Influence of Human Activity Intensity on Habitat Quality in Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park,China

Due to long-term human activity interference,the Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park(HTRNP)of China has experienced ecological problems such as habitat fragmentation and biodiversity loss,and with the expanding scope and intensity of human activity impact,the regional ecological security is facing serious challenges.A scientific assessment of the interrelationship between human activity intensity and habitat quality in the HTRNP is a prerequisite for achieving effective management of ecological disturbances caused by human activities and can also provide scientific strategies for the sustainable development of the region.Based on the land use change data in 2000,2010,and 2020,the spatial and temporal variations and the relationship between habitat quality(HQ)and human activity intensity(HAI)in the HTRNP were explored using the integrated valuation of ecosystem services and trade-offs(InVEST)model.System dynamics and land use simulation models were also combined to conduct multi-scenario simulations of their relationships.The results showed that during 2000–2020,the habitat quality of the HTRNP improved,the intensity of human activities decreased each year,and there was a negative correlation between the two.Second,the system dynamic model could be well coupled with the land use simulation model by combining socio-economic and natural factors.The simulation scenarios of the coupling model showed that the harmonious development(HD)scenario is effective in curbing the increasing trend of human activity intensity and decreasing trend of habitat quality,with a weaker trade-off between the two compared with the baseline development(BD)and investment priority oriented(IPO)scenarios.To maintain the authenticity and integrity of the HTRNP,effective measures such as ecological corridor construction,ecological restoration,and the implementation of ecological compensation policies need to be strengthened.

Historical Changes and Multi-scenario Prediction of Land Use and Terrestrial Ecosystem Carbon Storage in China

Terrestrial carbon storage(CS)plays a crucial role in achieving carbon balance and mitigating global climate change.This study employs the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways and Representative Concentration Pathways(SSPs-RCPs)published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change(IPCC)and incorporates the Policy Control Scenario(PCS)regulated by China’s land management policies.The Future Land Use Simulation(FLUS)model is employed to generate a 1 km resolution land use/cover change(LUCC)dataset for China in 2030 and 2060.Based on the carbon density dataset of China’s terrestrial ecosystems,the study analyses CS changes and their relationship with land use changes spanning from 1990 to 2060.The findings indicate that the quantitative changes in land use in China from 1990 to 2020 are characterised by a reduction in the area proportion of cropland and grassland,along with an increase in the impervious surface and forest area.This changing trend is projected to continue under the PCS from 2020 to 2060.Under the SSPs-RCPs scenario,the proportion of cropland and impervious surface predominantly increases,while the proportions of forest and grassland continuously decrease.Carbon loss in China’s carbon storage from 1990 to 2020 amounted to 0.53×10^(12)kg,primarily due to the reduced area of cropland and grassland.In the SSPs-RCPs scenario,more significant carbon loss occurs,reaching a peak of8.07×10^(12)kg in the SSP4-RCP3.4 scenario.Carbon loss is mainly concentrated in the southeastern coastal area and the Beijing-TianjinHebei(BTH)region of China,with urbanisation and deforestation identified as the primary drivers.In the future,it is advisable to enhance the protection of forests and grassland while stabilising cropland areas and improving the intensity of urban land.These research findings offer valuable data support for China’s land management policy,land space optimisation,and the achievement of dual-carbon targets.

Variation characteristics of stable isotopes in atmospheric precipitation in Adelaide,Australia

Background,aim,and scope Stable isotope in water could respond sensitively to the variation of environment and be reserved in different geological archives,although they are scarce in the environment.And the methods derived from the stable isotope composition of water have been widely applied in researches on hydrometeorology,weather diagnosis,and paleoclimate reconstruction,which help well for understanding the water-cycle processes in one region.Here,it is aimed to explore the temporal changes of stable isotopes in precipitation from Adelaide,Australia and determine the influencing factors at different timescales.Materials and methods Based on the isotopic data of daily precipitation over four years collected in Adelaide,Australia,the variation characteristics of dailyδD,δ^(18)O,and dexcess in precipitation and its relationship with meteorological elements were analyzed.Results The results demonstrated the local meteoric water line(LMWL)in Adelaide,wasδD=6.38×δ^(18)O+6.68,with a gradient less than 8.There is a significant negative correlation between dailyδ^(18)O and precipitation amount or relative humidity at daily timescales in both the whole year and wither/summerhalf year(p<0.001),but a significant positive correlation between dailyδ^(18)O and temperature in the whole year and the winter half-year(p<0.001).Discussion The correlation coefficients betweenδ^(18)O and daily mean temperature didn’t show a significant positive correlation,which may be attributed to that the precipitation in Adelaide area in January was mainly influenced by strong convective weather,and the stable isotope values in precipitation were significantly negative.Furthermore,this propose was also evidenced by the results from dexcess of precipitation with larger value in the winter half-year than that in the summer half-year,which may be resulted from the precipitation events in winter are mostly influenced by oceanic water vapor,while the sources of water vapor in summer precipitation events are more complicated and influenced by strong convective weather.On the other hand,the slope and intercept of theδ^(18)O—P regression lines in the summer months(-0.41 and 0.50‰)are larger and smaller than those in the winter months(-0.22 and-2.15‰),respectively,indicating that the precipitation stable isotopes have a relatively stronger rainout effect in the summer months than in the winter months.Besides,the measured values ofδ^(18)O in daily precipitation have a good linear relationship with our simulated values ofδ^(18)O,demonstrating the established regression model could provide a reliable simulation for theδ^(18)O values in daily precipitation in Adelaide area.It’s worth noting that the precipitation events with low precipitation amount,low relative humidity and high temperature,usually had relatively small slope and intercept of MWL,implying that raindrops may be strongly affected by sub-cloud secondary evaporation in the falling process.Conclusions The variation ofδ^(18)O in daily precipitation from Adelaide region was controlled by different factors at different timescales.And the water vapor sources and the meteorological conditions of precipitation events(such as the degree of sub-cloud secondary evaporation)also played an important role on the variation ofδ^(18)O.Recommendations and perspectives Stable isotope in daily precipitation can provide more accurate information about water-cycle and atmosphere circulation,it is therefore necessary to continue to collect and analyze daily-scale precipitation data over a longer time span.The results of this study will provide the basis for the fields of hydrometeorology,meteorological diagnosis and paleoclimate reconstruction in Adelaide,Australia.

Study on Antibacterial Effects of Extracts from Pinus massoniana Lamb.Needles

[Objectives]To study the antibacterial effects of extracts from Pinus massoniana Lamb.needles.[Methods]In this experiment,the components from Pinus massoniana Lamb.needles were extracted by systematic solvent extraction method,and the antibacterial activity against four common bacteria,Escherichia coli,Staphylococcus aureus,Bacillus subtilis,Aspergillus flavus and the antibacterial active component were examined for by punch method.[Results]Different solvent extraction rate was different,the rates of petroleum ether,chloroform,ethyl acetate,n-butanol,water extracts were 4.2%,16.7%,17.4%,21.1%,40.6%.All extracts showed inhibitory effect against test bacteria.It was observed that the inhibition of G+was stronger than G-,and the extracts had the best antibacterial activity to Staphylococcus aureus while the weakest to Aspergillus flavus.The antibacterial activity of the components decreased in the order:ethyl acetate extract>n-butanol extract>chloroform extract>petroleum ether extract>aqueous phase.The extracts were stable under ultraviolet radiation(UV)light and long term storage.The antibacterial activity of the extracts was weaker with the increase of pH value when the pH value≤8.[Conclusions]It is inferred that the antibacterial components in the extract of Pinus massoniana needles are widely distributed,and the components with medium polarity or above are the main antibacterial components.

Migration and role of zinc in biogeochemical cycles in the Antarctic Ice Sheet and the Southern Ocean

Zinc(Zn),a widespread metal in the Earth’s crust,serves as a crucial nutrient in the Southern Ocean’s primary production.Studies on Zn in Antarctic snow and ice offer insights into the origins of this metal and its transport routes,as well as its impact on the biogeochemical processes within the Antarctic atmosphere–land–ocean system.This review examines research on the spatial and temporal distribution of Zn in Antarctic snow and ice,as well as in Southern Ocean waters.It includes an overview of advanced methods for sampling and analyzing Zn,along with explanations for the observed variations.The review also discusses various sources of Zn as a nutrient to the Southern Ocean.Finally,it addresses prospective issues related to the use of Zn isotopes in identifying atmospheric sources and their biogeochemical effects on the development of the Southern Ocean ecosystem.

Methods to evaluate the impacts of physio- geographical pattern on spatio-temporal disparity of regional development

With the rapid economic development during the last 30 years in China, more and more disparities have emerged among different regions. It has been one of the hot topics in the fields of physical geography and economic geography, and also has been the task for Chinese government to handle. Nevertheless, to quantitatively assess the impacts of physio-geographical patterns （PGP） on the regional development disparity has been ignored for a long time. In this paper, a quantitative method was adopted to assess the marginal effects of the PGP on spatio-temporal disparity using the partial determination coefficients. The paper described the construction of the evaluation model step by step following its key scientific thinking. Total GDP, per capita GDP, primary industrial output value and secondary industrial output value were employed in this study as the indicators to reflect the impacts of PGP on the regional development disparity. Based on the evaluation methods built by researchers, this study firstly analyzed the temporal impacts of the PGP on spatio-temporal disparity of the regional development in China during the past 50 years, and then explained the spatial differences at each development stage. The results show that the spatio-temporal disparity in China is highly related to the PGP, and that the marginal contribution rate could be employed as an effective way to quantitatively assess the impact of the PGP on spatio-temporal disparity of the regional development.

Bias Analysis in the Simulation of the Western North Pacific Tropical Cyclone Characteristics by Two High-Resolution Global Atmospheric Models

This study compares the atmosphere-only HighResMIP simulations from FGOALS-f3-H(FGOALS)and MRIAGCM3-2-S(MRI)with respect to tropical cyclone(TC)characteristics over the Western North Pacific(WNP)for the July-October months of 1985-2014.The focus is on investigating the role of the tropical easterly jet over the Western Pacific(WP_TEJ)in modulating the simulation biases in terms of their climatological distribution and interannual variability of WNP TC genesis frequency(TCGF)based on the analysis of the genesis potential index(GPI).Results show that the two models reasonably capture the main TC genesis location,the maximum center of frequency,and track density;however,their biases mainly lie in simulating the intense TCs and TCGF distributions.The MRI better simulates the windpressure relationship(WPR)but overestimates the proportion of super typhoons(SSTYs).At the same time,FGOALS underestimates the WPR and the proportion of SSTYs but better simulates the total WNP TC precipitation.In particular,FGOALS overestimates the TCGF in the northeastern WNP,which is strongly tied to an overestimated WP_TEJ and the enhanced vertical circulation to the north of its entrance region.In contrast,the MRI simulates a weaker WP_TEJ and vertical circulation,leading to a negative TCGF bias in most of the WNP.Both models exhibit comparable capability in simulating the interannual variability of WP_TEJ intensity,but the composite difference of large-scale atmospheric factors between strong and weak WP_TEJ years is overestimated,resulting in larger interannual anomalies of WNP TCGF,especially for FGOALS.Therefore,accurate simulations of the WP_TEJ and the associated oceanic and atmospheric factors are crucial to further improving WNP TC simulations for both models.

Spatial Distribution and Influencing Factors of Urban Shrinkage from the Perspective of Factor Flow - A Case Study of National Urban Agglomerations

This paper examines national urban agglomerations by taking factor flows as the focal point as the research subject.By dividing the stages of urban agglomeration development,a comprehensive framework of urban shrinkage is constructed,encompassing economic,population,and social shrinkage.The study explores the spatial distribution characteristics of urban shrinkage during different stages of urban agglomeration and investigates the influencing factors using a geographic detector model.The findings reveal that urban shrinkage within urban agglomerations is widely spread,predominantly in peripheral areas.During the diffusion stage,urban shrinkage is scattered,with population shrinkage concentrated in peripheral regions,economic shrinkage concentrated on old industrial cities,and social shrinkage concentrated on the northeast.The outcomes of the geographic detector model indicate that traffic flow,capital flow,information flow,node importance,network connectivity,government investment,openness,and environmental regulations all play significant roles in shaping the spatial distribution of urban shrinkage.

Accumulation behavior of heavy metals by Bidens pilosa L.from metallurgical slag:effects on plant physiology and absorption characteristics

Many of the abandoned mining and industrial land in villages and towns are seriously polluted by heavy metals in China,it is necessary for sustainable development to adopt efficient and economical ways to restore the ecology of abandoned mining and industrial land.Pollution level of topsoil contaminated with metallurgical slag from nonferrous metal smelting waste site in Baoding,North China and the heavy metals(HMs)accumulation behavior of Bidens pilosa L.(B.pilosa,native pioneer plant)were studied.Two selected study sites were mainly contaminated by As(270~434 mg/kg),Cd(63~95 mg/kg),Pb(5496~24504 mg/kg)and Zn(4500~21300 mg/kg),which exceed the national standard severely.Investigation of multi-metal accumulation in different parts of B.pilosa indicated that the absorption of toxic metals varied by types,concentration and species of HMs under stress conditions,soil property and plant tissues.The results showed that B.pilosa had excellent ability to accumulate HMs under different HMs stress condition,with the highest accumulation concentration of 85 mg/kg for As,380 mg/kg for Cd,4000 mg/kg for Pb,and 7500 mg/kg for Zn in roots under experimental conditions,respectively.The growth trend of B.pilosa declined with the increase of HMs stress concentration in tested soils.HMs stress led to different degrees of plant toxicity and obstruction of physiological metabolism.Among the plant physiological index,Chla and ChlT decreased 28.0%and 28.1%,37.3%and 35.5%under different stress treatments,respectively.Indicators related to physiological metabolic strength and stress resistance of plant,such as MDA(Malondiadehyde),CAT(catalase),SOD(superoxide dismutase)and SP(soluble protein),all increased with the increase of HMs stress concentration.

Spatiotemporal Pattern of Cultivated Land Pressure and Its Influencing Factors in the Huaihai Economic Zone, China

Cultivated land pressure represents a direct reflection of grain security. Existing relevant studies rarely approached the spatiotemporal pattern of cultivated land pressure or the spatial heterogeneity of its influencing factors from the level of economic zones.Taking the Huaihai Economic Zone(HEZ), China for case analysis, this study investigated the spatiotemporal pattern of cultivated land pressure in diverse periods from 2000 to 2018 based on a modified cultivated land pressure index and spatial correlation models. On this basis, it explored the influencing factors of the spatial differentiation of cultivated land pressure in the late stage of the study using geographical detector as well as multi-scale geographically weighted regression model. The results indicated that: 1) in the study period, the global cultivated land pressure index of the study area decreased gradually, but cultivated land pressure increased locally in a significant way, especially in the central and southern Shandong Province;2) the spatial pattern of cultivated land pressure manifested global clustering features. Hot and secondary-hot spots presented a narrowing and clustering trend, whereas cold and secondary-cold spots manifested a spreading and clustering trend;3) average slope, the proportion of non-grain crops, population urbanization rate, and multiple cropping index have significant effects on the spatial differentiation of cultivated land pressure. The former three factors were positively correlated with cultivated land pressure, and the last factor was negatively correlated with cultivated land pressure;and 4) the amount of cultivated land has increased in the central and southern Shandong Province through land consolidation which, nonetheless, failed to improve the grain production. In regards to major grain producing areas similar to the HEZ in China, the authors suggest that great importance should be given to the balance of the quality and quantity of cultivated land, the optimization of agricultural production factors and the rational control of non-grain crops, thus providing a powerful guarantee for grain security in China.

Spatial-temporal Analysis of Daily Air Quality Index in the Yangtze River Delta Region of China During 2014 and 2016

Urban air pollution is a prominent problem related to the urban development in China, especially in the densely populated urban agglomerations. Therefore, scientific examination of regional variation of air quality and its dominant factors is of great importance to regional environmental management. In contrast to traditional air pollution researches which only concentrate on a single year or a single pollutant, this paper analyses spatiotemporal patterns and determinants of air quality in disparate regions based on the air quality index(AQI) of the Yangtze River Delta region(YRD) of China from 2014 to 2016. Results show that the annual average value of the AQI in the YRD region decreases from 2014 to 2016 and exhibit a basic characteristic of ‘higher in winter, lower in summer and slightly high in spring and autumn'. The attainment rate of the AQI shows an apparently spatial stratified heterogeneity, Hefei metropolitan area and Nanjing metropolitan area keeping the worst air quality. The frequency of air pollution occurring in large regions was gradually decreasing during the study period. Drawing from entropy method analysis, industrialization and urbanization represented by per capita GDP and total energy consumption were the most important factors. Furthermore, population agglomeration is a factor that cannot be ignored especially in some mega-cities. Limited to data collection, more research is needed to gain insight into the spatiotemporal pattern and influence mechanism in the future.

Fundamental Theories of Spatial Similarity Relations in Multi-scale Map Spaces

Similarity relation is one of the spatial relations in the community of geographic information science and cartography.It is widely used in the retrieval of spatial databases, the recognition of spatial objects from images, and the description of spatial features on maps.However, little achievements have been made for it by far.In this paper, spatial similarity relation was put forward with the introduction of automated map generalization in the construction of multi-scale map databases;then the definition of spatial similarity relations was presented based on set theory, the concept of spatial similarity degree was given, and the characteristics of spatial similarity were discussed in detail, in-cluding reflexivity, symmetry, non-transitivity, self-similarity in multi-scale spaces, and scale-dependence.Finally a classification system for spatial similarity relations in multi-scale map spaces was addressed.This research may be useful to automated map generalization, spatial similarity retrieval and spatial reasoning.

Summer atmospheric boundary layer structure in the hinterland of Taklimakan Desert, China

Understanding the characteristics of the structure of desert atmospheric boundary layer and its land surface process is of great importance to the simulations of regional weather and climate. To investigate the atmospheric boundary layer structure and its forming mechanism of Taklimakan Desert, and to improve the accuracy and precision of regional weather and climate simulations, we carried out a GPS radiosonde observation experiment in the hinterland of Taklimakan Desert from 25 June to 3 July, 2015. Utilizing the densely observed sounding data, we analyzed the vertical structures of daytime convective boundary layer and nighttime stable boundary layer in summer over this region, and also discussed the impacts of sand-dust and precipitation events on the desert atmospheric boundary layer structure. In summer, the convective boundary layer in the hinterland of Taklimakan Desert developed profoundly and its maximum height could achieve 4,000 m; the stable boundary layer at nighttime was about 400-800-m thick and the residual mixing layer above it could achieve a thickness over 3,000 m. Sand-dust weather would damage the structures of nighttime stable boundary layer and daytime convective boundary layer, and the dust particle swarm can weak the solar radiation absorbed by the ground surface and further restrain the strong development of convective boundary layer in the daytime. Severe convective precipitation process can change the heat from the ground surface to the atmosphere in a very short time, and similarly can damage the structure of desert atmospheric boundary layer remarkably. Moreover, the height of atmospheric boundary layer was very low when raining. Our study verified the phenomenon that the atmospheric boundary layer with supernormal thickness exists over Taklimakan Desert in summer, which could provide a reference and scientific bases for the regional numerical models to better represent the desert atmospheric boundary layer structure.

Roles and Functions of Tourism Destinations in Tourism Region of South Anhui:A Tourist Flow Network Perspective

Theoretic and practical significance has been highlighted in the research of the roles and functions of destinations,as destinations are restricted by the spatial structure based on tourist flow network from the perspective of relationship.This article conducted an empirical analysis for Tourism Region of South Anhui(TRSA) and revealed the necessity and feasibility of studying the roles and functions of destinations from tourist flow network's perspective.The automorphic equivalence analysis and centrality analysis were used to classify 16 destinations in TRSA into six role types:tourist flow distribution center,hub of tourist flows,passageway destination,common touring destination,attached touring destination,and nearly isolated destination.Some suggestions were given on suitable infrastructure construction and destinations service designs according to their functions in network.This destination role positioning was based on tourist flow network structure in integral and macroscopic way.It provided an important reference for the balanced and harmonious development of all the destinations of TRSA.In addition,this article verified the applicability of social network analysis on tourist flow research in local scale,and expanded this method to destination role and function positioning.

Regional features of the temperature trend in China based on Empirical Mode Decomposition

By the Empirical Mode Decomposition method, we analyzed the observed monthly average temperature in more than 700 stations from 1951-2001 over China. Simultaneously, the temperature variability of each station is calculated by this method, and classification chart of long term trend and temperature variability distributing chart of China are obtained, supported by GIS, 1 kmxl km resolution. The results show that： in recent 50 years, the temperature has increased by more than 0.4~C/10a in most parts of northern China, while in Southwest China and the middle and lower Yangtze Valley, the increase is not significant. The areas with a negative temperature change rate are distributed sporadically in Southwest China. Meanwhile, the temperature data from 1881 to 2001 in nine study regions in China are also analyzed, indicating that in the past 100 years, the temperature has been increasing all the way in Northeast China, North China, South China, Northwest China and Xinjiang and declining in Southwest China. An inverse ‘V-shaped’ trend is also found in Central China. But in Tibet the change is less significant.

Spatial and Temporal Distributions and Sources of Anthropogenic NMVOCs in the Atmosphere of China:A Review

As the key precursors of O_(3),anthropogenic non-methane volatile organic compounds(NMVOCs)have been studied intensively.This paper performed a meta-analysis on the spatial and temporal variations of NMVOCs,their roles in photochemical reactions,and their sources in China,based on published research.The results showed that both nonmethane hydrocarbons(NMHCs)and oxygenated VOCs(OVOCs)in China have higher mixing ratios in the eastern developed cities compared to those in the central and western areas.Alkanes are the most abundant NMHCs species in all reported sites while formaldehyde is the most abundant among the OVOCs.OVOCs have the highest mixing ratios in summer and the lowest in winter,which is opposite to NMHCs.Among all NMVOCs,the top eight species account for 50%−70%of the total ozone formation potential(OFP)with different compositions and contributions in different areas.In devolved regions,OFP-NMHCs are the highest in winter while OFP-OVOCs are the highest in summer.Based on positive matrix factorization(PMF)analysis,vehicle exhaust,industrial emissions,and solvent usage in China are the main sources for NMHCs.However,the emission trend analysis showed that solvent usage and industrial emissions will exceed vehicle exhaust and become the two major sources of NMVOCs in near future.Based on the meta-analysis conducted in this work,we believe that the spatio-temporal variations and oxidation mechanisms of atmospheric OVOCs,as well as generating a higher spatial resolution of emission inventories of NMVOCs represent an area for future studies on NMVOCs in China.

Impacts of Climatic Change on River Runoff in Northern Xinjiang of China over Last Fifty Years

The characteristics of climatic change and fiver runoff, as well as the response of fiver runoff to climatic change in the northern Xinjiang are analyzed on the basis of the hydrological and meteorological data over the last 50 years by the methods of Mann-Kendall nonparametric test and the nonlinear regression model. The results show that： 1） The temperature and the precipitation increased significantly in the whole northern Xinjiang, but the precipitation displayed no obvious change, or even a decreasing trend in the northern mountainous area of the northern Xinjiang. 2） River runoff varied in different regions in the northern Xinjiang. It significantly increased in the northern slope of the Tianshan Mountains and the north of the northern Xinjiang （p = 0.05）, while slightly ificreased in the west of the northern Xinjiang. 3） North Atlantic Oscillation （NAO） affects fiver runoff by influencing temperature and precipitation. The NAO and precipitation had apparent significant correlations with the fiver runoff, but the temperature did not in the northern Xinjiang. Since the mid-1990s fiver runoff increase was mainly caused by the increasing temperature in the northern slope of the Tianshan Mountains and the north of the northern Xinjiang. Increased precipitation resulted in increased fiver runoff in the west of the northern Xinjiang.

Siting of Dark Sky Reserves in China Based on Multi-source Spatial Data and Multiple Criteria Evaluation Method

With the rapid development of population and urbanization and the progress of lighting technology, the influence of artificial light sources has increased.In this context, the problem of light pollution has attracted wide attention.Previous studies have revealed that light pollution can affect biological living environments, human physical and mental health, astronomical observations and many other aspects.Therefore, organizations internationally have begun to advocate for measures to prevent light pollution, many of which are recognized by the International Dark-Sky Association(IDA).In addition to improving public awareness, legal protections, technical treatments and other means, the construction of Dark Sky Reserves(DSR) has proven to be an effective preventive measure.So far, as a pioneer practice in this field, the IDA has identified 11 DSRs worldwide.Based on the DA requirements for DSRs, this paper utilizes NPP-VIIRS nighttime light data and other multi-source spatial data to analyze possible DSR sites in China.The land of China was divided into more than ten thousand 30 km × 30 km fishnets, and constraint and suitable conditions were designated, respectively, as light and cloud conditions, and scale, traffic and attractiveness conditions.Using a multiple criteria evaluation, 1443 fishnets were finally selected as most suitable sites for the construction of DSRs.Results found that less than 25% of China is not subject to light pollution, and less than 13% is suitable for DSR construction, primarily in western and northern areas, including Tibet, Xinjiang, Qinghai, Gansu and Inner Mongolia.

Characterizing urban expansion of Korla City and its spatial-temporal patterns using remote sensing and GIS methods

Cities provide spatial contexts for populations and economic activities. Determining the spatial-temporal patterns of urban expansion is of particular significance for regional sustainable development. To achieve a better understanding of the spatial-temporal patterns of urban expansion of Korla City, we explore the urban expansion characteristics of Korla City over the period 1995-2015 by employing Landsat TM/ETM＋ images of 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010, and 2015. Urban land use types were classified using the supervised classification method in ENVI 4.5. Urban expansion indices, such as expansion area, expansion proportion, expansion speed, expansion intensity, compactness, and fractal dimension, were calculated. The spatial-temporal patterns and evolution process of the urban expansion （e.g., urban gravity center and its direction of movement） were then quantitatively analyzed. The results indicated that, over the past 25 years, the area and proportion of urban land increased substantially with an average annual growth rate of 15.18%. Farmland and unused land were lost greatly due to the urban expansion. This result might be attributable to the rapid population growth and the dramatic economic development in this area. The city extended to the southeast, and the urban gravity center shifted to the southeast as well by about 2118 m. The degree of urban compactness tended to decrease and the fractal dimension index tended to increase, indicating that the spatial pattern of Korla City was becoming loose, complex, and unstable. This study could provide a scientific reference for the studies on urban expansion of oasis cities in arid land.

Spheres of Urban Influence and Factors in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Metropolitan Region Based on Viewpoint of Administrative Division Adjustment

The coordinated development of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei has been elevated as China's important strategy. And, the priority in considering how to bring the maximum effect of their coordinated development into play is to delineate the spheres of urban influence with regard to the cities in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Metropolitan Region. By building an evaluation index system of urban comprehensive strength, this paper applies the principal component analysis method to determine centrality strength of the cities, and the breakpoint theory and weighted Voronoi diagram to identify the spheres of urban influence in all central cities of the region. Results show that 13 central cities within the region greatly differ in strength, which can be classified into four tiers and that the spheres of urban influence do not have a high goodness of fit with administrative jurisdiction scope. Cities like Beijing, Tianjin, Shijiazhuang and Handan have larger spheres of urban, spheres of urban influence in Tangshan and Qinhuangdao are basically consistent with their administrative jurisdiction scopes, and seven cities including Langfang and Baoding have smaller spheres of urban influence. So according to these cities' comprehensive strength and spheres of influence, the region can be divided into five plates: Beijing, Tianjin, Shijiazhuang, Tangshan and Handan. The major influence factors for inconsistency between spheres of urban influence and spheres of jurisdiction include difference in urban administrative ranking, small number of central cities with weak strength, discrepancy in the number of counties under jurisdiction, unreasonable spheres of jurisdiction and diversity in topographical conditions. In order to solve the imbalance in the spheres of urban influence and those of jurisdiction and better facilitate the coordinated development of the region, it is advised to adjust administrative areas so as to obtain more optimized urban spatial layout and more reasonable urban scale hierarchy system.