoon (EASM). Thus, a mechanism linking the TP snow cover and the WNP typhoon activity is the response of the EASM in the WNP region to the TP snow cover, and the subsequent effect of EASM on the development and steering of the WNP typhoons.     

Landslide susceptibility mapping on Panaon Island,Philippines using a geographic information system

For landslide susceptibility mapping, this study applied, verified and compared the Bayesian probability model, the weights-of-evidence to Panaon Island, Philippines, using a geographic information system. Landslide locations were identified in the study area from the interpretation of aerial photographs and field surveys, and a spatial database was extracted from SRTM (Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission) DEM (Digital Elevation Model) imagery, aerial photograph, topographic map, and geological map. The factors that influence landslide occurrence, such as slope, aspect, curvature, topographic wetness index and stream power index of topography, were calculated from SRTM imagery. Distance from drainage was extracted from topographic database. Lithology and distance from fault were extracted and calculated from geological database. Terrain mapping unit was classified from aerial photographs. The spatial association between the factors and the landslides was calculated as the contrast values, W ⁺ and W ⁻ using the weights-of-evidence model. Tests of conditional independence were performed for the selection of the factors, allowing the large number of combinations of factors to be analyzed. For each factor rating, the contrast values, W ⁺ and W ⁻ were overlaid for landslide susceptibility mapping. The results of the analysis showed that contrast rating (78.60%) for each factor’s multiclass had better accuracy of 5.90% than combinations of factor assigned to binary class with W ⁺ and W ⁻ (72.70%).     

Soil erosion risk and its spatial pattern in upstream area of Guanting reservoir

The spatial pattern of soil erosion can provide valuable insights into the soil erosion processes that require a rapid assessment in practical applications. Generally, quantitative technique is expensive and time-consuming. The objective of this paper is to reveal the spatial pattern of erosion with a rapid assessment method. The affecting factors such as land cover, vegetation fraction and slope gradient are integrated into this method using a qualitative means. Beijing-1 images in 2006 were used to produce land-cover and vegetation fraction, and 1:50,000 topographic maps were used to calculate slope gradient. The study area was classified into six grades. Results show that the upstream area of Guanting Reservoir, in general, is exposed to a moderate risk; there are 17,740.33 km² of land that suffered from water soil erosion in 2006, occupied 40.69% of the total area, and most of the soil erosion area is on the light and moderate risk, which occupied 25.05 and 62.83% of the eroded area, respectively. Eight elevation zones and six slope gradient zones were overlaid with the assessed risk. The analyzed results show that: (1) the areas above 2,000 m have the lowest erosion risk, which is only 0.75% of the eroded area; 1,250–1,500 m elevation zone has the highest erosion risk, which is 34.72% of the eroded area. (2) The slope gradient zone less than 5 degrees and greater than 35 degrees have the lowest erosion risk, which is 0.02 and 0.75% of the eroded area, respectively; the slope gradient zone with 8–15 degrees has the highest erosion risk, which is 36.40% of the eroded area. These results will be useful for water and soil conservation management and the planning of mitigation measures.     

A review of b-value imaging and fractal dimension studies in the Andaman Sumatra subduction

The present study analyses the spatial pattern of quaternary gravitational slope deformations (GSD) and historical/present-day instabilities (HPI) inventoried in the Swiss Rhone Valley. The main objective is to test if these events are clustered (spatial attraction) or randomly distributed (spatial independency). Moreover, analogies with the cluster behaviour of earthquakes inventoried in the same area were examined. The Ripley’s K-function was applied to measure and test for randomness. This indicator allows describing the spatial pattern of a point process at increasing distance values. To account for the non-constant intensity of the geological phenomena, a modification of the K-function for inhomogeneous point processes was adopted. The specific goal is to explore the spatial attraction (i.e. cluster behaviour) among landslide events and between gravitational slope deformations and earthquakes. To discover if the two classes of instabilities (GSD and HPI) are spatially independently distributed, the cross K-function was computed. The results show that all the geological events under study are spatially clustered at a well-defined distance range. GSD and HPI show a similar pattern distribution with clusters in the range 0.75–9 km. The cross K-function reveals an attraction between the two classes of instabilities in the range 0–4 km confirming that HPI are more prone to occur within large-scale slope deformations. The K-function computed for GSD and earthquakes indicates that both present a cluster tendency in the range 0–10 km, suggesting that earthquakes could represent a potential predisposing factor which could influence the GSD distribution.     

Environmental Stewardship in UK agriculture: A comparison of the environmentally sensitive area programme and the Countryside Stewardship Scheme in South East England

Research into the adoption of Environmental Land Management Schemes (ELMS) has typically sought to identify the defining characteristics of participants and the ‘barriers to entry’ that dissuade others from joining. More recently, attention has focused on the motivation of participants and non-participants in helping to understand patterns of participation. This paper compares the pattern of participation in two distinct schemes operating in South East England. Indirect evidence suggests that scheme design and implementation is influencing the type of farmer joining and their motivation for doing so. Results from a survey of farmers also support the idea that the schemes are recruiting from different sections of the farming community. ESA farmers are largely motivated by financial gain, whereas those enrolling land in the Countryside Stewardship Scheme have more clearly defined conservation motives. Although there is also a ‘core’ of resistant non-participants, further changes to the design and delivery of policy could encourage a large number of ‘potential enrolers’ to join.     

A dynamic spatial diffusion model: an application to the kibbutz industry in Israel

A simple dynamic spatial diffusion model is suggested using the hitherto unreferred to concept ofinnovation adoption disparity between adoption units. Such disparity is an outcome of spatial variations in information flow caused by differential distances. The model is structured around the relationship between adoption disparity and distance in a temporal context. An application of the model to the diffusion of industrialization among Kibbutzim in Israel demonstrates its usefulness as a basic conceptual framework for understanding spatial difcesses. A possible extension of the model to inncorporate elements of the logistic curve is also proposed. *** DIRECT SUPPORT *** ABI02060 00004