Reconstruction of cropland spatial patterns and its spatiotemporal changes over the 20th century on the Songnen Plain,Northeast China

We initially estimated the cropland area at county level using local historical documents for the Songnen Plain (SNP) in the 1910s and 1930s. We then allocated this cropland area to grid cells with a size of 1 km × 1 km, using a range of cultivation possibilities from high to low; this was based on topography and minimum distances to rivers, settlements, and traffic lines. Cropland areas for the 1950s were obtained from the Land Use Map of Northeast China, and map vectorization was performed with ArcGIS technology. Cropland areas for the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s were retrieved from Landsat images. We found that the cropland areas were 4.92 × 10⁴ km² and 7.60 × 10⁴ km², accounting for 22.8% and 35.2% of the total area of the SNP in the 1910s and 1930s, respectively, which increased to 13.14 × 10⁴ km², accounting for 60.9% in the 2010s. The cropland increased at a rate of 1.18 × 10⁴ km² per decade from the 1910s to 1970s while it was merely 0.285 × 10⁴ km² per decade from the 1970s to 2010s. From the 1910s to 1930s, new cultivation mainly occurred in the central SNP while, from the 1930s to 1970s, it was mainly over the western and northern parts. This spatially explicit reconstruction could be offered as primary data for studying the effects of changes in human-induced land cover based on climate change over the last century.     

Assessment of land-use and land-cover changes from 1965 to 2014 in Tam Giang-Cau Hai Lagoon,central Vietnam

This study integrates the use of multi-source and multi-resolution remote sensing, topographic and field-based datasets to quantify land-use and land-cover (LULC) changes along a coastal stretch of Thua Thien Hue Province (central Vietnam). The LULC change analysis involves the Tam Giang-Cau Hai lagoon, the largest lagoon system in Southeast Asia, which is running nearly 70 km along the coast and having about 22,000 ha of water surface.The LULC change analysis was performed by computer-aided visual interpretation for 5 years (1965, 1989, 2000, 2006 and 2014) using satellite imagery from LANDSAT MSS, TM, ETM+ and 8, ASTER and SPOT5. National topographic maps were also used for the 1965 and 2000 years.To adequately represent the LULC features and peculiarities of central Vietnam coastal areas, an adapted CORINE Land Cover nomenclature was used where new 3rd and 4th level classes were adopted. Due to their intrinsic relative high spatial and radiometric resolution, SPOT5 images from 2006 were assumed as a reference for interpretation keys and first delineation. Changes were mapped by editing those vectors representing features which underwent LULC change prior or after 2006. Spatial and temporal changes were analyzed by post-classification approach and validated by ground truth information. High detail object-based classification was finally performed to infer the capability of medium spatial resolution imagery for extracting cadastral scale pond maps. The accuracy of classification was checked by a polygon by polygon comparison with an existing aquaculture facility inventory.Five LULC maps were obtained by applying a legend of 21 classes including two newly defined: “Aquaculture ponds” and “Mangrove forest”. The overall classification accuracy of the LULC map is 85% while the KHAT statistics 0.81 for the year 2006. Accuracy of the object-based aquaculture facilities classification is 84% or better for the SPOT5 imagery and 47.9% for the ASTER imagery. The study provides a synoptic LULC representation for the largest lagoon system of Southeast Asia and delivers quantitative estimates of main changes occurred during the last 50 years. Moreover, it reveals the adaptability of the CORINE Land Cover method outside European environment. Finally, SPOT5 provides good results to map aquaculture features at cadastral scale, even if in some circumstances (e.g. tidal areas), the integration with higher spatial resolution multispectral sensors should be envisaged.     

Scenarios for Community-based Approaches to Biodiversity Conservation: a case study from the Wet Tropics,Queensland, Australia

Natural resource management approaches that deliver biodiversity conservation remain elusive, with evidence of a persistent implementation gap between biodiversity science and conservation projects. Scenarios have been identified as potentially useful in addressing the complex issues underlying this implementation gap, but have been infrequently applied to biodiversity conservation. Our paper reports on action co-research to develop, apply and assess the efficacy of scenarios within a community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) approach to biodiversity conservation at Mission Beach, a key site within the globally significant Wet Tropics bioregion. We focused on the capacity of scenarios to address the issues of contested interests and uncertainty, aiming specifically to engage the community to build a cohesive vision. The scenarios' headline messages included a projected substantial loss of habitat in coastal vegetation communities that are highly valued by all stakeholders. Our assessment identified that the use of scenarios fulfilled the intended aims, resulting in a vision for biodiversity conservation that has substantial community support. Three factors contributed to this efficacy of the scenarios: (1) the focus on threat; (2) biodiversity science integration; and (3) simplicity in presentation. Further investigation of the potential of scenarios as tools to overcome the implementation gap in biodiversity conservation is recommended.     

中国西部地区历史草地面积重建的方法——以甘宁青新区为例

历史草地面积重建作为历史土地利用与土地覆被变化研究的重要组成部分,可为区域乃至全球环境变化研究提供重要的基础数据。但受研究客体特性与重建资料多寡的制约,目前无论是数量估算上还是空间格局重建上均非常薄弱。本文试图在客观把握中国西部地区历史草地变化趋势与特征的基础上,利用现代遥感土地利用数据和潜在植被数据,确定土地垦殖前草地植被潜在分布范围;并结合历史耕地网格数据,构建以间接扣减为核心的草地面积重建方法;重建甘肃、宁夏、青海和新疆等省区过去300年的草地网格数据。结果表明：土地垦殖前,案例区草地覆被率高达40.87%。受土地垦殖的影响,在过去300年草地面积呈持续减少的态势。草地面积由1661年的1.11亿 hm²下降到1980年的1.03亿 hm²,并经历了1661—1724年的急剧减少、1724—1873年的缓慢减少和1873—1980年的快速减少三个时段,草地年均减少量分别为4.76万 hm²、0.75万 hm²和3.38万 hm²。在空间上,研究时段内草地垦殖区呈现出由甘肃、宁夏向青海、新疆转移的特点。以历史文献资料和1980年遥感草地网格数据为基础,对重建的草地数据开展了可靠性评估。评估显示,重建结果能够较好的再现草地变迁过程。本文构建的重建方法可被用于中国西部地区长时段的草地面积重建。     

Land use/cover change in central Tibet, c. 1830–1990: devising a GIS methodology to study a historical Tibetan land decree

In this study, historical Tibetan tax-related data pertaining to cultivated land in central Tibet are studied by means of GIS and compared with contemporary patterns. A Tibetan land decree from 1830 contains aggregated data on the amount of land-based tax units for estates in 57 districts of central Tibet. The purpose of this study is to devise a GIS methodology to study the potential utility of these data for historical geographical research, and to determine the approximate changes in cultivated land areas between 1830 and 1990. Traditional Tibetan tax data are significant for current efforts to construct historical land cover databases of the Tibetan Plateau region for the study of the human dimensions of global change.     

Dynamics of the eco-environmental quality in response to land use changes in rapidly urbanizing areas: A case study of Wuhan,China from 2000 to 2018

Journal of Geographical Sciences - The dramatic land use changes that occur in rapidly urbanized areas are important inducement to changes in the eco-environmental quality. Investigating urban land...     

Collembola diversity in changing agricultural landscapes of the Thar Desert: A case study in Sriganganagar district of Rajasthan, India

Seven species of Collembola were recorded from the Thar Desert in India for the first time. Their existence and establishment has been attributed to the change in land use pattern of Sriganganagar district due to the development of canal irrigation. Sampling was done at two distant localities, in which one has been under irrigated agricultural activities since 60–70 years, while at the second locality, such activities began 20 years back. Two species, Xenylla obscura and Isotomodes dagamae, dominated the collembolan communities at all sites. The samples from first locality were rich both in number of individuals as well as species. The sites were hierarchically clustered into a dendrogram to present an analytical picture of community development of collembolan species against the time-scale of succession. Attention was sought to study the insect fauna and their activities in relation to the ongoing greening the desert program.     

Developing a multi-network urbanization model: A case study of urban growth in Denver,Colorado

Urbanization is an important issue concerning diverse scientific and policy communities. Computational models quantifying locations and quantities of urban growth offer numerous environmental and socioeconomic benefits. Traditional urban growth models are based on a single-algorithm fitting procedure and thus restricted on their ability to capture spatial heterogeneity. Accordingly, a GIS-based modeling framework titled multi-network urbanization (MuNU) model is developed that integrates multiple neural networks. The MuNU model enables a filtering approach where input data patterns are automatically reallocated into appropriate neural networks with targeted accuracies. We hypothesize that observations classified by individual neural networks share greater homogeneity, and thus modeling accuracy will increase with the integration of multiple targeted algorithms. Land use and land cover data sets of two time snapshots (1977 and 1997) covering the Denver Metropolitan Area are used for model training and validation. Compared to a single-step algorithm – either a stepwise logistic regression or a single neural network – several improvements are evident in the visual output of the MuNU model. Statistical validations further quantify the superiority of the MuNU model and support our hypothesis of effective incorporation of spatial heterogeneity.     

Water balance and vegetation change in the Sahel: A case study at the watershed scale with an eco-hydrological model

The Sahel, a semiarid area set in a fragile context, has been undergoing dramatic climate and land-use changes since the middle of the 20th century. The effects of these changes on the water cycle are analyzed using a coupled eco-hydrological model at the scale of a small representative catchment. Three land cover situations, corresponding to the 1950, 1975, and 1992 states, are simulated with two contrasted rain seasons, to produce the respective and combined effects of these two factors on the catchment water balance. The latter is largely dominated by rain-season evapotranspiration, representing some 60–65% of annual rainfall for the wet year in the three land use situations, but over 85% for the dry year. In absolute terms, evapotranspiration appears more sensitive to land-use changes than to the climate, but with variations that remain below 10%. These evapotranspiration figures are corroborated by field observations. Relative runoff sensitivity is much higher, nearly in the same 1.5:1 ratio as the annual rainfall for the climate effect, and with an increase by a factor of about 2.6 for the land-use effect. Confronting long-term runoff and water table dynamics evidences a direct linkage between these two processes.     

Forest Cover Change in the Toledo District,Belize from 1975 to 1999: A Remote Sensing Approach*

Measuring land‐cover change is an essential part of sustainable conservation planning. This project uses Landsat MSS and ETM+ data to document forest cover change in the Toledo District, Belize, from 1975 to 1999 and provides an initial assessment of why these changes took place. Supervised and subpixel classification methods were employed. The results showed an aggregate forest loss of almost 10 percent, which is approximately 36,000 ha. Deforestation expanded significantly in the most populous Mayan areas of central Toledo District and along the Guatemalan border. Subpixel classification results showed that in 1999 the most densely forested areas were in northern Toledo District in the Maya Mountains.     

Coastline and landscape changes in bay areas caused by human activities: A comparative analysis of Xiangshan Bay,China and Tampa Bay,USA

Using multitemporal Landsat TM/OLI images at a 10-year interval, in this study, we (1) extracted information of spatial location, length, and sinuosity of coastline and landscape configuration, diversity and fragmentation in the bay areas of Xiangshan Bay (XB), China and Tampa Bay (TB), USA from 1985 to 2015; (2) constructed indices of artificial coastlines and human disturbance on bay area landscapes; and (3) explored and discussed the impacts of human activities on changes of coastlines and landscape types in the two bay areas. Our analysis results demonstrate the following five points. (1) During the past 30 years, the lengths of natural coastline in XB and TB shrank, while the lengths of their artificial coastline increased first and then maintained stable. Since there were different influences of human activities on coastlines and landscape types between the two bay areas, XB experienced dramatic changes in parts of coastline geomorphologies and continuous decrease of coastline sinuosity, while, in TB, there was a little change in coastline geomorphologies and its coastline sinuosity was almost unchanged. (2) The intensity of human activities in XB was continuously enhanced from 1985 to 1995, and then the degree of enhancement had slowed down after 1995. However, in the time period, the impacted extent of human activities gradually increased and finally covered almost entire coastlines in XB. In TB area, although the intensity of human activities was enhanced, the degree of enhancement slowed down from 1985 to 2015 and the impacted areas of human activates were concentrated in several coastal city areas. (3) The average area of landscape patches strongly disturbed by human activities in both XB and TB generally showed a trend of decreasing from 1985 to 2005. However, during the period of 2005 to 2015, the average patch area of landscapes disturbed by different degrees of human activities in XB changed differently, while in TB it almost did not change. (4) From 1985 to 2005, the indices of landscape diversity in various areas of human disturbance in XB gradually increased, while in TB, changes in indices of the landscape diversity varied. From 2005 to 2015, the changes in the intensity of human disturbance in both bay areas were from weak to strong, whereas the indices of landscape diversity in XB and TB increased first and then decreased. (5) The landscape fragmentation index in different human disturbance areas in both XB and TB gradually increased from 1985 to 2005, while from 2005 to 2015, in both bay areas, the landscape fragmentation index presented a decreasing trend.     

自然保护地旅游人地关系演进过程研究——以博格达为例

Protected areas have a double mandate of both "protection" and "use." Naturebased tourism is considered an effective tool in terms of environmental conservation. Understanding the causes and consequences of a spatiotemporal succession of tourism construction is an important channel to explore the changes of tourism-environment interaction in the protected area. To analyze the spatio-temporal variations in tourism construction lands, we adopted Mt. Bogda as an example. We systematically quantified the interaction between these changes and environmental variables and explored the evolution process of tourism-environment interaction of the mountainous protected area in the northwest arid region. Our results revealed the following:(1) In the Bogda protected area, the proportion of tourism construction lands first appeared to be increasing, then decreasing dramatically, and finally growing slowly. The spatial expansion of tourism construction lands followed the "core-periphery" pattern, respectively showing shapely infilling, reasonable agglomeration, barycenter shift, and outlying growth from 1990 to 2018 as the stages of concentrating on the core.(2) The higher land-use intensity of tourism construction drove the changes of landscape fragmentation, diversity, stability, primitive, and nature degree in the protected area. The coupling coordination between tourism and the environment in the Bogda area decreased at first, and then slowly increased. Meanwhile, tourism did not cause irreversible damage to the natural environment, and the coupling coordination degree between tourism and the environment was still in the state of balanced development. It expressed the states of original balanced, development exceeds environment and barely balanced, and superiorly balanced. The historical evolution of tourism-environment interaction in Bogda reflects the pattern of periodic changes in China’s protected areas to a certain extent.     

干旱区典型流域近30年土地利用/土地覆被变化的分形特征分析——以玛纳斯河流域为例

利用1976、1989、2005年三期遥感影像,运用GIS和分形理论研究干旱区典型流域——玛纳斯河流域近30年的土地利用/土地覆被变化的复杂性和稳定性。结果表明:玛纳斯河流域各时段的土地利用/土地覆被类型分布具有分形结构,土地利用/土地覆被类型形状复杂性和斑块的稳定性波动变化,1976、1989、2005年三时期的各种土地利用/土地覆被类型总平均分维值分别为1.394 0、1.363 4和1.389 9。总平均稳定性指数分别为0.606 0、0.636 6、0.610 1。三期土地利用/覆被类型平均稳定性排序为:沙地>未利用土地>居民点工矿用地>水域>林地>草地>耕地>盐碱地。耕地、林地、草地、盐碱地稳定性相对较差。通过对流域土地利用/土地覆被类型变化复杂性和稳定性的研究,可以为政府协调水土开发和调整土地利用结构提供支持。     

人类活动对港湾岸线及景观变迁影响的比较研究————以中国象山港与美国坦帕湾为例

利用多时期遥感数据,以10年为时间步长,提取1985-2015年4个时期中国象山港和美国坦帕湾的岸线空间位置,长度和曲折度以及港湾地区景观构型,多样性和破碎度等信息,构建海岸人工化和港湾景观人工干扰指标,探讨人类活动对港湾岸线,景观演变的影响.结果表明:① 近30年来,象山港和坦帕湾自然岸线长度不断缩减,人工岸线长度呈先增后稳定的态势.由于两地人类活动方式的差异,象山港局部岸段形态发生剧烈变化,岸线曲折度不断变小;而坦帕湾岸线形态变化较小,岸线曲折度几乎保持不变.② 1985-1995年,象山港海岸人工化不断加强,1995年以后有所减弱,但人类活动的影响范围逐渐变大,几乎遍及整个港湾海岸.1985-2015年,坦帕湾海岸人工化强度虽有加强,但增幅缓慢,海岸人类活动也主要集中于各沿海城市区域.③ 1985-2005年,象山港和坦帕湾各人工化强度等级样区景观平均斑块面积总体呈减少趋势,但2005-2015年,象山港各强度样区景观平均斑块面积变化趋势不一,坦帕湾各强度样区变幅则较为平稳.④ 1985-2005年,象山港各强度样区景观多样性指数逐渐增大,而坦帕湾变化不一;2005-2015年,两港湾人工化强度由弱至强,景观多样性指数先增后减.⑤ 1985-2005年,象山港和坦帕湾不同人工化强度样区,景观破碎度指数逐渐增大;2005-2015年,两港湾景观破碎度指数呈减小趋势.     

农户土地利用行为对退耕还林政策的响应模拟——以陕西省米脂县高渠乡为例

作为中国涉及面最广、群众参与程度最高的一项生态工程,退耕还林对区域土地利用变化产生了重大影响。目前对土地利用变化过程和土地利用主体行为的分析研究不足,不能有效揭示宏观农业土地利用变化的微观机理,难以合理解释农户土地利用行为的变化。本文以陕西省米脂县高渠乡为例进行研究,利用经历权重法定量分析了退耕还林政策结束前后不同农户群体土地利用策略的变化;利用构建的农户群体土地利用决策模型,模拟不同政策情景下农户群体土地利用行为的变化及其对区域土地利用变化的影响。结果表明,该模型可以显示还耕和撂荒两种土地利用行为的变化及其空间配置,能揭示造成这种区域差异的微观机理,为分析农户群体土地利用行为的变化、探讨农业政策与农户行为之间的相互作用,提供了可供借鉴的途径。     

Preliminary mapping of high-resolution rural population distribution based on imagery from Google Earth: A case study in the Lake Tai basin, eastern China

There is a large rural population in China. Throughout the country, sewage from rural households is mostly discharged with minimal treatment. Knowledge of rural population distribution is essential to study the rural households’ impacts on their surrounding environment. However, high-resolution spatial datasets on rural population distribution are rarely available in China. This study explores the feasibility of using the image from Google Earth to derive a high-resolution map on rural population distribution for a town in the Lake Tai basin of eastern China. Study results show that texture analysis in conjunction with other processing procedures can extract man-made building features from the image reasonably, which can then serve as the basis for the preliminary mapping of rural population distribution in the study region. This may prove to be a promising alternative for deriving spatial datasets on rural population distribution in many parts of the world.     

基于RS和GIS的城市化进程中河道时空演变分析——以深圳市布吉河为例

为研究城市化对城市河道的影响,论文选择处于粤港澳大湾区的典型高度城市化流域布吉河流域为研究区,基于1988-2015年10期Landsat系列遥感影像、2003-2017年9期Google Earth高分辨率遥感影像、2019年深圳市水系图以及1980年以来的河道整治相关文献,应用RS和GIS技术,构建城市河道演变特征...     

基于MODIS数据网格化重建历史耕地空间分布的方法——以清代云南省为例

建立具有准确空间属性的历史时期土地覆被数据集有助于更好地模拟土地覆被变化的过程及其效应。本文基于我国过去300年耕地面积总体呈持续增加的特点,提出了历史时期耕地分布范围未超出现代耕地范围的合理假设,并以地表高程和坡度为影响土地宜垦程度的主导因子,评估了MODIS土地覆被产品中现代耕地分布区域的宜垦程度,再按宜垦程度从高...     

The application of spatial data processing to land use conflict resolution in the lal lal water catchment of the Ballarat growth corridor: a case study from chapter one of the Buninyong planning scheme

Land use conflict within the Lal Lal Water Catchment is between landowners, the Shire, the Water Board and those directing regional pressures for development. It is exacerbated by inconsistency in building permit appraisal outcomes. The deliberations involved would clearly have benefited from access to spatial data sets through use of a Geographical Information System (GIS) during applications appraisal, in that inconsistencies are most obvious when mapped in relation to the criteria applied. GIS methodologies would ensure that information of a high standard was produced. Three strategic points are identified for the implementation of GIS: at the planning scheme formulation stage; the permit application stage; and the formal conflict resolution stage. Reference to GIS at the first two stages presupposes the existence of a local government area (LGA) spatial data base and a GIS/LIS that can output overlay maps. Application of GIS at the third stage is somewhat ‘after the event’. This study suggests that without such a regional review of the spatial patterns of permit appraisal criteria (including overland flow modelling) each appeal or negotiation is likely to yield an outcome that is inconsistent in relation to other cases. An LGA planning office maintaining a GIS with all layers relating to these criteria will have assembled its spatial data according to the requirements of its planning scheme and will make most use of it in a GIS at the permit appraisal stage.