Net primary productivity(NPP), a metric used to define and identify changes in plant communities, is greatly affected by climate change, human activities and other factors. Here, we used the Carnegie-Ames-Stanford App...Net primary productivity(NPP), a metric used to define and identify changes in plant communities, is greatly affected by climate change, human activities and other factors. Here, we used the Carnegie-Ames-Stanford Approach(CASA) model to estimate the NPP of plant communities in Hengduan Mountains area of China, and to explore the relationship between NPP and altitude in this region. We examined the mechanisms underlying vegetation growth responses to climate change and quantitatively assessed the effects of ecological protection measures by partitioning the contributions of climate change and human activities to NPP changes. The results demonstrated that: 1) the average total and annual NPP values over the years were 209.15 Tg C and 468.06 g C/(m2·yr), respectively. Their trend increasingly fluctuated, with spatial distribution strongly linked to altitude(i.e., lower and higher NPP in high altitude and low altitude areas, respectively) and 2400 m represented the marginal altitude for vegetation differentiation; 2) areas where climate was the main factor affecting NPP accounted for 18.2% of the total research area, whereas human activities were the primary factor influencing NPP in 81.8% of the total research area, which indicated that human activity was the main force driving changes in NPP. Areas where climatic factors(i.e., temperature and precipitation) were the main driving factors occupied 13.6%(temperature) and 6.0%(precipitation) of the total research area, respectively. Therefore, the effect of temperature on NPP changes was stronger than that of precipitation; and 3) the majority of NPP residuals from 2001 to 2014 were positive, with human activities playing an active role in determining regional vegetation growth, possibly due to the return of farmland back to forest and natural forest protection. However, this positive trend is decreasing. This clearly shows the periodical nature of ecological projects and a lack of long-term effectiveness.展开更多
Xiamen is an economically competitive and highly urbanized city along the coastal area of Fujian Province, China. The research on spatio-temporal variation of landscape heterogeneity under the influence of human activ...Xiamen is an economically competitive and highly urbanized city along the coastal area of Fujian Province, China. The research on spatio-temporal variation of landscape heterogeneity under the influence of human activities is of great importance to the further study on the relationship of landscape pattern and ecological process. It is also crucial to the discovery of spatial variation and intensity distribution of human activities. The research analyzed the intensity of human impacts and the spatial variation features and dynamics of landscape patterns by introducing statistical theories and approaches. We analyzed spatio-temporal variation of landscape heterogeneity using the geostatistical techniques, such as semivariogram and Kriging interpolation.Results show that there is a higher correlation between landscape heterogeneity indexes and human impact index. Both the indexes show a moderate spatial autocorrelation as well as an obvious characteristic of anisotropy. From 1998 to 2008, the spatial differentiation of the changes in the intensity of human activities and the changes in landscape heterogeneity shows that the landscape patterns in Xiamen are closely related with the urban land utilization methods, the condition of traffic and geographical location and the physical geographical condition such as the terrain and the ecological environment. The process of urbanization has a significant impact on the urban landscape pattern.展开更多
Life was full of pathos and stress to Tagore. Tagore remains preoccupied with the irrecoverable losses but finally has felt--soothing thought spring out of human suffering. He did not grieve rather find strengths in w...Life was full of pathos and stress to Tagore. Tagore remains preoccupied with the irrecoverable losses but finally has felt--soothing thought spring out of human suffering. He did not grieve rather find strengths in what remains behind. The poet has gained abundant pleasure from the natural world knowing nature never did betray. Psychodynamically by identifying and introjecting mother figure he felt the most enduring human passion--＂Serenity＂. Thus despite the barriers of time and space, nation and race, Tagore as an affectionate father may embrace fellow human beings most endearingly. The principal objective is to probe Tagore＇s psychodynamics and creative processes. Dynamic analysis was done by following the methods of Freud, Jung, and Kris. Findings highlighted that Tagore was a man who could be rightly called ＂Lord of speech with mind for all＂.展开更多
Key Biodiversity Areas(KBAs)are ecological conservation priorities proposed by IUCN and widely recognized by most countries.Evaluating the changes in the ecological characteristics in KBAs is important for biodiversit...Key Biodiversity Areas(KBAs)are ecological conservation priorities proposed by IUCN and widely recognized by most countries.Evaluating the changes in the ecological characteristics in KBAs is important for biodiversity conservation and the construction of Protected Areas(PAs).There are various ecosystem types in the Belt and Road Initiative(BRI)region,which has an extremely high value of biodiversity conservation,and the KBAs should be the prime targets of ecological protection efforts.Using the data of land cover,NDVI and Nighttime Light(NTL),we analyzed the ecological conditions of the KBAs in the BRI region,and their temporal and spatial variations,from the perspectives of vegetation coverage and human activities.The conclusions are:(1)There is generally no significant difference in the land cover of the KBAs,among which forest,wilderness and grassland are the main types;(2)The NDVI of the KBAs showed an increase,indicating that the vegetation was gradually improving,while a few KBAs presenting vegetation degradation were mainly distributed in the Indochina Peninsula,Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and Central and Western Asia;and(3)The NTL in the KBAs was very low,indicating that the human pressure on the natural ecosystems was limited,and only a few KBAs distributed in Central and Eastern Europe,India,and the Indochina Peninsula have high human activity intensity which also showed an increase.This study emphasizes that we should make full use of the biome succession law,and limit the interference of human activities on natural ecosystems for ecological protection of the KBAs,so as to continuously make new breakthroughs in the construction of Protected Areas(PA)in the BRI region.展开更多
In recent decades,the continuous growth in the population has significantly changed the area of human settlements across the globe.The change of human settlements has brought great challenges to human development,envi...In recent decades,the continuous growth in the population has significantly changed the area of human settlements across the globe.The change of human settlements has brought great challenges to human development,environmental change,resource allocation,and disaster prediction and prevention.In the current paper,we integrate data products provided by the European Commission,Joint Research Centre with multi-source remote sensing data to analyze the changing trends of global human settlements under varying geographical distributions from 1990 to 2014.The results demonstrate that on the global scale,human settlements are generally distributed in Europe,East Asia,Southeast Asia,South Asia,the eastern United States,the Gulf Coast and the coast of Oceania,with most of them distributed in urban agglomerations and coastal areas.Global human settlements have continued to grow over the past 25 years,mainly in East Asia,Western Europe and the United States.The area of human settlements in eastern Europe has been slightly reduced.The distribution of human settlements is affected by climate,water and terrain conditions.Humans were more likely to have settled in temperate regions with wetter climates,and most of the human settlements are located within 500 km of the coastline and 30 km of land-based water sources.Our results can provide insights into further investigations of the spatio-temporal dynamics of human settlements and its connections to ecological and environmental issues in a changing world.展开更多
基金Under the auspices of National Key Basic Research Program of China(No.2015CB452706)National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.41401198,41571527)+1 种基金Youth Talent Team Program of the Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment,Chinese Academy of Sciences(No.SDSQB-2015-01)Youth Innovation Promotion Association,Chinese Academy of Sciences(No.2016332)
文摘Net primary productivity(NPP), a metric used to define and identify changes in plant communities, is greatly affected by climate change, human activities and other factors. Here, we used the Carnegie-Ames-Stanford Approach(CASA) model to estimate the NPP of plant communities in Hengduan Mountains area of China, and to explore the relationship between NPP and altitude in this region. We examined the mechanisms underlying vegetation growth responses to climate change and quantitatively assessed the effects of ecological protection measures by partitioning the contributions of climate change and human activities to NPP changes. The results demonstrated that: 1) the average total and annual NPP values over the years were 209.15 Tg C and 468.06 g C/(m2·yr), respectively. Their trend increasingly fluctuated, with spatial distribution strongly linked to altitude(i.e., lower and higher NPP in high altitude and low altitude areas, respectively) and 2400 m represented the marginal altitude for vegetation differentiation; 2) areas where climate was the main factor affecting NPP accounted for 18.2% of the total research area, whereas human activities were the primary factor influencing NPP in 81.8% of the total research area, which indicated that human activity was the main force driving changes in NPP. Areas where climatic factors(i.e., temperature and precipitation) were the main driving factors occupied 13.6%(temperature) and 6.0%(precipitation) of the total research area, respectively. Therefore, the effect of temperature on NPP changes was stronger than that of precipitation; and 3) the majority of NPP residuals from 2001 to 2014 were positive, with human activities playing an active role in determining regional vegetation growth, possibly due to the return of farmland back to forest and natural forest protection. However, this positive trend is decreasing. This clearly shows the periodical nature of ecological projects and a lack of long-term effectiveness.
基金Under the auspices of National 'Eleventh Five-Year Plan' Science and Technology Support Project (No. 2009BADB2B0302)Science and Technology Major Project of Fujian Province,the European Union Seventh Framework Project (No. 247608)
文摘Xiamen is an economically competitive and highly urbanized city along the coastal area of Fujian Province, China. The research on spatio-temporal variation of landscape heterogeneity under the influence of human activities is of great importance to the further study on the relationship of landscape pattern and ecological process. It is also crucial to the discovery of spatial variation and intensity distribution of human activities. The research analyzed the intensity of human impacts and the spatial variation features and dynamics of landscape patterns by introducing statistical theories and approaches. We analyzed spatio-temporal variation of landscape heterogeneity using the geostatistical techniques, such as semivariogram and Kriging interpolation.Results show that there is a higher correlation between landscape heterogeneity indexes and human impact index. Both the indexes show a moderate spatial autocorrelation as well as an obvious characteristic of anisotropy. From 1998 to 2008, the spatial differentiation of the changes in the intensity of human activities and the changes in landscape heterogeneity shows that the landscape patterns in Xiamen are closely related with the urban land utilization methods, the condition of traffic and geographical location and the physical geographical condition such as the terrain and the ecological environment. The process of urbanization has a significant impact on the urban landscape pattern.
文摘Life was full of pathos and stress to Tagore. Tagore remains preoccupied with the irrecoverable losses but finally has felt--soothing thought spring out of human suffering. He did not grieve rather find strengths in what remains behind. The poet has gained abundant pleasure from the natural world knowing nature never did betray. Psychodynamically by identifying and introjecting mother figure he felt the most enduring human passion--＂Serenity＂. Thus despite the barriers of time and space, nation and race, Tagore as an affectionate father may embrace fellow human beings most endearingly. The principal objective is to probe Tagore＇s psychodynamics and creative processes. Dynamic analysis was done by following the methods of Freud, Jung, and Kris. Findings highlighted that Tagore was a man who could be rightly called ＂Lord of speech with mind for all＂.
基金The Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences(XDA20010202)The National Key Research and Development Program of China(2016YFC0503505)。
文摘Key Biodiversity Areas(KBAs)are ecological conservation priorities proposed by IUCN and widely recognized by most countries.Evaluating the changes in the ecological characteristics in KBAs is important for biodiversity conservation and the construction of Protected Areas(PAs).There are various ecosystem types in the Belt and Road Initiative(BRI)region,which has an extremely high value of biodiversity conservation,and the KBAs should be the prime targets of ecological protection efforts.Using the data of land cover,NDVI and Nighttime Light(NTL),we analyzed the ecological conditions of the KBAs in the BRI region,and their temporal and spatial variations,from the perspectives of vegetation coverage and human activities.The conclusions are:(1)There is generally no significant difference in the land cover of the KBAs,among which forest,wilderness and grassland are the main types;(2)The NDVI of the KBAs showed an increase,indicating that the vegetation was gradually improving,while a few KBAs presenting vegetation degradation were mainly distributed in the Indochina Peninsula,Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and Central and Western Asia;and(3)The NTL in the KBAs was very low,indicating that the human pressure on the natural ecosystems was limited,and only a few KBAs distributed in Central and Eastern Europe,India,and the Indochina Peninsula have high human activity intensity which also showed an increase.This study emphasizes that we should make full use of the biome succession law,and limit the interference of human activities on natural ecosystems for ecological protection of the KBAs,so as to continuously make new breakthroughs in the construction of Protected Areas(PA)in the BRI region.
基金The National Science and Technology Key Project(2016YFB0502301)。
文摘In recent decades,the continuous growth in the population has significantly changed the area of human settlements across the globe.The change of human settlements has brought great challenges to human development,environmental change,resource allocation,and disaster prediction and prevention.In the current paper,we integrate data products provided by the European Commission,Joint Research Centre with multi-source remote sensing data to analyze the changing trends of global human settlements under varying geographical distributions from 1990 to 2014.The results demonstrate that on the global scale,human settlements are generally distributed in Europe,East Asia,Southeast Asia,South Asia,the eastern United States,the Gulf Coast and the coast of Oceania,with most of them distributed in urban agglomerations and coastal areas.Global human settlements have continued to grow over the past 25 years,mainly in East Asia,Western Europe and the United States.The area of human settlements in eastern Europe has been slightly reduced.The distribution of human settlements is affected by climate,water and terrain conditions.Humans were more likely to have settled in temperate regions with wetter climates,and most of the human settlements are located within 500 km of the coastline and 30 km of land-based water sources.Our results can provide insights into further investigations of the spatio-temporal dynamics of human settlements and its connections to ecological and environmental issues in a changing world.
