Landuse/landcover changes in Zhangye oasis of Hexi Corridor

Taking two f alse color composite Landsat 5 TM (Thematic Mapper) images of band 4,3,2 taken in 1995 and 2000 as data resources, this paper carried out study on LUCC of Zhan gye oasis in recent five years by interpretation according to land reso urces classification system of 1:100,000 Resources and Environmental Data base of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The results show that great changes have taken place in landuse/landcover in Zhangye oasis since 1 995: (1) Changes of landuse structure show that cropland and land for urban c onstruction and built-up area increased, on the contrary, water area an d grassland decreased. These changes reflect the deterioration of eco-e nvironment and the acceleration of urbanization, and also indicate the problems existing in the arrangement of water and land resources betw een the upper and lower reaches of the Heihe River. (2) Regional diff erences of landuse/landcover are evident, characterized by following asp ects: in Sunan County located in Qilian Mountain area, unused land an d grassland decreased, but cropland and land for urban construction an d built-up area increased. In Minle and Shandan counties located in f oothills, unused land, water area and cropland decreased, but grassland and land for urban construction and built-up area increased. In Zhan gye City, Linze County and Gaotai County located in plain area of th e middle reaches of the Heihe River, unused land, water area and gra ssland decreased, while woodland, cropland and land for urban construction and built-up area increased.

Ecological Consequences of Land Use Change: Forest Structure and Regeneration across the Forest-grassland Ecotone in Mountain Pastures in Nepal

The ecotone, the spatial transition zone between two vegetation communities, is claimed to have more species than the adjoining communities. However, empirical studies do not always confirm higher richness at the ecotone. The ecotone position and structure are dynamic over time and space and it is driven by the changes in climate, land use or their interaction. In this context, we assessed the forest- grassland ecotone of temperate mountains in central Nepal by i） comparing species composition and richness across the ecotone, ii） analyzing if the forestgrassland ecotone is shifting towards the grassland center by colonizing them with trees, and iii） discussing the consequence of changed disturbance regime in the dynamics of this ecotone and the surrounding grasslands. We analyzed vegetation data sampled from belt transects laid across the forest- grassland ecotone in semi-natural grassland patches. Vegetation data consisting of species richness and composition, and size structure and regeneration of the two most dominant tree species, namely Rhododendron arboreum and Abies spectabilis, from the transects, were used to analyze the trend of the forest-grassland ecotone. Forest and grasslands were different in terms of floristic composition and diversity. Vascular plant speciesrichness linearly increased while moving from forest interior to grassland center. Spatial pattern of tree size structure and regeneration infers that forest boundary is advancing towards the grasslands at the expense of the grassland area, and tree establishment in the grasslands is part of a suceessional process. Temporally, tree establishment in grasslands started following the gradual decline in disturbance. We argue that local processes in terms of changed land use may best explain the phenomenon of ecotone shift and consequent forest expansion in these grasslands. We underpin the need for further research on the mechanism, rate and spatial extent of ecotone shift by using advaneed tools to understand the process indepth.

Carbon Accumulation in a Humid Temperate Prairie Pasture Following Abandonment and Afforestation

Carbon budget changes were measured on a farm near Robinson, Texas, where land originally tilled for hay production was abandoned over time periods of 10, 20, and 35 years followed by succession of prairie and forest vegetation. Woody biomass accumulation increased following abandonment from 0.14 kg C m2 yr~ during forest initiation to 0.57 kg C m2 yr-1 of the mature forest Soil carbon was highest in the tilled field （ 15.77 kg C m2） with lowest in the grassland （ 11.66 kg C m-2）. Soil nitrogen was highest in the tilled field （0.55 kg N ms） and lowest in the forest transition （0.38 kg N m2）. Soil C：N ratios were highest in the forest transition （C：N=36） and lowest in the grassland （C：N=22）. Soil respiration was constant across the site with an annual average value of 1.46 kg CO2-C m-2 yr-. Results show that land in this region may be a source of carbon for several decades following abandonment due to enhanced soil carbon emissions as a function of nutrient input shifts.

Canonical correlation analysis to land-use structure and its driving forces——Taking Yulin Prefecture as an example

In this paper, one of the most classical statistical methods, Canonical Correlation Analysis (CCA) is applied to identify quantitatively the driving forces of landuse structure in Yulin Prefecture. The main analysis is carried out through the software SPSS with the data on the level of towns and townships in 1992. The results indicate that landuse structure is determined by comprehensive action of different factors. Landuse structure with rural characteristics is mainly determined by geographical factors such as the elevation, temperature and precipitation, while the landuse structure with urban characteristics is mainly determined by demographic and socioeconomic conditions. At the same time, tests were carried out through the canonical correlation coefficient and redundancy analysis.

Exploring coupling coordination between urbanization and ecosystem quality （1985-2010）： a case study from Lianyungang City, China

Urbanization processes affect the ecosystem through alterations in ecological functions and landscape patterns. Currently, analysis of the total ecosystem services value （ESV） has targeted the overall benefits which human beings obtain from the regional ecosystem but does not generally include information regarding ecological struc- tures and patterns. Therefore, the results cannot reflect the comprehensive state of the local ecosystem. We propose a new, integrative ecosystem quality indicator based on the ESV and landscape metrics for evaluating the quality of the regional ecosystem. We adopted the method of a coupled degree of coordination for evaluating the interrelationship between urbanization and ecosystem quality in Lianyun- gang City from 1985 to 2010. The coupling degree of coordination between urbanization and ecosystem quality showed an inverse U-shaped curve. At the primary stage of urbanization （1985-1995）, the degree of coupling of urbanization and the ecosystem was just barely balanced. From 1995 until 2000, the coupling system reached a balanced condition, in which the urbanization level increased. Since 2000, the urbanization process has accelerated. The coordination between urbanization and the ecosystem achieved the optimum condition in 2005. A turning point appeared at the same time, and the degree of coupling coordination began falling from the optimum. Subsequently, the coupled system once more entered a barely balanced state. Overall, the comprehensive level of ecosystem quality decreased since 1985 and degraded sharply after 2005, suggesting an overall degradation of the local ecosystem quality.

Integrated assessment of the supply-demand relationship of ecosystem services in the Loess Plateau during 1992-2015

Landscape alterations and ecosystem services(ES)are crucial elements that affect the socioecological development of ecologically fragile regions.To provide scientific support for the land-use planning and regional ecological restoration to achieve sustainable development goals(SDGs)in the Loess Plateau from 1992 to 2015,this study proposes an integrated assessment framework for assessing the supply-demand match and equilibrium of ES combining potential relationships between landscape alterations,ES,and sustainable development at the county and regional scales.Results show that more than 85%of local counties have a supply-demand mismatch in terms of ecosystem services.Supply-demand distributions for provisioning and supporting services were relatively balanced compared to cultural services,which were imbalanced.Although the overall supply-demand relationship is relatively balanced because of the significant influence of ecological restoration,it shows an increasing trend toward imbalance as human-land conflict is prominent in some regions.SDGs emphasize on specific ES information such as ecosystem conservation,sustainable agriculture,and urban construction.Furtherly,positive impacts from landscape dynamics can improve the supply capacity of the ES and contribute to regional sustainability.