Spatio-temporal dynamics of land cover and land surface temperature in Ganges-Brahmaputra delta: A comparative analysis between India and Bangladesh

Land use and land cover (LULC) change in the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta (GBD) poses significant challenges towards future environmental sustainability of the region and requires regional scale monitoring of key bio-physical variables and changes in their inter-relationship over space and time. Focusing on the southern part of the lower GBD region along the international border of India and Bangladesh, this study examined the spatio-temporal variability of LULC change and its relationship with Land Surface Temperature (LST). Furthermore, LULC-LST relationships were compared between Indian and Bangladesh part and its trend in and around big cities (with more than 1 million population) and towns (with more than 100,000 population) was investigated. Results showed that LST changes were predominantly driven by LULC changes on both sides of the border. Urban growth is the dominant form of LULC change, and the rate of land change was faster in 2005–2010 time period than 1989–2005. Over the period of 21 years, mean January LST decreased by approximately 1.83 °C in Indian part and 1.85 °C in the Bangladesh part. Areas that changed from to rural from agricultural experienced decrease in mean LST, whereas those areas that changed to urban from either agriculture or rural, experienced increase in mean LST. The relationship between LULC and LST are same on both sides of the Indo-Bangladesh border. In bigger cities like Kolkata (in India) and Khulna (in Bangladesh), there is a high spatial variability in relationship between LULC and LST compared to large towns. The LULC-LST relationship in large towns in India was influenced by proximity to Kolkata and coastal areas, whereas in Bangladesh no such influence was evident. The results and the data produced in this study are crucial for monitoring LULC changes, for developing spatial decision support system, and thus will be helpful to address the current challenges of land management in the GBD region. Changes in the LULC and LST are important indicators of GBD's environmental health and access its vulnerability and thus the present findings serve as baseline information for future studies seeking to examine the impact of differential policies on the LULC change in the region.     

Bringing globalization to the countryside: Special Economic Zones in India

Special Economic Zones (SEZs) are important vectors of neoliberal globalization in India. Despite facing widespread resistance against the proposed land acquisition for these zones, they are still being promoted across the country. We argue that the wealth redistribution to the country's elites and the fractured resistance movements enable neoliberalism and its practices to grow in the countryside. Using a private sector SEZ in Gurgaon as a case study, this article explores how special economic zoning, as a neoliberal policy, has been implicated in the spatialized production of poverty. We also show that the main actors who promote neoliberalism in India (the state and the large‐scale urban private sector) have found a seemingly unlikely ally in rural India in the form of farmers with large landholdings, rural elites who are willing to let go of their land under certain conditions. The data for the article was collected in India in 2009–10.     

Does prolonged illness contribute to adaptive land use practices among subsistence agricultural households in rural Mozambique?

The environmental effects of disease are broadly recognized but still not fully understood. The impact of health on economic development has been well-documented, as have how changes in land cover can contribute to poor health. However, little is known about how changes in health may impact land use and land cover. Fallowing has long been regarded as an advanced, sustainable land use decision employed by subsistence agriculturalists. In the presence of a prolonged illness, however, subsistence agriculturalists may also potentially use fallowing as a coping mechanism. In this paper we seek to understand the extent to which fallowing is used as a coping strategy by households facing a prolonged illness. If illness threatens a household's labor supply, it could affect their ability to cultivate all of their land and may impact food security and general economic well-being. Additionally, it may also impact the actual landscape, as previously agricultural land may revert to a transitional state or land abandonment. This study employs mixed methods to determine if unhealthy agricultural households use fallowing as a coping strategy, identifies whether or not unhealthy fallowing households are more vulnerable agriculturally and economically than their healthier fallowing counterparts, and examines whether there is a land cover effect that can be detected using Landsat TM/ETM + satellite imagery.     

Spatial patterns of retail activity and street network structure in new and traditional Israeli cities

The association between spatial patterns of retail activity and the spatial configuration of street networks was examined by means of the space syntax methodology in eight Israeli cities that represent two city types, characterized by different planning approaches and urban growth: (i) new towns, which were established according to a comprehensive city plan and modern planning concepts of “tree-like” hierarchical street networks and “neighborhood units”; (ii) older cities, where street networks and the spatial patterns of retail activity were formed incrementally during their growth. Unlike in older cities, retail activity in new towns concentrates in relatively less-accessible and intermediate locations. This is indicated by a weak correlation between retail activity and the street network’s Integration and Choice centrality measures. The comparison between Israeli cities illustrates the influence of urban growth and planning approaches on the formation of retail activity and its interaction with the structure of the street network.     

多因素耦合下三峡库区土地利用未来情景模拟

模型模拟和情景变化分析是未来土地利用变化研究的核心内容,本文以2000年三峡库区土地利用现状为基期数据,利用Binary Logistic模型回归分析驱动因子与土地利用间的关系,利用CLUE-S模型对2010年土地利用进行模拟,校验并确定影响库区土地利用驱动因素的主要参数后,基于自然增长、粮食安全、移民建设和生态保护对2020年、2030年库区土地利用情景予以模拟。结果表明：① 通过Binary Logistic模型分析和检验,水田、旱地、林地、草地、建设用地和水域的ROC曲线下面积值均大于0.8,表明所选驱动因子对土地利用的解释能力较强,可用来估算土地利用概率分布;② 2010年各地类模拟结果经验证得Kappa系数分别为水田0.9、旱地0.92、林地0.97、草地0.84、建设用地0.85和水域0.77,总体上能满足模拟与预测需求;③ 多情景模拟显示库区不同土地利用类型在空间上的竞争关系,以及所带来的对库区粮食安全、移民建设、生态保护的影响,包括水田大量转换为旱地（“水改旱”）、耕地与林草地被建设占用、林草地开垦为耕地、陡坡耕地退为林草地等行为,需要在土地利用优化中平衡各方面的需求;④ 多因素、多情景模拟能为库区土地利用提供更为清晰的、可供抉择的政策调控思路。     

基于灰色关联度的AHP权重矩阵构建方法改进及在农地评价中的应用

合理确定评价指标的权重是准确测度农业土地资源可持续利用能力的关键所在。本文依据灰色关联度对层次分析法(AHP)中判断矩阵的构建方法进行了改进,并获取各项评价指标的权重。在此基础上,分别采用多目标线性加权函数综合评价模型和障碍因子诊断模型,对2001-2012年湖北省枣阳市的农业土地资源可持续利用水平及其制约因素进行评估和辨析。结果显示：基于灰色关联分析法(GRA)改进后的AHP方法在确定指标权重时不仅能有效降低主观赋权的影响,也可避免熵值法等客观赋权法所存在的弊端;地均农业生产总值、人均耕地面积、化肥使用强度、有效灌溉面积、年降水量、人均GDP和农村居民家庭人均纯收入是制约枣阳市农业土地资源可持续利用的最主要因素,但在不同年份各因素的阻碍度表现不一。2001年以来,枣阳市农业土地资源利用的社会经济可持续性水平较高,综合可持续利用水平指数整体上呈增加的态势;但在生态可持续方面,2006年之后不仅明显低于之前年份,而且也显著低于同时期的社会经济可持续性。     

基于遥感监测的城市热岛研究进展

全球正经历快速、高强度的城市化,导致城市热岛加剧,并对城市、区域乃至全球许多的生态环境要素直接或间接地产生多方面的影响,与人类福祉密切相关。遥感具有宽覆盖、信息量大、重复观测周期短等优点,已成为地表城市热岛(Surface Urban Heat Island, SUHI)监测广泛采用的一种方法。针对前人相关研究对热红外数据源、监测指标及SUHI时空变化规律尚缺乏系统总结且内容需要更新等问题,本文首先分类评述了SUHI遥感监测所采用的热红外遥感数据源。其次将现有的SUHI监测指标分为土地覆盖类型驱动型、地表温度格局驱动型及两者复合驱动型3类来述评,详细介绍了它们的计算方法、应用案例及优缺点;并从日间变化、夜间变化及昼夜对比的变化3个方面述评了SUHI的年内时空变化规律;归纳了其年际变化规律。最后,依据现有研究结论中相互冲突或尚需深化的地方,指出几个潜在的关键问题或研究方向。     

土地利用多功能性研究进展与展望

土地利用多功能性研究是土地科学和地理学研究的重要学术命题,对于提高土地利用效率、促进区域可持续发展具有重要的理论和应用价值。本文通过对土地利用多功能性的概念内涵、识别与分类、评价研究等方面的梳理,明晰土地利用多功能性的研究现状。目前,学者对土地利用多功能性内涵特征的认识基本一致;土地利用多功能性的分类标准尚未统一;土地利用多功能性分析框架初步形成,评价指标体系尚不完善,评价方法较单一,应用研究相对薄弱;土地利用多功能性受自然、社会经济及政策等因素共同影响。未来,应构建多学科交叉的土地利用多功能性研究内容框架,完善分类体系,深化评价研究并加强应用研究,从而为开展土地利用规划与土地管理工作提供参考。     

基于MODIS数据的长株潭地区城市热岛时空分析

基于MODIS影像,采用分裂窗算法反演的地表温度对长株潭地区城市热岛空间分布与季相变化特征、影响因子进行定量研究。结果表明,长株潭地区春季和夏季存在明显的城市热岛效应,而冬季和秋季城市热岛并不明显;地表覆盖类型对城市热岛的影响十分明显,长株潭地区春、夏、秋季植被绿地状况与城市热岛呈现明显负相关分布,其中以夏季最为明显,夏季地表温度与NDVI相关系数的平方R2达到0.8193,即植被覆盖对城市地表温度的影响显著。因此,城市植被的分布与季节变化影响着城市热岛的强度与时空分布,揭示出植被绿地对降低城市热岛效应具有重要的作用,大范围的绿地建设能有效降低城市热岛效应。     

泛北极地区植被数据集与制图：回顾与展望

泛北极地区位于北半球高纬度地区,主要属于低温限制型生态系统,因而泛北极地区植被对全球变暖敏感。要明确泛北极地区陆地生态系统对全球变暖响应过程和机理,就需要高精度的植被类型分类数据作为基础资料。但是,目前泛北极地区植被数据的结果还不完善。为更好地认识泛北极地区植被类型分类的现状、发展历史和未来研究方向,本文综述了泛北极地区植被类型制图的数据来源、植被类型划分方法和植被类型制图研究方法。总体而言,泛北极地区的植被调查从20世纪20年代就陆续开展,目前部分区域尺度上的地表覆盖类型的结果,但具体的植被类型制图工作还存在一系列难题。主要原因包括植被野外调查实测数据较少和分布不均、植被类型分类标准不一、苔原植被群落的异质性大、制图技术和分类算法优化困难等。因此,在下一步泛北极植被类型制图工作中,需要制定标准化分类策略,规范数据获取及数据库的整理工作,并发展新的制图方法,从而促进植被类型制图研究工作。