A comprehensive evaluation of tourism climate suitability in Qinghai Province, China

Qinghai Province is an important component of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in China. Scientific evaluation of the suitability of Qinghai’s climate for tourism can contribute to overcoming obstacles posed by climate on sustainable tourism development in Qinghai Province, including disparities between the low and high seasons, high altitude health concerns, and weather events. A tourism climate suitability evaluation model of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is constructed (Tourism Climate Suitability Index, or TCSI), and tourism climate suitability is comprehensively evaluated for Qinghai Province from climate data from 1960 to 2009. Results show that: (I) There is clear distributional characteristics of spatial-temporal variability of TCSI values in Qinghai Province. (II) Tourism climate suitability in Qinghai Province has significant seasonal and regional differences. The year is divided into a very suitable period (July and August), suitable tourism periods (from April and October), less suitable periods (From Nov to Mar). June to August is the most suitable tourism period in Qinghai. Qinghai Province is divided into five levels of tourism climate suitability: most suitable regions, very suitable regions, suitable regions, less suitable regions, and unsuitable region. (III) The key factor which influences regional differences in tourism climatic suitability is atmospheric oxygen. And the key factors which chiefly influence seasonal differences of tourism climate suitability are temperature and humidity, the wind chill factor, and barrier weather.     

Dynamic Evolvement of Agricultural System and Typical Patterns of Modern Agriculture in Coastal China： A Case of Suzhou

Based on dynamic theory of system, agriculture is a complex system composed by element, structure, function and development. Firstly, this paper analyzes their connotation and relationship, which could be simply described that in virtue of element integrating and structure optimizing, agricultural system may achieve multifunctionality to meet increasingly diverse demands. As a case study of Suzhou, it concludes that Suzhou has a LP-dependence on agricultural element, and the growth extent of agricultural productivity correlates to the ratio of agricultural labor reducing rate to farmland reducing rate. Agricultural structure of Suzhou changed with time, and in the early 1980s and 2000s it was most notable. Correspondingly, agricultural function has experienced a succession process: ‘production’, ‘production-living’, and ‘production-living-ecology’. At last, based on questionnaires and interviews, some new characteristics and problems of agricultural development in coastal developed region of China have been put forward. Meanwhile, some typical patterns of modern agriculture in Suzhou which adapt to system evolving are also brought up such as export-oriented agriculture, enterprises-leading agriculture, agricultural science and technology parks, characteristic and stereoscopic agriculture, tourism and sightseeing agriculture. Foundation item: Under the auspices of National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 40635029, No. 40771014)     

Impact assessment and protection of outstanding landscape integrity in a natural heritage site: Fairy valley, Kanas Nature Reserve, Xinjiang, China

The essential purpose of the Convention Concerning the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage is to protect the integrity of heritage values. Outstanding landscape is the core embodiment of the aesthetic value of a natural heritage site. This paper proposes a new assessment method from the point of view of the protection of heritage values. It is used to measure the degree of outstanding landscape integrity under the human and natural impact in natural heritage sites. This paper employ three indices, a visual index of outstanding landscape, a harmony index of the artificial landscape and a disturbance index of damaged landscape, to measure the impact of landscape integrity. The impact assessment model is based on a weighted combination of the three indices. The study site is the Fairy Valley, Kanas Nature Reserve, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwest China. The information employed is derived from field investigation and a Digital Elevation Model (DEM). A comprehensive evaluation of the Fairy valley was undertaken and it was determined that the outstanding landscape values are being compromised. Three protection methods are proposed to reduce the adverse effects and maintain landscape quality, thereby providing site managers with suggestions for the protection of natural heritage values. More broadly, the paper contributes novel methods of landscape assessment applicable to natural protected areas.     

Characteristics and mechanism of agricultural transformation in typical rural areas of eastern China: A case study of Yucheng City,Shandong Province

Rural off-farm employment, rapid loss of agricultural land, and advanced technology popularization had led agricultural production in Chinese typical rural areas come at a critical transformation and upgrade stage. Based on sample survey data gathered from 401 households in Yucheng City, Shandong Province, this paper focuses on the characteristics and mechanism of agricultural transformation in typical rural areas of the eastern China. It was found that 74.3% of households surveyed kept at least one member engaging in off-farm employment, and 57.1% looked forward to expanding the operational scale of arable land, while just 13.7% had actually transferred their agricultural land. Since growing off-farm employment does not result in the collapse of traditional subsistence agriculture, therefore, agricultural production in Yucheng City is at an incomplete transformation phase from traditional small-holder farming to modern scale economy. It is caused by both macro environments and family characteristics, while urban-rural dual structure, imperfect rural development policy and agricultural technology popularization make peasant economy strengthen upon maintenance, and small-holder farming becomes peasant’s natural response owing to pluriactivity, local off-farm employment, reverse elimination, etc. In order to achieve smooth agricultural transformation of typical rural areas in the eastern China, it needs to promote professional differentiation among peasants, under clear policies adopted by central government. Providing comprehensive services for agricultural production and improving production skills and knowledge of farmers who are still living in the countryside will effectively stimulate the process of agricultural transformation.     

沂蒙山区典型断陷盆地岩溶地下水系统特征:以莱芜盆地为例

2011年以来,中国地质调查局在沂蒙山区组织实施了1∶5万标准图幅水文地质调查4万余km²,并在严重缺水村镇开展了大量的找水打井示范工作,获得了较为丰富的地质数据,对断陷盆地地下水流系统取得了新认识。受中新生代构造影响,沂蒙山区发生断裂褶皱、伸展滑脱及岩浆侵入活动,形成一系列“南超覆北断陷”的地堑—半地堑盆地,并最终形成现今典型的“盆—山”岩溶水文地质结构,及以盆地为单元的相对独立的岩溶地下水流系统。为研究沂蒙山区地下水流系统发育特征,选择莱芜盆地为典型研究区,基于野外地质调查,通过综合分析盆地南北两侧地貌单元、含水岩组立体空间分布及地下水水位、水化学及同位素结果等,探讨了沂蒙山区典型“盆—山”结构塑造的多级岩溶地下水流系统特征。结果表明,莱芜盆地岩溶地下水由盆地外围向盆地中心呈“向心式”径流;受人类活动影响、地质构造控制和含水层分布制约,盆地南北两侧地下水流系统特征存在差异：盆地南部发育中间和局部两级地下水流系统;盆地北部则仅发育单一的局部地下水流系统,但占有已勘查论证的近1/2的地下水水源地。此外,研究发现在大汶河最低侵蚀基准面,区域滑脱构造及热液混合作用拆离...     

Stratigraphic Division Based on Minor Elements in the Sediment Core Q43 from the Outer Shelf of the East China Sea： Approached Through Correspondence Analysis and Fuzzy Cluster Analysis

The multivariate statistical techniques, principal component analysis, Q-mode factor analysis, correspondence analysis and fuzzy C-means clustering were applied to analyzing the datasets of minor element concentrations in sediment samples of a core collected from the outer shelf of the East China Sea. According to the analysis results, the sediment core Q43 can be divided into three strata with different features in minor elements. The first stratum (unit Ⅰ) is characterized by higher concentrations of V, Cr, Cd and Sc, which are active and inactive elements. The second stratum (unit Ⅱ) is controlled by ultrastable elements V, Ti, Cr, Th, Sc, Pb, etc. The third stratum (unit Ⅲ) is dominated by Ni, Co, Ba, Rb and Mn, which are authigenic and volcanogenic elements. The geochemical features of the core Q43 show environmental changes in the depositional process from the Late Pleistocene to Holocene.