Seismic response of a mid-story isolated structure considering SSI in mountainous areas under long-period earthquakes

At present,there is not much research on mid-story isolated structures in mountainous areas.In this study,a model of a mid-story isolated structure considering soil-structure interaction(SSI)in mountainous areas is established along with a model that does not consider SSI.Eight long-period earthquake waves and two ordinary earthquake waves are selected as inputs for the dynamic time history analysis of the structure.The results show that the seismic response of a mid-story isolated structure considering SSI in mountainous areas can be amplified when compared with a structure that does not consider SSI.The structure response under long-period earthquakes is larger than that of ordinary earthquakes.The structure response under far-field harmonic-like earthquakes is larger than that of near-fault pulse-type earthquakes.The structure response under near-fault pulse-type earthquakes is larger than that of far-field non-harmonic earthquakes.When subjected to long-period earthquakes,the displacement of the isolated bearings exceeded the limit value,which led to instability and overturning of the structure.The structure with dampers in the isolated story could adequately control the nonlinear response of the structure,effectively reduce the displacement of the isolated bearings,and provide a convenient,efficient and economic method not only for new construction but also to retrofit existing structures.

Impact of typical environments in China’s western mountainous areas on the durability of railway concrete:a review

Purpose–This study aims to analyze the impact mechanism of typical environments in China’s western mountainous areas on the durability of railway concrete and propose measures to improve durability.Design/methodology/approach–With the continuous promotion of infrastructure construction,the focus of China’s railway construction has gradually shifted to the western region.The four typical environments of large temperature differences,strong winds and dryness,high cold and low air pressure unique to the western mountainous areas of China have adverse effects on the durability of typical railway structure concrete(bridges,ballastless tracks and tunnels).This study identified the characteristics of four typical environments in the western mountainous areas of China through on-site research.The impact mechanism of the four typical environments on the durability of concrete in different structural parts of railways has been explored through theoretical analysis and experimental research;Finally,a strategy for improving the durability of railway concrete suitable for the western mountainous areas of China was proposed.Findings–The daily temperature difference in the western mountainous areas of China is more than twice that of the plain region,which will lead to significant temperature deformation and stress in the multi-layered structure of railway ballastless tracks.It will result in cracking.The wind speed in the western plateau region is about 2.5 to 3 times that of the plain region,and the average annual rainfall is only 1/5 of that in the plain region.The drying effect on the surface of casting concrete will significantly accelerate its cracking process,leading to serious durability problems.The environmental temperature in the western mountainous areas of China is generally low,and there are more freeze-thaw cycles,which will increase the risk of freeze-thaw damage to railway concrete.The environmental air pressure in the western plateau region is only 60%of that in the plain region.The moisture inside the concrete is more likely to diffuse into the surrounding environment under the pressure difference,resulting in greater water loss and shrinkage deformation of the concrete in the plateau region.The above four issues will collectively lead to the rapid deterioration of concrete durability in the western plateau region.The corresponding durability improvement suggestions from theoretical research,new technology development and standard system was proposed in this paper.Originality/value–The research can provide the mechanism of durability degradation of railway concrete in the western mountainous areas of China and corresponding improvement strategies.

Loading Stress Analysis of Cement Concrete Pavement in Mountainous Areas

The suitable cement concrete pavement for mountainous areas is a form of low-cost cement concrete pavement that uses unconventional graded stones in different proportions in ordinary concrete,allowing the concrete to fully contact the stones and form a stable and well-bonded slab with large particle stones.As large particle stones replace a certain volume of cement concrete,they have good economic performance and are a low-cost form of cement concrete pavement.This study researches the use of ANSYS tools to analyze the influence of geometric dimensions and material properties of rigid pavement structural layers on the mechanical properties of pavement structures.

Spatio-temporal Evolution and Optimization of Landscape Ecological Risk in Karst Mountainous Areas

[Objective]The ecological vulnerability and landscape ecological risk of karst mountainous areas have increased as a result of enhanced disturbance of natural resources by human activities.This paper aimed to explore the characteristics of ecological risk evolution under different landscape patterns in the region,with a view to providing reference for land classification protection,sustainable use of resources and regional ecological risk optimization in karst mountainous areas.[Method]Taking Huangping County,a typical karst mountainous area,as an example,eight evaluation factors of natural and landscape patterns were selected to construct a landscape ecological risk evaluation model,to quantitatively explore the spatio-temporal evolution of landscape ecological risk and the trend of risk level transfer in the study area from^(2)010-2018,and to reveal the complex relationship between ecological risk and topography in karst mountainous areas.[Result]①From 2010 to 2018,land use types changed to different degrees,with the most amount of woodland transferred out(1627.37 hm^(2))and the most amount of construction land transferred in(1303.93 hm^(2));a total of 3552.31 hm^(2) of land was transferred,with a change ratio of 2.13%,and there was a significant conversion between construction land,arable land,and woodland.②From 2010 to 2018,the landscape ecological risk in the study area changed significantly,and the landscape ecological risk index decreased from 0.3441 to 0.1733,showing an upward and then downward trend;the landscape ecological risk of the whole region was dominated by low-risk and lower-risk zones,and the ecological risk level generally shifted from a high level to a low level,and the ecological environment was improved.③There was a negative correlation between ecological risk and topographic position,and high-risk zones were mainly distributed among low topographic zones;with the change of time,the advantage of risk level for the selection of topography was gradually weakened,and the influence of anthropogenic factors on the ecological risk of the landscape was becoming more and more prominent.[Conclusion]This paper can provide theoretical basis for land use optimization and ecological protection in karst mountainous areas.

Moderate scale and realization potential of new citrus-planting business entities in hilly and mountainous areas in China

The natural and economic conditions of agricultural resources vary greatly in China,especially in hilly and mountainous areas.The phenomenon of land fragmentation has become increasingly prominent,so that large-scale operations cannot be fully achieved in a short period of time,and the centralized and continuous scale of operations cannot be realized in China.In addition,with increasingly strict farmland protection and agricultural land use control systems,the issues of nongrain production and nonagricultural cultivated land use have become increasingly restricted.Thus,it is quite necessary to determine the appropriate scale of operations and the means to achieve moderately scaled operations for the new business entities.On the basis of microsurvey data for 108 new citrus-planting business entities in the modern agricultural park in the Chongqing's Jiangjin District,an area with long citrus-planting history,we measured the moderate scale of new citrus-planting business entities to maximize profit using a translog growth model.According to the projection pursuit model,we evaluated the suitability conditions of citrus planting in garden land,woodland,grassland,and general cultivated land in the study area.We then explored the potential for new moderate-scale business entities within different farming radii.The results showed that large-scale planting conditions of citrus in garden land,forest land,grassland,and general cultivated land in the study area were suitable,and the proportion of high-suitable and mediumsuitable land was 73.42%.Under the existing social and economic conditions,the moderate scale of new citrus-planting business entities in the study area was 1.8–2.7 hm^(2).In particular,its rankings from large to small were agricultural enterprises(17.19–25.78 hm^(2)),farmer cooperatives(16.88–25.33 hm^(2)),big growers and breeders(6.39–9.59 hm^(2)),and family farms(5.02–7.53 hm^(2)).In the sample of 108 households,only 47.22%of the entities achieved moderate-scale operation,of which 25%of the entities achieved a scale greater than moderate operation.However,52.78%of the entities achieved a scale of less than moderate operation.These entities would have to transfer the surrounding adjacent garden land,forest land,grassland,or general cultivated land to achieve largescale land management.The land area of the adjacent gardens in a 1000 m farming radius could meet the moderate-scale operation demand of the vast majority of new business entities.For the vast majority of new business entities,the land area of the adjacent woodland,grassland,and general cultivated land could supplement the garden land to achieve moderate-scale operation in a 500 m farming radius.If the land area with moderate suitability and high suitability is prioritized,the land area in the adjacent gardens in the 1000 m farming radius could meet the moderate-scale operation demand for the vast majority of new business entities.Within the 500 m farming radius,the vast majority of new business entities have achieved moderate-scale operations if the land area adjacent to forest land,grassland,and general arable land was supplemented by gardens;however,a few entities could not achieve moderate-scale operations.From the village perspective,gardens were prioritized.Sixteen villages had planting areas and planting suitability that exceeded the average level of the study area,accounting for 23.53%.If combined with the reserve potential of the garden land,eight villages could improve their potential,accounting for 11.76%.Therefore,the conditions of large-scale citrus planting in the study area should be further improved,and the scale expansion of new citrus-planting business entities should receive additional scientific guidance.

Preliminary Study on Forest Fire Prevention and Extinguishing in Townships in the Southern Mountainous Areas of Zhejiang Province:A Case Study of Lishui

Forest fires seriously threaten forestry resources and the life and property safety of people in mountainous areas of Lishui City. In this paper, a fire prevention concept with refined forecast and early warning of forest fire danger weather ratings in townships as the starting point, satellite real-time observation of fire spots, monitoring of the Internet of Things and other high-tech products as an implementation means, and strengthening forest fire prevention equipment and personnel in townships as a guarantee was established. The command system for rapid emergency response by cities, counties and townships should be improved. During the forest fire prevention period, fire sources should be strictly controlled, and the basic principles of forest fire fighting in townships should be implemented into the actual fire prevention and fire fighting work to eliminate forest fires in time at the initial stage and before the disaster.

Ecological Carrying Capacity in Beijing Mountainous Areas——Taking Fangshan District as an Example

[Objective] The aim was to investigate ecological carrying capacity of Fangshan District in Beijing. [Method] Ecological footprint and carrying capacity of Fangshan District in 2007 and 2008 were analyzed with ecological footprint model and the difference between ecological footprint and carrying capacity there was con- cluded. Furthermore, an assessment was made on relation between Fangshan de- velopment with local ecological carrying capacity to evaluate sustainable development of Fangshan District. [Result] Fangshan District is of lightly ecological deficit; ecologi- cal footprint per capita in 2007-2008 was deficit and tended to expand. Two meth- ods are available to reduce ecological ：deficit, including reduction of ecological foot- print and increase of carrying capacity. In general, supply and demand of carrying capacity in Fangshan are better, though with some problems. It is necessary to fur- ther develop related industries to final eliminate ecological deficit in order to achieve ecological conservation-orientation and sustainable development of Fangshan District. [Conclusion] The research provides theoretical references for overall evaluation on eco- logical carrying capacity of Fangshan District.

Study on Sustainable Utilization of Resources of the Damp-heat Karst Mountainous Areas in China

Damp-heat karst mountainous areas are unique areas in terms of socialeconomic development, resource endowment and eco-environment in China, where natural resources are abundant,unique and diverse. However, fragile eco-environment, undeveloped economy and culture, and conflict of human and environment should not be ignored. In the research, a framework of integration of resource-development and environment-protection in damp-heat karst was designed on basis of resource and environment integration, which was applied to Daxin County in Guangxi Province. Furthermore, some integration models were proposed, including integration of development of characteristic agricultural resources and protection of eco-environment, integration of development of manganese ore resources and protection of eco-environment, integration of development of tourism resources and protection of ecoenvironment and integration of development of clean energy and protection of eco-environment.

Analysis of Land Use Characteristics in Mountainous Areas in Yunnan Province Based on Second National Land Survey

Abstract Based on Second National Land Survey during 2007-2009 and land use type survey in ftatland areas, status quo of land use in mountainous areas in Yun- nan was measured, and analysis was made on land use in mountainous areas in terms of land use structure, degree and development potential, providing references for rational use of land in mountainous areas in Yunnan.

Study on Urban Construction Land Suitability Evaluation in Southwestern Mountainous Areas of Yunnan Province Based on the Strategy of "Protecting Farmland in Flatland Areas and Constructing Mountainous Cities" : A Case in Lianghe County

According to the particularity of towns＇ construction in the southwestern mountainous areas of Yunnan Province, this study has built constructive land suit- ability evaluation index system which is different to flat area. Then this study deter- mined single evaluation factors index and comprehensive suitability index using ＂ex- treme conditions method＂ and ＂suitability index method＂, and analyzed and assessed the constructive land suitability on each evaluation unit polygons and its suitability level by using GIS software. Taking Lianghe County of Dehong Dai-Jingpo Au- tonomous Prefecture as an example to evaluate land suitability in Lianghe County＇s main towns around the gentle slope, the results show, in the evaluation area, the area of land suitable for construction and unsuitable for construction respectively ac- count 73.58% and 26.42%. And first-class, second and third-class of land suitable for construction should be composited at the ratio of about 11：49：40. The suitability evaluation index system and method developed in this paper is applicable for evalu- ating the construction land suitability in mountainous areas of southwest Yunnan Province, and will provide theoretical and technical support for land policy measures which strengthen the protection of farmland and promote the scientific development of urbanization in Yunnan Province and even similar mountainous areas of the whole China.

Rehabilitation and Sustainable Use Pattern of Rocky-desertified Land in Southwest China’s Poverty-stricken Karst Mountainous Areas——A Case Study in Benggu Township, Xichou County, Yunnan, China

The rocky desert in a karst area directly causes the lack of soil, water and forest, hence leading to the poverty there. In 1990, the villagers from the Muzhe Village in Benggu Township, Xichou County, Yunnan declared a war against rocky desert in an attempt to ask the fields for more yields. They invented a distinctive land rehabilitation and sustainable use pattern called “transforming heavenand earth” that had been practiced in Southwest China’s karst areas. The key mechanism of the pattern was to develop terraced fields with well conserved soil, water and fertility by exploding rocks in the fields, building stone walls, gathering more soil, and improving soil quality and productivity for the fields in combination with building of irrigation facilities and roads, as well as with forestation and agriculture structure adjustment. The purpose of the pattern was to alleviate poverty in the karst areas by improving soil productivity and promoting agriculturaldevelopment. A typical area was studied with the help of Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) and the pattern was carried out there for fifteen years, have produced excellent ecological benefits and good economic benefits. Its application in the area approved that it was a sustainable land use pattern for rocky desert areas.

Spatiotemporal evolution of land transportation networks and accessibility in inland mountainous areas 1917-2017:A case study of Southwest China

Located in the western hinterland,Southwest China is a typical mountainous area covered by plateaus,mountains and hills.Its ruggedness hinders regional internal and external connections,and its poor transportation infrastructure has long constrained the socioeconomic development of Southwest China.Based on the GIS transportation database,this paper explored the spatiotemporal evolution and characteristics of the land transportation networks and the accessibility of Southwest China from 1917 to 2017.Regional accessibility in Southwest China has significantly improved,and transportation infrastructure has gradually integrated the transportation circles of the52 central cities.The transportation network has followed an evolutionary process from a"hub-spoke pattern"to a"network pattern",while the construction of a high-speed railway(HSR)has brought about significant spatial polarization.We argue that innovation in transportation technology is one of the most effective factors for promoting a significant change in regional accessibility.In addition,the spatial distribution and evolution of accessibility in Southwest China presents a verticalcharacteristic that distinguishes it from the plains,as the spillover effects of new transportation infrastructure on accessibility improvement are partly offset by the mountainous terrain.Additionally,in Southwest China,there is significant"path dependence"in the evolution of the transportation network,since a large portion of the population is concentrated along transportation corridors in mountainous areas.

Residents'Satisfaction with Public Services in Mountainous Areas:An Empirical Study of Southwestern Sichuan Province,China

Abstract： Enhancing the efficiency of public services is essential to residents in mountainous areas. It is also important to promote sus- tainable development of these regions. Analysing residents＇ satisfaction with public services in mountainous areas can help in evaluating outcomes of fiscal investment and identifying potential coping approaches for improving public service efficiencies. The residents＇ satisfaction with public services and the factors that influence such satisfaction were examined in this study. A study of 12 towns located in the southwestern Sichuan Province was performed using an entropy-weighted analytic hierarchy process （EWAHP）, the technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution （TOPSIS） and Tobit regression methods. The results indicate that： 1） the spatial distribu- tion of satisfaction with public services is non-uniform, and the spatial distribution structure varies for different types of public services. 2） Residents＇ satisfaction with public services is influenced by both objective and subjective factors. Population density, economic dis- tance, social and cultural divisions and elevation are the major objective factors, whereas bounded rationality, the hierarchy of needs and service expectations are the main subjective factors. The most effective strategies for enhancing residents＇ satisfaction with public ser- vices are likely to be clustering the population, choosing supply centres with different public services, regulating the cultural division in ethnic minority towns, selecting supply priorities in accordance with residents＇ needs, implementing targeted intervention policies and establishing ＇bottom-up＇ and ＇top-down＇ integrated decision-making mechanisms. Keywords： mountainous areas; public services; residents＇ satisfaction; entropy-weighted analytic hierarchy process （EWAHP）; technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution （TOPSIS）; Tobit regression; southwestern Sichuan Province

Re-delineating mountainous areas with three topographic parameters in Mainland Southeast Asia using ASTER global digital elevation model data

Tropical mountainous areas not only provide substantial carbon storage and play an important role in global biological diversity, but also provide basic livelihood for a large number of poor ethnic minorities. However, there is no unified and explicit definition for mountainous areas. The local elevation range(LER) is a crucial structural parameter for delineating mountainous areas. However, current LER products are limited by the subjective selection of an optimum statistical window or coarser spatial resolution of topographical data. In this study, we presented an approach using thresholds for three topographic parameters, elevation, slope, and LER, derived from the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer Global Digital Elevation Model(ASTER GDEM) to redelineate the vast mountainous areas of mainland Southeast Asia(MSEA). The mean change-point analysis method was applied to determine the optimum statistical window of the 1 arc second(approximately 30 m)-resolution GDEM LER. The results showed that: First, the optimum statistical window is 38 × 38 cell units(width × height) in a rectangular neighborhood, or an area of about 1.30 km^2 for calculating GDEM LER in MSEA. Second, the LER of more than 80% of the area ranges from 30 m to 499 m in MSEA. The LERs in the northern and northwestern MSEA are greater than their counterparts in the south and east. Third, the area of the re-delineated mountainous areas was 83.52 × 10~4 km^2, about 38.71% of the total area. Spatially, the mountainous areas are mainly distributed in the north and northeast of MSEA. The re-delineated 30-m resolution map of the mountainous areas will serve as a topographical dataset for monitoring mountainrelated land surface changes in MSEA. The parameter-modified mountain extraction procedure can be expanded to delineate global mountainous areas.

Study on the Countermeasures of Eco-environment Conservation in the Mountainous Areas of Southern Ningxia under New Situation

Under the implementation of principal functional zoning,further promotion of western development,regional migration,new countryside construction,global warming and so on,the spatial adjustment of regional industry and its structure must be enforced.The spatial adjustment and arrangement of population and economy in the mountainous areas of southern Ningxia could create tremendous opportunity for its eco-environment conservation.Based on analysis on the opportunity and challenge of eco-environment conservation in the mountainous areas of southern Ningxia,some countermeasures of eco-environment conservation were discussed in the paper,so as to provide some theoretical references for the eco-environment conservation in the mountainous areas of southern Ningxia.

Experience and Methods for Maize Regional Experiment in Guizhou Mountainous Areas

Maize regional experiment is a an intermediate link for overall assessment and comprehensive evaluation on yielding ability, stable yield, stress, adaptability, and quality traits of new maize varieties in different ecological conditions. It is an essential process for determining whether the new maize varieties can pass the ex- amination and approval for extension. Besides, regional experiment is an important link connecting agricultural scientific researches and agricultural production. In addi- tion, it is a scientific basis for extension and application of new maize varieties in a region. Therefore, the maize regional experiment is of the utmost importance.

Assessing Spatio-temporal Characteristics of Water Storage Changes in the Mountainous Areas of Central Asia Based on GRACE

The mountainous areas of Central Asia provide substantial water resources, and studying change in water storage and the impacts of precipitation and snow cover in the mountain ranges of Central Asia is of the greatest importance for understanding regional water shortages and the main factors. Data from the GRACE （Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment） satellites, precipitation prod- ucts and snow-covered area data were used to analyze the spatio-temporal characteristics of water storage changes and the effects of precipitation and snow cover from April 2002 to December 2013. The results were computed for each mountain ranges, and the follow- ing conclusions were drawn. The water storage in the mountainous areas of Central Asia as a whole increases in summer and winter, whereas it decreases in autumn. The water storage is affected by precipitation to some extent and some areas exhibit hysteresis. The area of positive water storage changes moves from west to east over the course of the year. The water storage declined during the period 2002-2004. It then returned to a higher level in 2005-2006 and featured lower levels in 2007-009 Subsequently, the water storage increased gradually from 2010 to 2013. The Eastern Tianshan Mountains and Western Tianshan Mountain subzones examined in this study display similar tendencies, and the trends observed in the Karakorum Mountains and the Kunlun Mountains are also similar. However, the Eastern Tianshan Mountains and Western Tianshan Mountains were influenced by precipitation to a greater degree than the latter two ranges. The water storage in Qilian Mountains showed a pronounced increasing trend, and this range is the most strongly affected by precipitation. Based on an analysis of all investigated subzones, precipitation has the greatest influence on total water storage relative to the snow covered area in some areas of Central Asia. The results obtained from this study will be of value for scientists stud- ying the mechanisms that influence changes in water storage in Central Asia.

Identifying the priority areas for enhancing the ecosystem services in hilly and mountainous areas of southern China

Ecosystem services can be enhanced through ecological restoration,industrial structure adjustment,land-use optimization,and agricultural and forestry ecosystem transformation.The ecosystem services in hilly and mountainous areas of southern China are crucially needed to be enhanced since these regions are important ecological functional zones in China.However,due to its large area,it is not possible to simultaneously upgrade the ecosystem services for all areas,and therefore,priority areas need to be selected to individually upgrade the ecosystem service function.In this study,via an approach of combining remote sensing,geographic information system,and spatial statistics,we identify the priority areas that need to be upgraded based on the analysis of ecological sensitivity,importance of ecosystem service function,and decreased degree in ecosystem services.For five counties in hilly and mountainous areas of southern China,only less than 2% of the total area was identified as the first priority area;its land-use compositions were analyzed and recommendations on how to enhance ecosystem service were suggested.This approach overcomes the conflict and contradiction issues associated with identifying priority areas in previous studies and solves the problems of high cost or difficult implementation of priority areas.

Measurement of self-development capacity in the contiguous destitute mountainous areas, China

Affected by the mountainous location and ecological vulnerability, the incidence of poverty in contiguous destitute mountainous areas is higher than that in other regions of China. Regional selfdevelopment capacity is an internal driving force for poverty reduction in contiguous destitute mountainous areas. This study selects 17 indicators from the four dimensions: industrial capacity, market capacity, spatial capacity and soft power to measure the overall self-development capacity of 658 counties in 14 different mountain areas in China. The results show that self-development capacity is at a low level and the development of the different regions is unbalanced. The self-development capacity is low in the southwest and high in the east and "low in the middle, high around" in each study region. It has achieved a certain degree of improvement in 2011, 2013 and 2015. From the perspective of the four dimensions, industrial capacity is the constraint on the promotion of self-development capacity. Based on this, we should develop green industries in line with local realities and achieve industrial poverty eradication, but the expansion of space capacity should take into account the resources and environmental carrying capacity in these areas and should not be blindly expanded. Local leaders should be made to improve the local education level and public service level, improve social infrastructure, develop reserve strength for the future, and enhance future development potential.

Selection Experiment of Varieties of Maize in Ailao Mountainous Areas

[Objective] This study aimed to select suitable varieties of maize for Ailao mountainous areas, [Method] A comparison test of eight varieties of maize was conducted in Shengli Village, Mosha Town, Xinping County, Yunnan Province from May to October in 2016. [Result] The yield of Shenyu 10 was up to 66.3.4 kg/ 667 m^2 and there were extremely significant differences between Shenyu 10 and Xuanhuangdan 5 （CK）. Moreover, it had strong stress resistance. As Jingdan 12, Beiju 0913, Ante 8000, Yunrui 89 and Yayu 78 were planted in the region, their earing should not appear in rainy months. The inciderce of stem rot and ear rot of Yayu 891 was high, so Yayu 891 should not be planted in the region. [Conclusion] Shenyu 10 had a high yield, suffered few diseases and had strong stress resistance, so it can be popularized widely in the region.