Mapping and monitoring of land use changes in post-Soviet western Ukraine using remote sensing data

While agriculture is expanded and intensified in many parts of the world, decreases in land use intensity and farmland abandonment take place in other parts. Eastern Europe experienced widespread changes of agricultural land use after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, however, rates and patterns of these changes are still not well understood. Our objective was to map and analyze changes of land management regimes, including large-scale cropland, small-scale cropland, and abandoned farmland. Monitoring land management regimes is a promising avenue to better understand the temporal and spatial patterns of land use intensity changes. For mapping and change detection, we used an object-based approach with Superpixel segmentation for delineating objects and a Random Forest classifier. We applied this approach to Landsat and ERS SAR data for the years 1986, 1993, 1999, 2006, and 2010 to estimate change trajectories for this time period in western Ukraine. The first period during the 1990s was characterized by post-socialist transition processes including farmland abandonment and substantial subsistence agriculture. Later on, recultivation processes and the recurrence of industrial, large-scale farming were triggered by global food prices that have led to a growing interest in this region.     

中国科技资源配置效率测度及其时空格局演变特征(英文)

According to the connotation and structure of science and technology resources and some relevant data of more than 286 cities at prefecture level and above during 2001–2010, using modified method—Data Envelopment Analysis(DEA), science and technology(ST) resource allocation efficiency of different cities in different periods has been figured out, which, uncovers the distributional difference and change law of ST resource allocation efficiency from the time-space dimension. Based on that, this paper has analyzed and discussed the spatial distribution pattern and evolution trend of ST resource allocation efficiency in different cities by virtue of the Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis(ESDA). It turned out that:(1) the average of ST resource allocation efficiency in cities at prefecture level and above has always stayed at low levels, moreover, with repeated fluctuations between high and low, which shows a decreasing trend year by year. Besides, the gap between the East and the West is widening.(2) The asymmetrical distribution of ST resource allocation efficiency presents a spatial pattern of successively decreasing from Eastern China, Central China to Western China. The cities whose ST resource allocation efficiency are at higher level and high level take on a cluster distribution, which fits well with the 23 forming urban agglomerations in China.(3) The coupling degree between ST resource allocation efficiency and economic environment assumes a certain positive correlation, but not completely the same. The differentiation of ST resource allocation efficiency is common in regional development, whose existence and evolution are directly or indirectly influenced by and regarded as the reflection of many elements, such as geographical location, the natural endowment and environment of ST resources and so on.(4) In the perspective of the evolution of spatial structure, ST resource allocation efficiency of the cities at prefecture level and above shows a notable spatial autocorrelation, which in every period presents a positive correlation. The spatial distribution of ST resource allocation efficiency in neighboring cities seems to be similar in group, which tends to escalate stepwise. Meanwhile, the whole differentiation of geographical space has a diminishing tendency.(5) Viewed from LISA agglomeration map ofST resource allocation efficiency in different periods, four agglomeration types have changed differently in spatial location and the range of spatial agglomeration. And the continuity of ST resource allocation efficiency in geographical space is gradually increasing.     

利用温度链对南海内波振幅的观测

内波的实测资料一般为走航或者浮标布站观测得到的一个关于时间和空间的大面资料,将此资料进行滤波后,进行简单的数值处理,即可得到内波的振幅。但是这种资料较少,布控站位难度较大,成本也较高,是一种不易获取的资料。本文利用的温度链资料是一种获取简单,成本也较低的实测资料。利用温度链资料基于内波带动水质点上下波动的物理过程,进行内波振幅的计算,将会有较大的适用性。     

Test and evaluation of a moored microstructure recorder

A new moored microstructure recorder （MMR） is designed, developed, tested, and evaluated. The MMR directly measures the high-frequency shear of velocity fluctuations, with which we can estimate the dissipation rate of turbulent kinetic energy. We summarize and discuss methods for estimating the turbulent kinetic energy dissipation rate. Instrument body vibrations contaminate the shear signal in an ocean field experiment, and a compensating correction successfully removes this contamination. In both tank test and ocean field experiment, the dissipation rate measured with the MMR agreed well with that measured using other instruments.     

Sea surface temperature and salinity reconstruction based on stable isotopes and Mg/Ca of planktonic foraminifera in the western Pacific Warm Pool during the last 155 ka

Changes in sea surface temperature(SST), seawater oxygen isotope(δ 18 O sw), and local salinity proxy(δ 18 O sw-ss) in the past 155 ka were studied using a sediment core(MD06-3052) from the northern edge of the western Pacifi c Warm Pool(WPWP), within the fl ow path of the bifurcation of the North Equatorial Current. Our records reveal a lead-lag relationship between paired Mg/Ca-SST and δ 18 O during Termination II and the last interglacial period. Similarity in SST between our site and the Antarctic temperature proxy and in CO 2 profi le showed a close connection between the WPWP and the Antarctic. Values of δ 18 O sw exhibited very similar variations to those of mean ocean δ 18 O sw, owing to the past sea-level changes on glacial-interglacial timescale. Calculated values of δ 18 O sw-ss refl ect a more saline condition during high local summer insolation(SI) periods. Such correspondence between δ 18 O sw-ss and local SI in the WPWP may refl ect complex interaction between ENSO and monsoon, which was stimulated by changes in solar irradiance and their infl uence on the local hydrologic cycle. This then caused a striking reorganization of atmospheric circulation over the WPWP.     

Zinc and copper bioaccumulation in fish from Laizhou Bay,the Bohai Sea

Abstract Zinc （Zn） and copper （Cu） concentrations were determined in the tissues （muscle, stomach, liver, gills, skin, and gonads） of five commercial fish species （mullet Liza haematocheilus, flathead Platycephalus indicus, mackerel Scomberomorus niphonius, silver pomfret Pampus argenteus, and sea bass Lateolabrax japonicus） from Laizhou Bay in the Bohai Sea. Metal bioaccumulation was highest in the metabolically active tissues of the gonads and liver. Bioconcentration factors for Zn were higher in all tissues （gonads 44.35, stomach 7.73, gills 7.72, liver 5.61, skin 4.88, and muscle 1.63） than the corresponding values for Cu （gonads 3.50, stomach 3.00, gills 1.60, liver 5.43, skin 1.50, and muscle 0.93）. Mackerel tissues accumulated metal to higher concentrations than did other fish species, but bioaccumulation levels were not significantly correlated with the trophic levels of the fish. Zn and Cu concentrations in the tissues were generally negatively correlated with fish length, except for a few tissues of sea bass. Risk assessment based on national and international permissible limits and provisional tolerances for weekly intake of Zn and Cu revealed that the concentrations of these two metals in muscle were relatively low and would not pose hazards to human health.     

Spatial heterogeneity of soil mineral oxide components in depression between karst hills,Southwest China

In karst regions,the spatial heterogeneity of soil mineral oxides and environmental variables is still not clear.We investigated the spatial heterogeneity of SiO2,Al2O3,Fe2O3,CaO,MgO,P2O5,K2O,and MnO contents in the soils of slope land,plantation forest,secondary forest,and primary forest,as well as their relationships with environmental variables in a karst region of Southwest China.Geostatistics,principal component analysis(PCA),and canonical correlation analysis(CCA)were applied to analyze the field data.The results show that SiO2was the predominant mineral in the soils(45.02%–67.33%),followed by Al2O3and Fe2O3.Most soil mineral oxide components had a strong spatial dependence,except for CaO,MgO,and P2O5in the plantation forest,MgO and P2O5in the secondary forest,and CaO in the slope land.Dimensionality reduction in PCA was not appropriate due to the strong spatial heterogeneity in the ecosystems.Soil mineral oxide components,the main factors in all ecosystems,had greater influences on vegetation than those of conventional soil properties.There were close relationships between soil mineral oxide components and vegetation,topography,and conventional soil properties.Mineral oxide components affected species diversity,organic matter and nitrogen levels.     

Land use effects on soil organic carbon,microbial biomass and microbial activity in Changbai Mountains of Northeast China

Land use changes are known to alter soil organic carbon （SOC） and microbial properties, however, information about how conversion of natural forest to agricultural land use as well as plantations affects SOC and microbial properties in the Changbai Moun- tains of Northeast China is meager. Soil carbon content, microbial biomass carbon （MBC）, basal respiration and soil carbon mineraliza- tion were studied in five selected types of land use： natural old-growth broad-leaved Korean pine mixed forest （NF）; spruce plantation （SP） established following clear-cutting of NF; cropland （CL）; ginseng farmland （GF） previously under NF; and a five-year Mongolian oak young forest （YF） reforested on an abandoned GF, in the Changbai Mountains of Northeast China in 2011. Results showed that SOC content was significantly lower in SP, CL, GF, and YF than in NF. MBC ranged from 304.4 mg/kg in CL to 1350.3 mg/kg in NF, which was significantly higher in the soil of NF than any soil of the other four land use types. The SOC and MBC contents were higher in SP soil than in CL, GF, and YF soils, yielding a significant difference between SP and CL. The value of basal respiration was also higher in NF than in SP, CL, GF, and YF. Simultaneously, higher values of the metabolic quotient were detected in CL, GF, and YF soils, indicat- ing low substrate utilization of the soil microbial community compared with that in NF and SP soil. The values of cumulative mineral- ized carbon and potentially mineralized carbon （Co） in NF were significantly higher than those in CL and GF, while no significant dif- ference was observed between NF and SP. In addition, YF had higher values of Co and C mineralization rate compared with GF. The results indicate that conversion from NF into agricultural land （CL and GF） uses and plantation may lead to a reduction in soil nutrients （SOC and MBC） and substrate utilization efficiency of the microbial community. By contrast, soils below SP were more conducive to the preservation of soil organic matter, which was reflected in the comparison of microbial indicators among CL, GF, and YF land uses. This study can provide data for evaluating soils nutrients under different land use types, and serve as references for the rational land use of natural forest in the study area.     

Spatial structure of central places in Jilin Central Urban Agglomeration,Jilin Province,China

Using the radius of gyration from fractal theory, this paper describes the calculation of fractal dimensions for the four tiers of central places in the Jilin Central Urban Agglomeration(JCUA), Jilin Province, China and the structural characteristics of each tier: 1) the 1st tier central place, Changchun Proper(not including Shuangyang District), provides the most service functions and has the most stable primate position; 2) the 2nd tier central places, Jilin Proper, Siping Proper, Liaoyuan Proper and Songyuan Proper have unclear statuses and do not provide certain functions; 3) the 3rd tier central places comprise 23 county-level cities, counties and urban districts(including Shuangyang District of Changchun), exhibiting a dense spatial structure that agrees with theory; 4) the 4th tier contains the largest number of central places(248 designated towns), but they are loosely distributed. In this study, a spatial image of the JCUA was created, based on vectorized data of the urban settlement distribution, which was then modified and abstracted to create a hexagonal network covering the JCUA. Compared to the traditional central place model, the modified spatial image conforms to the K = 3 principle. In reality, however, the growth of some 3rd tier central places should be increased with the cities being upgraded to the 2nd tier so as to overcome that tier′s functional deficiency. The loose distribution in the 4th tier should also be changed. This apparent anomaly can be explained by the fact that the classic hexagon model used to describe the way market areas layout does not exist in the real world. However, this should not be viewed as an obstacle to using central place theory. If its assumptions are properly applied, it can still assist research into the spatial structure of regions.     

Empirical Analysis of City Contact in Zhujiang （Pearl） River Delta,China

In traditional urban geography, city contact research is a classic study element in city research. In general, researchers use the traditional gravity model to characterize the contacts that exist between two cities. The traditional gravity model assumes ideal condi- tions, but these preconditions and their results often do not exist in realistic conditions. Thus, we used a modified gravity model to char- acterize the city contacts within a specific region. This model considers factors such as intercity complementarities, government inter- vention, and the diversity of the transportation infrastructure which is characterized as the transportation distance instead of the tradi- tional Euclidean distance. We applied this model to an empirical study of city contact in the Zhujiang （Pearl） River Delta （PRD） of China. The regression results indicated that the modified gravity model could measure city contact more accurately and comprehen- sively than the traditional gravity model, i.e., it yielded a higher adjusted R2 value （0.379） than the traditional gravity model result （0.259）. Our study also suggests that, in addition to urban-regional and metropolitan development, the complementarities of the basic functions of cities at the administrative and market levels, as well as the corporeal and immaterial levels, play very significant roles in the characterization of city contact. Given the complexity of city contact, it will be necessary to consider more relevant influential fac- tors in the modified gravity model to characterize the features of city contact in the future.