Driving forces and their interactions of built-up land expansion based on the geographical detector – a case study of Beijing,China

Scientific interpretation of the driving forces of built-up land expansion is essential to urban planning and policy-making. In general, built-up land expansion results from the interactions of different factors, and thus, understanding the combined impacts of built-up land expansion is beneficial. However, previous studies have primarily been concerned with the separate effect of each driver, rather than the interactions between the drivers. Using the built-up land expansion in Beijing from 2000 to 2010 as a study case, this research aims to fill this gap. A spatial statistical method, named the geographical detector, was used to investigate the effects of physical and socioeconomic factors. The effects of policy factors were also explored using physical and socioeconomic factors as proxies. The results showed that the modifiable areal unit problem existed in the geographical detector, and 4000 m might be the optimal scale for the classification performed in this study. At this scale, the interactions between most factors enhanced each other, which indicated that the interactions had greater effects on the built-up land expansion than any single factor. In addition, two pairs of nonlinear enhancement, the greatest enhancement type, were found between the distance to rivers and two socioeconomic factors: the total investment in fixed assets and GDP. Moreover, it was found that the urban plans, environmental protection policies and major events had a great impact on built-up land expansion. The findings of this study verify that the geographical detector is applicable in analysing the driving forces of built-up land expansion. This study also offers a new perspective in researching the interactions between different drivers.     

Climate–growth relationship stability of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Picea crassifolia</Emphasis> on an elevation gradient,Qilian Mountain,Northwest China

Climate affects Picea crassifolia growth and climate change will lead to changes in the climate–growth relationship (i.e., the “divergence” phenomenon). However, standardization methods can also change the understanding of such a relationship. We tested the stability of this relationship by considering several variables: 1) two periods (1952–1980 and 1981–2009), 2) three elevations (2700, 3000, and 3300 m), and 3) chronologies detrended using cubic splines with two different flexibilities. With increasing elevation, the climatic factor limiting the radial growth of Picea crassifolia shifted from precipitation to temperature. At the elevation of 2700 m, the relationship between radial growth and mean temperature of the previous December changed so that the more flexible spline had a greater precipitation signal. At the elevation of 3000 m, positive correlation of radial growth with mean temperature and precipitation in September of the previous year became more significant. At the elevation of 3300 m, positive correlation between radial growth and precipitation of the current summer and the previous spring and autumn was no longer significant, whereas the positive correlation between radial growth and temperature of the current spring and summer strengthened. The detrending with the most flexible spline enhanced the precipitation signal at 2700 m, while that with the least flexible spline enhanced the temperature signal at 3300 m. All results indicated that the divergence phenomenon was affected by the climatic signals in the chronologies and that it was most dependent on the detrending method. This suggests it is necessary to select a suitable spline bootstrap for studies of growth divergence phenomena.     

Analysis of urbanization based on center-of-gravity movement and characteristics in Songhua River basin of China and its southern source sub-basin between 1990 and 2010

Urbanization in modern times led to a series of development strategies that brought new opportunities in China. Rapid urbanization caused severe stress to the ecosystems and the environment. Using the center-of-gravity(COG) method and parameters such as population, economy, and land, we studied the urbanization pattern in Songhua River Basin and its southern source sub-basin from 1990 to 2010. Urbanization was analyzed based on the COG position, eccentric distance, movement direction of COG, and distance of COG movement. Various characteristics of urbanization in the southern source sub-basin of the Songhua River were explained in relation to the whole Songhua River Basin. Urbanization in the southern source sub-basin of the Songhua River is balanced, relatively advanced, and stable compared to the whole Songhua River Basin. The average eccentric distance between the urbanization COGs in the Songhua River′s south source basin indicated rapid expansion of land urbanization during the span of this study. A basic pattern of urbanization COG in the whole Songhua Basin was observed, but there existed differences among the three aspects of urbanization process. Land urbanization is still in its active stage, so future studies should focus on analysis of such urbanization trends.     

基于地理加权模型的农村居民点空间格局及影响因子分析——以湖北省麻城市为例

以湖北省麻城市2009年和2015年农村居民点为研究对象,采用区位指数和核密度测算法对农村居民点空间分布形态进行分析,运用传统最小二乘法和地理加权模型从全域和局部角度分析自然地貌、社会经济、生态限制等因素影响农村居民点空间演变的作用机制。研究得出:麻城市2009—2015年农村居民点用地面积增长率达6.92%,斑块主要以分散式外延扩张为主,空间结构演变总体上呈现沿沪汉蓉快速铁路和武麻公路向四周扩散的连续分布特征。从全域上看,农村居民点分布格局与坡度、公路、建制镇、风景名胜区、河流呈空间负相关关系;从局部影响程度来看,最大正向影响因子为人均收入和高程,负向影响因子主要是坡度和河流,其他影响因子随地理位置变化正负向影响均存在。     

Research on Creep Deformation and Control Mechanism of Weak Surrounding Rock in Super Large Section Tunnel

Geotechnical and Geological Engineering - In order to solve the difficulties of creep deformation of surrounding rock in super large section tunnel, taking Letuan tunnel of Binlai expressway, a...