Possibilities of land use change analysis in a mountainous rural area: a methodological approach

Decreasing population density is a current trend in the European Union, and causes a lower environmental impact on the landscape. However, besides the desirable effect on the regeneration processes of semi-natural forest ecosystems, the lack of traditional management techniques can also lead to detrimental ecological processes. In this study we investigated the land use pattern changes in a micro-region (in North-Eastern Hungary) between 1952 and 2005, based on vectorised land use data from archive aerial photos. We also evaluated the methodology of comparisons using GIS methods, fuzzy sets and landscape metrics. We found that both GIS methods and statistical analysis of landscape metrics resulted in more or less the same findings. Differences were not as relevant as was expected considering the general tendencies of the past 60 years in Hungary. The change in the annual rate of forest recovery was 0.12%; settlements extended their area by an annual rate of 3.04%, while grasslands and arable lands had a net loss in their area within the studied period (0.60% and 0.89%, respectively). The kappa index showed a smaller similarity (~60%) between these dates but the fuzzy kappa and the aggregation index, taking into account both spatial and thematic errors, gave a more reliable result (~70–80% similarity). Landscape metrics on patch and class level ensured the possibility of a detailed analysis. We arrived at a similar outcome but were able to verify all the calculations through statistical tests. With this approach we were able to reveal significant (p < 0.05) changes; however, effect sizes did not show large magnitudes. Comparing the methods of revealing landscape change, the approach of landscape metrics was the most effective approach, as it was independent of spatial errors and ensuring a multiple way of interpretation.     

The Key Supply Source of Long-Distance Moisture Transport for the Extreme Rainfall Event on July 21, 2012 in Beijing

In this study, the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model and meteorological observation data were used to research the long-distance moisture transport supply source of the extreme rainfall event that occurred on July 21, 2012 in Beijing. Recording a maximum rainfall amount of 460 mm in 24 h, this rainstorm event had two dominant moisture transport channels. In the early stage of the rainstorm, the first channel comprised southwesterly monsoonal moisture from the Bay of Bengal (BOB) that was directly transported to north China along the eastern edge of Tibetan Plateau (TP) by orographic uplift. During the rainstorm, the southwesterly moisture transport was weakened by the transfer of Typhoon Vicente. Moreover, the southeasterly moisture transport between the typhoon and western Pacific subtropical high (WPSH) became another dominant moisture transport channel. The moisture in the lower troposphere was mainly associated with the southeasterly moisture transport from the South China Sea and the East China Sea, and the moisture in the middle troposphere was mainly transported from the BOB and Indian Ocean. The control experiment well reproduced the distribution and intensity of rainfall and moisture transport. By comparing the control and three sensitivity experiments, we found that the moisture transported from Typhoon Vicente and a tropical cyclone in the BOB both significantly affected this extreme rainfall event. After Typhoon Vicente was removed in a sensitivity experiment, the maximum 24-h accumulated rainfall in north China was reduced by approximately 50% compared with that of the control experiment, while the rainfall after removing the tropical cyclone was reduced by 30%. When both the typhoon and tropical cyclone were removed, the southwesterly moisture transport was enhanced. Moreover, the sensitivity experiment of removing Typhoon Vicente also weakened the tropical cyclone in the BOB. Thus, the moisture pump driven by Typhoon Vicente played an important role in maintaining and strengthening the tropical cyclone in the BOB through its westerly airflow. Typhoon Vicente was not only the moisture transfer source for the southwesterly monsoonal moisture but also affected the tropical cyclone in the BOB, which was a key supply source of long-distance moisture transport for the extreme rainfall event on July 21, 2012 in Beijing.     

Landsat-8 vs. Sentinel-2: examining the added value of sentinel-2’s red-edge bands to land-use and land-cover mapping in Burkina Faso

The availability of freely available moderate-to-high spatial resolution (10–30 m) satellite imagery received a major boost with the recent launch of the Sentinel-2 sensor by the European Space Agency. Together with Landsat, these sensors provide the scientific community with a wide range of spatial, spectral, and temporal properties. This study compared and explored the synergistic use of Landsat-8 and Sentinel-2 data in mapping land use and land cover (LULC) in rural Burkina Faso. Specifically, contribution of the red-edge bands of Sentinel-2 in improving LULC mapping was examined. Three machine-learning algorithms – random forest, stochastic gradient boosting, and support vector machines – were employed to classify different data configurations. Classification of all Sentinel-2 bands as well as Sentinel-2 bands common to Landsat-8 produced an overall accuracy, that is 5% and 4% better than Landsat-8. The combination of Landsat-8 and Sentinel-2 red-edge bands resulted in a 4% accuracy improvement over that of Landsat-8. It was found that classification of the Sentinel-2 red-edge bands alone produced better and comparable results to Landsat-8 and the other Sentinel-2 bands, respectively. Results of this study demonstrate the added value of the Sentinel-2 red-edge bands and encourage multi-sensoral approaches to LULC mapping in West Africa.     

Late Pleistocene and Holocene Afromontane vegetation and headwater wetland dynamics within the Eastern Mau Forest,Kenya

The Mau Forest Complex is Kenya's largest fragment of Afromontane forest, providing critical ecosystem services, and has been subject to intense land use changes since colonial times. It forms the upper catchment of rivers that drain into major drainage networks, thus supporting the livelihoods of millions of Kenyans and providing important wildlife areas. We present the results of a sedimentological and palynological analysis of a Late Pleistocene–Holocene sediment record of Afromontane forest change from Nyabuiyabui wetland in the Eastern Mau Forest, a highland region that has received limited geological characterization and palaeoecological study. Sedimentology, pollen, charcoal, X-ray fluorescence and radiocarbon data record environmental and ecosystem change over the last ~16 000 cal a bp. The pollen record suggests Afromontane forests characterized the end of the Late Pleistocene to the Holocene with dominant taxa changing from Apodytes, Celtis, Dracaena, Hagenia and Podocarpus to Cordia, Croton, Ficus, Juniperus and Olea. The Late Holocene is characterized by a more open Afromontane forest with increased grass and herbaceous cover. Continuous Poaceae, Cyperaceae and Juncaceae vegetation currently cover the wetland and the water level has been decreasing over the recent past. Intensive agroforestry since the 1920s has reduced Afromontane forest cover as introduced taxa have increased (Pinus, Cupressus and Eucalyptus).     

西昌市1989—2018年林地草地湿地动态变化特征分析

遥感技术已被广泛应用于生态环境调查与研究。为获取西昌市近30 a生态环境演化趋势,利用1989年、2000年、2010年的专题绘图仪(Thematic Mapper,TM)遥感影像和2018年的陆地成像仪(Operational Land Imager,OLI)遥感影像,通过图像处理、目视解译和野外验证等方法,获得了西昌市1989—2018年的土地利用/覆盖数据,并对林地、草地和湿地的动态变化特征进行了研究。结果表明: 1989—2018年,西昌市林地、湿地和草地面积持续增加,生态环境持续向好; 林地主要分布于安宁河谷和邛海盆地四周山地,在牦牛山、螺髻山一带形成主要林区; 草地主要呈星岛状分布于牦牛山、螺髻山一带林地之间; 湿地以河流湿地与湖泊湿地为主,主要沿安宁河及邛海分布。但仍存在一些问题: 森林存在针叶化现象较普遍、树种单一等问题,需要重点加强林区火灾防范; 草地多数呈零星片状分布,不具有完整的系统结构和良好的功能,多数草地承载力和生产力较低,不宜大规模开发利用,应通过封山育林促使其向森林转化; 湿地分布也比较局限,需要着力予以保护。研究成果可为西昌市生态保护修复措施的制定及经济社会可持续发展提供科学依据。     

海南岛天然橡胶林台风灾害风险评价

台风灾害是海南橡胶种植中影响最为严重和主要的灾害,为对其风险进行定量评估,本研究以海南岛天然橡胶林为研究对象,基于灾害风险评估理论,融合橡胶台风灾害、社会经济和气象数据,建立橡胶台风灾害危险性、暴露性和脆弱性评价模型,利用加权综合评价法开展天然橡胶林台风灾害风险评价。结果表明：海南橡胶种植高风险区位于沿海台风发生频繁市县,其中琼海、文昌、海口为海南岛橡胶灾害风险最高的地区,其次陵水、万宁、琼中、屯昌、东方等地区灾害风险也较高。风险最低地区位于中部五指山、保亭、乐东、三亚等地区,评价结果与实际灾害发生以及种植情况相符。评价结果表明,台风灾害危险性是风险的主导因子,但非单一决定因子,种植技术、品种改良等措施对脆弱性降低起到了较好的促进作用。评价结果可为橡胶林避灾防灾及种植布局提供依据。     

SIMULATION OF TROPICAL CYCLONES OVER THE WESTERN NORTH PACIFIC AND LANDFALLING IN CHINA BY REGCM4

This study evaluates the performance of the regional climate model RegCM4 in simulating tropical cyclone (TC) activities over the Western North Pacific (WNP) and their landfalling in China. The model is driven by ERA-Interim boundary conditions at a grid spacing of 25 km, with the simulation period as 1991–2010. Results show that RegCM4 performs well in capturing the main structural features of observed TCs, and in simulating the genesis number and annual cycle of the genesis. The model reproduces the general pattern of the observed TC tracks and occurrence frequency. However, significant underestimation of the occurrence frequency as well as the TC intensity is found. Number of the landfalling TCs over China is also much less than the observed. Bias of the model in reproducing the large-scale circulation pattern and steering flow may contribute to the underestimated landfalling TC numbers.     

CONDITIONAL NONLINEAR OPTIMAL PERTURBATIONS: APPLICATION IN TROPICAL CYCLONE FORECASTS

Considering the feature of tropical cyclones (TCs) that strong positive vorticity exists in the lower layers of troposphere, this study proposed to use vorticity at 850 hPa as cost function to find the conditional nonlinear optimal perturbation (CNOP), which was largely different from those previous studies using total energy of perturbed forecast variables. The CNOP was obtained by an ensemble-based approach. All of the sensitive areas determined by CNOP with vorticity at 850 hPa as cost function for the three cases were located over the TC core region and its vicinity. The impact of the CNOP-based adaptive observations on TC forecasts was evaluated with three cases via observational system simulation experiments (OSSEs). Results showed obvious improvements in TC intensity or track forecasts due to the CNOP-based adaptive observations, which were related to the main error source of the verification area, i.e., intensity error or location error.     

热带气旋西行造成的远距离降雨特征分析

2018年7月27~28日凉山州地区出现了持续性的强降水天气过程,本文运用水平分辨率为1°×1°的NECP6小时再分析资料、新型监测资料及常规观测资料进行分析。发现此次过程不同于常规的降水过程,环流背景上受副高外围的东南气流和热带气旋形成的东风波倒槽共同作用形成的急流轴影响,为降水地提供充足的水汽和能量补充,从而形势上形成了热带气旋远距离降水,同时副热带高压的稳定维持也阻挡了高原上的低值系统快速东移,使得降水机制长时间停滞,对降水地造成影响。     

Seesaw Pattern of Rainfall Anomalies between the Tropical Western North Pacific and Central Southern China during Late Summer

It is well known that suppressed convection in the tropical western North Pacific(WNP) induces an anticyclonic anomaly,and this anticyclonic anomaly results in more rainfall along the East Asian rain band through more water vapor transport during summer, as well as early and middle summer. However, the present results indicate that during late summer(from mid-August to the beginning of September), the anomalous anticyclone leads to more rainfall over central southern China(CSC), a region quite different from preceding periods. The uniqueness of late summer is found to be related to the dramatic change in climatological monsoon flows: southerlies over southern China during early and middle summer but easterlies during late summer. Therefore, the anomalous anticyclone, which shows a southerly anomaly over southern China, enhances monsoonal southerlies and induces more rainfall along the rain band during early and middle summer. During late summer,however, the anomalous anticyclone reflects a complicated change in monsoon flows: it changes the path, rather than the intensity, of monsoon flows. Specifically, during late summers of suppressed convection in the tropical WNP, southerlies dominate from the South China Sea to southern China, and during late summers of enhanced convection, northeasterlies dominate from the East China Sea to southern China, causing more and less rainfall in CSC, respectively.