Dynamic Change of Landscape Pattern at Jilin Province from 1980 to 2000

By using remote sensing images from three periods (1980, 1995, 2000) and with the support of GIS and RS, the spatial information of landscape elements of Jilin Province from 1980 to 2000 was interpreted and extracted. Using models of landscape indices such as diversity, fragmentation, and mean patch fractal dimension, dynamic spatio-temporal changes of landscape patterns of the province were analyzed. The results: ① cropland and forestland were the main landscape types, and forestland became a landscape matrix; ② in the study area, landscapes were distributed unevenly, and there was low heterogeneity, a simple ecosystem structure and a tendency of irrational landscape patterns. There were also simple spatial shapes of patches and strong self-similarities, and in terms of dynamic change analysis, patch shapes tended to be more simple; ③ from 1980 to 2000, holistic landscape fragmentation was low and changed slightly. As far as landscape elements were concerned, the fragmentation of grassland, water area, land for residential area and factory facilities was relatively low; land distribution for residential areas and factory facilities was dispersed; and cropland and forestland were most concentrated-an indication that the trend will continue. Comprehensive effects among human activity, local policy, regional climate and environmental change led to the results.

A numerical study on seasonal variations of the Taiwan Warm Current

Princeton Ocean Model (POM) is employed to investigate the Taiwan Warm Current (TWC) and its seasonal variations. Results show that the TWC exhibits pronounced seasonal variations in its sources,strength and flow patterns. In summer, the TWC flows northeast in straight way and reaches around 32°N; it comes mainly from the Taiwan Strait, while its lower part is from the shelf-intrusion of the Kuroshio subsurface water (KSSW). In winter, coming mainly from the shelf-intrusion of the Kuroshio northeast of Taiwan, the TWC flows northward in a winding way and reaches up around 30°N. The Kuroshio intrusion also has distinct seasonal patterns. The shelf-intrusion of KSSW by upwelling is almost the same in four seasons with a little difference in strength; it is a persistent source of the TWC. However, Kuroshio surface water (KSW) can not intrude onto the shelf in summer, while in winter the intrusion of KSW always occurs. Additional experiments were conducted to examine effects of winds and transport through the Taiwan Strait on the TWC. In winter, northerly winds enhance the shelf-intrusion of the Kuroshio and spread northward, but hamper the northward inflow from the Taiwan Strait. In summer, the effect of the winds is confined in the surface layer, and less obvious than that of winter. Transport through the Taiwan Strait influences the TWC significantly. With the Taiwan Strait closed in the simulation, the TWC would be dramatically weakened.

Impacts of Sloping Land Conversion Program on the vegetation in loess hilly and gully area of northern Shaanxi

Aiming at alleviating the serious soil erosion, the Chinese government initiated the Sloping Land Conversion Program （SLCP） in 1999. Now; after 8 years of project implementation, the ecological recovery effects of the SLCP have become the hot issue of academic circle. This paper; raking the loess hill and gully area of northern Shaanxi as an example, presents a methodology for assessing the vegetation restoration effect of SLCP with normalized difference vegetation index （NDVI）. The key components include calculation of the Growing Season NDVI （GSNDVI）, and estimation of the NVDI change induced by climate and SLCP, respectively. Based on the method, the NDVI change between 2000 and 2006 was obtained using the GSNDVI that excluded the noise from snow and ice. After the part of total NDVI change caused to： climate variation was estimated using empiric formulae, we obtained the part induced by human factors, i.e. the SLCP The human induced part of ND VI change was considered as an approximation indicating the effect of the SLCP on the vegetation. Finally, we analyzed the ND VI change characters of the whole study area, different slope lands and different land use types by spatial statistics method. Results show that the vegetation condition is significantly improved by the SLCP, particularly land types that directly involved in the SLCP, such as steeply slope farmlands, degraded grasslands, etc.

Spatiotemporal Patterns and Drivers of Forest Change from 1985–2000 in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region of China

Forests are fundamental to maintaining ecological security and achieving regional sustainable development in China. Forest land change can result in many ecological problems including soil erosion, water shortages drought and biodiversity loss. Based on landscape ecology and logistic regression we explored the spatiotemporal patterns and factors affecting forest land changes from 1985 to 2000 in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region of China. The results show decreased local fragmentation of woodland landscapes and that the shapes of forest patches have become more regular. For forest land cover change, soil organic matter content, slope type I （〈5°）, distance to the nearest village and per capita GDP were the most important independent variables from 1985 to 2000. This study indicates that spatial heterogeneity can affect the predictability of logistic regression models for forest land change.