Mangrove forest dynamics in Tanintharyi,Myanmar from 1989–2014, and the role of future economic and political developments

Mangrove forests in Southeast Asia provide many ecosystem services, though are experiencing extensive deforestation, especially in Myanmar. Recent political and economic reforms in Myanmar are projected to further increase development pressures on natural resources. Mangrove forests in the southern state of Tanintharyi have largely been spared clearance because of poor infrastructure and a volatile security situation, though this may change with plans for economic expansion. We quantified land cover dynamics and proximate drivers of mangrove deforestation in Tanintharyi between 1989 and 2014 using a remote sensing approach over five time intervals. Tanintharyi experienced low mangrove cover loss overall, as compared with other regions of Myanmar, with 3.2 per cent being deforested over 25 years. However, this statistic hides large site‐specific losses and gains, which varied significantly within the study area. Myeik district lost 210 km² of mangrove over 25 years, but also gained 132 km². Dawei and Kawthung had minimal net loss of mangroves because of extensive mangrove regeneration. This historical mangrove baseline is essential for supporting environmentally‐conscious development in Myanmar's southernmost state.     

基于土地集约利用的长株潭城市群建设用地供需仿真模拟

土地集约利用反映了土地利用的综合状态,是协调土地供需平衡的重要指标。运用系统动力学（SD）构建城市建设用地供需反馈关系回路以及指标变量函数,在此基础上,建立长株潭城市群建设用地供需系统模型,仿真模拟低土地集约利用度、中等土地集约利用度、高土地集约利用度三种不同状态条件下,2016-2030年区域的建设用地、工业用地和居住用地供需变化趋势。结果表明：① 研究区用地规模仍处于扩张状态,城市建设用地数量增长速度总体较快。但三种发展状态下用地增长规模、速度存有差异;② 在低集约度模式下,建设用地规模及供地数量大,易造成土地资源的浪费;高集约度模式下,建设用地供给紧缩,用地规模增长缓慢,总规模偏小,不利于城镇化的良性发展;中等集约度模式则在用地规模和供给量上均与社会经济发展相适应,能体现现代城市发展理念;③ 工业用地占建设用地比例保持在15%~21%之间,其中低集约度模式下比例逐年上升,中等和高集约度模式下呈缓慢下降并趋于稳定之势;居住用地占建设用地的比例维持在27%~35%之间,其中低集约度和中等集约度模式用地占比呈下降趋势,高集约度模式比例总体维持在较高水平。研究通过对三种发展模式的设定,确定了不同指标在三种模式下的变化趋势,可为土地供需决策优化、城市建设规划及土地供给侧结构性改革提供科学参考。     

东北地区建设用地开发强度格局演变的空间分异机制

建设用地开发强度是区域建设用地开发利用程度及其对区域人口和经济社会承载强度的综合反映。本文以东北地区179个县域空间为基本研究单元,应用冷热点、空间变差函数、GWR模型等定量方法对建设用地开发强度的时空分异格局演变及分异机制进行了探讨,得出以下结论：① 2000-2015年东北地区建设用地开发强度总体呈现出增长态势,但空间分异显著,各单元间建设用地开发强度高低的相互作用及联动效应较为明显,但建设用地开发强度的空间分布逐渐趋于非均衡,建设用地开发强度的冷热点分布格局与全局分异变化及空间异质性态势基本吻合;② 2000年东北地区开发强度格局分异由政府财政投入力度、用地投资强度和产业结构水平共同影响,到2005-2015年发展演化为政府财政投入力度、用地投资强度、经济发展水平和产业结构水平共同影响;③ 2000-2015年政府财政投入力度、用地投资强度、经济发展水平和产业结构水平与东北地区建设用地开发强度格局分布态势具有一定的关联性,但在不同区域呈现出影响程度的差异性。     

The influence of rainfall and land use patterns on soil erosion in multi-scale watersheds: A case study in the hilly and gully area on the Loess Plateau,China

Soil erosion has become a major global environmental problem and is particularly acute on the Loess Plateau (LP), China. It is therefore highly important to control this process in order to improve ecosystems, protect ecological security, and maintain the harmonious relationship between humans and nature. We compared the effects of rainfall and land use (LU) patterns on soil erosion in different LP watersheds in this study in order to augment and improve soil erosion models. As most research on this theme has so far been focused on individual study areas, limited analyses of rainfall and LU patterns on soil erosion within different- scale watersheds has so far been performed, a discrepancy which might influence the simulation accuracies of soil erosion models. We therefore developed rainfall and LU pattern indices in this study using the soil erosion evaluation index as a reference and applied them to predict the extent of this process in different-scale watersheds, an approach which is likely to play a crucial role in enabling the comprehensive management of this phenomenon as well as the optimized design of LU patterns. The areas considered in this study included the Qingjian, Fenchuan, Yanhe, and Dali river watersheds. Results showed that the rainfall erosivity factor (R) tended to increase in these areas from 2006 to 2012, while the vegetation cover and management factor (C) tended to decrease. Results showed that as watershed area increased, the effect of rainfall pattern on soil erosion gradually decreased while patterns in LU trended in the opposite direction, as the relative proportion of woodland decreased and the different forms of steep slope vegetation cover became more homogenous. As watershed area increased, loose soil and craggy terrain properties led to additional gravitational erosion and enhanced the effects of both soil and topography.     

The progress of human geography in China under the support of the National Natural Science Foundation of China

This paper analyzes the role of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) in advancing human geography in China by focusing on five key research areas: land use, urban systems and urban agglomeration, economic globalization, climate change and social and cultural geographies. All NSFC-funded human geography programs related to these five topics from 1986 to 2017 comprise the sample for analysis, and the research topics, content, teams, and peer-reviewed journal publications supported by these programs are investigated. Specifically, this paper analyzes the NSFC’s promotion of the expansion of research topics in response to national developmental needs and the shifting frontiers of human geography research internationally, its enhancement of interdisciplinary research, and its contributions to the assembly of specialized research teams. The paper also reports important progress in Chinese human geography over the past 30 years through the institutional lens of the NSFC, revealing major characteristics and trends in the discipline. The paper concludes by calling for further collaboration between the research community and the NSFC for the development of a locally suitable and globally influential Chinese human geography.     

Development history and accessibility evolution of land transportation network in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region over the past century

From the development of modern transportation to the current era of high-speed transportation networks, the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) region has always played a national leading role in land transportation development of China. In order to explore the long-term evolutionary characteristics of land transportation in the BTH region, this paper utilized a temporal scale of 100 years to systematically interpret the development process of the land transportation network. Taking 13 cities within the BTH region as research anchor cities, we took into account “leaping” mode of transportation in order to investigate the evolution of accessibility. Our research shows the following results: (1) The land transportation network in the BTH region has undergone five stages of development: the initial period of modernization (1881–1937); the period of stagnation of transportation development (1937–1949); the network expansion period (1949–1980); the period of trunk construction (1980–1995), and the period of high-speed transportation network development (1995–present). The network structure centered around Beijing has existed from the outset of modern transportation development. (2) The accessibility spatial pattern of land transportation in BTH region has evolved from expansion along traffic corridors to the formation of concentric circles. The stratified circular structure of transportation in anchor cities has gradually developed into a contiguous development pattern. (3) There are clear hierarchical differences in the transportation structures of anchor cities. Beijing has always been at the top of this hierarchy, while the hierarchical position of Zhangjiakou has fallen noticeably since 1949. The Beijing-Tianjin region was the first region to form a short-duration transportation circle structure, while the transportation advantages of the central part of Hebei Province, which is located in the center of the BTH transportation region, have yet to be realized.     

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.     

Dynamic Changes of the Bush Encroachment in Low Altitude Area of Ethiopia

Bush encroachment is widely distributed in arid and semi-arid regions, and it has a serious impact on livestock production, especially in Africa where livestock is a primary source for the livelihoods of many people. In this study, methods of supervised classification and decision tree classification, and indexes of a land use change significance index (Ci) and a single land use dynamic degree, were applied to remote sensing imagery of Ethiopia for 1986-2016. The results show the dynamic characteristics of grassland bush encroachment in low altitude areas (pastures <1500 m above sea level) of Ethiopia in the 30 year period studied. The results revealed several interesting features of this phenomenon. (1) The area of bush encroachment showed an increasing trend, with a maximum of 3.74×10³ km² in 2003, which represented 68.97% of the total area, and declined slightly from 2003~2016. (2) Among classification types, the area of severe shrub grassland was the largest, accounting for 28.36-49.10% of the total area, while the area of moderate bush encroachment accounted for 9.77-16.68%, and slight bush encroachment accounted for 5.52-7.57%. (3) The expansion rate of shrubby grassland was 0.74% for the 30 year period, while the average annual expansion rate was 2.16% for the 8 years from 1995-2003. (4) Forest land and grassland were the two main land use types of shrub grassland transformation in low altitude areas and bush encroachment changed large amounts of forest land into grassland due to shrub grassland management. The results of this study provide basic data for revealing the impacts of development processes on subsequent bush encroachment and can inform better management for the sustainable development of grasslands in low altitude systems.     

Comprehensive Evaluation of the Suitability of Agricultural Land in Myanmar

Myanmar is a country with an economy based on agriculture. It has rich agricultural resources and great potential for development. The development of agriculture in Myanmar is becoming increasingly important to international food security. Assessments of agricultural land resources in Myanmar are the basis for the country’s agricultural development and for food security evaluations. In this paper we used the MaxEnt model to analyze the relationship between the suitability of land for agricultural reclamation and the main environmental variables in Myanmar, and then constructed a model to comprehensively evaluate the suitability of land for agriculture in Myanmar. The results show that: 1) the overall accuracy of the MaxEnt model is high (AUC>0.8), which means there is a high correlation between the database of selected environmental indicators and the true distribution of cultivated land in Myanmar. 2) Soil depth is the most important factor affecting the suitability of land for agriculture in Myanmar. When the thickness of soil layer is less than 100 cm, the suitability of land for agriculture is low. With respect to topographic conditions, slope is the main factor affecting suitability. When the slope is greater than 20 degrees, the suitability of land for agriculture is low. With respect to climate conditions, precipitation is the main influencing factor. There is a positive correlation between river network density and land suitability. 3) Currently, 400 000 km² of the land resources in Myanmar are suitable for agriculture, and of this amount 290 000 km² are highly suitable, accounting for nearly 40% of the country's land area. The highly suitable land is distributed mainly in Magway, Sagaing, Ayeyarwady and Yangon provinces. The provinces are also important grain production areas in Myanmar, and this serves to validate the effectiveness of the method used in this paper.     

Assimilation of Feng-Yun-3B Satellite Microwave Humidity Sounder Data over Land

The ECMWF has been assimilating Feng-Yun-3B(FY-3B) satellite microwave humidity sounder(MWHS) data over ocean in an operational forecasting system since 24 September 2014. It is more difficult, however, to assimilate microwave observations over land and sea ice than over the open ocean due to higher uncertainties in land surface temperature, surface emissivity and less effective cloud screening. We compare approaches in which the emissivity is retrieved dynamically from MWHS channel 1 [150 GHz(vertical polarization)] with the use of an evolving emissivity atlas from 89 GHz observations from the MWHS onboard NOAA and EUMETSAT satellites. The assimilation of the additional data over land improves the fit of short-range forecasts to other observations, notably ATMS(Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder) humidity channels, and the forecast impacts are mainly neutral to slightly positive over the first five days. The forecast impacts are better in boreal summer and the Southern Hemisphere. These results suggest that the techniques tested allow for effective assimilation of MWHS/FY-3B data over land.