The impacts of urbanization on soil erosion in the Loess Plateau region

The accelerated urbanization has resulted in new soil erosion in the Loess Plateau region since the 1980s. A concept of urban erosion and its impacts on environment are discussed. The experimental studies and field investigations show that those loose silt and earth piles formed by urban construction can be eroded seriously: Under stormy rain, the amount of sediment from steep man-dumped slope is 10.8-12.2 times that of from uncovered slope land; the result of experiments with the wind tunnel also shows that the damage to the surface structure of dry loess can cause serious soil erosion by wind in some cities of the region. Even if in the urban built-up area, there are many loose sandy soil, mud and silt, which are washed into rivers by city’s ground flow in the rainy season. So, anthropogenically induced soil erosion has made soil erosion more serious around the urban areas. And the urban eroded environment has several characteristics such as fragility, complexity, seasonality and quick variability. Urban areas witness a quick economic growth and have more construction projects than rural areas, which brings more intensive changes of environments during a short period of time or adds some new elements to the erosion system. Therefore erosion has experienced more intensive impact by human activities. So, the possible impact of urbanization on erosion environment must be taken into consideration when designing or planning to exploit natural resources or to develop urban areas in the Loess Plateau.     

Protecting Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (IAHS) by Industrial Integration Development (IID): Practices from China

With Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) increasing in number around the world, their conservation has become a new international research theme. From the perspective of combining theoretical analyses and practical case applications, this study examines the Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (IAHS) conservation pathways and operation mechanisms through industrial integration development (IID). First, the theoretical framework of IID in IAHS sites was constructed according to the requirements of IAHS conservation, which include analyses of the connotation and basic principles of IID, the necessity of IID for IAHS sites, the resource conditions, and the IID pathways. And then based on the theoretical framework, the IID of Longji Terraces in Guangxi, Honghe Hani Rice Terraces System in Yunnan (HHRTS), Aohan Dryland Farming System in Inner Mongolia (ADFS), and Huzhou Mulberry-dyke & Fish-pond System (HMFS) in Zhejiang are analyzed systematically. The main finding is that IID is an effective pathway for IAHS conservation. However, the IID in IAHS sites must stress the ecological and cultural values of the resources; IID should be based on local resource advantages; and IID should attach importance to the combination of different policies and coordination between different stakeholders.     

CGE模型在地理学综合研究中的应用

地理学研究以综合性和区域性为特色。提高地表过程研究中人文与自然要素综合分析的深度与广度,寻找学科交叉的综合途径是地理学中具有挑战性的课题。可计算一般均衡模型(Computable General Equilibrium,CGE) 是环境与经济系统之间互动影响关系模拟的有力工具,在地理学综合研究中得到广泛应用。本文概括了CGE模型在资源环境的可持续性、气候变化与资源税、灾害与综合风险管理、污染物的区域环境过程等多个方面的应用,从模拟主体、模型约束、模拟方法以及过程与结果表达4 个角度,总结了CGE模型与地理学综合研究之间的契合点,并指出与地理学其他模型的耦合以及情景模拟的地理学依据是CGE模型下一步的发展方向。     

淮海经济区协调发展度评价研究

基于区域协调发展的判定标准,构建区域协调发展的指标体系,通过线性加权模型和离差系数法分别计算出淮海经济区经济-社会-人口-资源-环境系统的综合发展水平得分和淮海经济区、苏北鲁南豫东皖北四大板块和20个市的协调度,通过对其分析得出以下结论：（1）淮海经济区处于低经济发展阶段的高协调度阶段;（2）市域协调度多处于中级基本协调阶段;（3）协调度呈现东高西低的空间格局。     

Aviation-Contrail Impacts on Climate and Climate Change: A Ready-to-Wear Research Mantle for Geographers

Although geographers are highly visible in research into contemporary climate changes accompanying greenhouse gas increases (“global warming”), a relatively little explored component by them is the impact of aviation. This contrasts with the atmospheric science community of cloud physicists, chemists, and numerical modelers, who use geographic tools of trade. Geographers are well positioned to investigate aviation-climate impacts, especially related to contrail clouds, given geographic traditions of environment, spatial variation, regionalization, generalization, and the integrative approach to studying physical and human systems (here, climate, transportation, and energy). We highlight the role played by geographers in contrail-climate studies and advocate for a broader involvement in aviation policy formulation.     

中国全球气候变化影响研究方法的进展

着重介绍了中国全球气候变化影响研究中有关方法的最新进展,其中包括实验室、农田和野外观测实验;冰芯、树木年轮和历史文献方法;数值模式研究,特别是静态模式和动态模式研究。最后,指出了存在的问题,以及研究展望。     

未来气候情景下气候变化响应过程研究综述

气候变化将会对生态系统、自然资源、极端气候和人类社会产生一定的影响,科学评估未来气候变化响应是应对气候变化的前提。通过对当前研究成果的回顾,建立未来气候情景下气候变化响应研究的系统思路,并总结了研究所涉及的方法。系统论述了应用第5阶段耦合模式比较计划(CMIP5)气候模式前进行适用性评价的必要性;分析了当前降尺度方法尤其是统计降尺度的主要方法及进展;归纳了偏差校正过程中普遍使用的方法,最后,综合分析了整个研究过程中的不确定性。研究将为气候变化响应分析提供方法和思路指导。     

Issues of Spatial and Temporal Variability in Climate Impact Studies

The accuracy of impact estimates relating climate change to regional-scale agricultural production is constrained by the temporal and spatial resolution of climate change projections. Several techniques have been used to compensate for these limitations in order to provide reasonable estimates of the impact of climate change on crop yield. One approach assumes that variability over time can substitute for spatial variability, thereby reducing the need to estimate the impacts at a spatially dense network of stations—an assumption that has not been generally tested. This study evaluates this assumption using methods similar to those employed in the climate impact literature. The findings suggest that current practices are generally defensible if the goal is to provide a range of possible crop responses to climate change. However, the results also show that the assumption is highly sensitive to specific interactions at the soil-plant-atmosphere interface and, consequently, does not hold under certain circumstances.     

Runoff and Soil Erosion on Slope Cropland: A Review

Soil erosion has become a serious environmental problem worldwide, and slope land is the main source of soil erosion. As a primary cover of slope land, crops have an important influence on the occurrence and development of runoff and soil erosion on slope land. This paper reviews the current understanding of runoff and soil erosion on slope cropland. Crops mainly impact splash detachment, slope runoff, and sediment yield. In this review paper, the effects of crop growth and rainfall on the splash detachment rate and the spatial distribution of splash detachment are summarized. Crop growth has a significant impact on runoff and sediment yield. Rainfall intensity and slope gradient can influence the level of erosive energy that causes soil erosion. Furthermore, other factors such as antecedent soil water content, soil properties, soil surface physical crust, and soil surface roughness can affect soil anti-erodibility. The varying effects of different crops and with different influence mechanisms on runoff and soil erosion, as well as changes in their ability to influence erosion under different external conditions should all remain focal points of future research. The effect of crop vegetation on runoff and soil erosion on slope land is a very important factor in understanding large-scale soil erosion systems, and in-depth study of this topic is highly significant for both theory and practice.     

Urban forest loss using a GIS-based approach and instruments for integrated urban planning:A case study of Jo(a)o Pessoa,Brazil

Urban forests play an important role in the thermal comfort and overall life of local populations in large-and medium-sized cities.This study analyzes urban forest loss and maps land use and land cover (LULC) changes between 1991 and 2018 by evaluating the use of urban planning instruments for the mitigation of urban forest loss in Jo～o Pessoa,Brazil.For this purpose,satellite-derived LULC images from 1991,2006,2010 and 2018 and data on urban forest loss areas obtained using the Google Earth Engine were used.In addi-tion,this paper also discusses the instruments used for integrated urban planning,which are(a) the legal sector,responsibility and nature;(b) the urban expansion process;and (c) the elements of urban infrastructure.The results show a clear shift in land use in the study area.The major changes in LULC classes occurred in urban areas and herbaceous vegetation,while the greatest loss was in arboreal/shrub vegetation.Thus,an increase in the pressure to occupy zones intended for environmental preservation could be estimated.Our results showed similar accuracies with other studies and more spatial details.The characteristics of the patterns,traces,and hotspots of urban expansion and forest cover loss were explored.We highlighted the potential use of this proposed framework to be applied and validated in other parts of the world to help better understand and quantify various aspects of ur-ban-related problems such as urban forest loss mapping using instruments for integrated urban planning and low-cost approaches.