Review of studies on land use and land cover change in Nepal

Land use and land cover(LULC) in Nepal has undergone constant change over the past few decades due to major changes caused by anthropogenic and natural factors and their impacts on the national and regional environment and climate.This comprehensive review of past and present studies of land use and land cover change(LUCC) in Nepal concentrates on cropland, grassland, forest, snow/glacier cover and urban areas. While most small area studies have gathered data from different sources and research over a short period, across large areas most historical studies have been based on aerial photographs such as the Land Resource Mapping Project in 1986. The recent trend in studies in Nepal is to focus on new concepts and techniques to analyze LULC status on the basis of satellite imagery, with the help of geographic information system and remote sensing tools. Studies based on historical documents, and historical and recent spatial data on LULC, have clearly shown an increase in cropland areas in Nepal,and present results indicating different rates and magnitudes. A decrease in forest and snow/glacier coverage is reported in most studies. Little information is available on grassland and urban areas from past research. The unprecedented rate of urbanization in Nepal has led to significant urban land changes over the past 30 years. Meanwhile, long term historical LUCC research in Nepal is required for extensive work on spatially explicit reconstructions on the basis of historical and primary data collection, including LULC archives and drivers for future change.     

The Influences of Mg^2 ,Ca^2 ,and Mg^2 /Ca^2 Ratio in Mixed Seawater on the Emergence Rate of Penaeus Japonicus Postlarva

This paper reports the approprite ranges of Mg^2 ,Ca^2 and their ratio Mg^2 /Ca^2 in mixed seawater for rearing of Penaeus japonicus larvae,The ranges for the above three indices are 1150-1450mg/L,360-440mg/L and 2.8-3.4,respectively,the proper salinity range of mixed seawater is 22.1-33.9 obtained by mixing estuarine water and concentrated seawater.     

<Superscript>137</Superscript>Cs tracing dynamics of soil erosion,organic carbon,and total nitrogen in terraced fields and forestland in the Middle Mountains of Nepal

The Middle Mountains is one of the regions of Nepal most vulnerable to water erosion, where fragile geology, steep topography, anomalous climatic conditions, and intensive human activity have resulted in serious soil erosion and enhanced land degradation. Based on the ¹³⁷Cs tracing method, spatial variations in soil erosion, organic carbon, and total nitrogen (TN) in terraced fields lacking field banks and forestland were determined. Soil samples were collected at approximately 5 m and 20 m intervals along terraced field series and forestland transects respectively. Mean 137Cs inventories of the four soil cores from the reference site was estimated at 574.33 ± 126.22 Bq m^-2 (1 Bq (i.e., one Becquerel) is equal to 1 disintegration per second (1 dps)). For each terrace, the ¹³⁷Cs inventory generally increased from upper to lower slope positions, accompanied by a decrease in the soil erosion rate. Along the entire terraced toposequence, ¹³⁷Cs data showed that abrupt changes in soil erosion rates could occur between the lower part of the upper terrace and the upper part of the immediate terrace within a small distance. This result indicated that tillage erosion is also a dominant erosion type in the sloping farmland of this area. At the same time, we observed a fluctuant decrease in soil erosion rates for the whole terraced toposequence as well as a net deposition at the toe terrace. Although steep terraces (lacking banks and hedgerows) to some extent could act to limit soil sediment accumulation in catchments, soil erosion in the terraced field was determined to be serious. For forestland, with the exception of serious soil erosion that had taken place at the top of slopes due to concentrated flows from a country road situated above the forestland site, spatial variation in soil erosion was similar to the “standard” water erosion model. Soil organic carbon (SOC) and TN inventories showed similar spatial patterns to the ¹³⁷Cs inventory for both toposequences investigated. However, due to the different dominant erosion processes between the two, we found similar patterns between the <0.002 mm soil particle size fraction (clay sized) and ¹³⁷Cs inventories in terraced fields, while different patterns could be found between ¹³⁷Cs inventories and the <0.002 mm soil particle size fraction in the forestland site. Such results confirm that ¹³⁷Cs can successfully trace soil erosion, SOC and soil nitrogen dynamics in steep terraced fields and forestland in the Middle Mountains of Nepal.     

Shrinking greenery: Land use and land cover changes in Kurram Agency,Kohi Safid Mountains of north-western Pakistan

Deforestation and other Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) changes, driven by variety of physical and anthropogenic factors, have altered the mountainous environment. Mountains around the world including northern and north western belts of Pakistan are highly sensitive to deforestation and other LULC changes, which have profound impacts on various sectors of bio-physical and socio-economic systems. Assessment of LULC changes has high significance for protection, conservation and monitoring mountainous environment. The present study is an attempt to assess the landscape changes with particular reference to forest cover depletion in Kurram Agency located in the north western mountain belt of Pakistan. For detailed comparative analysis the study area has been divided into three sections, which coincide with the present administrative divisions of the Agency, i.e., Upper, Lower and Central Kurram. Temporal span of this study covers four decades. In this study, land use map of 1970 and land sat satellite imageries of 1987, 2000 and 2014 were used as spatial data sets. The images were processed and classified into six LULC classes through geospatial packages and change detection maps were prepared for each division and time period. Findings of the study reveal two trends in the four major LULC categories. Forest and rangeland have shrunk, on average, by 15% and 7.5% respectively while, bare soil and rocks outcrops have expanded by 89% and agriculture land by 7.2% in Kurram agency. The water bodies and snow cover have minor fluctuation in its land area. Major causes of shrinking greenery is attributed to high influx of Afghan refugees and high energy demand of growing population. However, with outflow of the refugees from Kurram agency the general trend in forest cover has reverted and deforestation rate has slowed down.     

Bioaccumulation of Pb<Superscript>2+</Superscript> and its effects on growth,morphology and pigment contents of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Spirulina</Emphasis> (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Arthrospira</Emphasis>) <Emphasis Type="Italic">platensis</Emphasis>

A laboratory experiment was conducted to assess the bioaccumulation of Pb²⁺ and its effects on growth, morphology and pigment contents of Spirulina (Arthrospira) platensis. The specimen cultured in Zarrouk liquid medium was treated with various initial metal concentrations (0, 5, 10, 30, 50 and 100 μg mL⁻¹). The growth of S. platensis was adversely affected by Pb²⁺ at high concentrations (30, 50 and 100 μg mL⁻¹). However, at low concentrations (5 μg mL⁻¹), Pb²⁺ could stimulate its growth slightly. The pigment contents (chlorophyll α and β carotene) were decreased in a dose-dependent manner. The highest reductions (67% and 53% respectively in chlorophyll α and β carotene) were observed in 100 μg mL⁻¹ treatment group. The LC₅₀ (96 h) of Pb²⁺ was measured as 75.34 μg mL⁻¹. Apart from a few cases of filament breakages at elevated concentrations (50 and 100 μg mL⁻¹), morphological abnormalities are not specific. Metal bioaccumulation increased with Pb²⁺ concentrations, but decreased with exposure time. The maximum accumulated amount was 188 mg g⁻¹ dry weight. The bioconcentration factor (BCF) reached to a peak at day 2, followed by a gradual reduction for all the exposure concentrations. S. platensis is able to tolerate considerably high Pb²⁺ concentrations. Consequently it can be used as a potential species to remove heavy metal from contaminated waters.     

全球海岸带多源土地利用/覆盖遥感分类产品一致性分析

多源土地利用/覆盖分类产品是陆地表层过程研究不可或缺的重要基础数据,而其一致性分析则是产品应用的前提和基础。本文基于类型面积偏差、类型面积相关、误差矩阵和类型空间混淆等方法,从面积一致性和空间一致性两方面分析了 5种土地利用/覆盖分类产品（MCD12Q1-2010、GlobCover2009、CCI-LC2010、FROM-GLC2010和GlobeLand30-2010）在全球海岸带区域的一致性。结果表明：① 各产品土地利用/覆盖类型的空间分布总体上表现出较强的一致性,但在细节上存在大面积不一致现象;② 各产品对全球海岸带土地利用/覆盖构成的描述基本一致,即以水体为主,林地和未利用地次之,耕地、草地和灌木地较少,湿地和人造地表相对最少,但在细节上存在面积偏差;③ 在产品组合中,MCD12Q1-2010/GlobCover2009的相关系数、总体精度和Kappa系数均最低,分别为0.8814、67.46%和0.5748,而GlobCover2009/CCI-LC2010的相关系数、总体精度和Kappa系数均最高,分别为0.9869、81.50%和0.7505;④ 5种产品两两对比,草地、灌木地和湿地的混淆程度最高,耕地和人造地表次之,林地和未利用地较低,水体最低;⑤ 全球海岸带有28.81%的土地具有较低的一致性,这些区域地类混淆现象较为严重,尤其是耕地、林地、草地、灌木地、湿地和未利用地之间的相互混淆对5种产品的一致性程度有直接影响。本文有望为海岸带研究在已有土地利用/覆盖数据源选择和使用等方面提供参考和建议。     

Effects of salinity fluctuation amplitudes on growth, osmolarity, Na＋-K＋-ATPase activity and Hsp70 of juvenile Chinese shrimp Fenneropenaeus chinensis Osbeck

The effects of various salinity fluctuation amplitudes (2, 4, 6 and 8) on the growth, osmolarity, Na⁺-K⁺-ATPase activity and Hsp70 of juvenile Fenneropenaeus chinensis cultured in seawater with a salinity of 20 were studied. The results show that weight gain in the salinity fluctuation treatments was better than that in control; in particular, the weight gain of treatments S4 and S0, at 231.8% and 196.3%, respectively, was significantly different (P<0.05). The hemolymph osmolarity of treatments S0, S2, S4, S6 and S8 was 635.4, 630.8, 623.6, 614.4 and 600.3 mOsm/kg, respectively, and decreased with increasing salinity fluctuation amplitude. The level of Na⁺-K⁺-ATPase activity in gills of F. chinensis was higher than that in hepatopancreas, but there were no significant differences among all treatments, either in gills or hepatopancreas (P>0.05). The relative level of Hsp70 in treatment S4 was 48.4% and 40.4% higher than control in muscle and eyestalks, respectively, with the highest values being recorded under a salinity fluctuation amplitude of 4.     

The effect of land use change on soil and water quality in northern Iran

Rapid urbanization has led to extensive land-use changes,particularly in developing countries.This research is aimed to investigate the role of land use and its effect on soil and water quality in Ziarat watershed focusing on four land uses:forest,pasture,cultivated and urban development.Soil samples were taken from a depth of 0-30 cm on each land use and were analyzed by completely randomized split-plot design in two geographical directions.Results showed that bulk density(BD),electrical conductivity(EC),pH,calcium carbonate equivalent(CCE),and soil particle density(DS) of the soil samples in pastures,cultivated and urban areas increased and the mean weight diameter(MWD),soil porosity(F),organic carbons(OC),total nitrogen(TN),exchangeable cations(Ca 2+,Mg 2+,K +,Na +),cation exchange capacity(CEC) and soil microbial respirations(SMR) decreased,respectively in comparison with the forest soils.For water quality evaluations,sodium adsorption ratio(SAR),electrical conductivity(EC),pH,total dissolved solids(TDS),bicarbonate(HCO 3),chloride(Cl),total hardness(TH),calcium(Ca 2+),potassium(K +),sodium(Na +) and magnesium(Mg 2+) were investigated in two areas:Nahrkhoran and Abgir stations.Results showed that the concentration of TDS,EC and HCO 3 in Naharkhoran station is higher than that in Abgir station.On the other hand,the concentration of TDS,EC and HCO 3 in Abgir station are the relatively higher due to its location.Total hardness had the same trend during the study years except in the last three years;however,TH showed an increase of 25% TH in Naharkhoran for the last two years.Cl,K + and SAR in Naharkhoran station increased by 61%,22%,78% and 56% respectively,in comparison with Abgir station.This study demonstrated that the trend of soil degradation and mismanagement of land use may increase the frequency of urban floods and human health problems.     

Assessing conservation practices in Amalacaxco Gorge (Izta-Popo National Park,Central Mexico) using fallout <Superscript>137</Superscript>CS and Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL)

This study aims to assess conservation practices in Izta-Popo National Park (Central Mexico) by evaluating the mechanisms of sediment transfer. We applied a methodology based on fallout 137Cs and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) analysis. This was tested in the upper catchment of Amalacaxco Gorge, selected for being one of the sectors of the park in which man-made actions have been implemented in last decades to favor forest growth in the alpine grassland and to reduce the effect of water runoff. We quantified the 137Cs activity using gamma and beta spectrometry of fine sediment grains extracted from the surface of parcels of 0.4 m2 in areas of natural forest, natural alpine grassland, alpine grassland with conservation practices, ravines and trails. In general, 137Cs values increases as local slope decreases as it was expected. The natural forest is the most stable area in terms of soil erosion and sediment accumulation and, mean 137Cs activity was taken as reference to assess cumulative zones, with higher 137Cs values and erosive, with lower. We found that trails are accumulative surfaces but in other areas, erosion predominates. Man-made ditches, trenches and afforestation in the alpine grassland have higher 137Cs values than the natural grassland, which indicates that conservation practices are limiting the sediment transfer from hillslopes to channels, however, soil retention is less than in the natural grassland. Additionally, we evaluated the luminescence (OSL) values obtained from samples extracted from the sediment transported in ravines that are cutting into different sectors of the study area to assess the grade of resetting of fluvial materials. These luminescence results indicated that the sediment transported in ravines that are cutting into the natural forest and alpine grassland is bleached more efficiently than the sediment transported in the alpine grassland with conservation practices. Results of fallout 137Cs and luminescence strongly suggest that man-made actions in this part of the Izta-Popo National Park are dramatically modifying the natural mechanisms of sediment transfer and favoring soil erosion. We conclude that made ditches, trenches and afforestation are not an effective conservation practice in Amalacaxco Gorge because they are promoting soil erosion instead of reducing it.     

Micromorphology and quality attributes of the loess derived soils affected by land use change: A case study in Ghapan watershed, Northern Iran

In order to study the effects of different land vegetative covers on soil quality attributes, a loess hill slope was selected in eastern Golestan Province, Ghapan watershed, Iran. Four profiles in four land uses, including Quercus natural forest; Pinus artificial forest; Cupressus artificial forest and a cultivated land, were studied. Results showed that MWD was significantly different in the studied land uses, and it varied between 1.6 mm in Quercus natural forest and o.31 mm in cultivated land use. The lowest CEC, microbial respiration rate and organic carbon were 28.4 cmol·kg^1, 177 μgCO2·g^-1·day^-1 and 1.32 % found in cultivated land use, respectively. The organic matter was considerably higher content in the forest areas than that of cultivated land use. The studies on soil profile development revealed that the natural forest soils were highly developed. The soils of the Quercus natural forest were classified as Calcic Haploxeralfs with a well developed argillie horizon unlike the cultivated soils which showed the minimum development and classified as Typic Xerorthents. The soils of the artificial forests had both mollic epipedons and were classified as Typic Calcixerolls with moderate profile development. Micromorphological studies revealed that argillic horizons had speckled and partly crystallitic b-fabric in the natural forest indicating the high landscape stability. In contrast, the crystallitic b-fabric of other land uses shows the absence of enough leaching of carbonate and the subsequent migration of clay particles indicating the unstable conditions and high soil erosion. Intense erosion of the surface horizons of cultivated land use has resulted in the outcropping of the subsurface carbonate rich horizons preventing soil development.     

Use of intensity analysis to measure land use changes from 1932 to 2005 in Zhenlai County,Northeast China

Analyzing spatiotemporal dynamics of land use and land cover over time is widely recognized as important to better understand and provide solutions for social, economic, and environmental problems, especially in ecologically fragile region. In this paper, a case study was taken in Zhenlai County, which is a part of farming-pastoral ecotone of Northeast China. This study seeks to use multi-temporal satellite images and other data from various sources to analyze spatiotemporal changes from 1932 to 2005, and applied a quantitative methodology named intensity analysis in the time scale of decades at three levels: time interval, category, and transition. The findings of the case study are as follows: 1) the interval level of intensity analysis revealed that the annual rate of overall change was relatively fast in 1932–1954 and 1954–1976 time intervals. 2) The category level showed that arable land experienced less intensively gains and losses if the overall change was to have been distributed uniformly across the landscape while the gains and losses of forest land, grassland, water, settlement, wetland and other unused land were not consistent and stationary across the four time intervals. 3) The transition level illustrated that arable land expanded at the expense of grassland before 2000 while it gained intensively from wetland from 2000 to 2005. Settlement targets arable land and avoids grassland, water, wetland and other unused land. Besides, the loss of grassland was intensively targeted by arable land, forest land and wetland in the study period while the loss of wetland was targeted by water except for the time interval of 1976–2000. 4) During the early reclamation period, land use change of the study area was mainly affected by the policy, institutional and political factors, followed by the natural disasters.     

海口市海岸带土地利用时空格局变化分析

在深入分析土地利用转移矩阵基础上,对单项土地利用类型动态度进行改进,引入信息熵和缓冲区梯度带法,提出了自然生态影响度的土地利用变化程度的概念、含义,并构建计算模型。对海口市南渡江东岸海岸带进行研究,得到以下结论：1991-2010年间建设用地增长最为明显,耕地面积减少量最大;信息熵持续增加,表明均衡度增加,快速城市化过程中各经济产业所需的职能土地类型已逐渐产生,区域发展逐渐走向成熟;土地利用变化程度指数能有效衡量土地利用类型变化的剧烈程度,而且能够测算这种变化对自然生态环境的影响大小,1991-2010年间偏离自然生态方向、较强变化以上的区域占总面积的20.60%,与耕地、林地转变为建设用地,以及林地转变为园地区域重合;趋向自然生态方向、较强变化以上的区域仅占总面积的2.42%;东岸海岸带受城市梯度辐射和开发区、大学城飞地影响,同时也受农业比较利益和土地利用调控政策影响。东寨港红树林面积略微减小,受城市化影响较小。研究表明：分层次、多种算法相结合的研究方法,可有效分析综合型海岸带土地利用时空格局变化特征及其驱动机制。     

Land cover change in different altitudes of Guizhou-Guangxi karst mountain area,China: patterns and drivers

Topography, especially altitude, will influence the way, process and characteristics of land cover changes in mountainous area, simultaneously, the vertical difference of land cover changes will affect soil quality and regional ecological environment. Therefore, the gradient relationship analysis between land cover changes and altitude is very important for regional sustainability. This study investigated land cover dynamics based on land cover data from a typical mountainous area in the Guizhou-Guangxi karst mountain area, China, in 2000 and 2010, then explored the relationship between altitude and land cover change and analyzed different drivers of land cover change at different altitudes. Our findings are as follows. 1) From 2000 to 2010, the total area of land cover transition was 7167.04 km~2 or 2.8% of the region. The increasing area of build-up land(926.23 km~2) was larger than that of forest(859.38 km~2), suggesting that the urban construction speed was higher than that of reforestation. 2) Intensity of land cover transition in northwestern Guizhou-Guangxi karst mountain area was much larger than that of southeast part and their transition trend was also significantly different, which was consistent with regional population and economy. 3) Human activity was the most dramatic at altitudes between 0–500 m. For 500–1000 m, grassland mainly converted to forest and build-up land. Area of land cover transition was the greatest between 1000–1500 m, while above 1500 m, the transition of grassland was the most obvious. 4) The drivers of land cover change varied. Land cover change was positively correlated with gross domestic product and population density but was inversely related to relief amplitude. There were correlations between land cover change and distance to roads and rivers, and their correlations varied with altitude. By revealing patterns and causes of land cover changes in different altitudes, we hope to understand the vertical dependence of land cover changes, so as to improve land productivity and protect land ecological environment scientifically.     

Alternative stable states in mountain forest ecosystems: the case of European larch (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Larix decidua</Emphasis>) forests in the western Alps

European larch (Larix decidua) forests of the western Alps form extensive cultural landscapes whose resilience to global changes is currently unknown. Resilience describes the capacity of ecological systems to maintain the same state, i.e., the same function, processes, structure, and composition despite disturbances, environmental changes and internal fluctuations. Our aim is to explore the resilience of larch forests to changes in climate and land use in the western Italian Alps. To do so, we examined whether larch forests can be described as an alternative stable state in mountain forest ecosystems. We used tree basal area data obtained from field forest inventories in combination with topography, forest structure, land use, and climate information. We applied three different probabilistic methods: frequency distributions, logistic regressions, and potential analyses to infer the resilience of larch forests relative to that of other forest types. We found patters indicative of alternative stable states: bimodality in the frequency distribution of the percent of larch basal area, and the presence of an unstable state, i.e., mixed larch forests, in the potential analyses. We also found: (1) high frequency of pure larch forests at high elevation, (2) the probability of pure larch forests increased mostly with elevation, and (3) pure larch forests were a stable state in the upper montane and subalpine belts. Our study shows that the resilience of larch forests may increase with elevation, most likely due to the altitudinal effect on climate. Under the same climate conditions, land use seems to be the main factor governing the dominance of larch forests. In fact, subalpine larch forests may be more resilient, and natural succession after land abandonment, e.g., towards Pinus cembra forests, seems slower than in montane larch forests. In contrast, in the upper montane belt only intense land use regimes characterized by open canopies and forest grazing may maintain larch forests. We conclude that similar approaches could be applied in other forest ecosystems to infer the resilience of tree species.     

Land use and land cover change on slope in Qiandongnan prefecture of Southwest China

This study uses DEM(Digital Elevation Model) data and remote sensing maps of the study area in 1993, 1999, and 2009 to analyze the slope gradient change of land use patterns in Qiandongnan Prefecture, Guizhou province, China. The land use data were classified into five types, forest, farmland, grassland, water and built-up, the slope gradients were divided into four grades. Indices for analyzing land use features were defined by their proportions, transformation matrixes, land use degree and changes.The results showed that all land use types can be found at every gradient. Generally, with the slope degree increased, the area of forest being augmented as well, while the area of the other land use types(farmland, grassland and build-up) declined. Moreover, a mass of farmland were shifted from other land use types from 0° to 25°, while a quantity of forest were transformed from the other land use types on 25° from 1993 to 2009. In terms of land use degree and changes, the area of farmland and buildup land use types decreased when slope degree increased. Finally, we calculated the five landscape pattern metrics: Patch Density(PD) value, Largest Patch Index(LPI), Shannon's Diversity Index(SHDI), Area-Weighted Mean Shape Index(AWMSI) and Contagion Index(CONTAG). The results of metricsanalysis showed that PD values, SHDI values and CONTA values had a similar variation trend, that is, they decreased when slope degree increased. There was no obvious variation trend on LPI value.     

Effects of land cover on soil organic carbon stock in a karst landscape with discontinuous soil distribution

Land cover type is critical for soil organic carbon(SOC) stocks in territorial ecosystems. However, impacts of land cover on SOC stocks in a karst landscape are not fully understood due to discontinuous soil distribution. In this study, considering soil distribution, SOC content and density were investigated along positive successional stages(cropland, plantation, grassland, scrubland, secondary forest, and primary forest) to determine the effects of land cover type on SOC stocks in a subtropical karst area. The proportion of continuous soil on the ground surface under different land cover types ranged between 0.0% and 79.8%. As land cover types changed across the positive successional stages, SOC content in both the 0–20 cm and 20–50 cm soil layers increased significantly. SOC density(SOCD) within 0–100 cm soil depth ranged from 1.45 to 8.72 kg m-2, and increased from secondary forest to primary forest, plantation, grassland, scrubland, and cropland, due to discontinuous soil distribution. Discontinuous soil distribution had a negative effect on SOC stocks, highlighting the necessity for accurate determination of soil distribution in karst areas. Generally, ecological restoration had positive impacts on SOC accumulation in karst areas, but this is a slow process. In the short term, the conversion of croplandto grassland was found to be the most efficient way for SOC sequestration.     

Spatial Patterns of LULC and Driving Forces in the Transnational Area of Tumen River: A Comparative Analysis of the Sub-regions of China,the DPRK,and Russia

Understanding the spatial patterns of land-use and land-cover(LULC) and their driving forces in transnational areas is important for the sustainable development of these regions. However, the spatial patterns of LULC and their driving forces across multiple scales are poorly understood in transnational areas. In this study, we analyzed the spatial patterns of LULC and driving forces in the transnational area of Tumen River(TATR) in 2016 across two scales: the entire region and the sub-regions of China, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea(DPRK), and Russia. Results showed that the LULC was dominated by broadleaf forest and dry farmland in the TATR in 2016, which accounted for 66.86% and 13.60% of the entire region, respectively. Meanwhile, the LULC in the three sub-regions exhibited noticeable differences. In the Chinese and the DPRK's sub-regions, the area of broadleaf forest was greater than those for the other LULC types, while the Russian sub-region was dominated by broadleaf forest and grassland. The spatial patterns of LULC were mainly influenced by topography, climate, soil properties, and human activities. In addition, the driving forces of the spatial patterns of LULC in the TATR had an obvious scaling effect. Therefore, we suggest that effective policies and regulations with cooperation among China, the DPRK, and Russia are needed to plan the spatial patterns of LULC and improve the sustainable development of the TATR.     

Soil respiration under three different land use types in a tropical mountain region of China

Soil respiration (SR) Wis one of the largest contributors of terrestrial CO_2 to the atmosphere.Environmental as well as physicochemical parameters influence SR and thus, different land use practices impact the emissions of soil CO_2. In this study, we measured SR, bi-monthly, over a one-year period in a terrace tea plantation, a forest tea plantation and a secondary forest, in a subtropical mountain area in Xishuangbanna, China. Along with the measurement of SR rates, soil characteristics for each of the land use systems were investigated. Soil respiration rates in the different land use systems did not differ significantly during the dry season, ranging from2.7±0.2 μmol m~(-2) s~(-1) to 2.8±0.2 μmol m~(-2) s~(-1). During the wet season, however, SR rates were significantly larger in the terrace tea plantation(5.4±0.5 μmol m~(-2)s~(-1)) and secondary forest(4.9±0.4 μmol m~(-2)s~(-1)) than in the forest tea plantation(3.7±0.2 μmol m~(-2) s~(-1)).This resulted in significantly larger annual soil CO_2 emissions from the terrace tea and secondary forest,than from the forest tea plantation. It is likely that these differences in the SR rates are due to the 0.5times lower soil organic carbon concentrations in thetop mineral soil in the forest tea plantation, compared to the terrace tea plantation and secondary forest.Furthermore, we suggest that the lower sensitivity to temperature variation in the forest tea soil is a result of the lower soil organic carbon concentrations. The higher SR rates in the terrace tea plantation were partly due to weeding events, which caused CO_2 emission peaks that contributed almost 10% to the annual CO_2 flux. Our findings suggest that moving away from heavily managed tea plantations towards low-input forest tea can reduce the soil CO_2 emissions from these systems. However, our study is a casestudy and further investigations and upscaling are necessary to show if these findings hold true at a landscape level.     

The land resource and landuse of Hong Kong

The urban development is a decisive factor for the landuse of the territory of Hong Kong, as a realm of a world city. A speed-up change of the landuse structure of Hong Kong and some contradictions in the landuse have been revealed after a brief mentioning of the characteristics of the limited land resources of Hong Kong. Hong Kong consists of peninsula and islands dominated by hilly terrain in south subtropical zone, 84% of the total area is slope, unfavorable for urban and agricultural development, only 16% is small plains. The land is barren and water resource is very limited. Urban landuse is taken as the dominant factor. Due to the expansion of the scale of the urban development, and the limitation of the land resource, there is a high degree of the urban land utilization, but the proportions of commercial and industrial landuse are not high, only 1.3% of the total developed land is used for commerce, 6.0% for manufacture industries, the road and railway lands amount to 14.6%. The great efforts were made in reclamation and construction of reservoirs in order to add land and water resources. The arable lands were reduced heavily and the farmlands were wasted seriously. The author proposed some view points on the present and future landuse in Hong Kong as follows: 1) the urban landuse remains as a guiding factor in the landuse of the whole territory of Hong Kong; 2) one of the problems is the fondness for the reconstruction of the old city, loosening up on the new town development; 3) the reclamation is not only very costly, but also causing some negative effects on the eco-environment; 4) the problem of the protection of the farmlands against wasting should be seriously; 5) the development and the landuse for the construction in Hong Kong should be considered with the relationship with the inland, especially Guangdong Province; 6) fully use the convenient condition of the territorial linkage of the city with the mainland, further to bring the role of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone into fully play for solving the landuse problems in the development of Hong Kong. The author is very grateful to Dr. David K. Y. Chu and Dr. Roger Chan for their comments and to Professor Gu Chaolin and Mr. Hu Tianxin for their helps in data collection.     

More than Carbon Stocks： A Case Study of Ecosystem-based Benefits of REDD＋ in Indonesia

During the 15th Conference of the Parties(COP 15),Parties agreed that reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation and enhancing ’removals of greenhouse gas emission by forests’(REDD+) in developing countries through positive incentives under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change(UNFCCC) was capable of dealing with global emissions.As REDD+ seeks to lower emissions by stopping deforestation and forest degradation with an international payment tier according to baseline scenarios,opportunities for ecosystem benefits such as slowing habitat fragmentation,conservation of forest biodiversity,soil conservation may be also part of this effort.The primary objective of this study is to evaluate ecosystem-based benefits of REDD+,and to identify the relationships with carbon stock changes.To achieve this goal,high resolution satellite images are combined with Normalized Difference Vegetation Index(NDVI) to identify historical deforestation in study area of Central Kalimantan,Indonesia.The carbon emissions for the period of 2000-2005 and 2005-2009 are 2.73 × 10 5 t CO 2 and 1.47 × 10 6 t CO 2 respectively,showing an increasing trend in recent years.Dring 2005-2009,number of patches(NP),patch density(PD),mean shape index distribution(SHAPE_MN) increased 30.8%,30.7% and 7.6%.Meanwhile,largest patch index(LPI),mean area(AREA_MN),area-weighted mean of shape index distribution(SHAPE_AM),neighbor distance(ENN_MN) and interspersion and juxtaposition index(IJI) decreased by 55.3%,29.7%,15.8%,53.4% and 21.5% respectively.The area regarding as positive correlation between carbon emissions and soil erosion was approximately 8.9 × 10 3 ha corresponding to 96.0% of the changing forest.These results support the view that there are strong synergies among carbon loss,forest fragmentation and soil erosion in tropical forests.Such mechanism of REDD+ is likely to present opportunities for multiple benefits that fall outside the scope of carbon stocks.