Caves and karst of Ecuador – state-of-the-art and research perspectives

Current knowledge of caves and karst regions of Ecuador is scarce and broadly limited to discrete areas such as that of the Galápagos volcanokarst. In continental Ecuador, carbonate karst mostly outcrops in the Amazonian basin and accounts for 5–10% of the surface of the country. However, owing to the difficulties of access within the Amazonian rainforest, most surface and subterranean karst is yet to be revealed. In this review, we present an updated map of the solutional karst of Ecuador based on the most recent geological surveys and our own research. We describe the principal karst regions of Ecuador from the Amazonian basin (Napo and Santiago) as well as the Galápagos pseudokarst. We show that Ecuador karst research may be of considerable importance for both basic and applied research owing to its geographical position and intrinsic vulnerabilities. We discuss the main challenges of karst-related research in Ecuador, such as paleoclimatic studies, subterranean biodiversity, and archeology. We discuss the main vulnerabilities and hazards related to karst uses in Ecuador, considering the paramount importance of tourism for the country.     

A review of China's overseas economic and trade cooperation zones along the Belt and Road:Progress and prospects

As a new mode for Chinese overseas investment and a growth pole for industrialization and urbanization of the host countries, the overseas economic and trade cooperation zone(OETCZ) or overseas free economic zone(OFEZ) of China plays an important role under the Belt and Road Initiative. With the rising attention on OETCZ, studies regarding OETCZ have also increased. However, there is a lack of studies reviewing this topic’s progress, challenges and future directions. This paper employs a systema...     

Review of and prospects for China’s human and economic geography

The “High-Level Forum of the Development of China’s Human Geography Under the Background of Change” was held in Beijing on January 22-23, 2016. More than 30 professors attended this forum. At this conference, they discussed the major progress made towards developing China’s human geography, as well as the existing problems, limiting factors, opportunities, international collaborations, emerging directions, and prospects in the development of this discipline. In recent years human geography has boomed, generating many important opportunities for its development. Establishing an academic community for joint research on major research issues and collaborative innovation is a promising and important route to take. We should embrace both domestic and international characteristics, to promote China’s human geography onto the world stage. Meanwhile, the cultivation of various scholarly talents is also of great value to enrich and advance the discipline.     

The validity and international comparability of China's floating population concepts and data

The two concepts of “liudong renkou(floating population or FP)” and “renkou liudong(mobility of the floating population or MOFP)”, along with relevant data based on these two concepts, have long been used extensively in China’s research and policy making, playing a central role in Chinese studies of migration. Unlike the concepts of “migrant” and “migration” in the international literature, which are focused on people’s spatial mobility, “liudong renkou” and “renkou liudong” are identified and m...     

The temporal and spatial relationship between NDVI and climatological parameters in Colorado

1 Introduction In recent years, many researchers have demonstrated that there are essential and evident correlations between NDVI and climatological parameters (temperature and precipitation). The analysis of correlation between climate forces and time-integrated NDVI over US Northern and Central Great Plains suggested that spatial and temporal variation of precipitation and potential evapotranspiration and growing degree days in growing season are the most important control on grassland…     

Development Optimization and Uncertainty Analysis Methods for Oil and Gas Reservoirs

Uncertainty complicates the development optimization of oil and gas exploration and production projects, but methods have been devised to analyze uncertainty and its impact on optimal decision-making. This paper compares two methods for development optimization and uncertainty analysis: Monte Carlo (MC) simulation and stochastic programming. Two example problems for a gas field development and an oilfield development are solved and discussed to elaborate the advantages and disadvantages of each method. Development optimization involves decisions regarding the configuration of initial capital investment and subsequent operational decisions. Uncertainty analysis involves the quantification of the impact of uncertain parameters on the optimum design concept. The gas field development problem is designed to highlight the differences in the implementation of the two methods and to show that both methods yield the exact same optimum design. The results show that both MC optimization and stochastic programming provide unique benefits, and that the choice of method depends on the goal of the analysis. While the MC method generates more useful information, along with the optimum design configuration, the stochastic programming method is more computationally efficient in determining the optimal solution. Reservoirs comprise multiple compartments and layers with multiphase flow of oil, water, and gas. We present a workflow for development optimization under uncertainty for these reservoirs, and solve an example on the design optimization of a multicompartment, multilayer oilfield development.     

Analysis of satellite and model datasets for variability and trends in Arctic snow extent and depth, 1948–2006

This study aims to investigate the spatiotemporal trends in snow depth (SD) and snow cover extent (SCE) for Arctic lands, excluding Greenland, for the period 1948–2006. The investigation not only delineates how the Arctic regions are manifesting significant annual trends in both SD and SCE, but also provides a comprehensive understanding of their historical context. To achieve these objectives, the combined resources of the hydrological and biogeochemical model (CHANGE), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) weekly SCE data, and in situ observations of SD were used. Most regions in the Arctic exhibited a significant negative trend in SD over the 59 years of study. The magnitude of the negative trend was stronger in North America than in Eurasia, where the decrease became more significant, starting from the late 1980s, coinciding well with the temperature rise during that time. During the same period, the warming temperature caused a prominent decrease in deeper SDs (i.e., >35 cm), so that the corresponding SCEs exhibited negative anomalies, with the greatest declines being observed at SDs > 55 cm. In contrast, the SCEs for SD ≤ 35 cm showed increased anomalies during the most recent two decades. The increased anomalies signify a sequential result induced by the decrease in the SCEs with deeper SDs, rather than the expansion of snow to snow-free regions. These changes resulted in a northward shift of the shallow SD line, which took place to a highly significant degree in North America. These results suggest that the Arctic SCE and SD will undergo more intense changes in response to the future climate warming.     

The Safe Schools Program and Young People’s Sexed and Gendered Geographies

This essay examines the recent controversy surrounding ‘Safe Schools', a federally-funded education program designed to reduce anti-lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) bullying in Australian schools. Although LGBTI students are known to experience homophobic, biphobic and transphobic verbal and physical abuse at school, opponents of Safe Schools have argued that the Program is both unnecessary and potentially harmful. In the essay, we argue that geographers have valuable contributions to make to this debate, particularly by revealing the ways in which sexuality and gender shape young people's experiences of school spaces.     

China's Permanent and Temporary Migrants: Differentials and Changes, 1990–2000

A unique feature of migration in China is its two-track system, one consisting of permanent migration and temporary migration. This article examines whether and how hukou reforms and the maturation of migration streams since the 1980s have changed the two-track system. Using data on interprovincial migration from the 1990 and 2000 censuses, our empirical analysis focuses on the differentials between permanent migrants and temporary migrants and their changes over time. We document the size, migration reasons, and selectivity of migrants, and we evaluate the determinants of the dichotomy between permanent migrants and temporary migrants via logistic regression models. Our findings show that between 1990 and 2000 the gaps between interprovincial permanent migrants and temporary migrants did not narrow but in most aspects had widened. There is little evidence that hukou reforms have lowered the barriers to urban citizenship. At the same time, a larger spectrum of the rural population has joined the temporary migration streams. The net result is a persistence of the two-track migration system, where permanent migrants increasingly assume the position of social and economic elites and temporary migrants are the disadvantaged and disenfranchised.     

Evolution of rural multifunction and its natural and socioeconomic factors in coastal China

Rural decline has become a global problem. To address this issue, the division of rural functions and identification of driving factors are important means of rural revitalization.Taking the town area as a unit, this study conducts a division and evolution analysis of rural regional functions in Jiangsu province in coastal China by constructing an evaluation system using the spatial econometric model to diagnose endogenous and exogenous driving factors of rural multifunction formation. The resul...     

近两百年江苏省城乡建设用地数量估算与空间重建

以典型历史断面下的建设用地为研究对象,以数量估算控制下的空间格局重建为基本思路,在200 m×200 m网格下,估算并重建了近200年5个时间断面下的江苏省建设用地（城镇用地和农村聚落用地）的空间格局。在数量估算方面,历史时期（1820年）的城镇用地主要采用城垣、市镇四栅等作为代用指标;近现代时期（1911年、1936年、1952年）,主要通过人口、社会经济等数据,结合一定假设确定人均用地数量进行推导;各时期的农村聚落用地均以人口数量为基础,根据人均住房面积和社会经济数据修正确定。在空间重建方面,结合遥感数据解译获得的现代（1985年）土地利用数据,借助基础地理数据,在一定假设条件下,通过数量控制、边界控制、适宜性控制,兼顾用地连片性等予以确定。结果表明：① 各时间断面下的江苏省建设用地数量分别为963.46 km²（1820年）、1041.94 km²（1911年）、1672.40 km²（1936年）、1980.34 km²（1952年）和10687.18 km²（1985年）;② 建设用地在空间分布上具有亲水网、路网等特征,并随居民点极化与扩散效应而不断扩张;③ 通过变化过程与演化趋势检验、建设用地与生产协调性分析、居民点空间数量与格局分析等方法,间接证明了重建结果的合理性。     

清代中期江苏省土地利用格局网格化重建

针对当前历史土地利用空间重建研究多基于单一地类且空间分辨率较低的特征,提出较高分辨率全地类土地利用空间重建方法。以1820年为时间断面,以现代江苏省域为研究区,以历史文献记载、历史地理学研究成果、现代统计数据、自然环境数据等为支撑,将土地利用类型划分为耕地、聚落用地（含城镇用地、农村居民点用地）、水域和其他用地（含林草地及未利用地）,考虑区域自然资源和社会经济特征,提出理论假设,对府级耕地、城镇用地、农村居民点用地数量进行修正;沿用以现代土地利用格局为基础反演历史土地利用格局的基本思路,从人地关系角度出发,采用治所邻近度分析、综合评价等方法重建了1820年100 m×100 m空间格网下的江苏省土地利用格局,同时,通过不同地理分区统计及降尺度对比间接验证等分析了重建结果。结果表明：① 1820年江苏省耕地、城镇用地、农村居民点用地、水域用地及其他用地面积分别占区域总面积的48.49%、4.46%、0.16%、15.03%和31.86%;② 1820年研究区内土地垦殖率较高,但建设用地比率较低,受人口分布、地形及河网密度等影响,不同地理分区土地利用差异较为显著;③ 农村居民点用地及耕地的降尺度分析结果均呈显著线性正相关,在一定程度上表明研究结果具有合理性。     

Reconstructing the historical spatial land use pattern for Jiangsu Province in mid-Qing Dynasty

This study is proposed to reconstruct a high-resolution spatial distribution of historical land use pattern with all land use types to overcome low-accuracy and/or the monotonic land use type in current historical land use reconstruction studies. The year of 1820 is set as the temporal section and the administrative area of Jiangsu Province is the study area. Land use types being reconstructed include farmland, residential land (including both urban land and rural residential land), water body, and other land (including forest land, grassland, and unused land). Data sources mainly refer to historical documents, historical geographic research outcomes, contemporary statistics, and natural environmental data. With great considerations over regional natural resources and social and economic conditions, a few theoretical assumptions have been proposed to facilitate the adjustment on prefecture farmland, urban land, and rural residential land. Upholding the idea that the contemporary land use pattern has been inherently in sequence with the historical land use pattern as well as the land use pattern shall be consistent to its accessibility, this study reconstructs the land use pattern in Jiangsu Province in 1820 with 100 m*100 m grids based on accessibility analysis and comprehensive evaluation. The outcome has been tested as valid by regionalization and correlation analysis. The resulted spatial distribution shows that back in 1820 in Jiangsu Province: (1) farmland, urban land, rural residential land, water body, and other land take about 48.49%, 4.46%, 0.16%, 15.03%, and 31.86% of the total land area respectively; (2) the land use pattern features high proportion of land in farming while low-proportion land in non-farming uses while population, topography, and the density of water body lead to great spatial variations; and (3) the reconstruction methodology has been tested as reasonable based on significant positive correlations between 1820 data and 1985 for both farmland and rural residential land at the prefecture level.     

清代中期江苏省土地利用格局网格化重建（英文）

This study is proposed to reconstruct a high-resolution spatial distribution of historical land use pattern with all land use types to overcome low-accuracy and/or the monotonic land use type in current historical land use reconstruction studies. The year of 1820 is set as the temporal section and the administrative area of Jiangsu Province is the study area. Land use types being reconstructed include farmland, residential land(including both urban land and rural residential land), water body, and other land(including forest land, grassland, and unused land). Data sources mainly refer to historical documents, historical geographic research outcomes, contemporary statistics, and natural environmental data. With great considerations over regional natural resources and social and economic conditions, a few theoretical assumptions have been proposed to facilitate the adjustment on prefecture farmland, urban land, and rural residential land. Upholding the idea that the contemporary land use pattern has been inherently in sequence with the historical land use pattern as well as the land use pattern shall be consistent to its accessibility, this study reconstructs the land use pattern in Jiangsu Province in 1820 with 100 m*100 m grids based on accessibility analysis and comprehensive evaluation. The outcome has been tested as valid by regionalization and correlation analysis. The resulted spatial distribution shows that back in 1820 in Jiangsu Province:(1) farmland, urban land, rural residential land, water body, and other land take about 48.49%, 4.46%, 0.16%, 15.03%, and 31.86% of the total land area respectively;(2) the land use pattern features high proportion of land in farming while low-proportion land in non-farming uses while population, topography, and the density of water body lead to great spatial variations; and(3) the reconstruction methodology has been tested as reasonable based on significant positive correlations between 1820 data and 1985 for both farmland and rural residential land at the prefecture level.     

Remotely sensing the spatial and temporal land cover changes in Eastern Mau forest reserve and Lake Nakuru drainage basin,Kenya

This study aimed at characterizing land cover dynamics for four decades in Eastern Mau forest and Lake Nakuru basin, Kenya. The specific objectives were to: (i) identify and map the major land cover types in 1973, 1985, 2000 and 2011; (ii) detect and determine the magnitude, rates and nature of the land cover changes that had occurred between these dates, and; (iii) establish the spatial and temporal distribution of these changes. Land cover types were discriminated through partitioning, hybrid classification and spatial reclassification of multi-temporal Landsat imagery. The land cover products were then validated and overlaid in post-classification comparison to detect the changes between 1973 and 2011. The accuracies of the land cover maps for 1973, 1985, 2000 and 2011 were 88%, 95%, 80% and 89% respectively. Six land cover classes, namely forests-shrublands, grasslands, croplands, built-up lands, bare lands and water bodies, were mapped. Forests-shrublands dominated in 1973, 1985 and 2000 covering about 1067 km², 893 km² and 797 km² respectively, but were surpassed by croplands (953 km²) in 2011. Bare lands occupied the least area that varied between 2 km² and 7 km² during this period. Overall, forests-shrublands and grasslands decreased by 428 km² and 258 km² at the annual average rates of 1% each, whereas croplands and built-up lands expanded by 660 km² and 24 km² at the annual rates of 6% and 16% respectively. The key hotspots of these changes were distributed in all directions of the study area, but at different times. Therefore, policies that integrate restoration and conservation of natural ecosystems with enhancement of agricultural productivity are strongly recommended. This will ensure environmental sustainability and socio-economic well-being in the area. Future research needs to assess the impacts of the land cover changes on ecosystem services and to project the future patterns of land cover changes.     

利用高分辨率卫星影像分析工业城市的土地利用

The spatial differentiation of land use changes of Tuticorin is studied using high resolution LISS III satellite imagery and Maximum Likelihood algorithms. The classification accuracy of 95.2% was obtained. In this study,the land use of Tuticorin is classified as settlement,salt pan,agricultural land,wasteland,water bodies and shrubs. The settlement area is increased to 4.6 km2 during the year 2001 and 2006. The settlement area change is mainly driven by growth of industries and migration of people from peripheral villages. Shrub is increased to 3.63 km2 in the six year period. Water logging due to growth of shrubs in Tuticorin leads to several environmental and health hazard. This study warrants proper urban planning for Tuticorin for sustainable use of resource and environment.     

1985-2005年环渤海地区土地利用变化时空格局

Based on TM image data and other survey materials, this paper analyzed the spatiotemporal patterns of land use change in the Bohai Rim during 1985–2005. The findings of this study are summarized as follows: (1) Land use pattern changed dramatically during 1985–2005. Industrial and residential land in urban and rural areas increased by 643,946 hm², of which urban construction land had the largest and fastest increase of 294,953 hm² at an annual rate of 3.72%. (2) The outward migration of rural population did not prevent the expansion of residential land in rural areas by 184,869 hm². This increase reveals that construction of rural residences makes seriously wasteful and inefficient use of land. (3) Arable land, woodland and grassland decreased at a rate of −0.02%, −0.12% and −1.32% annually, while unused land shrank by 157,444 hm² at an annual rate of −1.69%. (4) The change of land use types showed marked fluctuations over the two stages (1985–1995 and 1995–2005). In particular, arable land, woodland and unused land experienced an inversed trend of change. (5) There was a significant interaction between arable land and woodland. Industrial construction land in urban and rural areas showed a net trend of increase during the earlier period, but only adjustment to its internal structure during the second period. The loss of arable land to the construction of factories, mines and residences took place mainly in the fringe areas of large and medium-sized cities, along the routes of major roads, as well as in the economically developed coastal areas in the east. Such changes are closely related to the spatial differentiation of the level of urbanization and industrialization in the region.     

陕北黄土丘陵区乡村聚落土壤水蚀观测分析

通过2004年6月至10月, 在陕北对降雨形成的乡村聚落土壤侵蚀的定位观测, 其结果表明：①乡村聚落的平均径流系数为0.335, 其中延安最大, 为0.44;榆林和绥德较小, 分别为0.293、0.272。同时, 道路和庭院的径流系数较大, 分别为0.39、0.377, 户间空地较小, 为0.277;②径流平均含沙量以户间空地最大 (52.54 g/l), 次为户间道路 (41.42 g/l), 而院落径流含沙量较小 (17.78 g/l);③乡村聚落的平均侵蚀强度为5434.3 t/km², 已达强度级侵蚀, 其中户间道路、户间空地侵蚀较大, 分别为7348 t/km²、6873 t/km², 庭院相对较小, 为2081.7 t/km²;④乡村聚落土壤侵蚀的变化, 受人为影响更加突出。说明黄土高原乡村聚落土壤侵蚀较严重, 并且具有特殊性, 不可忽视, 应加强研究和防治。     

中国中、东部典型样区不同发展水平下土壤与土地利用多样性的对比分析(英文)

Two typical provincial capitals (Nanjing and Zhengzhou) and two counties (Rugao and Yuanyang) in east (Jiangsu Province) and central (Henan Province) China were chosen respectively as the developed and less developed comparative cases for pedodiversity and land use diversity correlative analysis by borrowing the recently better developed pedodiversity methodology. Land use classification was worked out using remote sensing images in three different periods (1986-1988, 2000-2001 and 2004-2006) for these studied case areas before the calculation of the constituent diversity index and spatial distribution diversity index modified after Shannon entropy in 2 km×2 km grid scale of the soil and land use pattern were conducted and then a connection index was proposed to evaluate the relationship between soil and land use diversity. Results show that during the years from 1986 to 2006, the composition and spatial distribution of regional land use pattern had changed greatly. The agricultural land area of all the studied case areas decreased obviously in which Nanjing has the highest decrement of 895.98 km 2 mainly into urban use while the other land use type area changes show the same trend. The connection index of four typical soil family types and typical urban land use types, i.e., urban construction land, transportation land and industrial and mining area all increased in this period. In the studied case areas, there is the highest soil constituent diversity in Zhengzhou at 0.779 while the simplest soil constituent diversity in Rugao at 0.582. Meanwhile we have higher land use diversity in the more urbanized Jiangsu Province than Henan Province, Nanjing is ranking the first that has been getting higher and higher in the three periods at 0.366 in 1986-1988, 0.483 in 2000-2001 and 0.545 in 2004-2006. Finally, the connection index figures to evaluate the relationship between soil and land use diversity of the studied areas were compared to show the similar phenomenon that this figure grows fastest in Nanjing followed by Zhengzhou and other places.     

安徽省土壤侵蚀空间分布及其与环境因子的关系

基于USLE和GIS空间分析技术,对安徽省土壤侵蚀空间分布进行了定量研究,分析了土壤侵蚀空间分布与地形、土壤类型、土地利用方式的关系。结果表明:安徽省2002年平均土壤侵蚀模数为249.5t/km²·a,土壤侵蚀总量为33599148t/a。土壤侵蚀空间分布呈块状分布特征。淮北平原地区土壤侵蚀较弱,皖南丘陵山区和皖西大别山区土壤侵蚀较严重。在不同高程带上,200~500m高程带土壤侵蚀最强;不同坡度等级中,15°~25°坡度上的土壤侵蚀最强,>35°坡地上则较弱;不同坡向中,东南坡土壤侵蚀最强,其次是东坡;不同用地类型的土壤侵蚀程度不同,草地的土壤侵蚀最为严重,其次是林地;在各种土壤类型中,紫色土和黄褐土的土壤侵蚀最为突出,棕壤的土壤侵蚀微弱。